Well…The Fables for Japan project that myself and a few others started back in June of 2011 has, at last, reached an end.
We set out to do a 3-part anthology, made up entirely of donated original stories and artwork, to raise money for charity. In other words…we couldn’t pay anyone and, in spite of this, I had to find as many talented people as I could who were willing to give of their time in the thin hope that we might actually raise a little cash to help some folk. Easy, right?
Honestly, I never thought it would happen.
But here we are, 87 contributors, 30 short illustrated stories, 16 comic book tales, 30 illustrated poems, 18 stand alone illustrations and paintings, 13 spot illustrations, and 3 covers later – almost 500 pages of content in all. It has been a monumental undertaking and I am honored and proud to have been part of it.
Of all the contributors, there have been a handful who have provided material for every volume. I’d like to call them out and thank them for their efforts. Matt Funk, Gareth Sleightholme, Patricia Morse-McNeely, Kristen Grace Hall, Mary Elizabeth Hall, and Rebecca Minor have all played a pivotal role in each book and this project would not have succeeded without them. I cannot fully express my gratitude to all of the contributors but especially to these 6 individuals.
All total, we raised $2,037.62 in sales for the International Medical Corps, who are working with partners in Japan to help treat and relocate the thousands of displaced and homeless. Considering that we were a solely independent collection of writers and artists, selling our product only in an e-book format through our site, with little marketing resources, that really isn’t bad. In fact, I’m quite proud that we have been able to raise that much money. And, to those who have bought the books, Thank you so much. Know that every dime of your money was used in Japan.
It’s midnight and my wife has “tapped out” – meaning that she is exhausted and it’s my turn. So, between changing diapers, feedings, and endless soothing, I’m trying to write this.
The newest addition to our family, Drake Harrison Minor, was born a little over 2 weeks ago. He was 8 lb 2 oz and 20 inches long. He was a c-section and both he and his mother are doing well, thankfully. In many ways, he could be the twin of his big brother, Phoenix – who, when he was born, weighed 8 lb 1 oz and was 20 inches long. They share other similarities, both lost a full pound of their birth weight before gaining it back, both were slightly tongue-tied and needed their frenulum cut, and their physical appearances are amazingly similar.
Phoenix and Drake on the day they were born. Can you tell which is which?
But that’s where the similarities end. Drake was born with bright red hair, closer to my own than Phoenix’s. He was also alert the moment he entered the world, wide-eyed and straining his forming neck muscles to explore this strange new planet, while Phoenix was more content to keep his eyes closed for the first week. In some ways, Drake is a better sleeper than his brother was, but oddly, he seems harder to get to sleep.
My wife and I are a little different as well. With Phoenix, everything was new to us. We tracked every stage of the pregnancy, we worried over every slight anomaly, and we were totally unprepared for the level of sleep deprivation that comes with a newborn. With Drake we are coping better with the lack of sleep, we only worry over most of the anomalies, and we were more relaxed with the pregnancy. Although we did have a very big scare early on when we did the CVS testing. CVS, or Chorionic Villus Sampling, is a procedure where, between the 11th or 12th week, the doctor can withdraw blood from the placenta to test for various birth defects such as Down syndrome. It’s a scary thing to watch. The doctor inserts a needle into the placenta, using Ultrasound to guide the way. On the Ultrasound, the needle looks like a giant sharpened tree just inches away from your baby. In this procedure, there is the small possibility that the needle could go too far and abort the pregnancy or that it could disrupt the fetus’s formation and result in fingers and toes not developing. It is very nerve-racking to watch. We chose to do this with both Phoenix and Drake because we are in our forties and the chances of birth defects are much higher for us. We wanted to know if there was a problem as early as possible. With Phoenix, when the tree-sized needle approached him, he started to wiggle around frantically – he knew something was wrong in his little world. With Drake, we couldn’t see him on the ultrasound (I have no idea how the doctor knew he was in the right place). Several days later, Rebecca had some heavy bleeding and passed a large amount of clear liquid. It had to be amniotic fluid. We were sure we had lost the baby – so where the doctors. Our hearts sank. We were rushed in for an emergency ultrasound. Everything looked fine but no one could explain the loss of the clear fluid. They did several more ultrasounds just to make sure everything was okay. Ultimately, Drake was born healthy and with all his fingers and toes.
