LO LO Magazinemovies | digital movies | digital | | animation animation | | anime anime | | manga | manga | neo-manga | neo-manga | comicscomics

SERIAL EXPERIMENT LAINWho is Lain? Experience one of Who is Lain? Experience one of

the anime classicsthe anime classics

LO LO Magazinemovies | digital movies | digital | | animation animation | | anime anime | | manga | manga | neo-manga | neo-manga | comicscomics

SHOUJO

The stuff that The stuff that girls likegirls like

MORAY RHODA

The South African The South African Don of local comic Don of local comic artistsartists

Scott Ciencin explains the art of Scott Ciencin explains the art of scaring the crap out of readersscaring the crap out of readers

PLOTTING SILENT HILL

Vol. 11Vol. 11April 2005 April 2005 Free IssueFree Issue

Pioneering the knowledge of anime & manga in South Africa

EnterManga

Voodoo DollDrawing

Competition!

The perfect magazine design tool!Adobe Indesign cs

Adobe Indesign CS Image © 2005 Adobe Inc.© LO Magazine 2005 © 2005 LO Magazine

Welcome to LO Magazine’s eleventh issue.

It has always been one of my visions that LO would be very similar to a real magazine, even when still in electronic format. With print in mind as I think most of you also do, we have moved to the A5 format, which means that you can not read LO Magazine, spread by spread in full screen. CTRL+L toggles between full screen and normal view.

The new look also brought in some changes and we hope you will like it. We now cater for the female readership with some Shoujo and we are experimenting with Your Manga Horoscope (from the point of view of an anime/manga character).

An International section will cover animation and illustration from across the world, which includes movies like Korea’s Wonderful Days and the USA’s Live-Action Neon Genesis Evangelion. Behind the Cels will explore the world behind the creation of animation, like producing, voicing and drawing.

More things are on the way, but we will keep some secrets for later. Don’t forget to enter the drawing competition.

Enjoy. Ed.

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© LO Magazine 2005

Note: To make life easier we indicate anime with blue and manga with green. Words in Bold, Italic means that it includes a term defi nition.

Welcome to LO Magazine’s eleventh issue.

First we like to apologise for the errors appearing in the 9th issue. A corrected issue was sent to NAG, but it was to late for inclusion. You can download a corrected version from our website. The fan survey (P.13) has also been cancelled for now.

We would like to welcome Rei (writer) to LO. You’ll get to know her better from next month onwards, as she will tackle Shoujo.

Expect loads of changes coming about from the next issue onwards - just in time for our one year anniversary! We fi nally decided to give you what you asked for, so enjoy the drawing competition. It will run for two months.

Enjoy. Ed.

© 2005 LO Magazine© LO Magazine 2005

Software used in the making of LO Magazine:Artwork: Adobe Photoshop Layout & Design: Adobe Indesign PDF Creation: Adobe PDF Writer

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06 ANIME / MANGA FEATURE Serial Experiment Lain, a true classic

08 INDUSTRY NEWS Find out who is doing what, where and when.

10 THE GIRLY SIDE Introducing the World of Shoujo

12 DIGITAL CREATIONS Interview: We learn from Dave Wilson, why Blur is such an amazing animation production company.

15 COMPETITION Can you draw? Enter the Manga Voodoo Doll Drawing Competition 16 THE LOCAL SCENE Interview: Moray Rhoda, the South African Don of local comic artists

18 INTERNATIONAL Interview: Malaysian Comic Artist Sonny Liew

20 LETTERS You say it, we print it

22 YOUR MANGA HOROSCOPE Are you a manga character? We can predict your future.

24 BEHIND THE CELS Interview: Voice Actor Bob Bergen

26 NEO-MANGA & COMICS Interview: Silent Hill comic writer, Scott Ciencin.

29 NEO-MANGA INCLUDE Dark Horse Comics presents Manga Darkchylde

34 LO RECOMMENDS This month’s anime and manga recommendations.

35 CONTACTING US Do you want to submit your artwork or join the community?

0606CONTENTCONTENT

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LOEditorialEditor - AJ Kocked@lomagazine.co.za

ContributorsJericho - Sydney Butler Rei - Cristy FerreiraGC - Thys Visser

Cover & Page 3: Serial Experiment Lain © 1998 Pioneer LDC / Geneon Entertainment / Yoshitoshi ABe

For contact specifi cs please look at page 35.

Website:www.lomagazine.co.za

Forum: http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=47038

LO recognises all copyrights in this issue. Where possible, we have acknowledged the copyright holders. Contact us if we have failed to credit your copyright.

Unless indicated otherwise, all content are © 2005 LO Magazine.

LO Magazine is a product of © 2005 Manga SA Anime

S E R I A LS E R I A LE X P E R I M E N TE X P E R I M E N T

L A I NL A I N

Fact: Winner of the Excellence Prize in Japan’s 1998 Media Art Festival.

ANIME FEATURE

76 © LO Magazine 2005© LO Magazine 2005

Has the line between the real world and the wired world begun to blur?

Sitting on a train, you constantly hear the buzz of the Wired (The Internet / Network - a shared reality where data exists through electronic energy). The buzz is constant and filling your head like you are part of it, not riding a train, but moving down a universal electronic flow of data.

Lain, a thirteen year old are about to find out how close these two realities have become. It is set in motion by the suicide of one of her classmates.

