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Jason Thompson's House of 1000 Manga: Ippongi Bang


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littlegreenwolf



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 4796
Location: Seattle, WA
PostPosted: Thu May 20, 2010 5:47 pm Reply with quote
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.
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SoloButterfly



Joined: 12 Jul 2005
Posts: 239
Location: Masaki Residence
PostPosted: Thu May 20, 2010 7:00 pm Reply with quote
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.
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DuelLadyS



Joined: 17 Mar 2006
Posts: 1705
Location: WA state
PostPosted: Thu May 20, 2010 7:34 pm Reply with quote
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...
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ptolemy18
Manga Reviewer/Creator/Taster


Joined: 07 May 2005
Posts: 357
Location: San Francisco
PostPosted: Thu May 20, 2010 7:59 pm Reply with quote
DuelLadyS wrote:
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!


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.
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doc-watson42
Encyclopedia Editor


Joined: 10 Feb 2003
Posts: 1708
PostPosted: Thu May 20, 2010 10:48 pm Reply with quote
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:

Quote:
COSPLEX VOL 1
From Studio Do-Do — the organization made famous by manga artist, musician, and cosplayer Bang Ippongi — comes the quarterly cosplay magazine, Cosplex! This exciting, new publication features tons of stunning, full-color photography and imagery showcasing cosplayers and costumers from Japan and North America. Japanese text.
(7819) (CAUT: 4)
SC, 8x12, 130pgs, FC SRP: $23.99
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v1cious



Joined: 31 Dec 2002
Posts: 6195
Location: Houston, TX
PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2010 1:53 am Reply with quote
Quote:
before Apollo Smile (anyone remember her?)


HAHA oh man, I actually do.

This was a very informative article. I'm glad we have something this detailed for manga now.
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enurtsol



Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14744
PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2010 3:00 am Reply with quote
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.
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Battle Cossack



Joined: 14 Oct 2009
Posts: 87
Location: Bay Area, CA
PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2010 3:07 am Reply with quote
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:
Quote:
One question is whether the internet...actually makes [cross-cultural interaction] more difficult... by drowning the reader in an ocean of unmoderated, unedited webcomics and web animations, making it harder for any one thing to stand out
I hope I'm not misappropriating your words, but, personally, the pluralism on the internet staggers me. That being said, have you come across Japanese webcomics that live up to the standards of their ink and paper forefathers?

I like the Apollo Smile namedrop, too. Her role as Ulala in Space Channel 5 remains an odd artifact from her career.
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enurtsol



Joined: 01 May 2007
Posts: 14744
PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2010 3:26 am Reply with quote
Battle Cossack wrote:

I like the Apollo Smile namedrop, too. Her role as Ulala in Space Channel 5 remains an odd artifact from her career.


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.
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Parsifal24





PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2010 7:15 am Reply with quote
another Good article I consistently look forward to the House of 1000 Manga articles helps broaden my horizons.
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gartholamundi



Joined: 18 Mar 2010
Posts: 316
Location: Gainesville, FL
PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2010 7:42 am Reply with quote
This was a very informative article. I'm glad we have something this detailed for manga now.[/quote]

Totally agree. Well done!
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Penguin_Factory



Joined: 28 Oct 2007
Posts: 732
Location: Ireland
PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2010 7:54 am Reply with quote
Quote:
the Grim Reaper falls in love with a fallen angel, boy and girl ninjas flirt at ninja school


That sounds pretty generic to me. She must not have had much creativ-

Quote:
a boy wakes up to find he has a tadpole-like tail and an aquatic elf girl swimming in his coffee cup


Confused

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.
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Dudley



Joined: 07 Jul 2008
Posts: 29
PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2010 11:11 am Reply with quote
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 terrible terrific* FX touch ups.
* They're so bad, that they are great! Razz
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ptolemy18
Manga Reviewer/Creator/Taster


Joined: 07 May 2005
Posts: 357
Location: San Francisco
PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2010 11:20 am Reply with quote
doc-watson42 wrote:
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?


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?
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ptolemy18
Manga Reviewer/Creator/Taster


Joined: 07 May 2005
Posts: 357
Location: San Francisco
PostPosted: Fri May 21, 2010 11:22 am Reply with quote
Dudley wrote:
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.


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... -_- )
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