by Ed Sizemore

Tezuka and Astro Boy as a stamp

This has been a good year for English-language Osama Tezuka fans. Vertical is printing his Black Jack series in beautiful editions. DMP published Tezuka’s experimental manga, Swallowing the Earth. Frederick Schodt is touring the country with his lecture on the life and legacy of Tezuka. Two new books about the life and works of Tezuka were published this year too, God of Comics and The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga.

To cap it all off, the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art is hosting a month long celebration of Tezuka’s animated works, Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga, Father of Anime. This past weekend marked the inauguration of the event, which I was fortunate enough to attend.

Introducing Astro Boy

The weekend began with a lecture by Frederick Schodt at 7:00 PM on Friday, November 13, entitled “Introducing Astro Boy”. This was similar to the lecture he gave at Otakon. Tezuka, born in 1928, is called the God of Manga in Japan, and some are also referring to him as the Father of Anime. He attended medical school and actually received his license, but he never practiced. He liked to joke that one of his medical professors told him it was a good thing for his patients that he became a manga artist.

Frederick Schodt

Obviously, manga existed before Tezuka. However, Tezuka heavily influenced post-World War II manga by introducing new visual styles and storytelling techniques. Tezuka was himself influenced by Disney and the Fleischer brothers. He brought the cinematic style he saw in their cartoons to manga and made popular a more decompressed style of storytelling. Tezuka also helped introduce sophisticated themes into children’s manga.

Astro Boy made his first appearance in a short side story titled Captain Atom. There was such a positive response to the story, Tezuka’s editor convinced him to make Captain Atom a star of his own series. Tezuka completely retooled the character and the story. When the robot boy reappeared he had a new name to signal his new beginning, The Mighty Atom (Astro Boy to American audiences). The series was immediately a success. Astro Boy went on to become a symbol of science and technology in Japan. He is still a much beloved character today

In 1957, a kamishibai based on Astro Boy was made. In 1959, a short-lived live-action Astro Boy TV show was created. (Fred said this is so bad, it’s good.) Finally, in 1962, Tezuka had enough money to form his own animation company, Mushi Productions. In January 1963, the Astro Boy animated TV show premiered. It was the first half-hour weekly animated series on Japanese TV. Astro Boy became a national phenomenon. The whole family would gather around the TV set to watch the show. Executives from NBC saw the show and licensed it for syndication in the US, where Astro Boy premiered in select areas in September 1963.

Following the lecture, there were four episodes of the original Astro Boy anime series aired, all directed by Tezuka, including the first and last episodes of the series. Afterward, there was a short Q&A session. Fred said that Tezuka was embarrassed by the original Astro Boy series, because of the crude animation. However, you can see a noticeable improvement in the animation between the first episode and the last.

The Film Is Alive

Saturday’s schedule began at 2:00 PM with a short documentary entitled The Film Is Alive. This was a 45-minute film that examined Tezuka’s career as an animator, starting with his first experimental film in 1962 and ending with his last film, another experimental short, made before his death in 1989. This was an amazing documentary that revealed a dimension to Tezuka that I never knew existed.

Tezuka was responsible for several animated TV shows, feature-length films, and short experimental movies. Tezuka loved animation and wanted Japanese animation to be better known globally. He became an ambassador for anime by attending animation festivals around the world and getting international animation festivals hosted in Japan. His passion was experimentation. He loved exploring what was possible with animation both visually and from a storytelling perspective, using various styles and techniques. The one constant in all his animation was that was all hand-drawn. He didn’t like computer animation.

L to R: Natsu Onoda Power, Ada Palmer, Helen McCarthy, Frederick Schodt, moderator (sorry forget to write the name down.)

After the film, there was a panel discussion driven by questions from the audience. The four panelists were:

• Natsu Onoda Power, visiting professor at Georgetown University and author of God of Comics: Osamu Tezuka and the Creation of Post-World War II Manga
• Ada Palmer, professor at Texas A&M and founder of the website Tezuka in English. She has an essay on Tezuka in the forthcoming Anime and Philosophy, edited by Josef Steiff and Tristan D. Tamplin
• Helen McCarthy, author of The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga
• Frederick Schodt, author of The Astro Boy Essays: Osamu Tezuka, Mighty Atom, and the Manga/Anime Revolution

Initially, they began by discussing Tezuka’s influence. It turns out that his influence extends beyond just manga and anime. His works were, and continue to be, the inspiration for many scientists and doctors pursuing the careers they currently have. Several prominent roboticists in Japan have admitted they still dream of building Astro Boy.

