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

JET alum and 'Tonoharu' creator Lars Martinson.

Check out this great radio interview with JET alum/cartoonist Lars Martinson (Fukuoka-ken 2003-2006), creator of the four-part graphic novel Tonoharu. Lars talked with radio station KFAI out Minnesota in December. Hear him talk about the creation of his book, which tells the tale of an ALT wrestling with the challenges of living in rural Japan (sound familiar, anyone?). Lars lived in rural Fukuoka for three years and spent several years post-JET crafting the novel based on his experiences.

For those who are interested, Tonoharu Part I and Part II (which just hit book shelves in November) can be found here:

http://larsmartinson.com

Also be sure to check out JetWit’s recent interview with Lars Martinson.

JET alum and ‘Tonoharu’ creator Lars Martinson. (Illustration by Lars Martinson)

By JQ magazine’s Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his NY Japanese Culture page here to subscribe for free alerts on newly published stories. 

Minnesota-based cartoonist Lars Martinson went to Japan in 2003 to teach English on the JET Program, an exchange initiative sponsored by the Japanese government. During his three-year stay in rural Fukuoka, he was inspired to break ground on an ambitiously stylized four-part graphic novel named Tonoharu (Pliant Press) based on the trials and tribulations of living in Japan. Part Two was released in November, and I caught up with the artist to discuss the series so far and Japanese life through an expat’s eyes.

How would you describe the differences in Tonoharu: Part Two compared to the previous book? Did you do anything different in terms of storytelling or approach?

With each volume I’ve tried to explore different facets of living abroad. The first book focuses on the sense of loneliness and isolation that occurs after the “honeymoon period” of cultural acclimation ends. The second book deals with the relationships that develop, both with members of the native population and with other expats.

My approach to storytelling has gotten more deliberate as I’ve gone along. For Tonoharu: Part One, I started by writing “Page 1, Scene 1” at the top of a piece of paper and launching into a detailed script before I had a clear sense of what direction I wanted the story to go in. Diving straight into minutiae like that is like working on the interior design of a house that hasn’t been built yet; you should know how big the windows are before you pick out the curtains. So for Part Two—and now Part Three—I’ve given much more thought to the structure of the story, and made sure I was happy with the big picture before I got too wrapped up in details and nuance.

Tell us about your experiences on the JET Program. What made you choose to apply, and what was your overall take on the three years that you were there for?

When I was 16, I lived with a host family in Nagoya for a summer vacation exchange. The experience inspired a lifelong interest in international travel. I’d go on to live in Thailand and Norway for a year apiece as an exchange student, and visit a dozen or so other countries as a tourist. After I graduated from college, I wanted to try working abroad, and also wanted to return to Japan. A friend of mine introduced me to the JET Program, and I knew immediately that it was right for me. And sure enough, my three years in the JET Program were among the best I’ve ever had.

All JET participants hit high and low points while in Japan. What were some of yours?

My elementary school classes were among the most satisfying experiences. I planned all the lessons pretty much single-handedly, so once I got the hang of it, it was gratifying to see how excited the kids were about learning English, and how much they retained.

One of the more frustrating aspects of the experience, at least in the beginning, was the language barrier. It’s hard to form meaningful friendships when you can’t—y’know—talk to people. So it was always sad when I wanted to befriend someone and they clearly wanted to befriend me, but the logistics of not being able to communicate effectively got in the way.

Last summer, it was announced that the JET Program is facing sweeping budget cuts that may endanger its future. What’s your take on the value of the program in today in Japan and in the participants’ home countries?

I suppose with the economy being what it is, some cuts are probably inevitable. But I really hope they don’t gut the JET Program. My life has been enhanced beyond measure by having the opportunity to interact with foreign cultures, and I hope Japanese students will continue to be given the same opportunity. It’s hard to quantify the benefits of the JET Program, but that doesn’t really make them any less real or important.

What kind of feedback on the books have your received from JETs and those associated with the Japanese community?

I’ve tried to make the book accessible to readers regardless of their background, but it goes without saying that those who are familiar with Japan or the JET Program are able to appreciate it on a different level. JETs tend to pick up on all these little details in the books that other readers breeze pass without notice. I remember a JET alum commenting on a scene in Part One where the main character wears a fancy suit to his first day on the job, but since it’s summer vacation everyone else in the teacher’s room is wearing ratty gym clothes. It’s little things like that that you’d only consciously notice if you’d been in that situation yourself.

Click here for the rest of the interview.

Here’s the link to the article:  http://heromagazine.org/?p=189

“Tonoharu Part Two: Excellent graphic novel about an English teacher in Japan”:  http://www.boingboing.net/2010/11/10/tonoharu-part-two-ex.html

(Editor’s note:  I have a copy of Tonoharu:  Part 1, and every time I show it to a fellow JET alum and they start reading it, they end up reading the whole thing (which takes about 15 minutes).  It’s really terrific and very unique.)