Library of Congress and Comic Books

Hey everyone!

Sorry for the lack of posting but school comes first (^_^) Lots of reading and assignments. I got a tip from my professor and I wanted to share it with you!

The Library of Congress has a challenging task to be dealt with. According to Preservation Technologies, "100,000 comic books in their collection were at risk for damage and deterioration due to their highly acidic paper and older housing." So to save the wonderful comics the Library of Congress is working with Preservation Technologies, L.P. and a manufacturer or enclosures "to create an effective preservation plan addressing the unique needs of comic books."

Go comic book preservation!!! Thanks Professor!

Read more at Preserving 100,000 comic books at the Library of Congress

© 2009 Linda Thai

Experiencing Bat Manga with Chip Kidd Part 2

Please read Part 1of the interview before reading Part 2.

Experiencing Bat Manga continuation

With what he had to go through to get Bat Manga to be a reality, how did he know what to do? Well it took years of experience and using the knowledge he obtained from those experiences. He explained to me “when doing any kind of official Batman book, you have to work it all out with DC Comics.” Mr. Kidd has done that on the other previous Batman books, “so I knew the drill.” Next was “understanding the scope of such a project,” which included how much work is involved, what has to be done and when. This understanding and preparation is used and needed in order to keep the whole project on schedule. “It’s actually quite a complex operation, especially since I didn’t have any assistants to help.”

Now with the work process of Bat Manga from the tour and to retouching, Mr. Kidd has one important Bat Manga experience that he will take with him for future projects. “Well, the most important and exciting experience, for me, was learning that Mr. Kuwata received some of his original Batman artwork back from the publisher, after forty years. This was as a direct result of us making this book. I realize that’s not what you’re asking, but it sure was exciting.” Actually, I think it is cool (^_^)

Putting the work process aside, there was something I felt that schools usually do not tell their students, but I felt that people should know and understand. When I did my research, I found out that some fans are not happy with the crediting of Bat Manga. I did not want to know what happen nor who the fans were. Knowing how to handle the situation is not something that is usually taught in school. My question was how did you know what was the right approach in handling such situations? How did you know what was NOT the right approach?

“Well, to strictly answer the question, I would say that in any situation where people are saying negative things about you on the internet, the best thing to do is ignore it and not respond. This can be very difficult, as one’s impulse is for self-defense. Especially when you know they are misunderstanding the situation. My mistake was that I did respond, with a very strongly worded statement, and of course that was like trying to put out a brushfire with gasoline. It only just incenses people who just want and need something to be angry about.

I would say though, that there were a good many people who I think were genuinely concerned that Mr. Kuwata was not being fairly treated, and I can appreciate that. But it was not the case, and he has been very grateful that we did this book.”

Bat Manga and Readers

Bat Manga contains history, not just the history of Batman, but also the history of Batman in Japan. It also reflects the Japanese perspective and interpretations of Batman. So does this mean that Bat Manga is worth preserving and archiving? According to Chip Kidd, “the book itself is the answer to that. It IS an archive, just not a complete one. I would very much like to see all of the Kuwata Batman stories archived in their entirety in both Japanese and English. I am working on making this happen.”

So what about for Chip Kidd? Would he preserve Bat Manga for himself? “Well, I think that’s what I did, right? I very much made this book for myself, because I love the material. I did think it would have the potential for a large audience, and of course I hope it does, but my artistic inspirations for it were very selfish. I talk more about this on my website, http://goodisdead.com/”
© 2009 Linda Thai

Thank you Vanessa Schneider and Chip Kidd for the honorable interview opportunity (^_^)!!!!
Photography by Charlie Kochman

