For any one with kids (or if you never grew up) The Simpsons lego set add further fun to the Lego range. 

#simpsons #lego #bart

Bastien Vives, author of the Gaiman award-winning Chlorine, will be holding a reserved seat discussion in Tokyo on Saturday February 9th as part of the Japan Media Arts Festival. 
The talk will be in French and Japanese. Time and details below, link to reservation here.

Experimental Trial of Poetic Expression - Guest Speaker, Bastien Vives

Date - Sat, February 9 18:30-20:00
Venue -Tokyo Midtown, Tower 5F, Design Hub (International Design Liaison Center)

Speaker - Bastien VIVES (New Face Award, Le Go_t du Chlore（A Taste of Chlorine）), SUGAYA Mitsuru (Jury member, Manga Artist and Professor, Kyoto Seika University)

Moderator - SAITO Nobuhiko (Jury member, Editor and Manga Researcher)*Japanese-French simultaneous interpretation

We have started putting up noticable interviews that are on other sites.
Today we put up interview links to Adrian Tomine, Daniel Clowes, Matt Groening, and Shigeru Mizuki. We will post more as we find them !

#tomine #shigeru #Thesimpsons #clowes

#otomo #akira #manga

Check out the Daniel Clowes interview over on The Slush Factory...
To jump to the interview click >>>HERE<<<.

When it comes to precision in ink, Japan continually produces master craftsman.

Two of my favourites to emerge in the last couple of years are Ikeda Manabu, and Shohei.
Both are masters of pen and ink which is why I love their works so much.

Ikeda Manabu

Ikeda Manabu is a pen and ink master who deals with vast sprawling story scapes that excite the eye in such beautiful ways. His 'History of Rise and Fall' is a spectacular 3 panel piece that is immensely dense and rich in both pen work, ink, and story. 

(Copyright Ikeda Manabu)

In 2013 I went to Ikeda Manabu's main gallery, Mizuma Art Gallery in Ichigaya, to check out some his original works. Mizumi Art Gallery is quite well known for showing and breaking new artists to the West and getting them international recognition ( their most recent success being Aida Makoto). The gallery staff were very friendly and when I approached them concerning Ikeda's works they brought out from storage a number of his originals works for me to pour my eyes over. 

Mizumi Art Gallery doesn't have a current exhibition of Ikeda's works running but from the 29th January 2014 they will be showing a solo exhibition film from his famous stablemate, AIDA Makoto, so if your a fan of Aida Makoto then it's worth going to the show and also worth trying to check out some of Ikeda Manabu's works as well, while you are there.

Ikeda's work can be found on the Mizuma Art Gallery website >>>HERE<<<.

Mizuma Art Gallery - ICHIGAYA TAMACHI
2F Kagura Bldg., 3-13 Ichigayatamachi Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0843
+81-3-3268-2500 (telephone)
+81-3-3268-8844 (fax)

Map >>>HERE<<<

Mizuma Art Gallery will be showing a new exhibition (film) by Makoto Aida from 29th January 2014. Details >>>HERE<<<.

Shohei

The other artist I mention, Shohei, is a pen and ink master who deals in parody and satire at a man on the street level. I am a big fan of satire and I find his politically and socially charged pieces awesome. In the U.K we have a history of using satire in all its guises as a social tool against the injustices of personal, social and political privilege but in Japan the idea of questioning, or presenting an idea, that goes against those in authority and power is something relatively new. The idea of not questioning those in power is a heavily ingrained aspect of the Japanese psyche. In his more satirical works Shohei cuts at the underbelly of of Japan, presenting precise images that show us the darker side of the current status quo. 

(Image copyright - Shohei)

Shohei first started using ballpoint pens at school, doodling in his class exercise books.
This video shows Shohei using a ballpoint pen, his tool of choice...

Shohei currently has a joint exhibition ((河村康輔xSHOHEI) x dope) running at Tambourin Gallery, Shibuya, Tokyo.

The gallery is small but its well worth a visit if your in Shibuya and like Shohei's work.
I dropped by on the first day to take a look. Shohei was there and was quite happy to sign a couple of well priced prints that I bought.

The exhibition runs until Sunday 19th January. It's my understanding that Shohei will be at the gallery some of the time to sign prints.

Tambourin Gallery, Shibuya, Tokyo
〒150-0001
東京都渋谷区神宮前2-3-24
Tel:03-5770-2331
open 11:00-19:00（展示最終日18：00まで）　月曜休
Mail:tambourin-g@cosmos.ocn.ne.jp

Map >>>HERE<<<.

 JUMP TO Shohei's website >>>HERE<<<.

This month japanese magazine BRUTUS reboots its original magazine special on Katsuhiro Otomo. The magazine comes with an edition of 'Park' by Katsuhiro Otomo.
The magazine is on standard glossy magazine paper but the comic comes on what feels like Japanese 110kg matt paper and has been printed nicely.

The magazine has an in-depth bibliography, in depth articles on Akira, Short Peace, his ongoing relationship with Comme De Garcon, interviews with his peers and current players, an article on Otomo and his artist son Shoei, and other written articles.

On a Shoei note, he has an art exhibition currently running in Tokyo. Black Hook Press is going to pop along later in the week. If you are in Tokyo details of the show can be found  >>>HERE<<<.

This edition of Brutus is well worth buying if you like Otomo ephemera. The Brutus Magazine is 100 pages,magazine glossy paper. The accompanying comic is 24 pages, 110kg matt paper.
The book and accompaying comic are priced at  780 yen. 


Here is a link to the title on Amazon.

#akira #otomo #manga #brutus

Over on Mondotees they have put together a list of their favourite posters of 2013.
Below are a few Black Hook Press particularly likes. 

To see the full list, and artist details, jump >>>HERE<<<.

(All photos copyright- Mondotees)

On a recent visit to Village Vanguard for comics Black Hook Press noticed a new and particulary interesting lucky box/Gacha Gacha toy called, 'An & Min'.

Black Hook Press thought we had seen something a bit similar before. We had.  An & Min is the most recent lucky box/gacha gacha toy from plastic toy maker Kitan Club. 

The minature twins An & Min cash in on the japanese asthetic of small and beautiful that Kitan Club got so right with its best selling 'Fuchico on a cup' gacha range which has sold over 4,400,000 units as of November.

Now for a mere 300 yen you could come away from a Gacha machine or lucky box stand with one of the following An & Min ear plugs...

A little bit of fun for 300 yen!

Here are some of the original 'Fuchico on a Cup' toys...

(Photos - Kitan Club)

Black Hook Press has never written an article on gacha gacha so here is some information for those of you who are unfamiliar with them.

Gacha Gacha, or Gasha Gasha machines are machines that sell cheap toys. The toys are usually 200 or 300 yen each and come in a round ball container. Each machine contains toys based around a theme, cartoon, or character.

Here is a japanese schoolboy oggling lots of gacha machines, he's probably in one of the big electrical shops like Yobashi Camera., or Yamada Denki .

And here is a youtube clip showing some of the vast array of gacha toys available.

#kawaii #tokyo #gacha #otaku