Partying like Professionals
by Lyn Jensen
Becoming a full-time manga artist is like being an indie rock band that gets signed to a major label—and where it often happens is at the “con.†Amid the craziness of a comic convention, some careers get launched; others collide with a brick wall.
For a Japanese view of partying at the con, catch up with Comic Party by Sekihiko Inui. Over five volumes, a cast of young artists sell their doujinshi at Japan’s biggest comic convention, while coping with martial-arts girlfriends, print-shop disasters, and the occasional mad bomber. In the concluding volume, recently published by TokyoPop, the young hero, Kazuki, competes with his haughtiest rival to see who’ll be the first to land a big time publishing contract.
Manga artists (the word “cartoonist†is discouraged in the manga scene) often start by selling zines at a con. “Doujinshi†is Japanese for “same people zine,†meaning the “same people†create and publish it. Some are parodies that often have sexual content, while others are original work (those often have sexual content, too). Because of the effort and expense involved, high-quality doujinshi are often made by a circle of artists. CLAMP—the all-female artists’ collective behind such international hits as Chobits and Legal Drug—began as a doujinshi circle. Even established artists often remain active in a doujinshi circle. Inui has his circle, Mix-ism, along with his professionally published work such as Comic Party.
Derived from a videogame and anime series, and with generous doses of broad humor, Comic Party was originally intended for a shonen (young male) audience. However, the key supporting characters are almost all female, including the editor who suggests the final contest. The ladies may be busty enough for young males, but they’ve got personality enough to appeal to young women, too. The series is rated for ages 13-and-up and, like the appeal of a “comic party†itself, that covers a very wide age range.
As Kazuki and his girlfriend leave the last con he’ll attend as an amateur in search of a lucky break, they pass a guy telling his friend how this was his first comic party, and now that he’s seen what it’s like, he’s going to be a doujinshi artist. It’s just another one of “many stories at a doujinshi convention,†as the conclusion of the series says. Let the inspiration continue.