The following day at school, the wall on reality starts to crack, when everyone talks about the strange email some of them have received from Chisa Yomoda, the dead girl.

Serial Experiment Lain (SEL) is a slow paced and thought-provoking series, which peals away the layers (literally and figuratively) of our perceived post-modern reality. As each layer reveals more about the connection between the Wired and the “real” world, the more it becomes apparent that the “real” world and the Wired are not separated entities, running parallel so to speak, but are similar and flowing

into each other; in serial.

SEL was released in a set of four DVDs (USA) and the episodes were called layers (thirteen).

NAVIlayer 01: Weird:layer 02: Girlslayer 03: Psychelayer 04: Religion

KNIGHTSlayer 05: Distortionlayer 06: Kidslayer 07: Society

DEUSlayer 08: Rumorslayer 09: Protocollayer 10: Love

RESETlayer 11: Infornographylayer 12: Landscapelayer 13: Ego

USA Distributor: Geneon EntertainmentWebsite: www.geneon-ent.com

Original Character Designer:Yoshitoshi ABe (Haibane-Renmei, NieA_7, Texhnolyze)

Script Writer:Chiaki J. Konaka (Hellsing, Texhnolyze, RahXephon, The Big O, Armitage III)

A Fan Interpretation of Lain:http://www.cjas.org/~leng/lain.htm

.LO

Images © 1998 Pioneer LDC / Geneon Entertainment / Yoshitoshi ABe

© LO Magazine 2005 © LO Magazine 2005

SEVEN SEAS ANNOUNCES NEW WEBMANGA: AOI HOUSE

Aoi House is a comedy series written and created by Adam Arnold, co-creator of Animefringe: Online Anime Magazine, and illustrated by Jim Jimenez, a veteran comic artist and animator.

This neo-manga follows the trials and tribulations of two unfortunate college boys who join an anime club dominated by a bunch of crazed fan girls.

Updates will appear every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Source: www.gomanga.comImage © 2005 Seven Seas

Ent.

TOKYOPOP SIGNS WRITERS FOR TWO TV PROJECTS

Tokyopop has recruited two of the animation world’s most celebrated scribes – Craig Bartlett (Johnny Bravo) and Mark Seidenberg (Jackie Chan Adventures)– to develop television scripts inspired by two of its hot youth properties, Stray Sheep and Karma Club.

Stray Sheep is a kids’ comedy series based on the characters in Tatsutoshi Nomura’s international hit. Karma Club is the debut children’s manga novel franchise from D.J. Milky (Princess Ai).

Source: www.tokyopop.comImage © 2005 Tokypop

VAMPIRE HUNTER D NOVELSDark Horse Comics has

announced that they will be releasing the first of thirteen Vampire Hunter D novels, written by Hideyuki Kikuchi with cover art and illustrations by Yoshitaka Amano.

It is the year 12,090 A.D. and the humanity is trying to free themselves from a 300 year rule by a race of vampires known as the Nobility.

Villagers only hope for survival lies in the hands of Hunter-ones, warriors who have pledged their lives to kill vampires.

Source: www.darkhorse.comImage © 2005 Urban Vision

STREETFIGHTER ALPHA 2After a long delay of

more than a year, Manga Entertainment has finally announced the release date for their next Streetfighter Alpha movie.

Streetfighter Alpha 2 will become available on DVD during the month of June 2005.

Ryu, Ken, Chun Li and the rest of your favorite characters will be back for some more incredible kick-ass action.

Source: Rightstuf International

Image © 2005 Manga Ent.

WAO CORP. PLANS TO OPEN ANIME SCHOOL IN 2006.

Wao Corp., an Osaka-based cram school managing company, has announced that in 2006 it will launch a school to teach students how to produce animated films and operate animation production companies, reports Yomiuri newspaper.

The school will be the first of its kind in Japan and is being established in the Suginami Ward, Tokyo ward where nearly 70 animation production companies are located.

Source: w3.awn.comImage © 2005 ABC

3D MECHWARRIOR DVDMainframe Ent. (Reboot), a

leading creator of computer-generated animation, and WizKids Inc., makers of the popular Mage Knight, Heroclix and Mechwarrior collectable miniatures games, have teamed up to create a feature-length direct-to-DVD 3D animated feature based on the Mechwarrior series of adventure games, books and toys, to be released in 2006.

The film will introduce new characters and storylines.

Source: w3.awn.comImage © 2005 Fasa Corp.

INDUSTRY NEWS

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© LO Magazine 2005 © LO Magazine 2005

INTRODUCING INTRODUCING THE WORLD OF SHOUJOTHE WORLD OF SHOUJO

Shoujo: Anime or manga which primarily focuses more on relationships and adventure.

With Anime being mainly aimed at boys, LO has decided to create a page for the girls, where anime aimed at girls will be discussed. But before we go any further, the name for anime/manga, which mostly appeals to girls is called Shoujo Anime and Manga.

Shoujo is perhaps the best-loved and most recognizable Anime and Manga style in the world. It’s famous for huge brilliant eyes, it also happens to be a style of both anime and manga that appeals to both boys and girls, but mainly to girls.

One form of Shoujo would happen to be Bishounen or otherwise known a “Bishies”. Bishounen, translated from Japanese

means “beautiful young boy”, it’s basically the perfect guy for any girl. Bishies aren’t very masculine, which might not appeal to boys so much as it does to girls. They are the ones whom girls fall in love with. They are very popular character types in both anime and manga.

