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With Ippongi Bang in her famed Lum costume and Mio Odagi in a demure
kimono, Studio Do-Do made an A-Kon panel appearance to talk about their
upcoming projects. Bang has a new manga series, Virtual Bang, which
promises to mix science fiction, fantasy and the martial arts. Her CD-ROM
of cosplay pictures and comics produced by Gainax in Japan will be available
in an English-language version later this year. |
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Getting the Do-Do product out on time means a lot of hard work by her
stable of artists. "Rule #1 is to never sleep," she said. "If there's no
deadline, manga artists will never complete their work." In her overseas
travels, Bang has gone to Bolivia to help the poor; she was saddened by
the news of the earthquake that killed dozens of people. That quake, fortunately,
did not affect the Bolivians that Bang had worked with. |
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Odagi received a surprise from a fan at A-Kon; a copy of a Mikimoto
manga on which she had worked as an assistant earlier in her career. Mio
intently flipped through the pages, looking for the drawings she had helped
create years ago. |
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During an autograph session in the A-Kon dealer room, we had a chance
to watch the artists at work. Odagi worked as if from instinct, forming
the shape of her portrait... |
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...which was finished in around a minute; the kind of cute female that
Odagi has drawn for years. |
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It seemed natural for someone in a Lum costume to draw her version
of that character, so Bang took the pen and started on her sketch. As Odagi
had done, Ippongi began with the chin and eyes... |
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...and she rest of Lum's head emerged a few seconds later, drawn in
the rounded style of Bang's female figures. |
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The shoulders and bustline finished the drawing, along with a quick
signature from Bang. |