Experiencing Bat Manga with Chip Kidd Part 1

Ok so everyone’s been talking about Bat Manga. Everything from how did the Japanese version of Batman get discovered to when is the next book tour date. Well, here’s the thing, before I interviewed Chip Kidd, I had to do research on what questions were asked in regards to Chip Kidd and Bat Manga. There was A LOT of things already covered, so I had to try really hard to come up with questions that Mr. Kidd may not have answered. So the approach I took was related to his perspective and experience with Bat Manga. As I said before, I just want people to understand Mr. Chip Kidd's perspective and hopefully they will learn about the work and process he went through. By the way there are a couple of questions related to library and archives ☺

The first couple of questions I asked Mr. Kidd were from his non-fan and non-authorship perspective. One was what makes the content of Bat Manga valuable that it had to be published in the United States? The other was what was the goal for the book in the US? Mr. Kidd said, “I think the work itself— that is, the cartooning of Jiro Kuwata—has been very much overlooked in the United States, and I wanted to try and correct that while he is still active. Also, for anyone who is interested in the history of Batman in the comics (and that is a lot of people), I felt that I owed it to them to reveal this work. These are really fun, entertaining stories drawn with tremendous skill.”

Speaking of the history of Batman, since the book has historical content, I felt that it could be used as a teaching tool. I was wondering if Mr. Kidd felt the same way and he does. Mr. Kidd thinks the book would be good for those who study sequential art. Along with these students, those who study the history of manga may benefit from Bat Manga.

Now Batman the character has been here for many years now, so it is part of US culture and comic history. I was wondering what about Bat Manga? Will it affect the US on a cultural or social level? The thing is the adventure had just begun. According to Mr. Kidd
“That’s impossible for me to say. It’s too early to tell, for one thing. All I know is the reviews have been excellent, and the level of enthusiasm for the project on the web has been great.”

Even though everything thing has just started, Mr. Kidd hopes the book would have enough success so that they could one day “publish a second volume of the same or greater length. We have found enough material in order to do that, and it would complete some of the story fragments that we didn’t have room to include.”

Experiencing Bat Manga

There maybe some fans out there who would want to do a project related to Batman. Whether it is big or small, it is still hard and it takes dedication and determination to get the job done. Another thing one would need is preparation. I have no idea what life is like when working on Bat Manga and there are probably those out there who want to do a project such as this and may not know either. So who is the best person to ask about experience as an author, graphic designer and working on Bat Manga? Chip Kidd.

One of the things I wanted to know was Mr. Kidd’s typical day when he has to work on the Bat Manga book, like does he have a schedule to follow and what activities did it involve. “The most tedious aspect of putting the book together was retouching out all the Japanese dialogue in Photoshop, which I did all by myself and I almost went mad with boredom doing it.” He thought the process of retouching would be done in no time, but to his realization “it didn’t, at all.” Another thing that was part of his schedule is the Bat Manga book tour. “The schedule for the tour last fall was pretty intense, but only for a few weeks, and I do enjoy meeting fans of the book and introducing people to Mr. Kuwata’s work. It was very worthwhile to do it.”

Since I never lived the live of a book author, another thing I wanted to know was the ups and downs during the whole Bat Manga process from discovery to touring. I know in any work and activity, not everything is picture perfect. What one may think or had in mind may not be what it is in reality or maybe things can get frustrating and stressful. “The most frustrating thing about putting the book together was going from worrying at the beginning that we would not be able to find enough material for a substantial book, to then gradually facing the opposite problem—we actually had too much, and I had to go back to the publisher and beg for an additional 100 pages. And we got them, but that wasn’t nearly enough to include everything.”

So from hearing what Mr. Kidd goes through, does that mean there is more to being an author and cover designer of the Bat Manga then just getting your work done and getting paid? “For me to do a book like this (one that requires a LOT of work and time), I have to absolutely love the subject matter or it’s not worth it.” He hopes that through the book it would show that he loves Mr. Kuwata’s work on Batman, along with the Japanese interpretation of Batman on all the items, such as toys and all the other things displayed in the book. In regards to getting paid to do the work, Mr. Kidd had to be honest with me. From what he told me, the pennies he earned did not go into his pockets. “I will be very honest and say that any money I or Saul Ferris got for doing this book, we put right back into making it, and a lot more of our own money beyond that as well. This was not about making a profit for us, because we know that’s not feasible. DC Comics has none of this material in its archive; we had to obtain it all on our own.”

