After Kia
Asamiya's success with Silent Moebius, Dark Angel and Steam Detectives,
the manga artist decided to take a chance in the American comics world.
A fan of artists such as Alex Ross, Asamiya arranged to draw a Batman story
for DC Comics and an Uncanny X-Men series for Marvel. "It's true that they
are characters with long and established histories," Asamiya told a Saturday
audience. "When I'm drawing them it's a learning process, especially when
I started Batman. I had a very difficult time especially when it was Batman
where DC has some very tight and strict controls. Often I would fight with
the editor about what I wanted to do in the comic. DC has set guidelines
on what you can and can't do with their characters. I don't want you to
think I didn't like my editor - we would fight over content and afterward
we would go out and be friends. Working with Marvel is different. They
would be very free with the characters and let me have my input."
Asamiya
cleared up any doubts about the impact of Internet message boards on comics
and manga artists. He read the Marvel bulletin board messages on his reworked
X-Men designs, "...and I was shocked at some of the sometimes negative
reactions. I said `I can't do that, they hate me.' The editors reassured
me that it was common on the message boards. I'm used to my work being
slammed on the Japanese messge boards, but that was the first time I've
seen that in English. It was an eye opening experience, so I'm not going
to look at message boards any more. That is a sticky situation, because
you do have to take the fans into consideration." Earlier in the discussion
about his X-Men work, Asamiya had said "I'm afraid that if fans don't like
them, that's going to be it for my career."
The draw
of the American comics market led Asamiya to try a move to New York, but
that lasted only a few weeks. "I did not adjust very well because the weather
in New York was too hard for me - one day it'll be super hot and the next
day its very cold." Asamiya also discovered that the world's greatest city
is the world's worst place to drive, and he insisted on spending time behind
the wheel. "So now i'm thinking about relocating to the West Coast. If
any of you have relatives who are real estate agents, point them in my
direction - I'm not joking. Asamiya would like to move to the U.S. in the
next three years. He feels he could work for both American and Japanese
publishers, thanks to high-speed internet access. Scanning and uploading
art is easier than shipping the material overseas, he said. But Asamiya
admitted he's going to have to work on his English before he's ready to
make the move.
After Kia
Asamiya's success with Silent Moebius, Dark Angel and Steam Detectives,
the manga artist decided to take a chance in the American comics world.
A fan of artists such as Alex Ross, Asamiya arranged to draw a Batman story
for DC Comics and an Uncanny X-Men series for Marvel. "It's true that they
are characters with long and established histories," Asamiya told a Saturday
audience. "When I'm drawing them it's a learning process, especially when
I started Batman. I had a very difficult time especially when it was Batman
where DC has some very tight and strict controls. Often I would fight with
the editor about what I wanted to do in the comic. DC has set guidelines
on what you can and can't do with their characters. I don't want you to
think I didn't like my editor - we would fight over content and afterward
we would go out and be friends. Working with Marvel is different. They
would be very free with the characters and let me have my input."
Asamiya
cleared up any doubts about the impact of Internet message boards on comics
and manga artists. He read the Marvel bulletin board messages on his reworked
X-Men designs, "...and I was shocked at some of the sometimes negative
reactions. I said `I can't do that, they hate me.' The editors reassured
me that it was common on the message boards. I'm used to my work being
slammed on the Japanese messge boards, but that was the first time I've
seen that in English. It was an eye opening experience, so I'm not going
to look at message boards any more. That is a sticky situation, because
you do have to take the fans into consideration." Earlier in the discussion
about his X-Men work, Asamiya had said "I'm afraid that if fans don't like
them, that's going to be it for my career."
The draw
of the American comics market led Asamiya to try a move to New York, but
that lasted only a few weeks. "I did not adjust very well because the weather
in New York was too hard for me - one day it'll be super hot and the next
day its very cold." Asamiya also discovered that the world's greatest city
is the world's worst place to drive, and he insisted on spending time behind
the wheel. "So now i'm thinking about relocating to the West Coast. If
any of you have relatives who are real estate agents, point them in my
direction - I'm not joking. Asamiya would like to move to the U.S. in the
next three years. He feels he could work for both American and Japanese
publishers, thanks to high-speed internet access. Scanning and uploading
art is easier than shipping the material overseas, he said. But Asamiya
admitted he's going to have to work on his English before he's ready to
make the move.
