Lars Martinson (Fukuoka-ken 2003-2006), author of the graphic novels Tonoharu: Part Two andTonoharu:  Part 1, has  just announced the “Kameoka Diaries“, Lars’ e-comic about his return to teaching English, this time in Kameoka, Kyoto, is now available on iTunes.

More info here and below:  http://larsmartinson.com/my-first-two-e-comics-now-available/

The Kameoka Diaries: Volume One [ Direct iBookstore Link ]
The Kameoka Diaries: Volume One is a humorous (?) account of my experiences living and working in Central Japan, told over eight chapters. It includes an exclusive chapter not available anywhere else!

JETwit Note:  I just downloaded a copy onto my iPhone. 250 pages for only $0.99, and I always love Lars’ work.  Plus, it’s my first time using iBook which it turns out is pretty nifty. :-)

From the JapanDayNYC.org website:

“Japan Day – Cherry Blossom Art Contest”

Contest Results

WINNER

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Japan’s gift of cherry trees to the New York City, Japan Day invited visual artists to submit artwork that featured the beautiful of both cherry trees and Central Park.

Thanks to all of your support, the art contest received total of 45 submissions. All Jurors will agree that, there were a number of impressive entries that made the selection process a challenge.  In fact, the Judges also awarded 5 honorable mentions, in addition to choosing a winner.

We are delighted that we can now reveal the winner of the Japan Day Cherry Blossom Art Contest — Aaron Porter and his art work!

【Japan Day 2012 Official Poster Visual using Mr. Porter’s Art Work】

From Aaron’s profile on the Japan Day NYC website:

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Thanks to Lindsay Tsuji for this write-up and thanks to Nadine Bukhman for the photos.

A chilly Toronto’s eve didn’t stop friends and fans of one artistically inclined JET alum from dropping by the Goodfellas Gallery in Toronto to celebrate the launch of his new book Life After the B.O.E. JETAA Toronto’s David Namisato (Aomori-ken CIR, 2002-04) was the cause of some serious hurrah on February 8.

Most JETs are no stranger to David’s comics. Started back in 2005, they chronicle the ins and outs of what life is like as a foreigner on the JET Programme. The enkais, the onsens, the team teaching…it’s all in there.

David Namisato is interviewed by Wai Wai Wide (OMNI).

What started as a small part of the JETAA Toronto Newsletter later became the more recent editions that continue to appear on JET websites as well as ESL teaching websites around the world.

Namisato kicked off the evening by offering a copy of his book to the Japan Foundation director Takashi Ishida and head librarian Mariko Liliefeldt. Life After the B.O.E. is due to be catalogued for the Japan Foundation library. James Heron from the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre has offered to carry copies of the book at the JCCC’s cultural gift shop.

A big thanks goes out to Hitoshi Murakami and the folks at the Goodfellas Gallery for helping out with the event.

Didn’t make it to the event? You can still buy a copy of the book! Click here for amazon or here for createspace.

To learn more about David Namisato, you can read this JETAA Toronto interview with him as well as this JQ Magazine book review of Life After the B.O.E. by JET alum Sharona Mosokowitz.

Click here to read the Kameoka Diaries #7.

http://larsmartinson.com/kameoka-diaries-7/

Click here to read the Kameoka Diaries #6.

http://larsmartinson.com/kameoka-diaries-6/

Click here to read the Kameoka Diaries #5.

http://larsmartinson.com/kameoka-diaries-5/

Lars Martinson (Fukuoka-ken 2003-2006), author of the graphic novels Tonoharu: Part Two andTonoharu:  Part 1, has just launched a new cartoon series called “Kameoka Diaries“ about his return to teaching English, this time in Kameoka, Kyoto.

Click hereto read the post and the first cartoon.

]]> http://jetwit.com/wordpress/2011/11/14/now-on-sale-life-after-the-b-o-e-the-book/feed/ 0 http://jetwit.com/wordpress/2011/11/10/teaser-for-life-after-the-b-o-e-the-book/ http://jetwit.com/wordpress/2011/11/10/teaser-for-life-after-the-b-o-e-the-book/#comments Thu, 10 Nov 2011 05:39:44 +0000 davidnamisato http://jetwit.com/wordpress/?p=22456 Life After the B.O.E. goes on sale next week.