Shoujo is a huge category, and it consists of many sub-genres and different character types, which include: Magical girl, furry characters, mascots, period dramas (historical), school-age dramas, and the ever lovable super cute Chibis. While other anime and manga focus on action and fight scenes, the Shoujo genre concentrates on relationships and adventure. There are however exciting action scenes in Shoujo, especially

THE GIRLY SIDE

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Sailor Moon: Original manga created by Takeuchi Naoko during August 1991 was called Sailor “V” and only featured the character Sailor Venus. With the creation of the anime in 1992, the producers wanted a team of characters. Sailor Moon was born.

in the magical girl sub-genre.

The word “Shoujo” literally means “young girl“, with this in mind it is easy to see how Shoujo can be mainly targeted at girls or young women. It is not just a “chick flick” as some may say for it attracts a certain number of boys, who prefer to watch and read Shoujo. While there are many types of anime out there such as “Mecha anime” and “Harem anime”, shoujo seems to be a form of medium which appeals to both genders. Shoujo has another side; it also gives the reader and viewer the understanding of history, trends and nuances.

There are many Shoujo anime/manga out there and many manga that have been made into anime. This month, there will be a quick look into the very popular Shoujo anime called Sailor Moon. Sailor Moon is part of the Mahou or Magical girl sub-genre of Shoujo, but there will be more about the Mahou sub-genre in the future. For now, here is a brief synopsis of Sailor Moon as well as a few images and some other information about this anime.

Sailor Moon is the story of a teenage girl who meets a magical cat who gives her super powers. She becomes the leader of a team of brave girls, known as the Sailor Warriors. Sailor Moon has long been justifiably renowned for the strength of its plot, its

direct and honest treatment of romance and a realistic and unflinching acceptance of death as a necessary possible consequence of a righteous fight. While these Sailor warriors fight evil villains, and defend the earth, they also have everyday problems, such as bad grades, love and of course arguments among themselves.

This anime was based on the Shoujo manga of Takeuchi Naoko. This series is largely recognized by many young girls, and has popular sequels such as Sailor Moon S and Sailor Moon Super S. The series of Sailor Moon has in turn made way for the Sailor Moon movies, such as Sailor Moon S Hearts in ice.

.LO

Images © 1995-2005 DiC and Pioneer Entertainment

USA Publisher: Geneon Ent.

Website:www.geneon-ent.com

Anime:Sailor Moon TV Series* Season 1-4

Sailor Moon Movies* Sailor Moon R* Sailor Moon S* Sailor Moon Super S

Written by ReiWritten by Rei

BLURBLUR A ROLE MODEL ANIMATION STUDIOA ROLE MODEL ANIMATION STUDIO

Rising through the ranks like a rocket is Venetian studio, Blur. We once again realised how much talent we actually have growing up in South Africa, when we spoke to former Capetonian Dave Wilson (DW), CG Supervisor for Blur.

LO: What were the team’s artistic and technical background before Blur was created? DW: Over 10 years ago Tim Miller and David Stinnett left Sony Image PictureWorks to create a company where every artist had a say in the creative process. Soon after leaving Sony they were joined by Duane Powell, IT whiz and Blur was born. The idea was to create a company devoid of any corporate bullshit, no suits, no middlemen; a company that was driven by talented

artists with a true passion and dedication for what they do.

LO: How did the idea for Blur came about and where does the name come from? DW: Basically we answered that above...in terms of the name, God knows....after too many beers, it sounded cool at the time.

LO: What makes Blur’s short films so special, that three of them have been either short-listed or nominated at the Academy Awards? DW: Every year at Blur we create a whole host of work ranging from Feature Film FX, Game Cinematics and Commercials. The short films give us an opportunity to script, conceptualize and direct our own internal short format CG Films, without any external direction from

clients. It’s great because it really lets us take our own ideas all the way from Script and Storyboard to Final composites.

I guess what makes them so special is exactly that, they’re one 100% Blur. The Shorts are a great way for the animators and artists here to really express themselves. It’s quite a privilege to work on Blur’s shorts.

DIGITAL CREATIONS

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Our passion and primary goal at Blur is to write and direct feature length CG films. These short films are an incredible way for us to experiment and streamline our pipeline towards our CG Feature Film goals. So every year we not only raise our bar in terms of quality of animation, but we also improve our internal structure and tools.

LO: How do you go about selecting ideas for short stories? DW: Each year every animator and artist working at Blur has the opportunity to submit a story idea for the year’s short film. Those stories are then juried by the Supervisors at Blur. The winner of the competition will have his/her story created into our CG Short Film for the year. It is a great honor because Blur usually spends quite a bit of time and money on these projects. LO: “Gopher Broke” and “In the Rough” are you latest creations. Why did you decide to switch to a more traditional cartoon look this time around? DW: Well as we stated earlier, the story that wins

the competition is the one we’ll end up creating, but it is also a little more than that. At Blur we have an extremely wide range of talent. One of the coolest things about Blur is that you have so many exciting and different projects each year that you’ll never get bored of just doing live action composites month after month; you could be doing a Sci-Fi Action Game Cinematic one month and

a Cartoony Commercial the next. The change in style also allows us to develop new tools and even further refine our pipeline. On Gopher Broke we were able to R&D new custom rigging tools and really push our animation techniques to the next level.