When Phoenix was born, I was worried that I would be a horrible father. The first couple of month was a surreal blur. I did what needed to be done but it was hard to really accept that this was my child, I didn’t feel connected with him. Around the third month, I looked at Phoenix one day and stared to cry because I realized that I loved him more than I ever thought possible. It completely blindsided me. After 19 months of the fatherhood, I have to admit, I’m a hell of a lot better at it than I thought – far from perfect but not a total screw up either. In fact, I quite enjoy the job. So with Drake I was more confidant and relaxed. I could step back and enjoy the process and bond with him more quickly.
One of the main things that worried me about having a second child was just how close I’ve become with Phoenix. I didn’t want anything to mess that up and I didn’t want Phoenix to feel like he was put aside. I also didn’t want the new child to feel second best compared to his big brother. At the same time, one of our main reasons for having a second child was because we are in our forties, we are starting a family late in life and while that has many advantages, the downfall is that there is a real possibility we will not be here to see our children into their later life. We didn’t want Phoenix to be left alone in the world.
It is my hope that Drake and Phoenix will be more that just brothers, that they will be friends. I hope that they will always help one another and watch each other’s back. I pray that they will grow to be strong, intelligent, independent, and respectful men. Many people warned us, before Drake was born, that Phoenix was going to have a hard time adjusting and might even resent his little brother. This was something we worried a lot about as well. I know it has only been 2 weeks and I know these two will have their share of arguments and fights but so far, Phoenix has been amazing, tender, and loving with his little brother. The way he has been acting has only made me love him more. And Drake is triply blessed, not only with a mother and father that love him very much but also with a wonderful big brother. Drake is already turning into a remarkable kid and I can’t wait to see his personality develop and help him explore this world as we have with his brother.
I knew Joe. Not nearly as well as I would have liked but in my few meetings with him and through his life’s work and the school he founded, Joe forever changed my life. That’s not unique to me; Joe changed a lot of people’s lives.
I first met Joe when I traveled to New Jersey for my entrance interview at the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. It was Joe himself who reviewed my portfolio and conducted the interview. I was so scared sitting in his office waiting as he silently flipped through the pages. He took his time and was mostly silent. I had been working on my own comic book, writing and artwork, and that is what made up most of my portfolio. He paused to ask if I did the lettering as well. I hesitantly said yes – my lettering was (and is) awful. He simply grunted and moved on. He said little else until he had finished, then he looked up and said he was genuinely impressed. “Doing your own book from start to finish is a lot of work but its is very rewarding,” he said. In an industry where the division of labor is often broken up between many different people, doing something all yourself was and is very rare. Joe liked that I was interested in the whole process, not just one branch. He didn’t say much about the draftsmanship of my art – probably because it sucked – but I didn’t care, I had managed to impress Joe Kubert. I was over the moon. So much so that I don’t remember much else about the interview.
I was accepted into the school and started with the class of 1990. I met Joe several more time. We never had any long conversations, I was busy – the school works your ass off – and I was shy. It was hard for me to just start conversations with people, especially a figure as awe-inspiring as Joe Kubert. It’s still an awkward thing for me.
While I was at the Kubert School, an artist named Sergio Cariello, who was a year ahead of me, did a pencil caricature of Joe Kubert. It’s Joe’s head atop the body of his iconic character, Tor. Sergio Xeroxed the drawing and hung it on the bulletin board in the main hall of the school. I thought it was funny and a great caricature, so I snatched it down and made a copy, whipped out a piece of vellum and inked it in my best impersonation of Joe’s inking style.
There was one occasion when Joe took our class on a field trip to East Stroudsburg Pennsylvania to see the museum of his old friend, Frank Frazetta. After sending time at the museum with Frank and his wife, Muriel, Mr. Frazetta decided to take us all for pizza. The whole lot of us walked to a pizza dive down the road and I sat at a table with Joe Kubert and Frank Frazetta, shootin the shit about the old days and chompin down on some greasy pizza. (Well, they did most of the talking; I just listened and enjoyed the whole bizarre setting.)
