Comics and Writing by R. Orion Martin @orionmartinwriting - Tumblr Blog

Paradise Systems is a new player in the comics publishing world specializing in independent comics from China and the US. Ahead of their book launch in Brooklyn this Thursday, we sat down with thei…

I email interviewed @orionmartinwriting of @paradisesystems ahead of their launch of two gorgeous Chinese comics at @desertislandcomics this Thursday.

orionmartinwriting

Very excited to be reblogging an interview I did with @jasonli of http://www.88-bar.com about Paradise Systems!

A collaboration with Shannon Finnegan about my dream of a psychedelic drug that would make boring work thrilling.

#collaboration #shannon finnegan

I have a new article about Chinese indie comic collective Special Comix up on the Middle Spaces. You can read it here.

#Special Comix #The Middle Spaces

Mini-Interview: Chinese Illustrator Fanqiao Wang

Fanqiao Wang is a Chinese illustrator best known for her series of illustrations and comics about a seal making its way through the world.

Find more images of Fanqiao Wang’s seals on her Tumblr.

Can you please describe your educational background? Which experience was most helpful to you?

I got a BA of graphic design in Nanjing Art University in 2011 and then I went to Fabrica (communication and research center of Benetton) for a one year internship. I spent two more years as full time illustrator at COLORS magazine.

I think my experience at Fabrica has been terribly helpful (if that counts as education background). I learned a lot about how to survive as an illustrator and how to live properly as a dignified human being.

A page from “Playful Heart.”

Did you feel that the work “Playful Heart” was successful?

I think it is successful, because it helped me getting through a hard time of my life. This story is based on my real heart. All the animals are based on my real friends including that heart breaker.

I printed only 4 copies and showed them to those people after dinner on a rainy night. They basically couldn't stop laughing (including that bad rabbit who broke my heart).

What kind of personality do you think your seals have?

My seals have a very simple personality. They are pure. They always maintain an innocent attitude towards the world.

What kind of differences did you notice working in China and abroad?

It’s all quiet different. When I was in Italy I was a full time illustrator and in China I am a free-lancer.

I get different kinds of inquires too. In Europe I got paid not bad as a magazine or book illustrator. In China it’s like impossible to survive only by doing those. So I get other kinds of illustration jobs for which I get paid more.

You can find more of Fanqiao Wang’s work on her Douban, Tumblr or portfolio.

#Fanqiao Wang #Chinese comics #Interview

This is a sample translation I did of the first 7 pages of Bu Er Miao’s fantastic comic, Electric Cat and Lightning Dog.

#Bu Er Miao #Chinese comics #Electric Cat and Lightning Dog

Mini-Interview: Chinese Cartoonist Li Kong (狸空)

Li Kong is a talented cartoonist who is currently studying in Japan. She works in a range of styles, from dense penciled comics to painting. Her work has been published by Chinese comics collective Special Comix (特别漫画).

R. Orion Martin: When you began reading comics, what was the first work you loved? What do you read now?

Li Kong: The first comic I loved was Yao Feila’s The Dreaming Girl, maybe because I thought it was similar to my own life. Recently I’ve been reading Daijiro Morohoshi’s Strange Tales. I don’t really like Daijiro’s drawings because they’re always extremely weird. Some parts of the stories are so strange that no one would say they’re good, but they’re still hard for me to forget.

ROM: Do you have any thoughts on the difference between reading comics on paper and reading them on computers or cellphones?

LK: Although cellphones are very convenient, they have a different status in Japan. There are few comics you can read on your cellphone, and they’re much worse than what you can read in print. Japan has hardly any apps like the ones in China where you can read comics for free. They all require you to pay. It’s not too expensive, those who always pay to read are readers who are seeking out fresh work. Japanese books are small, exquisite, and great for carrying. There are many second hand bookstores, and it’s cheap to print high quality, so the ratio of those on the subway who read cellphone comics to those who read paper is one to one.

ROM: Some of your comics lack a direct narrative, and are more like a series of connected moments. What differences does this have from traditional methods?

LK: I prefer a group of cartoonists who work more poetically, that seek out the connections between images rather than strongly express a narrative. Tateishi Tiger is a great example. I think it’s a kind of experiment that’s best suited to expressing abstract concepts through the images. In this kind of work, time and space become muddled. The creator provides a state and a concept, and what’s left (the internal activity) is handed over to the reader’s imagination.