Garo: The First Decade (1964-1973)

NEW YORK, April 14 — The Center for Book Arts held a gallery opening for an advent-garde manga magazine called Garo (ガロ). Garo is famous for launching the careers of many famous mangaka such as Yoshihiro Tatsumi (辰巳 ヨシヒロ), Sanpei Shirato (白土 三平), and Ryoichi Ikegami (池上 遼一). It also influenced modern storytelling in Japanese comics with titles that took a more mature approach to sequential art. Some manga readers claim that it paved the way for genres like Seinen manga (青年漫画) and Gekiga (劇画).

Garo started in 1964 as a small indie manga magazine. Katsuichi Nagai, the founder of the magazine, wanted to create an advent-garde publication that focused on progressive and experimental modes of storytelling. Unlike other manga anthology magazines, Garo was never categorized under a particular genre. Rather the magazine went through many different periods as it grew and changed.


The exhibition was held in a very small gallery space which filled up pretty quickly. Moreover, I was surprised that parents brought their young children to the gallery opening, because some of Garo’s content is extremely violent and sexual in nature. I can only assume that the parents equated comics with kid safe. This is obviously not the case. There were some extremely violent and pornographic manga panels on display. For instance, one Garo spread featured a talking phallus. This is definitely not for toddlers.


Talking Phallus
Most of the magazines were behind glass or displayed as an installation piece. I had to fight the urge to grab one and flip through it. It’s an old tachiyomi (立ち読み) habit.

The first section of the exhibit was devoted to Sanpei Shirato’s The Legend of Kamui which is probably their most widely read manga title. The Legend of Kamui is about a ninja who discovers the class struggle and discrimination of Edo period Japan. The historically based manga became a platform for the Shirato’s leftist political ideology.


Ryoichi Ikegami display
Another interesting section was Ryoichi Ikegami section. It featured some of his early work before his amazing collaborations with Kazuo Koike (小池一夫). It’s interesting to see the early development of his hyper realistic art style.

Goseki Kojima (小島 剛夕), another Koike collaborator, also had a small section in the exhibit. He is renowned for his artwork in Lone Wolf and Cub (子連れ狼).

Towards the back of the gallery, I found a small section devoted to Yoshihiro Tatsumi. Credited as the father of the gekiga movement, Tatsumi’s section had some very racy material. Due to the amazing translation efforts at Drawn and Quarterly, I am very familiar with Tatsumi’s violent and socially dissociative storytelling. However, one of his Garo spreads had some hardcore incestuous gay sex scenes. I was unaware that he published LGBT material. The artwork was very similar to current Bara manga.


Yoshihiro Tatsumi display
The exhibition showcased Garo’s importance in the development of modern manga storytelling. Even though it was never as popular as other mainstream magazines, it managed to influence the entire industry and launched the careers of many notable mangaka.

Related Links:

• The Center for Book Arts ~ Garo Manga, 1964-1973
  
• Three Steps Over Japan: Garo

Too Cute: American Style and the New Asian Cool (Day 1)

PRINCETON, March 3 — Princeton University hosted an academic conference about Asian American pop culture aptly named "Too Cute: American Style and the New Asian Cool Conference". The panels and schedules were arranged by Professor Anne-Anlin Cheng.

Child Love

Anne Higonnet, an Art Historian from Columbia University, started the panel with a presentation on the connection between the cultural concept of cute and definitions of childhood. She frequently referenced Haruki Murakami (村上春樹) and his artwork. Higonnet also mentioned Murakami uncanny ability to co-opt commercial product such as his line of custom designed Louis Vuitton hand bags.


Murakami's Version of the Louis Vuitton Hand Bag
Higonnet was followed by Christine Bacareza Balance. Balance, a University California - Irvine professor and vocalists for the Jack Lords Orchestra, conducted a presentation about Filipina Child Pop Stars. Her lecture was mainly focused on the cultural and political undertones in Filipino Pop Music. In her discussion, Balance talked about the impact of YouTube, American R&B influences, karaoke, and Filipino “palabas” concept. She used Charice Pempengco’s rise to stardom as a case study for her presentation.