I never pursued getting to know Joe better. He taught 3rd year story telling at the school and I guess I always assumed that would be my opportunity. Unfortunately, I quit the school near the end of my 2ndyear and never took Joe’s class. I say unfortunate but I quit to start working professionally – which was the point of the school and I would like to think Joe would see that as a legitimate reason to quit. However, I do regret missing his class and a few others, there was still much I could have gotten from the school.
My second published book with the cover by Joe Kubert and Klaus Janson.
Shortly after I quit the school, I got my first gig, inking a book called Terror Inc. for Marvel comics. I was surprised when the second issue I inked came out and Joe Kubert (inked by the amazing Klaus Janson) had provided the cover art for the book. I know it was probably just a coincidence but it made me feel good that Joe did the cover, like maybe it was okay that I left the school to started my career a little early.
Joe was one of the most amazing men and artists I’ve ever met. I was slow to appreciate his work when I first got into comics – I was a little too much of a snob when it came to appreciating many of the founders of the comic book medium. I preferred the contemporary artist. With age, and a little wisdom, I have come to appreciate more and more what people like Joe did. Joe’s work is something every aspiring artist should study. He was a true storyteller and if he had one fault, it was that his artwork told the story so completely that much of the text he would include seemed unnecessary. His work made the craft seem so easy, yet gripping, powerful, and compelling. In my opinion, Joe never really fit with the super hero genera; his work had a reality to it that didn’t jive with that world of muscle-bound oafs wearing tights. His work was too gritty and real and important. He was much more suited to the books he is best known for, such as Sgt. Rock or Tarzan and his later works, books like Fax from Sarajevo and Abraham Stone. But, beyond his incredible talent, it was his desire to pass on his knowledge and provide a place for artist who didn’t really fit into the mainstream art schools that made such a difference in so many lives. And that place was the Kubert School.
My high school years were a disaster, I was failing and my life was going nowhere. My mother had always been a straight “A” student and couldn’t understand why I was having so much trouble. I took several IQ test, on which I always scored remarkably high, but still I flunked out. My mother was at a loss. So was I. However, I began to understand the problem before she did. The truth was simply this: I did not fit in the standard High School world. I was a freak, an outcast, not only to the students but also to my teachers and our educational system does not know how to handle students that don’t fit.
By the 11th grade, I decided things had gotten so bad that I was wasting everyone’s time by staying in school. I planned to drop out but I knew my mother would never let me. It was about this time that I began seeing the ads, in the back of various comic books, for the Kubert School. Not only did Joe Kubert run the School but it also had nurtured some of the greatest talent in the industry (Stephen Bissette, John Totleben, Rich Veitch, Bart Sears, Matt Hollingsworth, Mark Pennington, Kim DeMulder, Karl Kesel, Tom Mandrake, Timothy Truman, and Andy and Adam Kubert to name just a few). Becoming a Comic Book artist had been a wild fantasy of mine for several years but I never saw a way to make it happen. Suddenly the doors were open and I had a path. I just needed to take the leap.
My mother did not like the idea of me dropping out of high school but she was impressed that I had a plan for the future. I would get my GED and attend the Kubert School and become a professional artist. My mother ultimately agreed and that’s just what I did. At the Kubert school I found a home. So many others like me were there, we had the same interest, many of us has similar backgrounds, most of us were the freaks and outcast that didn’t “fit” into the system in one way or another. It was hard work, the hardest work I’d ever done before I started working professionally and found out what hard work really is, but it was a delight and some of the best years of my life. It was the defining turning point for me and set the pace for the rest of my life. Not only did I find a career and a purpose but I also began to come out of my shell and eventually find independence. I would not be where I am today with out Joe Kubert and his school. And my story is just one of thousands, all thanks to Joe. That is one hell of a legacy. He was a remarkable man and I will truly miss him.
Thank you Joe, for everything you have done. I hope that your school lives on, continues to show young and lost artist a new path, and always honors your memory.
For Joe, my take on one of my favorite Joe drawings of Sgt. Rock.
