Tag Archives: bread & butter

Exclusive: TEZUKA! God of Manga – Ada Palmer discusses Tezuka’s drive to prove that manga can tell every type of story

Posted on by Leave a comment

It’s hard to overstate Osamu Tezuka’s influence on manga and anime in Japan and comic book and animation storytelling around the world. Before there was Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Chainsaw Man, and Jujutsu Kaisen, there was Tezuka’s Astro Boy: the loveable, iconic, atomic-powered robot boy. Known in Japan as Tetsuwan Atom, this loveable hero sprang fully formed from the imagination of Tezuka-sensei, AKA the “God of Manga.” Tezuka broke new ground in 1963 when he introduced Astro Boy as Japan’s first weekly animated TV program. Now, Peabody Award-winning director Jason Andrew Cohn and the Bread & Butter Films production team — will spotlight Osamu Tezuka’s life and legacy with TEZUKA! God of Manga, an all-new, feature-length documentary. Support the film on Kickstarter today. 

TEZUKA! God of Manga will feature interviews with legendary manga and anime creators including Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira), Riyoko Ikeda (Rose of Versaille), Naoki Urasawa (Monster), Go Nagai (Devilman), Yoshiyuki Tomino (Gundam), MADHOUSE co-founder and anime producer Masao Maruyama (Tokyo Godfathers), anime director Rintaro (Metropolis), best-selling fantasy author Ada Palmer (Too Like the Lightning), Samuel Sattin (Unico Awakening), and Jorge R. Gutierrez (The Book of Life), to discuss how Tezuka’s trailblazing influenced their work and changed the mediums of manga, comics, and animation. 

The documentary will also include in-depth conversations with scholars Helen McCarthy (The Art of Osamu Tezuka), Natsu Onoda Power (God of Comics: Osamu Tezuka and the creation of post-World War II Manga), and the dean of English-language manga scholarship, Fred Schodt (Manga! Manga!) discussing his long working relationship with Tezuka. Once the film is funded, the producers will schedule additional interviews with artists including Paul Pope (THB) and Ron Wimberly (Prince of Cats). 

Cohn and Tezuka Productions are also teaming up with some of today’s hottest manga and comic artists to create Kickstarter-exclusive collectible art prints featuring beautiful tributes to beloved Tezuka stories and characters. Fans can collect an astonishing Acetylene Lamp print by Shinichi Ishizuka (Blue Giant), striking takes on Astro Boy by Dave Baker (Mary Tyler MooreHawk) and Jorge R. Gutierrez (Book of Life), bold looks at Black Jack by Jeff Lemire (Sweet Tooth) and Yuko Shimizu (Barbed Wire Baseball), a beautiful Buddha print from Jesse Lonergan (Dome), a fantastic look at Phoenix by Matt Kindt (Mind MGMT), a pitch-perfect Princess Knight print by Elsa Charretier (November), unbelievable Unico artwork by Gurihuru (Unico Awakening, and a vibrant take on Vampires by Nicole Goux (Punk’n Heads).

Though he’s often compared to Walt Disney, Tezuka was arguably a greater cultural force. His mind-bending storylines — including Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion, Princess Knight, and hundreds of others — ignited a post-war explosion of creativity that positioned Japan as a global leader in comics and animation to this day and influenced generations of creators around the world.

We have an exclusive clip of fantasy author, scholar, and Tezuka fan Ada Palmer discussing Tezuka’s drive to prove that manga can tell every type of story. Check out the clip above and support the project today!

Early Review: Bread & Butter #1

Posted on by

bread-n-butter-1-coverLiz Mayorga tells an all to real story in her comic Bread & Butter from Rosarium Publishing. She keeps the story honest and the art simple. Bread & Butter follows the story of Liana, an artist trying to make her way through life in the increasingly gentrified & seemingly artist free San Francisco. Liz sets the stage for Liana and her co-workers at the cafe.

Bread & Butter provides a glimpse into the life of the working class artist, who has to find a balance between creating their art and being able to feed themselves. Liana fiscal sponsor, aka job, is as a counter person at a museum adjacent upscale coffee and light food place. She deals with the same issues that most working class people deal with but, Liz portrays them in a new light.

Liz’s simple yet eloquent writing gives the reader a glimpse into what it’s like to not be able to survive on your art along. Liana has moved to a city that she thought would provide her with her tribe and, instead she is faced with the loneliness of being in a new city alone. She makes friends , to some degree, with her coworkers but, the emotional drain of her job makes her too tired to do what she came to San Francisco to do, create.

The impossible customers she serves run the gamut from entitled to clueless. There are shades of classist undertones in the subtext. The realism in Liana’s story make it an interesting read. One that will have people, especially artists, who have worked in any kind of customer service position while trying to create on the side remember every difficult customer and, will have those who haven’t ever been in that position questioning if they are them.

Bread & Butter is an open look at how society treats not only its artists but, their working class. The people who “serve” them. Liz strays away from being too preachy or even trying to make the customers seem like super villains. Instead, she holds up a mirror to society and the classist way that some customers inadvertently look down on workers. There’s a refreshing hint of hope in Liana’s story and I enjoyed the glimpse into her world.I liked that Liz didn’t take the easy route and instead provided the reader with

I liked that Liz didn’t take the easy route and instead provided the reader with slice of life portrait of a minority girl, who moved to the city she thought would provide her with her best shot and discovers that its soul is missing. I look forward to seeing how this story evolves.

Story: Liz Mayorga Art: Liz Mayorga
Story: 9 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.9 Recommendation: Buy

Rosarium Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review