Like everyone else of his generation, World War II was the defining event of Tezuka’s life. It shaped his desire to promote the positive, productive uses of technology over the destructive applications he had experienced. It also influenced his feminism. He saw Japanese women having to take on traditionally male roles and jobs during the war while the men were fighting abroad. (Helen says seeing his mother in these roles was the inspiration for the character Princess Knight.) The realities of war fueled his pacifism. And his experiences with American soldiers during the occupation helped shape his belief in racial equality.

Tezuka often said that manga was his wife and anime was his mistress. Tezuka could spend lavishly on experimental animation projects. Fred said that because he was so open to play with the form of animation, his animated works are often uneven and undisciplined. Ada pointed out that Tezuka approached animation like a clinical researcher. He was always testing new ideas and probing to explore limitations. He didn’t have any boundaries to what he was willing to try.

Tezuka’s star system probably grew out of his love for theater and early Hollywood movies. Growing up, his father would import movies and cartoons from America. His mother often took him to plays at the Takarazuka Theater. Tezuka created a stock group of characters that appeared throughout his manga, like actors assuming roles in a play or movie. This allowed him to create new series much more quickly, since all the character designs were finished.

Marine Express

Sunday also began with a film at 2:00 PM. This time it was a made-for-TV animated movie, Marine Express (1979) written by Tezuka himself and produced by Tezuka Productions. The Marine Express is an underwater train that runs from Los Angeles to Tokyo. Private detective Ban Shunsaku has been hired by the chief engineer to investigate his suspicions about illegal activities involving the train’s maiden voyage. However, Shunsaku arrives to find the chief engineer dead. He later spots the killer boarding the Marine Express and follows him onto the train. What follows is a murder mystery combined with a crime thriller mixed with a disaster film that morphs into a time travel adventure with invading space aliens. It’s a wild ride for both the train passengers and the viewing audience. Featured is most of the ensemble from Tezuka’s star system.

Following the film was a brief discussion by Helen McCarthy and Frederick Schodt. Helen loved the film, calling it sheer silliness. Fred said the film is the ultimate in-joke for Tezuka fans. He said it is a great foreshadowing of postmodern deconstructional storytelling. Amazingly, Tezuka insisted on drawing every key frame involving Black Jack. This was a film that the entire family could enjoy, as parents and children talk about the characters and which series they remember each one from.

Thoughts on the Weekend

My only disappointment the entire weekend was with the audience size. On Friday night, there were about 160 people in attendance. Saturday, the audience had dropped to a mere 80. Sunday, the number plummeted to a dismal 40 people. I was embarrassed that such great guests spoke to such a meager crowd. I know that the anime festival held during last year’s Cherry Blossom Festival packed the 300-seat theater. I don’t know why this event failed to draw a similar audience. Hopefully, the rest of the Tezuka events will attract a larger crowd.

Overall, it was a wonderful weekend that showed me new depths to the man Tezuka and his works. I now have an even more profound respect and appreciate for Tezuka. I didn’t have any idea about his experimental animation films. All the guests were magnificent and I would like to see Otakon, New York Anime Festival, Anime Boston, and the other East Coast conventions book them to speak. Tezuka really is Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Walt Disney, and Max Fleischer all rolled up into one person. He is such a formative force in manga and anime that all fans of both media need to be familiar with Tezuka and his works. Hopefully, events like the Smithsonian’s Tezuka Film Retrospective will be a start to make that happen.

Tomorrow at 7:30 PM Eastern, the Defenders guest-star on The Super Hero Squad Show. This reworking of Marvel superhero characters for kids airs on the Cartoon Network. Here’s the plot description:

Baron Mordo transforms Iron Man into the evil “Iron Menace”, a deadly threat who overcomes both the Lethal Legion and the Squad! But when Silver Surfer and Hulk team with Dr. Strange and Valkyrie to form “The Defenders,” the forces of good will “Hero Up!” like never before! Gossip Girl alumni Michelle Trachtenberg reprises her role as Valkyrie in this exciting new episode of the most action-packed, family friendly series in the universe!

I haven’t seen any of this animated series, but I have a soft spot in my heart for the misfits that made up the Defenders. It’s the only long-running Marvel series I’ve read every single issue of. (I know, it was a wacky choice, but it worked for me.) The Super Hero Squad seems like it would be fun, only they don’t seem to have any female team members. Bummer.

Do any readers watch it? What’s it like?

KC and I really enjoy Castle, the mystery show with Nathan Fillon (Firefly) as a thriller writer who helps the police solve murders.

Castle: The Complete First Season
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So since the Complete First Season DVD set has been on deep discount this week ($17 bucks or so compared to a list price of $40), we decided to buy it. The set has some entertaining-sounding featurettes, bloopers, and commentaries, which we enjoy.