To any aspiring artist out there looking for direction, check out the Kubert School – it is a truly unique place: http://www.kubertschool.edu
I haven’t been posting much to this blog for some time because I’ve been swamped with the Fables for Japan project. But, at last, the final e-book is finished. It is a beautiful book, well work checking out. There’s a ton of beautiful artwork and wonderful stories contribute by a group of extremely talented people. Thanks to all of them for working so hard to make this happen.
All 3 volumes are for sale now on the Fables for Japan website – go, buy them, download them, and enjoy them. You won’t regret it.
The 3-part anthology ends in spectacular style with 30 unique fables, comic stories, and poems, all beautifully illustrated and inspired by Japanese myth. Such as the tale of a slave boy who teaches his abusive master what forgiveness really is, the fable of three greedy brothers’ desperate search for treasure, a lonely Kami who sacrifices everything for love, the young thief who becomes a hero with the help of a talkative umbrella, and many more. From a dark tale of the perfect cup of tea to legends exploring the true nature of God, these stories have been lovingly crafted by 40 of the top writers and artists around the world, including the talents of Alan Grant, Andrew Robinson, Charles Whipple, Eduardo Francisco, Federico Dallocchio, Huseyin Ozkan, Jean-Jacques Dzialowski, Jeff Crosby, Ken Bastard, Yao Xiao, and many more.
Jean Giraud, Moebius, passed away today. He was, arguably, one of the most influential artist of our time and a personal inspiration of mine.
The first time I encountered Jean Giraud’s work was, unfortunately, in the movie “Heavy Metal.” I say unfortunate not because I didn’t like the movie – I love it – I was a young teenager, it was a simi-adult, kick-ass animated movie with nudity! Of course, I love it. But it was an unfortunate introduction to Moebius because it did not, could not, do his work justice. Shortly after that, Epic Comics began to release a series of collections, translating Moebius’s comic work. I bought the first book because it reminded me the Heavy Metal movie – I didn’t know who Moebius was then. The book blew me away. The art was like nothing I’d seen before. Every story seemed to have its own flavor and style but none of the styles were derivative of work I’d seen before. Every approach was something completely new. Now, of course, Jean Giraud had his inspirations the same as any artist and I have since come across works that I believe were influences for Moebius but, even with that understanding, he made his work entirely his own. More so than any artist I know, Moebius was willing to reinvent himself and do something completely different. Most of us find what style works for us and are too scared to change – what if people don’t like it, what if they don’t hire me! But Jean didn’t care…well, I don’t know if he cared or not, but he did let the fear stop him. I truly admire that.
After picking up that first book from Epic, I quickly began educating myself about this mysterious French artist. With each of the Epic collections I picked up I delved deeper into the alien, yet familiar, mind of Moebius. The artwork was jaw dropping but, in truth, I struggled with the stories – I tried to understand them. Some I did, some I did not. Neil Gaiman said of Moebius’s storytelling, “[the stories are] More like stream-of-consciousness art meets Ionesco absurdism.” This is very accurate, but as a teen, I didn’t understand and I didn’t get it. But it also didn’t matter. There was something about his storytelling – even if you never read a single word – that mesmerized you, made you feel like there was a great riddle held within the surreal trappings of the story and, if you could just break the code, it would change your very perception of the world around you. And in some ways that was true, because my perceptions of what a comic book could be, did change. My perception of what art is, what style is, changed. Moebius never let himself become too comfortable in his art. If he felt his work was becoming stagnant, he changed. At that time, I prided myself on being able to recognize an artist solely by their style, by how they drew a face or hands, or how they inked, etc. That’s all well and good but it is easy to get lost in style and think that’s all there is to art. Moebius blew that notion apart for me. Style was just a tool, no more than a brush or a pen. It was a means to an end, not then end itself. Moebius painted with style and technique in the same manner someone might push oil across a canvass. He used it to convey an emotion, a thought, a purpose in ways I had never considered. For some artist, myself included, experimenting with multiple styles can result in a big incongruent mess. The brilliance of Moebius is that there was always something unique and recognizable to him in whatever style he was employing – from realistic, to cartoony, to absurdly surreal. It all seemed to work together in ways that were just magical.