We also try to keep our work fresh and experiment with new ideas all the time. So after last year’s success and recognition we gained from RockFish, which is primarily a sci-fi action-adventure, we thought we’d change up the pace a bit and create two more lively and comedic films.

LO: You captured the

essence of “Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War” amazingly well with your game cinematics. Is any of the staff Warhammer players or used to be? DW: Yup, we have a few avid fans of Warhammer here at Blur, the CG Supervisors on Warhammer were huge fans and weren’t about to turn the project away even though we only had 3 weeks in which to complete the piece. We

bled into our keyboards for 3 weeks but it was an amazing project and the end product made it all worthwhile. LO: What are you currently working on? You can kill me later if it is a secret. :) DW: We’re currently in production with quite a few Game Cinematics and Intro’s for some of this years big games from companies who want to launch huge promotional campaigns at E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo). We’re also working on several commercials, a large-format ride film, two development projects for feature films and we should be starting pre-

© LO Magazine 2005 © LO Magazine 2005

COMPETITION

“The idea was to create a company devoid of any corporate bullshit, no suits, no middlemen...” Dave Wilson, CG Supervisor, Blur.

Images:P.12 left - “Gopher Broke”P.12 bottom right - “In the Rough”P.13 middle - Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of WarP.14 bottom - “Rockfi sh”

All images © Blur

production on this year’s short pretty soon. This is an exciting time. Our recent Academy Award nomination has really given us a tremendous boost in the eyes of Hollywood.

LO: How do you see the future of animation in the West? Do you think that non-comedy animation might eventually be accepted by the mainstream, like in Japan? DW: We’re huge fans of Japanese Animation and we’re hoping to be one of the studios that brings, for example, R-rated Sci-Fi Action orientated projects to America. We feel it’s a genre that has not really been fully explored, and we’re very excited about the possibility of taking it to the big screen. We’re also looking into developing CG Feature Length films based on Comic Book Material. Tim Miller, owner and founder of Blur, is a huge Comic Book and it’s his dream, which he is passionately dedicated to, to take the rich gritty world of comics and develop them into CG Feature Films.

LO: This being an anime /

manga magazine, I have to ask. Do you watch anime or read manga at all? DW: Yup, we love “Ghost in the Shell”, “Akira”, and of course, all the Miyazaki films.

LO: Do you have any wisdom for someone starting out in CG film-making? DW: Passion, Dedication and Talent. CG Film making is a tough and highly competitive industry. At Blur, our short films are born out of the passion of the artists working here. We are dedicated to telling great stories and developing real characters. Every artist here is truly dedicated to taking what they know and what Blur is capable of to the next level with every project we undertake. The individual artist is essential yet the team effort is key. The fact that Blur independently funds a short film (or two) each year is testament to our devotion to our art form.

LO: Thank you for taking time off your busy schedule.DW: No Problem. .LO

SENDSENDUS YOURUS YOUR

ARTART

RELEASERELEASETHE ARTISTTHE ARTIST

IN YOUIN YOU

LO Magazine PRESENTS

“Manga Voodoo Doll”Drawing Competition

We are happy to present the wonderful Cruising the Anime City guide as this issue’s “Manga Voodoo Doll” competition prize. We are very grateful for Stone Bridge Press for their interest in providing our readers with this prize. How do you win? Simply send us an email (comp@lomagazine.co.za) with the subject:“Manga Voodoo Doll” and with your original drawing.

1. Give us your version of a manga voodoo doll.

Rules: Your art work (200dpi) can be in colour or without. If the Judges feel that the quality of the entries are not of high quality, LO Magazine reserve the right to extend the competition for a longer period. The winner’s artwork becomes the property of LO Magazine.

Closing Date: 30 April 2005. This competition is only open to South African residents.Stone Bridge Press | www.stonebridge.com

Note: You may enter more than one drawing, seperately via email.

© LO Magazine 2005

MORAY RHODAMORAY RHODATHE SOUTH AFRICAN DON OF COMIC CREATORS THE SOUTH AFRICAN DON OF COMIC CREATORS

THE LOCAL SCENE

17

Moray Rhoda (MR), the man that is behind Igubu Comic Collective and Insurrection, is doing his part in putting South African comic artists on the map.

LO: When did you decide that you wanted to become a comic artist?MR: It’s not really something I ever decided - as a kid growing up in PE all of my buddies were into comics and my dad loved all the European stuff (Beano, Tiger, 2000AD, Eagle etc.) so he’d buy me comics as my treat for (mostly) behaving. At some point I just started drawing the stuff that I saw in comics - it raised my coolness factor with the school bullies. Since everything is eventual, I guess one could say that I “decided” back then. I prefer to think of myself as a comic writer though.

LO: Tell us a bit more about your publication, “Clockworx”.MR: Clockworx is a sci-fi/fantasy/humour publication with an eclectic mix of different art styles as diverse as Nic Rix’s manga to Mark Rust’s CGI, to Vincent Sammy’s Dave Mckean inspired art, to Karl Stephan’s cell-shaded cartoony approach. The artists are from all over SA, but have a bit of a Cape Town bias due to Insurrection being based here.