The article is really long for a post, so tune in tomorrow for Part 2!
© 2009 Linda Thai

Happy Chinese New Year!!! 新年快樂

Happy Chinese New Year! 恭喜發財! This is the year of the Ox and in honor of Chinese New Year, I drew a Chinese New Year Lolita Lyntha in Qi Lolita! I wish everyone much success, happiness and good health!

Please do not mind the color, cause the red color did not upload right.
© 2009Linda Thai

Legal Times: Old and New, Marvel MGA Entertainment and Toys

Introduction to Legal Times: Old and New

Marvel verses MGA Entertainment for violations of licensing agreement. The battle shall continue...

MGA Entertainment Gets Marvel Die-Cast LicenseMaker of Popular Bratz Dolls ICv2 Published: 02/02/2006 12:00am

Marvel Sues MGA By Alexa Hyland Los Angeles Business Journal Staff Posted date: 1/7/2009

Marvel Sues MGA Over Toy License ICv2 Published: 01/15/2009 12:40am

Lolita Lyntha Presents Cosaru

I was first intrigued by Cosaru.com, due to their kimono style lolita outfits, which is also known as Wa Lolita. I thought Cosaru’s interpretation of the style was unique. For example one of the outfits had bat wings in the back and another had influences from a maid outfit, such as an apron. Because I myself like Wa Lolita, I wanted to learn more about Cosaru.com.

Cosaru.com is an online anime, cosplay and costume store of New York. Not only is it a store name but also it is the owner’s cosplay nickname. The origin of the word Cosaru is from a combination of the words “cosplay” and “saru”, which means “monkey” in Japanese. When choosing a store name, it can represent the store, but it can also represent a person. In this case, Cosaru represents the one and only staff of Cosaru.com

“I chose the word "saru" because according to the Lunar Calendar I was born in the year of Monkey.” But wait there is more to the name. “In addition to that, Cosaru also represents me.” When she first opened the store, Cosaru was not completely focused on “oh-yeah-let's-make-some-money thing. Instead, my online costume store was meant to represent myself and share my joy of making costumes with others. I'm managing Cosaru.com simply because I liked to sew and make something out of fabric. Yes, I just "like" & "love" cosplay, which is why I named the store, Cosaru. The name reflects one side of me, who just loves to cosplay and make costumes. And I'm sure the people who visit my store have the same feeling about cosplay. If that's the case, the name "Cosaru" is enough to be my store name.”

With her love of sewing and cosplay, Cosaru became a “costume recreator.” Her work includes going to fabric shop to buy wonderful and good quality fabrics and going to USPS to ship out the beautiful costumes and out fits. “Every work is done through my own hands as there is no other second staff at Cosaru.com.”

It all started with her first costume sale at eBay.com as an auction. “As more people started to request a commission, I felt that I might need my own website to display my costumes.” Cosaru.com became her first priority. “The first and most important goal that made me open this store was that "I want to make quality costumes with affordable price." She continues to do her best following this mission since she started sewing.

So what was the process or steps that led to the fulfillment of Cosaru.com? “Everything was done by my online research and studying the contents of other websites. In 2002, there weren't many online US commissioners. Most of the websites that I did my research on were based in Japan. Since I'm the only person who manage this entire store, studying based on online resources were a great help to make the next step in building the Cosaru.com website.”

Wondering what the typical day is like for Cosaru to work on items and things related to COSARU.com? When it is time for her to start a “new costume”; she starts by finding as many “reference images of the specific character and anime series” as possible. This is conducted by searching from one website to another. “Once I'm ready and know what I want to make, I spend the rest of the day drawing patterns and sewing costumes.” Her experience in handling and working on all things related and dealing with Cosaru.com has been great. “It's exciting (and busy) work since I'm eager to see new anime and find new costumes for people who visit Cosaru.com.”

