I got this message in my guestbook from someone called “Genesis“, and I have no idea what it means!

His artwork is not bad, it’s not good either! But it’s not bad. I assume your just one of those guys from TransformersCon that was making fun of him that passed a couple of months ago. It’s not nice.

I am quite certain that I don’t understand! Not only is the English painfully awkward, but there is absolutely zero context for me to try and decipher just what this person is talking about! Whose artwork is not bad? What artwork is it? What guys from TransformersCon? Making fun of who? Arrrgh! It seems like I’m being chastised for something… but what? I can’t even make any assumptions as to what is on this person’s mind because I’ve barely been given anything to work with here. What’s the deal?

Now, I’m all for anyone who wants to talk to me or leave messages or whatever. That’s fine and I welcome it. But is it really too much to ask for people to at least attempt to make sense? Sometimes it seems like it is.

Sayonara.

There was an interesting post in my guestbook recently.It’s from “Timo“. Not really sure what point Timo is trying to make here.

Nice….. just a bit too Japanime to be decent Comic book man….
sorry

Well, it’s kind of like a compliment and then it moves on to become… I don’t know… pity? Like it’s too bad that my drawings look too much like anime, because they can never be made into a comic like that. That’s pretty foolish if you ask me.

First of all, there are lots of comics that look like anime. Naturally, most of those happen to originate in Japan. Yes, Japanese comic books, or manga, are still comic books. Comics are comics, no matter what they look like. Furthermore, there are plenty of other comics from around the world that look a lot like anime. Street Fighter immediately comes to mind. And wouldn’t you know it, UDON, the studio that makes the Street Fighter comics, is situated right here in Toronto, where I live. So there is absolutely nothing stopping anime style artwork, or any other kind of art for that matter, from becoming a comic. All that needs to be established is that there is a market for it.

Which leads me to my next point. If we’re going to make this into a comparison between Anime and Comic books (which is stupid, but humor me), then let’s look at the facts. Comic Book stores nowadays have a hard time staying afloat in today’s marketplace, meanwhile Japanese comics published in English are kicking ass at retail outlets all over North America. So, with that in mind, if something looks like Japanese comics, isn’t that a good thing? Doesn’t that give it a better chance of finding success?

Furthermore, the way a comic is drawn is not everything that determines whether or not it’s “decent“. The only thing that can do that is, quite simply, if it’s decent or not! If people like and it’s done with quality arewhat matter the most. If it looks like “Japanime” has little to do with that, and in many cases, might actually help to get people’s attention.

And finally, the word “Japanime” is pretty much an anachronism, and can be considered offensive. The word is “anime“. That’s all anyone needs to say when they are talking about Japanese animation.

Anyway, I know Timo was just trying to help, such as it is, and I don’t take issue with anything said. Some things just need to be clarified. One way or another, my artwork is going to be put out there some day, and while I don’t expect everyone to like it, the fact that it looks like anime isn’t going to have any bearing on its quality at all.

Sayonara.