LO: Can anyone submit their work for Clockworx?MR: Yes and no. If they’re South African (even if abroad) they qualify. In the case of a writer & artist team, one of them has to be South African. The only

other people that qualify are foreign nationals who have stayed here for years & can say lekker.

LO: Do you think that it is important for local artist to have local content in their work?MR: That’s a loaded question

- where Brendon Hayes really made his High Octane story work by giving it a Durbs flavour, I am opposed to having local content just as a storytelling “gimmick”. If the SA content is integral to the story i.e. gay nightlife in Cape Town, then it’s fine. However if you’re doing

“Voortrekkers in Space” it could end up being very pointless.

LO: Do you use any software in the creation of your comics?MR: Me specifically

- scanning, colour & retouching in Adobe Photoshop, QuarkXpress to put the layout together and Acrobat Distiller to produce hi-res PDFs when required. The artists in Clockworx all used Photoshop, although I believe that Rob Hooper is partial to Macromedia Freehand and Mark Rust utilised Poser and 3D StudioMax.

LO: Are there any other artists on the various mediums who inspire your work?MR: Other Mediums? Not really, Fine Art is self-gratification really & graphic design is pixel-pimping. In comics - Masumune Shirow, Boris Vallejo, Jim Lee, Steve Dillon, Geoff Johns, Mobius... Inspire is a vague enough term since I can’t particularly draw like any of

them. My biggest influence in 2004 was Jhonen Vasquez though (Squee, Johnny the Homicidal Maniac & Invader Zim). He proved that “independent” doesn’t equate “crap”.

LO: If you could choose an international artist or writer, whom you like to create a comic with, who would that be?MR: Frank Miller. I wouldn’t even be doing comics if it wasn’t for him dragging me back with “Batman: Year One”

LO: What are you currently working on?MR: Clockworx 2 - after lots of commentary from the peanut gallery that I was scared to be compared to the brilliant artists in issue 1, I’m throwing my hat into the ring with a sci-fi tale called

“Hunters”. Since Daniel Hugo, Nic Rix, Mark Rust & Vincent Sammy are all coming back for an encore not to mention some exciting new talent; I’ve got my work cut out for myself.

LO: This being an anime and manga magazine, I have to ask. Do you read manga or watch any anime at all?MR: My favourite anime is a toss-up between Ninja Scrolls & Blood - The last Vampire. Time is a bit of a mission lately, but I have managed to watch the first five episodes of Witchhunter Robin at least. The last manga I read was Blade of the Immortal, about six months ago. So the answer is “Yes” the Japanese stuff rocks, when I get to lay my grubby paws on it.

LO: Do you have any advice for aspiring South African artists on dealing with criticism of their work?MR: Criticism is subjective. There’ll always be people who have opinions about your work, but don’t get too neurotic about negative comments. Remember that it’s not you or your family honour being attacked - just the way you did something. Use what you can to make your next thing better & ignore the rest.

.LO

Website: www.insurrection.co.za

© LO Magazine 2005

MALAYSIAN SENSATION SONNY LIEW

US and Canadian comic book publishers are signing on eastern artists and writers like never before. We spoke to one of them.

LO: If you look at certain artists, you get a sense of the world the artists and his/her creations live in. Looking at your art work, what message do you think they send to the observer?SL: I really can’t say... what sort of message did you get from it? LO: Your designs make me think of faerie tales inside a sci-fi setting; imagining how elves, goblins, robots, etc. would live in a future society.

LO: Tell us a bit about Malinky Robot: Stinky Fish Blues, you first solo project.SL: It was project that started back when I was at the Rhode Island School of Design - a class

project really. I eventually submitted it to the Xeric Foundation and was fortunate to be one of their grant recipients, which allowed me to self-publish the book. The second Malinky book after some time in limbo look sets to be published by SLG (slave labor graphics) :)

LO: How did you end up doing illustrations for Acheron’s Call 2?SL: After RISD I moved to Boston and got a job at the company developing the game, Turbine Entertainment. Well, it was a temp job really, but I ended up helping with some of the character designs...

LO: Do you have any favorite artists from the present or the past, who inspires your work?SL: Too many to name actually :) Just off the

INTERNATIONAL

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top of my head: Phil Hale, Chester Brown, Otomo, Bill Watterson, Anthony Janello, Daniel Clowes, Kaz...

LO: You stated in previous interviews that 2000AD

“blew your mind away” in your early teens. What attracted you to 2000AD when you first read it?SL: The art and writing was fantastic - the best word to describe it was the magazine’s own: “Zarjaz!” It was motley crew but such an amazingly talented bunch, and the science fiction was exciting, clever, ironic and straight faced all at once.

LO: Do you think that is an industry myth that a person cannot be a good writer and artist at the same time?SL: Is there a myth like that? I’m hearing it for the first time! :p It’s clearly not impossible to be good at both - just look at Mike Allred, Mike Mignola and Chris Ware. Of course its a rarer thing - to be talented in both fields, but its not a sustainable myth I think.

LO: If you had a choice, is there any particular

character you would like to do illustrations for or writer you would like to work with?SL: Anything for 2000AD would be fun. I don’t know

- Metropolitan? Writer-wise... well, y’know, Alan Moore, Pat Mills, etc. etc.

