https://padlet.com/rswenson20231/p12kldkunt2530hg What are the differences between comics creators who create decades-spanning series that yield different effects on the creators themselves? en-us 2023-05-04 12:21:33 UTC 2023-05-24 01:19:35 UTC hello@padlet.com rswenson20231 https://padlet.com/rswenson20231/p12kldkunt2530hg/wish/2578244841 On December 25, 2015, Matsuri Takahashi jumped to her death. It was later discovered that in the months leading up to her death, she got very little sleep while working 100 hours of overtime each month. Her death was ruled a case of "Karoshi", the Japanese term for death due to overwork. Many young workers in Japan feel the need to work obscenely long hours in order to make it. These young people don't seem to think they have a choice, holding the sentiment that "If you don't quit you have to work 100 hours. If you quit you just can't live"(Lane). It seems that faltering job security in Japan is only making the problem worse. In one Tokyo district, a government office has resorted to turning off the lights at night in an effort to send people home. The epidemic of overwork in Japan is prevalent among manga authors especially, with the total dedication towards the company instead being towards the weekly readers of these manga. ]]> 2023-05-04 13:03:46 UTC https://padlet.com/rswenson20231/p12kldkunt2530hg/wish/2578244841 rswenson20231 https://padlet.com/rswenson20231/p12kldkunt2530hg/wish/2578249084 "As an owner of a herniated disc due to sitting and drawing for decades, I agree [that writing is easier on the back]!"
- Here, Ottley reveals the bodily impact that comes from a long career in comics art, echoing sentiment from a fan's reply to a tweet of his.

"13 issues isn't a few to me haha, but I understand how it feels that way. Invincible was 14 years of my life, I wont be doing anymore series that long again. Smaller series for me these days. I'm getting old!"
- In response to a fan who noted their disappointment at Ottley's recent runs being 'short'. Here, we can infer that working on long series, especially on the art, comes with serious fatigue.

"A writer can write and have a full time job easily. An artist cannot. There is literally no balance right off the bat. If you want a good artist, you must pay. Or, the story has to e so amazing that the artist is willing to take partial ownership and take money in backend pay"
- Ottley, in response to a question about the pay balance between writer and artist. Referenced in the question is the scenario that an indie writer pays an artist to draw a comic that never receives the funding to be published, leaving the writer at a loss and the artist with the same paycheck they would have had. In his response, Ryan Ottley gives insight into the fact that for many writers, writing is not their primary source of income, unlike artists who have a more all-or-nothing relationship with their work. His reference to partial ownership is likely a nod to his position on Invincible, where after a few issues, Robert Kirkman and Cory Walker brought Ottley in as a co-creator/owner of the series. ]]> 2023-05-04 13:06:53 UTC https://padlet.com/rswenson20231/p12kldkunt2530hg/wish/2578249084 rswenson20231 https://padlet.com/rswenson20231/p12kldkunt2530hg/wish/2578257090 Invincible released its first issue on January 22, 2003 and ran for 15 years until its end in 2018. Over the 144-issue run, writer Robert Kirkman and Artists Ryan Ottley and Cory Walker fully exercised the freedom afforded to them by Invincible's existence as a creator-owned, long-running comic, exploring various themes, settings, and conflicts as they saw fit. This creativity led to the creation of what is, in my opinion, the greatest comic ever.]]> 2023-05-04 13:12:33 UTC https://padlet.com/rswenson20231/p12kldkunt2530hg/wish/2578257090 rswenson20231 https://padlet.com/rswenson20231/p12kldkunt2530hg/wish/2578258841 Hunter X Hunter, a manga by writer and artist Yoshihiro Togashi, began its serialization in 1998 and is technically still running. The series is plagued by long hiatuses explained by the author's failing physical health and inability to work on his manga. ]]> 2023-05-04 13:13:46 UTC https://padlet.com/rswenson20231/p12kldkunt2530hg/wish/2578258841 rswenson20231 https://padlet.com/rswenson20231/p12kldkunt2530hg/wish/2578259586 One Piece began serialization in 1997. The series has since become the highest selling manga series of all time, and still releases weekly chapters. A very stark difference can be seen between the art at the beginning of the series and the more recent chapters. This shows that while long series can take a toll on their authors, they can also be used as a lens into the authors personal development over the run time of the series.]]> 2023-05-04 13:14:16 UTC https://padlet.com/rswenson20231/p12kldkunt2530hg/wish/2578259586 rswenson20231 https://padlet.com/rswenson20231/p12kldkunt2530hg/wish/2578266521 In 2018, after running for 20 years, Hunter X Hunter took a four-year hiatus. The author, Yoshihiro Togashi cited his reason for this long break as his inability to sit in a chair and work on his manga due to back problems. The mangaka has stated that "at one point, he could not sit in a chair for two years due to debilitating back pain"(Carter). Togashi is not a unique case, however, as other prominent shonen creators have described feeling the symptoms of their overwork. One Piece's Eiichiro Oda "once described a grueling schedule of not eating for two to three days and only getting an average of three hours of sleep" while Tite Kubo, author and artist of Bleach "expressed a feeling of extreme loneliness for a year after [it] ended"(Carter).]]> 2023-05-04 13:19:26 UTC https://padlet.com/rswenson20231/p12kldkunt2530hg/wish/2578266521 rswenson20231 https://padlet.com/rswenson20231/p12kldkunt2530hg/wish/2579527124 "Before Coronavirus, I used to gather some friends to play soccer together, but with time I have realized it’s a little too tough of a sport for my body. I also used to be in the soccer club, but I’m so out of shape now I have completely abandoned that career hahaha"
- Here, although he doesn't cite his occupation as his reason, Oda mentions that as years go by, he find himself unable to participate in certain physical activities he used to enjoy. I imagine this is likely due to sitting down and crafting a chapter almost every week. Earlier in the interview, he mentions that before One Piece, Oda was an assistant to another Mangaka. One of the ways Oda seems to lessen his workload is by employing assistants to do some of the art in his series.

]]> 2023-05-05 13:13:06 UTC https://padlet.com/rswenson20231/p12kldkunt2530hg/wish/2579527124