I went on to collect as much of Moebius’s work as I could find – which was sadly little in the States compared to his body of work. I started collecting the Heavy Metal magazine – which inspired the movie. It was a fantastic anthology, full of wonderful writers and artist but I soon found myself uninterested with the book if there was no Moebius story – so I started collecting the back issues to find more of his work. Later, I learned that Heavy Metal was the Americanized version of Metal Hurlant – of which Moebius was one of the creators – and I managed to get my hands on a couple of issues of that as well. I couldn’t read them, given they are in French and I didn’t pay attention in French class but there was a delight in having them nonetheless.
Over the years, I have tried to mimicked Mobius’s work from time to time. In fact, recently at a comic convention, someone requested a sketch with the theme of Air – that was it. The first thing that came to mind was Mobius’s Arzach character flying his odd lizard bird creature effortlessly through the air. So, this is the sketch I did:
Yeah, I know, it’s a far cry from Arzach, but what can I say.
I’ve explored many different styles and techniques in my art thanks to Moebius. Never with the elegance or brilliance Mr. Giraud brought to his work but it did keep things interesting for me – if no one else. I always wanted to meet Moebius, to thank him for the inspiration and to see what kind of person he was. Despite the fact that I seem to make an ass of myself whenever I meet someone who I really respect, I’m sad that I’ll never have the chance to make an ass of myself in front of him.
Rest in Pease and thank you, Jean Henri Gaston Giraud (Moebius) 8 May 1938 – 10 March 2012
I was interviewed by Bill Baker on the Morton Reportabout Fables for Japan. Check it out:
Comics: Jason Minor on the Fables for Japan Benefit Books
Illustration by Kristen
With all of the human tragedy, economic problems and political turmoil—not to mention failed celebrity marriages—dominating our attention these days, it’s been far too easy to forget that the Japanese people are still in the early stages of recovering from the terrible earthquake and subsequent tsunami that occurred earlier this year.
Still, when faced with that scale of destruction and those incomprehensible numbers of dead, an individual can end up feeling powerless to aid in any meaningful or significant manner. [more]…
I will be appearing at the Austin Comic Con on November 11, 12 and 13th.
I’ll be talking about Star Wars, The Old Republic, due to release this December 20th. So If you have questions stop by.
I’ll also be showing a sneak preview of ”Fables for Japan, Book 2” as well as some original artwork from Book 1. I’ll be taking orders for Book 1 and 2 so if you haven’t bought your copy yet, this would be a great time.
Of course I will also be selling some of my original Comic artwork as well as doing sketches and taking commissions.
So, I’ve neglected this blog for a while. I have a good excuse. Actually, I have three.
1. Fatherhood
My amazing son, Phoenix is eight months old now but he’s big enough to pass for a one year old. Being a father is the hardest and the best thing in my life. I know that’s a cliché but I lack the words to describe it better to those who are not parents. And for those who are parents, you know the cliché only scratches the surface. The fact that I’ve been able to accomplish anything in the last eight months is a testament to the kindness of my wife. She has allowed me to carve out a little personal time to work on the next reason I have not been posting.
2. Fables for Japan
“Fables for Japan” is a charity anthology to raise money for the victims of the March 11th earthquake in Japan. I originally volunteered to contribute a story for the book but I ultimately found myself heading up the whole thing. The scope of the project has ballooned far beyond my expectations. “Fables for Japan” is now a collection of three e-books with stories and artwork from such names as David Lloyd, Mark Badger, Nancy Collins, Stuart Moore, Frederico Dallocchio, Phillip Hester, Teddy Kristiansen, Tom Peyer, Ryan Kelly, Mark Wheatley, and Jeffery Vaughn, just to name just a few. In all, there are close to a hundred contributors from all around the world involved in one capacity or another. Managing all this has been a massive undertaking but I am very proud of it. In fact, I may be more proud of this project than anything else I’ve done in my career.