LO: What projects are you currently working on?SL: I’m working on a Vertigo project called the Regifters with Mike Carey and Marc Hempel, part of their new “mangaesque” line. A contribution to the Flight Anthology Vol. 2 (Image comics) will be out in March. I’m always thinking up new Malinky Robot story possibilities and there are things in the pipeline with SLG and some local (Singaporean) publishers.

LO: This being an anime and manga magazine, I have to ask. Do you read or watch any anime or manga?SL: Haha yes of course. I’m not a rabid fan, but I’ve seen my fair share if anime. Manga wise, my recent favourites have been

“Black and White” and the mad but brilliant “Bakune

Young”.

LO: What do you think is the most important thing for a new artist in the industry to remember?SL: I’ll tell you when I figure it out :)

.LO

© LO Magazine 2005

Sonny Liew Bio:* Frankie and Poo (Times Publishing) - writer and artist 1996 * “Angefangen Klein” for Xene #5 (Eyeball Soup Design) - writer and artist 1997* Iron Man for Millenial Visions (Marvel) 2002 * “My Faith in Frankie” artist DC Vertigo 2004 * “Dead Soul’s Day Out” for Flight Vol 2 (Image) 2005 * “Chang and Eng” for New Man Magazine (2004-present)

Copyright: Images © 2005 Sonny Liew

© LO Magazine 2005 © LO Magazine 2005

Let me just add first that LO Magazine is definitely what South Africa needs. There are hundreds of anime and manga fans around S.A trying to scrape up any bit of anime/manga we can get... but now there is the perfect solution of this magazine.

There is one complaint from me though... Why is Naruto not featured in the mag? Naruto is one of the best (maybe best) anime/manga i’ve ever seen. My heart would rejoice if you featured Naruto in your magazine. Please attempt this being a small magazine starting off and all.

[We did already. Issue 5, Oct. 2004 Naruto on page 18. And if you think that Naruto is the best, you still need to watch a lot more anime. Ed.]

I have been reading (and re-reading) LOMag since issue one, and it only gets better. Keep the info pumping, and thanx.

Flipi

[Thanks Flipi. I hope you are sharing the LOMag with some of your friends. Ed.]

Watz up.Great work on the mags. I would just like to request

that if you could please put this in the LO Mag. I’m thinking about opening an anime shop. Now I would just like to ask u...

[I get a couple of requests like these, every month or so. Unfortunately I cannot promote your “shop” if you do not have the papers to prove that you are an authorize shop. It is not legal to sell any other region, except region 2 in South Africa (except of you get permission from the relevant studios & local authority).

If you would like to promote anime in South Africa, start a club and import anime for your club from any region. That is legal in South Africa. You are legally allowed to import for personal use but not sell without permission. Ed.]

With me trying out Anime and all I would like to know (from you or someone you know) how much anime is done through hand drawing and how much is done through computers?

I was also wondering if you could help me as well... seeing as I’m looking for drawing software. Would you happen to know the name of any software

that would be usefull for a beginner like me?

[I don’t know if there are any figures on how much cel or how much CG, but what I’ve seen so far is that CG are increasingly being used; be it for eye-candy or creating scenes that are too difficult and time-consuming for cel animation. On the otherhand, you will be suprised to know that numerous scenes in Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence are actually hand drawn scenes, even thou they might look CG. For

FUNKY LETTERS FROM YOULETTERS

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software tips, visit our online forum and get ideas from your fellow readers: http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=47038 .Ed.]

Image left © Capechino Animation.Image high above © Jan van Rooy.Image above © Flipi Portman.

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YOUR MANGA HOROSCOPE

Aquarius: Jan21 - Feb18Don’t say a word. Your partner is on the edge and he/she might just rip your head off. Next month might be better, we hope.

Pisces: Feb19 - Mar20You tend to be unpredictable. You need to open your heart and face your fears; and put the baseball bat down, while you at it.

Aries: Mar21 - Apr20You have extremely high expectations. Maybe you should aim a bit lower and not be disappointed, like dating someone your own age.

Taurus: Apr21 - May21There is a mysterious stranger in your life. Don’t be fooled by his/her dark demeanor or you will realise just how much he/she sucks.

Gemini: May22 - Jun22Your search for meaning and wisdom is paramount this month. Be careful of the opposite sex as they might drain your brain of all your blood.

Cancer: Jun23 - Jul22You are very popular at the moment. With a bit of skilled negotiations you might get whatever you want, even from your pets.

Leo: Jul23 - Aug23Feeling different and alone? You probably are. Closing an eye to some of your differences and focusing on shared characteristics will open new possibilities.

Virgo: Aug24 - Sep22You might look sweet and innocent, but deep down you have the ability to do some serious damage. Enrol at a local Rollerball tournament for some anger management.

Libra: Sep23 - Oct23If you want to succeed in life you must be willing to fight for it. Unfortunately it just so happens that in life, when you use muscle, only one of you can be at the top.

Scorpio: Oct24 - Nov22You are close to achieving leadership status, if you want it. You will surely have to face confrontations with influencial people.

Sagittarius: Nov23 - Dec21Communication is about connecting with people and winning their trust. This will result in enormous growth for you.

Capricorn: Dec22 - Jan20Stop your whining and get off your ass. Show the world that there is purpose in your life and that you can make a difference.