Now 7 years later, her first cosplay related website is still standing. Her success did not come over night though. During the first two years of Cosaru.com the “sale record or # of visitors at Cosaru.com wasn't successful as it is today.” She learned that “any new website needs wide advertisement,” which helps online users locate her website. Because of the Cosaru.com advertisements, for the past three to four years, “I am seeing that Cosaru.com has been growing bigger than I expected. So now I'm in the ups!”

Now on to the Kimono Lolita style! According to Cosaru “it's also called Wa-Loli. The top is just the same as traditional/original Japanese Kimono or Yukata pattern, but the bottom is replaced or modified to a lolita style skirt - a big puffy skirt with a petticoat”

Her first encounter to the kimono style lolita made her scream in her head, "I gotta make that!" To Cosaru the “General Lolita style dresses are still beautiful, but they did not have that strong enough pull to my attention and effort of sewing.” So with her mind set on making a Wa Lolita outfits, she has many on her site for sale and display. The completion of her kimono style lolita outfits estimates one to two weeks.

Even though the Wa Lolita style is part of her online store, the kimono style lolita has a personal meaning to Cosaru. “Before I already fell in love with traditional Kimono and its colorful flower motif patterns and prints. The original kimono and yukata are in long ankle-length dress, which may not be comfortable to wear and walk around to cosplay. Then, Kimono Lolita comes up as it combines both traditional and modern side of look. It became the choice that refreshes my sewing and designing experience.”

My final questions to Cosaru was about the Lolita fashion and the US market. What competition does the Lolita fashion, including the kimono style, face in the US market? How does the industry make itself more competitive or overcome such obstacles? This is her opinion on it:

“I feel that Asian and oriental styles are more marketable in US than any other Asian countries. Kimono may be viewed as a unique clothing fashion that can appeal as a special gift and collection.
Lolita fashion has been growing so fast that I see more and more Lolita cosplayers attending at anime conventions. Also, people get so creative that they don't stick to one fixed lolita style, but keep modifying and changing the style to what they want. It is true that there are still more cosplayers who do specific anime, game, and manga characters. While anime cosplay is just fun as to bring anime characters to life, Lolita cosplay is another way of expressing one's creativity. I expect that both Lolita and Kimono fashion will be growing faster than ever as people are seeking something new.”

Thank you Cosaru for participating in the interview and the pictures!
For more information about Cosaru and her outfits please visit www.cosaru.com
© 2009 Linda Thai

My Mascot: Lolita Lyntha

Hello Everyone,

This is my mascot (^_^), chibi style, in full body view and she is the same girl in my banner. She is wearing my interpretation of Qi Lolita or Chinese style Lolita. Her outfit is influenced by Han clothing from the Han Dynasty. From what I can understand the "qi" is taken from the "qi" in qí páo, which the Chinese characters are 旗 袍. Because the Chinese language has many dialects, the character 旗 for this "qi" could be pronounced in different ways. In Mandarin this "qi" sounds like the word "key" with an up tone, while in Cantonese this "qi" sounds like the letter "k." Also when you see the letters "q" and "i" together, it is not always pronounced the same way when you see it. Because I have no idea what is the adopted pronunciation of the word "qi," I will stick with the Chinese character 旗 for individual pronunciation in their respective Chinese dialect.

