Anne Ishii in Conversation with Ryan Holmberg - Gay Manga, Gengoroh Tagame & Translating Japanese
from their website:
Founded in 1994, Otakon is an annual convention held in the summer months to celebrate Asian pop culture (anime, manga, music, movies, video games, etc) and its fandom. The event runs from Friday to Sunday and is packed with a schedule that has tons to do.
In 2017, Otakon moved to our new home, the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in our nation’s capital of Washington, DC.
“For fans, by fans”, Otakon is run all by volunteers under the non-profit organization Otakorp, Inc.
Japanese Cyborgs and Cuban Revolutionaries:
On the Trail of Tobor the 8th Man
By A.P. Shepherd
Fish and Water follows the chance romance of two men in an unassuming friendship. Akira, a business sales administrator, and Koji, a freelance writer, quickly become close buddies even as social-distancing regulations bar most connections during the pandemic. One day, during a visit with a farm client, Akira is offered a case of freshly picked cabbage. Since no one at his office wants it and he is a disaster in the kitchen, Akira decides to see if Koji (who loves to cook) might be interested. Koji accepts and invites Akira to join him for dinner. Lonely in the midst of pandemic-related shutdowns, Akira welcomes the chance, and one meal becomes many. They become quite relaxed with each other, creating an amusing but emotionally perplexing scenario. Eventually, Akira and Koji grapple with deciding if they are just friends, or something more.Available in-store and on our website: https://stores.comichub.com/fantom_comics/products/fish-and-water
I just saw the show yesterday. Here's info from the Phillips Gallery on it. Relevant quotes are
In the 1960s, Mucha’s distinctive style found new life in the vibrant poster art of the counterculture movement—becoming a trademark of psychedelic rock posters and album covers, influencing iconic bands like the Grateful Dead and The Rolling Stones—as well as comic books, Japanese manga, and murals.
Mucha’s visual language also made a lasting impact on Japanese manga, where his stylized forms can be seen in the work of artists such as Hideko Mizuno, one of the first successful “shojo manga (girls’ comics)” artists in Japan, and others. Underscoring his enduring influence, the exhibition will pair classic Mucha works with contemporary examples they inspired, from the cover of a 1969 album for Diana Ross & The Supremes to Joe Quesada’s comic book illustrations.
Not mentioned therein is Mucha's work on designing Krokodil, a comics magazine in the late 19th century. Here's photos of that and the people that adapted his style.
Two prints by Barry Windsor-Smith