Our first try was from Amazon.com. We have the free shipping plan, so that was easy — wouldn’t even have to leave the house! Unfortunately, someone at Amazon put the DVD set into a cardboard mailer with no additional padding, so by the time it arrived, the hinged insert in the case was broken apart, and one of the discs had come loose and was scratched.

Disappointing, but not tragic. Amazon paid to send it back and give a refund; they even have an automated process for such things. (Methinks they have a lot of shipping damage claims, especially recently.) We decided not to play mail roulette again and went to buy the set at Best Buy, who had it at the same price. (Amazon has since dropped their price another dollar, but I’m trying not to sweat the small stuff.)

All this is kind of pointless, except that I noted something interesting. This is what the set from Best Buy looked like inside:

The Amazon set, on the other hand, didn’t have a disc on the left side. Instead, there was one disc on the right and the hinged plastic insert that contained the other two discs back-to-back. Why would there be two separate versions? And why would Amazon have the one that seems more susceptible to shipping damage, given their business model?

To promote Up coming out on DVD last week, the publicity group sent this set of images showing how the movie was put together. I thought you might be interested in seeing how a scene developed. Click the images (and then wait) to see really large versions.

The storyboard

The start of image generation

Modeling the set

More animation

Add clothing

Additional shading

Additional effects

Final lighting

Update: Here’s some more Up-related art, process work involving graphic design and illustration for the film.

This manga, a romance in a magical fantasy setting, has enough humor to make it an enjoyable read for the young and young-thinking.

The Lizard Prince Book 1
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As explained in the author’s notes, this book is Asuka Izumi’s first collection, so it follows a typical pattern: The first chapter works as a stand-alone story establishing the premise. That’s so if the concept isn’t popular or picked up, then there’s still a satisfactory ending. But this series was popular enough to get four more chapters (and a second book, which concludes the short series). There’s also an early, different story by the same author included in this volume. (The author later created Ballad of a Shinigami, already published in the US.)

The premise here is daffy. Tomboy Princess Canary has an arranged marriage with neighboring Prince Heath, who’s an indulged dolt of a playboy. Heath has a talking lizard who magically switches bodies with him to meet Canary, after which the two fall in love. Turns out, after various twists and turns, that the lizard is really Heath’s long-lost brother Sienna. (All the characters are named after colors, with eyes the same shade as their names. And I hate to spoil the twist, except I can’t talk about the rest of the book without doing so, and it’s revealed on the back cover.)

The characters are classically attractive, except for the lizard, who is little more than a doodle, a Pac-Man head on a tail. The rest of the cast is beautifully drawn for denizens of some faraway kingdom who act surprisingly modern. And I like Canary’s personality, even if her name is dippy. She’s strong, she does what she thinks is right regardless of what other think, and she’s observant and insightful — a true princess. Sienna, on the other hand, is a bit more goofy and insecure, which is part of his charm. Together, they’re a great pair.

In the following stories, the author takes on several different genres, so there’s always something new to explore. Chapter 2 is a slapstick comedy, with Sienna’s lizard form sending people screaming as he tries to do good deeds. It also extends the lizard-boy concept into something that works for a series.

The third chapter is a mistaken identity mystery, with an impostor pretending to be Prince Sienna who has to be investigated and unmasked. Next, the two go to a South Seas island where they visit a haunted house and resolve a ghost’s trauma. Of course, there’s the mandatory “possession that reveals emotion” scene as well. The last chapter is the weirdest of all — the two characters are given a baby to take care of for five days as a way to practice parenting. The baby’s adorable to watch, though.

The variety may seem scattered to some, but I liked the way the characters worked together in different situations. It became more like a supernatural TV series, with a different premise every episode, than a fantasy romance. What really won me over was the opening to chapter four. Like every chapter, the premise is briefly explained, but this time, the captions get a little snarky, to which the lizard responds, “oh, leave me alone.” Poor little guy.

(The publisher provided a review copy.)

Warner has announced a trade-in program called DVD2BLU. In short, you choose DVDs to trade in, you pay $8 or $10 a disc (plus $5 shipping if you order less than $25 worth), and you get Blu-Rays in return. (US only, allow 4-5 weeks to receive replacement.)

Now, this is a nice offer if you want to upgrade. But financially…

This selection was based solely on “movies I’d like to watch”, and the prices were shown on Amazon at the time I was writing this. The column labeled “Do Math” is the cost to buy the Blu-Ray outright minus the used DVD price (assuming you sold it to someone else).

So in some cases you’re better off just buying a replacement and selling off your DVD, especially if it’s a catalog title on discount. The $10 trade-ins are discs in more demand, apparently, or not as old. I was surprised to see how much some Blu-Ray prices have fallen! As always, do some research before you take the deal. If the numbers work out for you, it’s a nice gesture on the part of the studio. Plus, they get some used DVDs out of the market.

