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Kia Asamiya on Recent Tragedies
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C.B. Cebulski passes along a message from Kia Asamiya about the recent tragedies.
From C.B. Cebulski :
Below, please find an English translation of a message that Kia Asamiya posted in Japanese on his Studio TRON home page. He is deeply saddened by the events here in America and wants to help out wherever and however he can. Feel free to post it and pass it around as you see fit.
"Something terrible has happened.
The series of tragedies that have affected America are not just other people's problems. These are problems that now affect us all. After thinking about it, I believe it is our duty to do as much as we can to help the victims of this crisis and their loved ones.
In the past, I have called for aid to charities in times of need here in Japan, such as when disaster struck Okushiri Island or when the Great Hanshin Earthquake rocked Kobe... I am going to do the same thing now.
I have brought up the idea of a charity drive with the various Japanese publishers that I currently publish comics with, as well as to all the editorial staffs that I am acquainted with. I don't know yet which editors or publishers will give me the go-ahead for anything like this, but I want to do whatever I can to help, as a human being, and as a comic artist. Of course, I want to do something with my fan club as well...
Up until three weeks ago, I had been living in New York City. I have many friends
and editors there. All the New Yorkers I met; all the people I had meetings and get-togethers with who live in New York; and even the strangers I encountered by chance; everyone there was truly kind and pleasant.
While I was doing research for Batman, I was staying in a hotel right near Ground Zero... Why did all those innocent people have to die...?
I love my fans in the United States just as much as I love all my fans in Japan.
I love Japan, but I also love the USA. A publisher in the U.S. picked up Dark Angel when it had been dropped here in Japan, and I was able to restart the series in America. I was given a second chance. That is what America is all about.
I don't just want to sit here and watch the news on TV and read the newspapers. I keep thinking, "Isn't there something I can do now. Something I can do within the
industry that I currently work in?"
If some sort of charity drive for New York does indeed happen here in Japan, I will let you know. This charity drive will be for the benefit of the victims of this World Trade Center crisis and their loved ones. I am not forcing anyone to do anything.
I am asking. If you have a place in your heart that wants to help out, please lend me a hand.
Thank you for your understanding and consideration."
And an update:
I just got off the phone with Kia and he has some news concerning his proposed Japanese charity drive to help the victims of the World Trade Center disaster. It now looks like Kodansha, publisher of Batman in Japan, MediaWorks, publisher of Steam Detectives in Japan, and Famitsu Bros, publisher of Dark Angel: Phonix Resurrection in Japan, have all agreed to help Kia's cause. Details are still forthcoming, but most likely, a special edition phone card which Kia will illustrate will be printed, sold and distributed by all three publishers simultaneously in Japan, with all proceeds to be donated to an American charity yet to be determined. More news on this as I get it.
Below, please find an English translation of a message that Kia Asamiya posted in Japanese on his Studio TRON home page. He is deeply saddened by the events here in America and wants to help out wherever and however he can. Feel free to post it and pass it around as you see fit.
"Something terrible has happened.
The series of tragedies that have affected America are not just other people's problems. These are problems that now affect us all. After thinking about it, I believe it is our duty to do as much as we can to help the victims of this crisis and their loved ones.
In the past, I have called for aid to charities in times of need here in Japan, such as when disaster struck Okushiri Island or when the Great Hanshin Earthquake rocked Kobe... I am going to do the same thing now.
I have brought up the idea of a charity drive with the various Japanese publishers that I currently publish comics with, as well as to all the editorial staffs that I am acquainted with. I don't know yet which editors or publishers will give me the go-ahead for anything like this, but I want to do whatever I can to help, as a human being, and as a comic artist. Of course, I want to do something with my fan club as well...
Up until three weeks ago, I had been living in New York City. I have many friends
and editors there. All the New Yorkers I met; all the people I had meetings and get-togethers with who live in New York; and even the strangers I encountered by chance; everyone there was truly kind and pleasant.
While I was doing research for Batman, I was staying in a hotel right near Ground Zero... Why did all those innocent people have to die...?
I love my fans in the United States just as much as I love all my fans in Japan.
I love Japan, but I also love the USA. A publisher in the U.S. picked up Dark Angel when it had been dropped here in Japan, and I was able to restart the series in America. I was given a second chance. That is what America is all about.
I don't just want to sit here and watch the news on TV and read the newspapers. I keep thinking, "Isn't there something I can do now. Something I can do within the
industry that I currently work in?"
If some sort of charity drive for New York does indeed happen here in Japan, I will let you know. This charity drive will be for the benefit of the victims of this World Trade Center crisis and their loved ones. I am not forcing anyone to do anything.
I am asking. If you have a place in your heart that wants to help out, please lend me a hand.
Thank you for your understanding and consideration."
And an update:
I just got off the phone with Kia and he has some news concerning his proposed Japanese charity drive to help the victims of the World Trade Center disaster. It now looks like Kodansha, publisher of Batman in Japan, MediaWorks, publisher of Steam Detectives in Japan, and Famitsu Bros, publisher of Dark Angel: Phonix Resurrection in Japan, have all agreed to help Kia's cause. Details are still forthcoming, but most likely, a special edition phone card which Kia will illustrate will be printed, sold and distributed by all three publishers simultaneously in Japan, with all proceeds to be donated to an American charity yet to be determined. More news on this as I get it.
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