Direct links to Amazon and CreateSpace, which are selling the books, will be posted at that time, but in the mean time, here are some teasers:

The proof peaking out of the box it came in.


Hey, that comic on the right looks familiar, but different from the one on the website!

That would be because a fair number of the comics were redrawn for the book.

And the book also contains brand new comics as well.

Stay tuned for the launch next week!

JET Alum Author Beat is a new feature by Ling Tran (Saga-ken, 2009-11) intended to keep readers informed of what various JET alum authors are up to.  Contact Ling at jetwit [at] jetwit.com if you’d like to see something included in upcoming posts. She is also interested in providing exposure for aspiring authors/writers among alumni and current JETs – excerpts and updates are all welcome. 

• Suzanne Kamata (Tokushima-ken, 1998-90), author of Losing Kei and fiction editor for Literary Mama, reflects on the recent loss of a dear friend through a post about her first sushi experience on Gaijin Mama (a personal blog). Check it out and give some JET support.

• Sam Baldwin Ono (Fukui-ken, 2004-06) hails from the UK and made a life altering decision when he decided to move to Fukui-ken through the JET Program. The quiet facade of inaka Japan gradually revealed its colorful nature, eventually leading Sam to share stories and insights in For Fukui’s Sake: Two years in rural Japan. Whether for reference (newbie JETs, holla!), nostaliga, or reflection – ESID aside – this book is available electronically. If you want to be notified of its hard copy release, click here. Visit the website For Fukui’s Sake  for details. (Fukui t-shirts are also available for purchase.)

• Author of The Order of Odd-Fish James Kennedy (Nara-ken, 2004-06) recently did a Q&A with JQ magazine as he will be curating the 90-Second Newbery Film Festival (Nov. 5 @New York Public Library | Nov. 16 @Harold Washington Library, Chicago). Read here.

• Robert Paul Weston’s (Nara-ken, 2002-04) Zorgamazoo will be honored at the Author Banquet of the California Library Association Conference for a California Young Reader Medal on Nov. 12. Details of the upcoming event are available on Weston’s blog. Congratulations!

• What is Japanamerica blogger Roland Kelts (Osaka-shi, 1998-99) reading these days?

• Cartoonist Lars Martinson (Fukuoka-ken, 2003-06) has been busily settling into his new home and  schedule in Kameoka, Kyoto. He managed to fit in a brief post after a short hiatus. Eager followers can see how he is doing here - more substantial updates to come!

After 5 years, Life After the B.O.E. has come to an end.

Thank you all for joining me on this fantastic journey.

Now, I’ll be concentrating on Life After the B.O.E. the book, which will contain all the comics, but with many of the earlier comics redrawn to match the current look of the comic, new comics, and other goodies.

I’ll be posting updates about the book on www.lifeaftertheboe.com and jetwit.com.

Life After the B.O.E. the book is planned for a Holidays release.

See you soon!

-David

Lars Martinson (Fukuoka-ken 2003-2006), author of the graphic novels Tonoharu: Part Two and Tonoharu:  Part 1, has put together a rather unique video that “explains” the Tonoharu series in a marvelously tongue-in-cheek way.  (BTW, does anyone know if there’s a Japanese term for “tongue-in-cheek”?)

Anyway, have a look at the video.  I think it’s fair to say that no one has captured the JET/living in Japan experience in as intricate a way as Lars has:

Hi everyone,

Sorry for posting the comic a bit late.

I want to let you all know that after a 5-year run, Life After the B.O.E. will be ending at the end of July.

The final comic will be posted on July 25th, 2011.

Hi everyone,

I want to let you all know that after a 5-year run, Life After the B.O.E. will be ending at the end of July.

The penultimate comic will be posted on June 16th, 2011.

The final comic will be posted on July 25th, 2011.

The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators presents

 Two Artists Two Expressions

Colored Pencil Workshop with Katsuya Takahashi and Daniel Schallau

Time:         Saturday, May 21, 2011, 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Place:         Tokyo Women’s Plaza, Audiovisual Room

                   5-53-67 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

                   (by the Children‘s Castle and United Nations University;

                   for a map see www.scbwi.jp/map.htm)

Fee:           SCBWI members 1,000 yen; nonmembers 1,500 yen

RSVP:        Please reserve by May 20 by sending an e-mail to info@scbwi.jp

This event will be in English and Japanese.

Please join us for an evening workshop led by two master colored pencil children’s book illustrators followed by Q&A.