© LO Magazine 2005 © LO Magazine 2005

Bob Bergen (BB) has one of the greatest jobs in the world as a voice actor for Warner Brothers, voicing a character who is one the most popular animated characters in western animation history. He has done many movies and series which include Akira, Lupin III, Spirited Away, Teknoman, Lily C.A.T and Nadia. He was more than delighted to be interviewed by LO.

LO: What was it like working on anime like Akira and Lupin? Lots of fun perhaps?BB: Akira was the first anime project I ever did. I was a bit intimidated by the dubbing process since American animation is recorded first and animated second. Matching sync was a challenge but I caught on

pretty quickly. Dubbing is an interesting process. You only record your parts, and you don’t work with other actors. So when working on Akira I only got to see the scenes I worked on. It wasn’t till much later that I got to see the whole film. It’s a feast for the eyes. I’d never seen anything like it in the world of animation.

Lupin is one of my all time favorite characters to play. He fit like a glove. And Carl Macek, who directed those films, gave me a lot of freedom in playing him. I miss him!

LO: Watching how successful Akira has become, how do you feel today being one who worked on it?BB: It’s always flattering when a project you work on is popular among fans.

Some of Bob Bergen’s work includes:AnimationAkira - MasaruCartoon Network - Porky Pig The Emperor’s New Groove - BuckyLily C.A.T. - Hiro TakagiLupin - Lupin Spirited Away - Frog, No FaceTeknoman - Teknoman

Video GamesStar Wars: Rogue Squadron - Luke Skywalker

More?www.bobbergen.com

BEHIND THE CELS

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When you’re recording a new production you never know how it will be received. I was actually oblivious to the popularity of Akira for many years. It wasn’t until I started attending fan conventions that I realized how popular it is. I also have a clip of it on my video demo, which is on my website. That demo is a montage of clips from a variety of animated productions; from Space Jam to The Emperor’s New Groove. Akira more times than not gets the most positive reaction from viewers.

LO: What is your most favorite voice that you have done or still do and why?BB: Porky Pig. I’d wanted to play him since I was a kid.

LO: You’ve reached the dream you had of voicing

Porky Pig, do u have any other dreams you want to accomplish?BB: Actually, I just want to be able to keep doing what I love; acting, hosting etc. There aren’t any specific characters I’d like to voice, like I wanted to do with Porky. I’d just like to keep doing it. I’d also love to do more on-camera hosting. I hosted a game show a few years ago and loved it.

LO: There are a lot of people that work on shows and movies etc, do you ever hang out with them and go out somewhere and just let loose?BB: I put together a monthly happy hour for people in the voice-over industry here in Los Angeles called VOX on the Rocks. It’s a place to meet, eat, schmooze, and eat. It’s a lot of fun!!! When we work/audition together

often we don’t get a chance to really catch up with each other’s lives. VOX gives us that quality time to catch up with friends, and meet new people as well.

LO: Any words of advice for those aspiring voice actors?BB: HAVE FUN!!!! Voice-over is a blast! If you have fun in the process, you’ll raise your odds of booking. Some of the nicest people in show biz are in voice-over; from the agents, to the talent, to the casting directors. And keep in mind that the casting director is your friend!! They need you!! If they don’t find the talent, the producer finds another casting director. So they really are on your side!! I hope this all helps.

.LO

WHAT DOES PORKY PIG AND WHAT DOES PORKY PIG AND LUPIN HAVE IN COMMON? LUPIN HAVE IN COMMON?

BOB BERGENBOB BERGENInterviewed by ReiInterviewed by Rei

All © of images & characters belong to their respective companies

© LO Magazine 2005

SSIILLEENNT T HHIILLL L WWRRIITTEER, R, SSCCOOTTTT C CIIEENNCCIINN

Silent Hill Titles: • Silent Hill Among the Damned• Silent Hill Dying Inside 1-5• Silent Hill Dying Inside TPB• Silent Hill Paint It Black

Neo-Manga: Manga created with a non-Japanese cultural infl uence. It might therefore have the look of classic manga, but the social content would be different.

The mind of a Silent Hill writer can be as scary as the games.

LO: Were you afraid of the dark, when you were little and now being an adult, do you have any problems with your “work” keeping you up at night? SC: Not at all. One of the benefits of working with an exciting franchise like Silent Hill is that you can deal with your waking nightmares in a fictional context where you have complete control. So at night you’re not weighted down in the least, you’re free to explore anything your subconscious may have latched onto in a positive way. It’s only when I’m not writing vivid horror by day that I have to keep an eye out at bedtime.

LO: The Silent Hill

Playstation series has a very subtle and sometimes direct way of working on your nerves, even when playing it in the day time.Is it difficult re-creating that tension in comic book form, where you don’t have the power of sound?SC: Every medium has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, most films, TV shows, and video games gloss over the sense of smell or the specific sensation of touch because neither can be reproduced in those mediums. You can jolt or even deafen someone with a powerful enough sound system, but you can’t directly reach into someone’s head and stimulate pleasure centers or recreate the total horror of walking blindfolded and unaware through a charnel house—the scent of which might well haunt you all your days. So you adapt

NEO-MANGA & COMICS and use the tools of your specific medium to the greatest impact. With a visual medium like comics, you can be very cinematic, you can employ editing techniques, and you can use the narrative the way a novelist might to reach into the consciousness of a reader to attempt to elicit the same responses that a creepy soundtrack might. To my mind, one of the best uses of sound to create horror and tension outside Silent Hill would be the soundtrack to Argento’s Suspiria. It also goes right to the nerves.

