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Re: Finally here it is...
Posted By: MACK! In Response To: Finally here it
is... (french tbolt) I love those people at Comic Box!
Anh and I had such a great time in France this year. Even though it was short
notice, we got to stay longer this year than the last couple of visits to
France. I met so many wonderful people.
The French readers, the entire comicbox crew, and so many amazing artists,
and more.
Thanks T-bolt. IT is cool to see that interview here. Although I think there
may be a couple translateion bugs in some specific words.
Here's a secret decoder ring: The term "real time" is used twice and I think
I said "realized". Now it will be a little more clear when you read it. DM
: ...here is the ComicBox interview with Mr Mack... : Thanks to zemo and to Xavier Fournier for their : So: 1) Your two main « creator owned » projects (Kabuki : In collage I was competing in Japanes style of : 2) Your paintings are actually pieces of art that : I certainly am. I try to learn from everything that I : 3) Did you ever try to expose/sell your stuff in the : I use to do that more when I was in college. There : 4) Comic Books often reflect a mostly negative image : I think most of them are silly.
: 5) The «Noh» in your Kabuki is supposed to be some : Not Japan specifically. The stories in Kabuki are set : 6) Most «american made» japanese characters, like : One of the things that I enjoyed doing in Kabuki is to : 7) During your time in France, you showed us a great : I have read many books on the subjects. Probably : : Well, Kabuki takes place in Japan, so pretty much : As far as Echo in Daredevil, I wanted her father to be : 9)… Or don’t you think that your use of women who : I suppose there may be somesthing to that as well. I : 10) What is the worst japanese cliche that you ever : It’s just the same old stock stéréotypes over and : 11) With the illustration that you recently did for : I enjoy writing. And I enjoy telling a story visually. : respectfully
Date: SAT, 5/5/01, 3:03
p.m.
: enjoy!
: cooperation...;)
: and Scarab)
are infused with japanese culture. How did
: you find yourself involved with
this specific culture.
: Why this one and not another one ?
: Karate. I then met a
friend (Takashi Hattori) in my
: painting and dring classes who happend to
be a
: teaching instructor in a similar style of Karate, So
: we started
practicing together. Eventually I met the
: rest of his family and the rest
of the Japanese
: sub-culture at the school. Since a lot of my friends
:
were Japanese, I decided to learn the language. So I
: then took the
Japanese Language courses for the rest
: of my university years. This also
lead to more
: immersion in the history and culture and several trips
:
to Japan. As my brother was also friends with my
: Japanese friends, he
married a girl that was gong to
: my school and he went to shcool in Japan,
so I now
: have an extended Japanese family. He eventually began
:
teaching Japanese classes when he came back to the
: states. I guess it just
started because of the friends
: I met in collage.
: could be seen as
comics pages (or covers) but wouldn’t
: be out of place in a art exhibition.
Are you
: influenced by classic painters, both americans,
: japaneses or
europeans ?
: observe and
experience.
: market of art
exhibitions ?
: isn’t really a
need for me to do that right now. I
: still show my work in some art
exhibitions, but my
: focus is on putting it in books. I can reach a much
: larger audience that way.
: of Japan, with
Yakusas and cyber-samurais everywhere.
: What do you think of the stories
using Japan or
: Japaneses that can be found in the american market ?
: kind of balance
between organized crime and a
: legitimate (but sometimes corrupt)
commercial system.
: Do you see Japan like a land divided between those two
: extremes ?
: in Japan and
the cultural and historical détails are
: spécifique to Japan, but most of
the truths in those
: stories are universel and I think reflect situations,
: metaphors, divisions, extrêmes and balances that
: people can relate
to around the world.
: Kabuki are visually
linked to the traditional aspects
: of Japan, with references to the
japanese antic era.
: At the same time, japanese mangas and video game are
: increasing their use of asiatic men and women with
: modern attires,
punk colors in the hairs, who’re
: fighting while listening to some techno
rave music…
: Why do you think that american creators are less
:
interested with this more modern aspect of the
: japaneses ?
: put the
traditional and the modern together. In Circle
: of Blood and the Scarab
story, there is a very urban
: feel that reflets a lot of the philosophies
and
: sub-cultures of the youth culture in present day
: Japan. That is
somesthing that I’m fascinated with,
: and it reflets in the story. Japan is
a country that
: is rooted in tradition, but the new génération in this
: modern global world has a very different point of
: view.
: knowledge of
Oriental philosophy. Do you read
: particular books or are you following
particular
: oriental rules/disciplines ?
: hundreds. I’m
fascinated with the a range of
: philosophies and disciplines.I’m fascinated
with Zen
: and Toaism. I’m someone that has a passion for
: creating
things and for integrating things. So my
: whole Outlook on life if through
a lense of creation
: and integration. When i was leasrning Karate, there
: came a point in which I realized that the basic
: principles of
learning one art or discipline is the
: same for learning all other arts and
disciplines. And
: that you need to learn it in a way that it is useful
: at all times and in all things. So this is how I
: approach everything
and it wasn’t that I learned it so
: much in books, as from the in action
and experience in
: martial arts. And then I real time that martial arts
: and all the other arts that i did were actually the
: same thing. Then
I real time that my goal was always
: to unify art and action and make them
: indistinguishable. Then after learning more about
: Zen, I was able to
understand these ideas in an even
: broader range.
Kabuki and Scarab are both women from a
: non-american
culture. And in your recent Daredevil run
: as a writer, the main woman,
Echo, has an amerindian
: lineage. Do you have something particular against
«
: white american » womans J ?
: everyone is
Japanese. The main racism that is
: displayed in Kabuki, is based on fallout
effects of
: the racism involved in the Comfort Women situation. In
:
hich Japan subjugation women from neighboring Asian
: countries. And the
fact that Kabuki does not quite fit
: in because her mother was Ainu. So she
is not full
: Japanese in a society that looks down on anything less
:
than that. Because the race issue in Kabuki is not
: polarized by black and
white, I find that this is an
: efective way for us to view the situation
from a
: different point of view and see the absurdities with
: out
being blinded by the trappings the kinds of racism
: that we are used to in
the west. If we see the
: ridiculousness in this situation, it can help us
to
: further see the absurdities in our own situation.
: somewhat of an
outsider. So the Kingpin could relate
: to him more. He is more of a loner
if he could not fit
: into one of the more traditional ethnic groups in New
: Yourk City. So I figured looping very Amerindian in
: NYC would make
him not fit in his little world so
: much. He and Fisk team up as they are
both outkasts in
: apparence and personality. I imagined that Echoes
:
mother was Peurto Rican. Hence the name, Lopez.
: aren’t from the
«white american majority», wich issued
: both the male heroes (like
Daredevil) and the majority
: or the (male) readership, is some kind of
: reimforcement of how both sexes, from any country or
: origin, are a
cultural mystery for each other ?
: did want Echo
and DD to be very different from one
: another. To be a mystery that the
other wants to
: explore.
: seen in an
american comic book ?
: over.
: Daredevil, Swamp
Thing and the already «famous» secret
: Marvel project where you will also
do the covers,
: you’re setting up some kind of parallel career as a
:
cover artist. Is that something deliberate for you ?
: But I also
really enjoy focussing on one single image
: painting. I like to do all of
these things and after I
: do one of them for a bit I need to do something
in a
: different format for a change. So far I can do all of
: this in
the realm of comics !
: french tbolt
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