Forum - View topicJason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga: Ippongi Bang
|
Goto page 1, 2 Next Note: this is the discussion thread for this article |
| Author | Message | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
littlegreenwolf
 Posts: 4796 Location: Seattle, WA |
|
|||
|
Wow, I completely forgot Antarctic Press existed for a while there.
I want that Ippongi Bang manga for the cover alone. You really don't get much more awesome than that as far as self portraits go. Still, since it was a photo it had me going "please post a sample of the artwork, please~" while reading. You of course didn't fail me in that, and now I must go used bookstore site hunting for this book. |
||||
|
||||
SoloButterfly
 Posts: 239 Location: Masaki Residence |
|
|||
|
I really wish more artists and original creators would promote themselves like that. It seems even in Japan artists can be pretty reclusive. I understand part of it is for security, and that it can be very expensive to get a Japanese guest and hire a translator at cons, but all the same, I really respect and appreciate artists who get out there and spend time with their fans.
I agree that the self portrait is just, so wonderfully 80s. Her artwork looks really fun, I need to add something like that to my shelves. |
||||
|
||||
DuelLadyS
 Posts: 1705 Location: WA state |
|
|||
|
It's kind of ironic to me that there's a whole paragraph on Bang's willingness to attend US cons... my first run-in with her was a photo of her in Pikachu cosplay in the 'guests' section of the Sakura Con 2002 (I believe) booklet. Not that I met her- she didn't actually attend!
I have been idly curious about her based on that photo, though, so this was a very interesting read. I might have to track some of these old comics down... |
||||
|
||||
|
ptolemy18
Manga Reviewer/Creator/Taster
Posts: 357 Location: San Francisco |
|
|||
Yeah, by 2002 it had been a few years since Bang's work was published in the U.S., so I think her convention appearances were winding down at that time. (I didn't attend Sakuracon myself until 2010, though.) One thing that I didn't mention was that I'd consider Bang's work on the borderline between professional manga and dojinshi. (Some of it, I think, really was dojinshi, while other stuff was published in defunct anime/manga/sci-fi magazines like Comic Nora.) The thing that I like about Bang's work is that even though it may be total fan-stuff, with Black Jack and Ashita no Jo showing up, it's still original stories and not a direct fan/tribute book like you see with 90% of dojinshi (and 99% of dojinshi sold at American anime conventions). I give her props for that. |
||||
|
||||
|
doc-watson42
Encyclopedia Editor
 Posts: 1709 |
|
|||
|
Actually, there was a third manga company founded by an Antarctic Press refugee—Kris Overstreet's White Lightning Productions.
Second, a bit more on Ms. Bang—her Anime Convention Personality of the Week (12/30/98) page at the late, lamented A Fan's View. Lastly, there were at least two Studio Do-Do collections advertised in the back of AP manga—does anyone remember the titles, and were they ever actually released? Oh, and I found this while searching for information on the Do-Do collections:
|
||||
|
||||
v1cious
 Posts: 6229 Location: Houston, TX |
|
|||
HAHA oh man, I actually do. This was a very informative article. I'm glad we have something this detailed for manga now. |
||||
|
||||
enurtsol
 Posts: 14889 |
|
|||
|
Jeez, I remember Ippongi Bang way back on my first Otakon (1997?!) during the height of the Tamagotchi craze. She gave away some manga (I don't know where they are now). I didn't know anything about her.
|
||||
|
||||
Battle Cossack
 Posts: 87 Location: Bay Area, CA |
|
|||
|
Amazing article. I love learning about everything that I missed out on as a kid. Reading this reminds me of growing up in the 90's and the awe I used to feel stepping into a comic shop.
I like the point on which you closed:
I like the Apollo Smile namedrop, too. Her role as Ulala in Space Channel 5 remains an odd artifact from her career. |
||||
|
||||
|
enurtsol
Posts: 14889 |
|
|||
Y'know, I think Apollo Smile was with Ippongi Bang in Otakon 1997 too. I think they even performed on stage together. I don't quite remember, but I know I saw her somewhere live (not on TV). There's not that many places I would've seen her. |
||||
|
||||
|
Parsifal24
|
|
|||
|
another Good article I consistently look forward to the House of 1000 Manga articles helps broaden my horizons.
|
||||
gartholamundi
 Posts: 316 Location: Gainesville, FL |
|
|||
|
This was a very informative article. I'm glad we have something this detailed for manga now.[/quote]
Totally agree. Well done! |
||||
|
||||
Penguin_Factory
 Posts: 732 Location: Ireland |
|
|||
That sounds pretty generic to me. She must not have had much creativ-
This is clearly a woman to cherish. And yeah, Antarctic Press. I vaguely remember seeing some issues of Ninja High School on a shelf in the nearest Forbidden Planet and thinking it looked exceedingly dumb. I didn't even know they published anything else. |
||||
|
||||
|
Dudley
Posts: 29 |
|
|||
|
Oh, Ippongi Bang.
I've been asking myself quite a few times what she's up to these days. I like her style a lot. Like Jason wrote, this wild, energetic style of hers is very captivating and quite rare. Ippongi is really one of a kind, it's a shame she's not very active any more. And quite contrary, I find her US comic books really hard to find. But Antarctic Press comics were always somewhat hard to get, at least in Germany. They had a handful of other good titles, like "Stainless Steel Armadillo", the "Iczer-One" manga and the first "Vampire Miyu" manga (the one that was all short stories, not this convoluted series with the Western Shinma). But I remember AP best for their * They're so bad, that they are great! 
|
||||
|
||||
|
ptolemy18
Manga Reviewer/Creator/Taster
Posts: 357 Location: San Francisco |
|
|||
I don't think they were ever released... I didn't find any 100% proof of their existence while I was writing MtCG. But I missed a few other titles, so who knows? |
||||
|
||||
|
ptolemy18
Manga Reviewer/Creator/Taster
Posts: 357 Location: San Francisco |
|
|||
I managed to find most of my copies through Mile High Comics -- they still had a decent selection as of 2006. However, I also got a lot through Cold Cut Distribution, which isn't around anymore. Also, I have never ever been able to find a copy of the Ironcat comic "Bang's Sexplosion" (I mean, I'd be too embarrassed to ask, of course, but... -_- ) |
||||
|
||||
 |
All times are GMT - 5 Hours |
|
|
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group