Hangin' out with Junko Mizuno

NEW YORK, October 11 — I got a chance to hang out with Junko Mizuno, female mangaka and designer. She did a book signing at Kidrobot, a specialty toy store in New York. Mizuno spent an hour and a half meeting and signing toys for fans. She was very cool and gracious.

Junko Mizuno is famous for her kawaii noir style of art. It's a nightmarish mixture of mo-e cuteness and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Her most noted works are Pure Trance and Junko Mizuno's Hell Babies. Her designs and characters are also used in action figures, t-shirts, and other types of merchandise.



The store was extremely small and the line was not too long. It had a cozy feeling about it.

I went to the signing with my friend, Micheal, but he wasn't a fan of her work. He came to take pictures anyway. I'm not big on autographs, so I didn't get on the signing line. We just hung out near Junko Mizuno's signing table while she signed books, toys, and sketches. We just talked about manga and met rabid fans of Junko Mizuno. Overall, it was a very cool experience.


Junko Mizuno interview on Japanorama

Laziness and Humidity

NEW YORK, October 8 — Damn, I've been really lazy lately... Grrr. It doesn't help that the weather in New York is hovering in the high 80s (degrees Fahrenheit) with humidity in the 80% range. It's October! Frickin' October people. I think Al Gore was right about the whole global warming thing.

It also doesn't help that my custom built PC is constantly over heating. It makes the whole place five degrees higher than the outside temperature. Don't ask about the cooling system. It works. I've pushed the limits of air cooled systems. The next step is the water/liquid cooled units. I'm fighting the urge to move to a liquid system. If I have a cylinder of water near my desk, I might get the idea to drink from it.

I've fallen into procrastination mode. I've got to fight my reckless laziness. I've got to be more productive! Here is a picture of my desk:



I'm working on my current graphic novel project. I didn't pencil the work. I'm doing layouts and inking.