We completed Book 1 in early September and you can purchased it on the www.fables4japan.com website. It is 124 pages long and contains stories and artwork from 28 different contributors. It sells for $4.95 and it is well worth the price. As an added bonus, 100% of the project’s sales go to the Red Cross in care of Japan. So, if you haven’t bought a copy, please do. You won’t be sorry.
Book 2 is wrapping up now and it’s looking amazing. I think it will blow people away. We are releasing Book 2 around the end of November. You can follow the progress of the project and keep up with the release dates on our website: www.fables4japan.com, on our Facebook page, and on Twitter.
3. Star Wars: The Old Republic
My last (but certainly not least) reason for neglecting this blog is that the game I’ve been working on for the last five years, Star Wars The Old Republic, is finally nearing launch. They’ve announced our ship date as December 20th, 2011 and we have been working hard to finish up the content so the programmers and designers can finish their tasks. Last week we locked down the artwork. From here on out we will be fixing bugs and polishing to make the game looks as beautiful as possible for launch. The work being done on this game is groundbreaking on many different levels and I’m lucky to be apart of it. We are still under NDA so I can’t say much else but I will be posting more as we get closer to release.
Those are my excuses.
These three tasks have kept me so busy I hardly have time to sleep let alone focus on my own work these days. I will try to post more often but until “Fables for Japan” is wrapped up, sometime early next year, the updates might be sporadic at best.
With that said, I thought I’d show you a little of my story from Book 1 of “Fables for Japan.” What follows is a step by step look at how the pages came together and changed to meet the needs of the story. To read the complete version of “Boy in the Water”, and many others great stories, please buy a copy of Book 1 here: www.fables4japan.com
Step by Step: Boy in the Water
I decide to use a two page sequence from my story, “Boy in the Water”, to show how the storytelling process began and eventually evolved into the final product.
Below are the breakdowns for pages 3 and 4. These were roughly sketched out on the computer. Here, I was only concerned with general placement and how the text would fit into the art.
In the next step, I fleshed out the art and tweaked the composition some. I concerned myself with shadow, flow, and development of the characters. This was still done on the computer. Working digitally at this stage is great because you can easily move elements around on the page, scale them, flip them, or rotate them however you like until you’re happy.
I liked how page 3 was coming out but page 4 was problematic. Too much was going on – it felt crowded. Also the transition between page 3 and 4 was awkward. The boy is attacked by a smoke monster then, on the next page, a dragon is sitting there…visually it didn’t make sense. Also the transition from page 4 to 5 (not shown here) was also awkward for similar reasons. I was trying to keep the page count to 5 pages both for space in the book and scheduling reasons. So, despite these problems I decided to press on – relying on the text to fill in these gaps.
Next step was the penciling. At this point I transitioned from the computer to more traditional materials. I focused here on defining the characters more and polishing the sketches above.
The Inks were next. I wanted to mimic a Japanese brush style of art here, where there is more emphasis on shadow to define the image rather than line work. The brush strokes are kept simple and loose to define forms rather that small details. I don’t feel I was entirely successful in mimicking this style – it’s not as simple as it looks – but I’m happy with the results.
You can also see that I played around with the composition a little on page 4 – trying to make the scenes where the 9 dragons burst through the water more dramatic. I don’t know if it was successful but it relates to my general unhappiness with this page.
Next I added color. This was done in watercolor and kept fairly simple – again, trying to mimic a Japanese watercolor painting style. In the story, the boy is in a dream state – a grey wasteland. So the colors of the boy are kept very washed out and gray while the characters he encounters and the items they give him provide the color for the story. It’s all so symbolic.
The last step was to add in the text and set the pages on a parchment style background. Here I realized that I had made a critical mistake. The size of the font I used for the breakdowns was too small and not easily to read in the final digital format the book is published in. I needed to make the text larger. This made it impossible to fit everything on the already crowded page 4. It was the final straw. I broke down and decided to add two more pages – one to help the transition between page 3 and 4, and a second t help the transition between page 4 and 5. This also allowed me to spread out the sequence on page 4 so that it didn’t feel so cramped. It also let me add a little action to an otherwise subdued story.