LO: If you ever find yourself inside a Silent Hill story, what will be the first thing you do?SC: Try to wake up! And if that doesn’t work, find the nearest weapons cache just in case I can’t quick talk my way out of trouble.

LO: Have you played all four Silent Hill titles?SC: Yep. All four are incredible!

LO: Does the story in anyway fit into the Playstation games’ storylines or do you have creative freedom?SC: Konami has been fantastic and incredibly supportive throughout this process. I have found niches within the existing continuity that they have allowed me to explore, from time to time, using a character or scenario from the gaming storyline as back-story or to challenge a specific character point or theme in what I have set out to do. Silent Hill: Dying Inside mentions

the Order and goes to the heart of what is causing the nightmarish manifestations within this mist-enshrouded, haunted town, but that only happens to help facilitate plot points in the new story we’ve created, not to impact in any way on the existing mythology.

LO: What does a horror writer do for inspiration?SC: Keeping up with current events helps a lot–the world is a pretty scary place when it wants to be. But dwelling just on the darkness isn’t enough. Thinking about everything and everyone you love, whatever matters to you the most, the things you really want, and picturing

all of that threatened, control of your existence completely wrested from you… that usually does the trick. From that point out, it just becomes a matter of being open to the specifics that come in from the outside and paying attention when ideas you weren’t really looking for

land somewhere on your radar. I read a great deal, but it often comes down to authors outside the particular genre I’m writing in at the moment. That helps to keep things fresh for me and allows me to bring in very different influences.

LO: How did you end up being a comic writer? Was it always your goal to become a comic writer?SC: When I was a teenager, I wanted to be a comic book artist. Despite having some ability in that area, I was never satisfied with my own work. The moment I had a film camera in my hand, however, everything fell into place.

I could manipulate angles, perspective, lighting, etc. however I wished. And I liked the collaborative medium of movies and TV, though writing novels (my main source of income) allows me to be the artist when “word painting.” I started writing comic book scripts because I needed

2726© LO Magazine 2005

something to draw, film scripts for something to shoot. Then a New York book editor asked me if I had a novel in me and I leaped at the opportunity, though prose wasn’t an avenue I had really been pursuing at the time. Sixty books later, I find that as a reader and a professional, I’m still incredibly excited about books and the comic book medium. I leap at the chance to do comics whenever the opportunity comes around.

LO: Do you have any other projects planned for the near future?SC: There is more Silent Hill on the horizon with “Paint it Black” and “The Grinning Man.” Working with Kris Oprisko and everyone at IDW absolutely rocks!

LO: This being an anime and manga magazine, I have to ask. Do you read

or watch any anime or manga?SC: I just finished watching the entire run of “Hellsing” and absolutely loved it. The new Ghost in the Shell is next on my agenda. Also, I’d love to find more “Gon” or another manga with the genre-bending approach of “Domu: A Child’s Dream.”

LO: Do you have any advice for aspiring horror writers here in South Africa?SC: “Never give up, never surrender!” A great, funny, and insightful line from Galaxy Quest. The bottom line is that, in a good way, you never know what might be coming next. So you just have to do whatever you can to get in the game and stay in it, and treat every opportunity as if it could be the one to turn your dreams into a reality.

.LO

© LO Magazine 2005

Scott Ciencin Bio: HardcoverThe Rogue’s Hour (EverQuest novel line)

NovelsVampire OdysseyJurassic Park IIITSR’ Shadowdale and Tantras

ComicsSilent Hill (IDW Publishing)R.A. Salvatore’s DemonWars (CrossGen)Captain America (Marvel Ent.)Batman (DC)Metropolis SCE (DC)The New Gods (DC)Star Trek: TNG (WildStorm)

& more...

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IDW Publishing: Websitewww.idwpublishing.com

Images © 2005 IDW Publishing

NEO-MANGA INCLUDE

CONTACTING US

NEXT ISSUE

© LO Magazine 200535

LO RECOMMENDS

Fan Artwork:Send us a scan of your work (300 dpi) and we will consider it for placement in LO.

Copyright:If you feel that we haven’t honoured your copyright, please do not hesitate in contacting us, so that we can rectify it as soon as possible. Put Copyright in your email subject field.

General:We welcome any other comments, whatever they might be. Just think twice before you do send an email. Email: info@lomagazine.co.za

Forum:LO Magazine now have an online forum. Please feel free to join us and chat to your fellow anime and manga fans. Web Url - http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=47038

Post Box:If you still believe in the old fashion way of communicating, you write to us at - LO Maga-zine, PO Box 7494, Stellenbosch, 7599.

Remember:If you don’t tell one new person once a day about anime and manga, you aren’t doing your job right. Spread the word, it is FREE!

MAY ISSUEWould you like to be in our next issue? Send us your fan art or feedback on our articles and you might be lucky to be selected for inclusion.

Definitely:• Xenobi Studios• Christine Auten on voicing Bubblegum Crises 2040• The Tree of Palme• Korea’s Wonderful DaysMaybe:• Lessons in animation • and loads more...

JOIN US

Websitewww.lomagazine.co.za

Forumwww.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=47038

Bloghttp://lomagazine.blogspot.com

© 2005 LO Magazine