There is more to anime, manga and comics than just what you read or watch. There is something beneath the surface. It is something deeper.
© 2009 Linda Thai

News: The U.S. Debut of Sword of the Stranger

THE U.S. DEBUT OF SWORD OF THE STRANGER – A ROUSING SAMURAI ANIME EPIC – HITS MOVIE THEATRES NATIONWIDE FOR A ONE NIGHT EVENT

Tickets Now on Sale for Exclusive In-Theatre Anime Event

Appearing in More than 360 Movie Theatres on February 5^th

Centennial, Colo. – Jan. 6, 2009 NCM Fathom and Bandai Entertainment presents Sword of the Stranger, an exhilarating samurai anime tale straight from Japan, on the big screen in a special one-night event on Thursday, Feb. 5^th at 7:30 p.m. local time. This unique theatre event (English dubbed) that brings the story of a nameless samurai to movie theatres will feature an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the Sword of the Stranger at studio BONES as well as never-before-seen interviews with the English voice actors, director Masahiro Ando, and legendary producer Mashiko Minami.

Tickets for this special event are available at www.FathomEvents.com and presenting theatre box offices. For a complete list of theatre locations and prices, visit the website (theatres are subject to change).

Acclaimed Japanese anime studio BONES (“Cowboy Bebop,” “Full Metal Alchemist,” “Soul Eater”) brings Sword of the Stranger to life for this one-night exclusive event. Hunted by the Mings from China, a young boy named Kotaro and his loyal dog Tobimaru meet a nameless samurai who is haunted by his past – a memory so terrible he has vowed to never draw his sword again. Among the Mings is Luo-Lang, a ruthless Western swordsman with the Chinese name who has walked the earth in search of a worthy rival. When both groups clash with a feudal lord and monks torn between faith and survival, the truth behind the Mings’ pursuit of Kotaro tests the bond between the boy and the samurai.

“Bandai Entertainment is proud to partner with NCM Fathom for the American debut of Sword of the Stranger – this film has some of the most stunning action cheorography ever seen in anime film,” said Robert Napton, marketing director for Bandai Entertainment, Inc. “Anime and samurai fans won’t want to miss this visually amazing and emotionally compelling event at their local movie theatre, where this film was meant to be seen.”

Sword of the Stranger, which was recently submitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for consideration for Best Animated Feature of 2008, appears on the big screen in high-definition with Cinema Surround Sound in more than 360 select AMC Entertainment Inc., Celebration! Cinema, Cinemark Holdings, Inc., Clearview Cinemas, Cobb Theatres, Georgia Theatre Company, Goodrich Quality Theatres, Hollywood Theaters, Kerasotes Showplace Theatres, Marcus Theatres, National Amusements and Regal Entertainment Group movie theatres, as well as Arlington Theatre (Santa Barbara, CA) and Palace Cinema 9 (South Burlington, VT) through NCM’s exclusive Digital Broadcast Network – North America’s largest cinema broadcast network.

“NCM Fathom has experienced great success bringing anime events to the big screen in limited engagement events and we are excited to bring Sword of the Stranger to anime fans across the country this February,” said Dan Diamond, vice president of NCM Fathom.

About National CineMedia, Inc.

National CineMedia (NCM) LLC operates the largest digital in-theatre network in North America through long-term agreements with its founding members, AMC Entertainment Inc., Cinemark Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CNK) and Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC), the three largest theatre operators in the U.S., and through multi-year agreements with several other theatre operators. NCM LLC produces and distributes its FirstLook pre feature program; cinema, lobby and online advertising products; comprehensive meeting and event services and other entertainment programming content. NCM LLC’s national network includes over 17,000 screens of which approximately 15,000 are part of the company’s Digital Content Network (DCN). NCM LLC’s network covers 176 Designated Market Areas® (49 of the top 50). During 2007, approximately 689 million patrons attended movies shown in theatres currently included in the network (excluding Consolidated Theatres and Star Theatres). National CineMedia, Inc. (NASDAQ: NCMI) owns a 42.3% interest in and is the managing member of NCM LLC. To learn more about National CineMedia Inc., visit the company’s website at www.ncm.com.

About Bandai Entertainment

Bandai Entertainment Inc. is a subsidiary of Namco Bandai Holdings (USA) Inc. and the premier distributor of Japanese animation on DVD and programming for television broadcast in North America. Additional company and product information is available through our website at www.bandai-ent.com.

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NCM Fathom Press Release