And that how page 3 and 4 became 3, 4, 5, and 6:
That’s it. I hope you enjoyed this glimpse at how I stumbled my way to the final product. And please do check out “Fables for Japan” it a great project, full of great stories and art, all for a great cause.
Work on Fables for Japan is coming together wonderfully. We are hoping to have all the submissions for the first book in by July 12th and available for purchase by late August.
To start off, Fables for Japan will be available as a downloadable PDF and as an App on the iTunes store. More formats will be coming soon after. We want to get the book out there in as many possible venues as possible. Of course all proceeds will go towards the victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
We now have an official Fables for Japan Facebook page. It currently has over 750 followers and is growing by 20 to 50 a day on average. And that is with only minimal advertising. Please follow us there for regular updates, preview of the work in progress, and bios of the contributors. https://www.facebook.com/Fables4Japan
There are many plans in the works for this project’s release. Here are a few to look for soon, We are setting up a Fables for Japan Blog, we plan to do some press releases soon, and keep an eye out for us on Kickstarter.com for how you can donate towards the project. I will update this blog as these come to fruition.
For now, however, I thought I’d post a preview of my story for Fables for Japan, Boy in the Water. The finished version will be a mix of illustrated text and comic book style storytelling. I will post more previews as I finish up the story.
Boy in the Water By Jason Temujin Minor
The earth rumbled beneath the Boy’s feet. Kibou, his cat, leapt from his arms as the windows shattered and the ceiling buckled. Outside, great buildings swayed like willows in the wind. He called for his mother and father but there was no answer. He shouted for his sisters, his uncle, his grandmother but there was no reply. The Boy fell to the ground, held himself tight, and closed his eyes. He waited for it all to stop.
The Boy walked through the streets of his village. He had no memory of leaving his home or of how long he’d been walking. He saw people crying, buildings burning, and many other things he wished he had not. The Boy could do nothing so he continued on, hoping to find something or someone he knew. Suddenly, water rushed over his bare feet. The trickle swelled into a torrent that became a great wave towering above the wreckage, rushing toward him, devouring everything in its path. The Boy thought of running but there was nowhere to go so he spread his arms wide and waited. The wave slammed into him but he was not crushed under its weight or swept away in its current. Instead, the water flooded through the Boy, ripping away his fear, sadness, and despair, his love, happiness, and hope. The great wave washed away the land, leaving an open sea in its wake, and a fine gray mist fell. The Boy stood alone, waist deep and naked, a spec in the middle of a vast ocean. Was he dead? No, but he wasn’t there either, just an empty vessel set adrift. He walked on.
Water bogged him down deeper with each step yet, he continued to walk. After some time, he didn’t know how long, the Boy saw a figure floating through the mist. It drew closer and he could see a fox sitting on plank of wood. Cloth hung from its mouth.
“What an unusual thing, a fox floating out here.” The Boy said.
“No more unusual than a naked boy wading waist deep but going nowhere.” Fox said through his mouthful of cloth.
“You can speak?” The Boy was shocked.
“Only when spoken too.” Fox smirked.
I hope you enjoyed this preview of Boy in the Water. Be sure to buy Fables for Japan for the full story.
Here's a page from the story I'm doing, "Boy in the Water." It's a work in progress. I still have to add the color and text.
On March 11th, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck near the east coast of Honshu, Japan. The quake, one of the largest in recorded history, triggered a 23 foot high tsunami that devastated the coastline. Hundreds were killed, whole villages were wipe away by the massive wave. Several nuclear power plants were damaged, the worse being the Fukushima Daiichi plant which prompted a 30 km evacuation to protect against nuclear radiation leaks.
This trifecta of catastrophes has inspired many of us in the art community to do what we can to help. We are creating a charity anthology book to raise money for the survivors and I am looking for writers and artist willing to contribute their time to this very worthwhile cause. All profits will be donated to the Red Cross.
“Fables for Japan” is an anthology book of fiction, poems, sequential stories (comic books), and artwork. I am looking for original works relating in some way to theme of Japanese folklore, fairy tales, fables, and myths. How you incorporate this theme into your work is entirely up to you. The stories and artwork DO NOT have to be about the earthquake or flood. They don’t even have to be about Japan necessarily, as long at they link to the theme. There is NO contribution too small. All submission will be subject to approval by me so that we maintain a high level of quality.