Gertrude Ederle

Joon Lee, an English professor from the Rhode Island School of Design, read passages from one of his novels.

Girls on Girls

After a short lunch break, the conference continued with a panel about “Asian cool” from the perspective of girls.


Karen Tongson, a professor of English and Gender Studies at the University of Southern California, discussed the internet pop phenomenon known as “Rin on the Rox”. Tongson began her discussion by outlining the cultural factors that lead to the emergence of the two Filipino American internet pop idols. She also talked about the deeper cultural trends surrounding the duo. Tongson emphasized topics such as sexual undertones, homophobic reactions, and the modern perception of womanhood in the media.

The next presentation was conducted by Laura Miller, Anthropology professor from Loyola University. Miller’s lecture was primarily concerned with the Japanese concept of “kawaii”. As an anthropologist, she approached the topic by categorizing the different types of “kawaii” found in Japan. She made a clear distinction between regular “kawaii” (cute) and “kimo kawaii” (grotesque cute). At this point, Miller started to couch her argument in a resistance framework. She characterized “kimo kawaii” as a rebellious act by Japanese girls against the commercial exploitation of the “kawaii” paradigm.

The Keynote Address: Eating Rice with a Fork


The day ended with an amazing keynote address by Eric Nakamura, co-founder of Giant Robot Magazine. Nakamura conducted a quick history of Asian American pop culture including personal stories about his own identity as a Japanese American. He described growing up as a product of two cultures that were intermingled. In an attempt to illustrate this “mashup” of identities, he humorously remarked that, “I eat rice with a fork.” The Ivy League audience enjoyed his wit and entertaining slide presentation. Towards the latter half of his address, he talked about the early days of Giant Robot Magazine and the evolution of the brand.

Queer Manga at NYU

Panel: (Left to Right) June Kim, Mari Morimoto, Hiroki Otsuka, and Ivan Velez
NEW YORK, October 21 – Erica Friedman, the President of Yuricon and ALC Publishing, moderated an interesting panel on Queer Manga. The event was being hosted by the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, and Transsexual (LGBT) Office at New York University (NYU) as a part of their LGBT Pride Month. The panelists consisted of Ivan Velez Jr. (American Comic Book Artist), Hiroki Otsuka (Japanese Managaka), Mari Morimoto (Manga Translator), and June Kim (Korean Comic Book Artist).

Friedman began the panel with a quick summary of LGBT manga, which was extraordinarily helpful to a majority of the college students in the audience. She quickly defined of terms like Yuri, Yaoi, Boys Love, Girls Love, Bian, and Bara. Then she went into a brief history of LGBT manga from 1923 to the present. It was impossible for Friedman to cover everything due to time constraints, but she managed to do a brilliant job giving the abbreviated Cliff Notes version. She covered a variety of topics like Riyoko Ikeda’s (池田 理代子) Claudine...! (クローディーヌ...!), Yuri Shimai (百合姉妹) Magazine, and Eriko Tadeno's Works.


Erica Friedman (Moderator)
Following Friedman’s introduction, the panelists discussed their personal experiences with creating and publishing LGBT manga and comics.

Ivan Velez demonstrated the varying degrees of gay manga. Velez began his portion of the panel with a home video of his trip to Akihabara. The video mainly focused on his exploration of gay manga stores. He showed the different types of stores and sections selling both the lighter gay manga titles and the more graphic gay material. After the video, he did a quick introductory slideshow of works from famous Bara mangaka such as Jiraiya. Velez argued that the genre was very masculine and sweet at the same time.

On a different note, June Kim talked about her experiences while working on the 12 Days manga. She said it was based on a real life story of tragedy and loss. Surprisingly TokyoPop, her publisher, did not have any problems with the openly lesbian and gay themes in the book. According to Kim, she never received any restrictive guidance or prohibitive directives from her publisher. This freedom allowed her to create an amazing manga with stunning artwork and a touching storyline. 12 Days was well received, and many of Kim’s readers tell her that the story literally moved them to tears.