Katsuya Takahashi will introduce and demonstrate the basic properties and techniques of colored pencils that give his illustrations a unique look and feel. In the second half of his workshop, everyone will have the chance to experiment with the techniques that Takahashi has shared. Please bring a set of twelve or more colored pencils, some paper and an eraser.

Daniel Schallau will focus on the techniques he uses to draw cool winter scenes. Have you ever wondered how to draw snow in night scenes? Just use white? Think again. Schallau’s secrets might surprise you. This part of the workshop will offer the opportunity, for those interested, to try out some of Schallau’s tips. Please bring a range of blue colored pencils and yellow, orange and red pencils. Paper and pencil sharpeners will be provided.

Katsuya Takahashi (http://homepage3.nifty.com/katz-t/) Born in Kyoto, colored pencil artist Katsuya Takahashi studied in the Faculty of Art at Kyoto Seika University. After graduation, he became a freelance illustrator, and his work has been widely recognized in newspapers, books, magazines, and commercials. “Hyper burnishing” is how he describes his colored pencil technique. The rich hues and luminous glow of his illustrations are the result of deep layers of colors. Now a resident of Tokyo, he has held exhibitions every year since 1998. Takahashi works both in Tokyo and the Kansai area and is the author/ illustrator of the picture book, Hora utaga kikoeruyo (Listen, I Hear a Song; Builder Buch).

Daniel Schallau (www.danielschallau.com) After working for various architecture firms in the U.S., Daniel Schallau traveled to Tokyo where he now works as an English teacher and an author/illustrator. People often find it difficult to believe his drawings are actually created with colored pencils, insisting instead that they must be done with a computer. His picture book Come Back Soon (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) was published in 2009. Schallau specializes in intricately drawn worlds inhabited by elephants, penguins, whales, bears, snowmen, rabbits and more.

www.scbwi.jp

JET alum and 'Tonoharu' creator Lars Martinson.

********

JET alum/cartoonist Lars Martinson (Fukuoka-ken 2003-2006), author of the graphic novels Tonoharu: Part Two and Tonoharu:  Part 1, is the focus (along with Adam Pasion, author of the Sundogs anthologies) of a thoughtful Japan Times article by Gianni Simone on comics about Japan “that tell it like it is.”

Here’s the link to the article:  http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20110205a1.html

And below are a few excerpts about Martinson from the article:

The comic life of expats in Japan

Americans Lars Martinson and Adam Pasion tell it like it is with cutting-edge manga

By GIANNI SIMONE Special to The Japan Times

Tales of expat life in Japan all too often get blown out of proportion and quickly become picaresque adventures that little resemble real life.

**********

Luckily for us, many comic artists who have lived here seem to be more level-headed and have tackled the subject with a more realistic, no-nonsense approach.

**********

As the title suggests, “Tonoharu: Part Two” is not Martinson’s first foray in the field of expat comics: He self-published the first volume of this four-part saga in 2008 thanks to a grant from the prestigious Xeric Foundation.

Martinson, 33, first arrived in Japan in 2003 to work as an assistant language teacher, and spent the next three years working at a junior high school in a small town in Fukuoka Prefecture. His second stint in this country was in 2008 when he studied East Asian calligraphy under the auspices of a two-year research scholarship from the Japanese government.

Travel had played a pivotal role in his life (he had lived in Thailand and Norway as well), so when he came up with the idea of producing a graphic novel, he decided to make foreign travel a central theme.

“I planned from the start to turn my Japanese experience into a comic,” Martinson says, “even though I didn’t want it to be a mere autobiographical story. So I chose a 20-something American like me as the protagonist, but added a fictional group of eccentric expatriates living in the same rural Japanese town.”

At times living in the middle of nowhere was a challenge. Still, Martinson has no regrets about those three years spent in Kyushu.

“I’m actually a city slicker,” confesses Martinson, “and would love to live in a huge city in Japan at some point. Also, I’m sure that expat communities are awesome, but they can also separate you from the native population. When you live out in the country, you don’t have the option to just hang out with other Westerners, and this can force you to get involved in the host culture in ways you probably wouldn’t otherwise.”

Click here to read the full article:  http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20110205a1.html

Click here to read more JetWit posts about Lars Martinson:

Click here for Lars Martinson’s official blog/website:  http://larsmartinson.com