Here is a list of ways you can contribute:
Full-page story illustrations
Stand alone illustrations
Prose, fictional stories (or non-fiction, for that matter, if you can tie it to the theme)
Sequential short stories (comic books)
Spot illustrations
Poems, Haikus
Digital art, 3D renders, etc.
Almost anything you want.
Donate money towards our expenses so that all profits can be turned over to the Red Cross.
I want a to create a mélange of different styles and genres of art so the more varied the submissions the better.
When will the book be available to purchace?
Fables for Japan will be released in 3 parts.
Book one will be available at the end of August.
Book two will be released in late October
Book three will be released in late December
How can I buy Fables for Japan?
The books will be available through this blog as well as our Facebook page. It will also be available through the iTunes store as an iPad app. Additional information will be posted soon.
How will the book be published?
I plan to publish the book digitally. This is the best way to insure we keep costs low and raise as much money as possible. It will be available as a PDF download and as an iPad App (possibly android too.) I am looking into setting up an ePub version for iBooks, Kindle, and Nook – more on that as it develops.
I am also exploring ways to raise money for a print version. I’d like to do a limited edition hard cover and then a soft cover print-on-demand book. I will post more on this as it develops but if you’d like to donate towards a print version, please contact me at jason.temujin.minor@gmail.com. I plan to make the book available in as many different forms as possible to reach as many people as possible.
What are the submission guidelines?
Submission Guidelines for writing:
Written submissions should be submitted as Word documents. 2000 words or less for fiction. Five pages or less for sequential stories (comic books).
I will be proof reading all submissions and I reserve the right to request changes if need be.
Submit writing before starting artwork to avoid possible rework.
All stories must connect to theme of Japanese Folklore in some fashion.
Submission Guidelines for Artwork:
The book will be published at 6.75×10.25. Artwork can be done larger (standard comic size 11×17 is fine) but it must fit these proportions.
Submit artwork at 300 dpi or higher and as uncompressed TIFF’s or BMP’s
I retain editorial rights and may request changes if necessary.
All artwork must connect to the theme of Japanese Folklore in some fashion.
Other important notes:
You will retain all rights to your work
I will be sending a “Permission to Publish” document, giving me permission to print your work. I cannot publish anything without this document signed and returned.
I will provide a digital proof of the book to all contributors for their review prior to release. I will do my best to accommodate any changes you request but I retain final decisions regarding editing, layout and printing.
What are the submission deadlines?
Many have already volunteered and many more would like to but their schedules make it very hard for them. So, I have decided to release the book in 3 parts, the initial release, and 2 follow-up expansions. Since the book is being published digitally, people can download these “expansions” for a reduced price after they’ve purchased the initial release. This keeps buyers interested in the project, allows us to raise more money for each expansion, and give us room to accommodate peoples paying work schedules.
Here is the schedule:
Initial Release: July 12th – all writing and artwork done – with a publication release of late August.
Expansion 1: September 12th deadline with a release of late October
Expansion 2: November 12th deadline with a release of late December
Once all 3 releases are done, I hope to collect them into a limited edition print run, assuming we can raise the money to cover printing cost and keep the profits for Red Cross.
How can I help if I’m not a writer or an artist?
First, you can buy all 3 books. Second, you can donate towards the printing cost, the various costs of creating a mobile app, and advertising cost. I will be posting more about how you can do that and the incentives we will be giving to those who donate, but for now, email me if you are interested, jason.temujin.minor@gmail.comand I will give you more information.
Last but not least, you can help us get the word out. The more people know about us the greater our sales and the more money we can donate. Please can follow us on Facebook and Twitter for regular updates and previews of the work in progress. I will also be updating this page with more info when it’s available.
Hello, my name is Jason Temujin Minor and I've worked for over 20 years as Comic Book artist, Game Developer, and Writer. This Journal is about my personal and professional projects, comic books, games, art, writing, and any notable events of my life. Feel free to comment. Constructive feedback is always welcome.