12 Days by June Kim
Hiroki Otsuka discussed his transition from straight sex manga for young women to his open gay titles for gay men. He related his experience to the greater LGBT movement in Japan. He stated that Japanese society is still very conservative, and many gay mangaka don’t publicly declare themselves as gay or lesbian. There is still a heavy stigma attached to being openly gay. Kim interjected that the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy is a very common phenomenon in most Asian cultures. Otsuka also discussed the slow growth of the gay community in the Second Street section of Akihabara. This burgeoning community of openly gay Japanese has led to the creation of two different groups: one group of Japanese leading openly gay lifestyles and another group of gay Japanese leading outwardly straight lifestyles. This stratification has created two divergent lifestyle philosophies concerning sexual identity in Japan.

In her portion of the panel, Mari Morimoto talked about the difficulties in publishing LGBT manga. She said that, “the publishing industry is very conservative.” The manga industry is not an exception. There are obstacles ranging from printing to distribution in regards to LGBT titles. In her efforts to promote and support LGBT works, Morimoto discussed her involvement with Prism Comics and LGBT manga panels at various anime conventions.

On the whole, Friedman successfully created an open atmosphere that allowed the panelists to share very personal experiences regarding LGBT manga. The audience seemed to appreciate the candor and honesty of the panelists and their discussion.

Related Links:

• Okazu: Event: Queer Manga Panel at NYU

Jim Hanley's LGBT Pride in Pix and Panels.

NEW YORK, June 27 – Jim Hanley's Universe (4 West 33rd Street) hosted a long afternoon of events celebrating Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, and Transsexual (LGBT) in the comic book industry. It was scheduled to coincide with the eve of the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion. Erica Friedman, the President of Yuricon and ALC Publishing, moderated the panels.

Panelist included: Tony Arena, Amy Colburn, Foxy Andy, Rica Takashima, Abby Denson, Jennifer Camper, Steve MacIsaac, JD Glass, Allan Neuwirth, Ivan Velez, José Villarubia and others.

The panel covered many important issues challenging comic book creators and publishers.

Selling Out

One of the most interesting topics addressed is artistic freedom versus commercialism. Some of the panelists talked about their experiences with working for either Marvel or DC Comics. They addressed the corporate mind set and the commercial aspects that require hard time lines, high quality product output, and editorial controls.

Some audience members tried to frame the discussion as a big corporation versus the struggling artist argument (“creative freedom versus editorial decisions”). Some of the panelists tried to stem the argument. They put the issue into the greater context of market realities and the costs of production (printing, marketing, and employees). They further tried to dispel any notions that “business” is inherently evil. Villarubia insists that business a tool or vehicle to help sell and distribute comics to a wider audience regardless of the publishing type.


Independent Publishing and LGBT

Many of the panelists have vast amounts of experience in self-published comics and independent comics. They emphasized the guerilla tactic of “picking your battles”. Attending several smaller comic book conventions might be a better strategy than going to a few larger ones. They also pushed the idea of self-promotion and marketing as one of the key pillars to small run publishing.

The panel also addressed the difficulties of LGBT titles and books in the mainstream comic book market. They humorously discussed the “running away” phenomenon at conventions. Many straight people are attracted to tables with LGBT books because of the art or the title of the book. When they discover the book is a LGBT work, they usually drop the book and run away. Friedman witnessed the same “running away” behavior at Comiket (コミケット) in Japan and the New York Comic Book Convention (NYCC).


Rica Takashima
Overall, the panel encouraged engaging debate and discussion. Erica Friedman’s knowledgeable input and frank manner helped to guide the panel and the audience through a vast array of topics concerning LGBT comic book creators and independent publishing.

Related Links:

• JIM HANLEY'S UNIVERSE: June 27 is Pride Day at Jim Hanley's Universe!
• shirtlifters » Blog Archive » Pride Signing @ Jim Hanley’s Universe
• abbycomix » Blog Archive » Celebrate Pride in Pix and Panels! 6/27 @ JHU @ 3PM!
• Gay Comics @ NY Pride on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
• Foxy Talk
• Prism Comics