Via the Icarus Publishing blog (maybe NSFW) I found this story. Simon says:

Writer/editor/publisher Robin Bougie learns that Cinema Sewer, his comic/magazine hybrid about porn, cinema, and porn cinema, was recently torrented en masse. … The creator intended for his art and writing to be experienced with the smell of paper and the smudge of ink. Uploading scans not only infringed upon Bougie’s rights as a publisher, but the very act of moving print to digital usurped his creative control as an artist.

Yet when I followed the link to Bougie’s angry post, I saw this:

On the one hand, downloading rare out-of-print movies that no one can get otherwise seems to be a perfect use of the technology. And music downloading makes a whole hell of of sense. Bands make all of their money from touring so giving the music away and getting lots of new fans is brilliant marketing.

But what the f**k do I get out of someone else giving away everything I do? Nothing. It’s not “free advertising” for my next big tour or something.

That seems like a pretty big contradiction. The maker of that “rare out-of-print movie”, if they’re not currently working on a new film, similarly doesn’t get any “free advertising” benefit. So if you’re going to bitch and moan about people giving your stuff away — although the issues torrented include some that are out of print, just like the movies he mentions, and he has since had the torrent removed — maybe you shouldn’t say in the same post that you think it’s fine to do the same thing in other media.

Also, when someone suggests that maybe Bougie could put out some digital material to satisfy the apparent demand, he says he wants his work only in print. To many modern readers, that’s the equivalent of saying “I only want my music heard on record albums” — whether that’s what you want or not, customers are going to take your content where they want it, in a format that satisfies them.

Bougie later softens his stance to admit that if the torrent had only been out of print issues, he wouldn’t have had that much of a problem with it. Also, after some small-band musicians point out that they’re also being harmed by downloading, he apologizes for that comparison in his post.

Comic creator Alex Robinson also comments:

Eventually I told myself that as someone who has copied plenty of CDs from the library I couldn’t really take the moral high ground. I also realized that my book was several years old and a little on the expensive side so maybe there was something to the “free advertising” angle in this case. Still, it does seem an ominous sign of things to come.

In short, I think many people’s opinion on the subject boils down to this: Getting stuff I want for free? Cool. People getting something I’m involved in for free instead of paying me? Sucks.

That’s selfish human nature, but it would be nice if people thought through this a little more before getting outraged in public.

Update: (11/19/2009) This is one of those rare yet wonderful online discussions where people actually talk through things and come to better understanding of each other’s viewpoint, as can be seen in the comment thread at Bougie’s original post. Unfortunately, the torrent site admins aren’t nearly as mature. They’re now trying to encourage people to spread the download because they got mad at Bougie expressing his opinion.

And Jason Marcy is a really cool dude. You should check out his comic.

Yesterday morning, via their blog Journalista, Fantagraphics announced that The Comics Journal’s final print issue as a magazine, issue #300, would be put online in full for free. They were promoting their upcoming plans to expand the TCJ.com website with lots of free content, while in print they put out “bigger and more elaborate” versions only twice a year.

The Comics Journal #300
Buy this magazine

This announcement got widespread coverage, since it sounded like there were plenty of good, meaty articles to read. I saw it mentioned on many news sites (for example).

However, by the time I decided to check out the pieces — I waited because I knew I’d want to spend some time on the site — the announcement had changed.

Update: Well that didn’t take long. All apologies — we’re withdrawing the whole concept.

I’m afraid that on Gary Groth’s instructions the experiment in online marketing has been cancelled. Sorry.

Not only does that resemble a bait-and-switch scheme (”hey, that content we said was free? Psych! You’ve gotta pay to see it!”), although I’m sure that wasn’t the intent, now all those links on all those sites promoting the idea are broken. All users see is a message that says “Subscribers’ Area You are not authorized to view this resource. You need to login.” Visitors to the home page see this message: “(All apologies for the earlier “enthusiasm” on the website.)”

I’m guessing that various people who stood to make money from selling the issue, including retailers, complained. The lesson here is that you’ve got to be sure of what you’re doing before you make an announcement of that sort, since you risk turning a great promotional idea into a bad taste in customers’ mouths.

Update: (11/19/09) The latest Journalista explains:

We pulled TCJ #300 offline largely due to retailer concerns over not having been given adequate warning about said plans before ordering the issue. It was a fair point, and one that we hadn’t properly considered. The issue will again be made available online in late December, after retailers have been given time to sell the print edition.

Sounds like a great compromise and a good kickoff to their continuing online plans.