Above is a birthday drawing for my buddy Billy. He’s responsible for getting me hooked on
the Ge Ge Ge no Kitaro manga of Shigeru Mizuki. Mizuki lost his drawing hand/arm thanks to an
attack by Allied Forces during World War II. Afterwards, he taught himself to draw with his other hand
and poured forth prodigious pages of nutty/spooky, monster-laden manga. I’m a big dork for his work.
Thanks to the DRAWN! blog for endorsing dootdootblog. That site is juicy-full of goodness. Russel, I’m taking a break from
interviews/promotion so that I can be productive with HABIBI (this blog is an indulgence) – but it’s always good to check in
with my agent PJ, because he may urge for exceptions. Thank you, everyone, for posting comments and continual patience!
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August 21st, 2007 at 7:02 pm
That’s really cool Craig! Can you read Japanese? I did my Honours thesis on Osamu Tezuka’s Astro Boy. At the time, the comics hadn’t been translated into English so the language barrier was a bit difficult. So happy Dark Horse has put them out in English *happy dance*.
August 21st, 2007 at 8:14 pm
wow! any suggestions for good places to find collections of mizuki’s work?
August 21st, 2007 at 8:22 pm
thanks craig for highlighting this japanese cartoonist mizuki. i lived in japan for a year, but didn’t know of him until now. will definitely check him out further.
much luck with your habibi-intense schedule.
sean seamus
August 21st, 2007 at 10:31 pm
Oh man, this dude is one of my all time favorite comic artists!! Good to see someone appreciates the man.
August 22nd, 2007 at 11:26 am
Hey, Craig–your blog is the shizz! Is there any kind of RSS syndication feature? I looked but didn’t see one. I’d like to know whenever the blog is updated, because stuff like that Mizuki drawing is too cool to miss, and I’m sure it will never be printed. By the by, I found your blog via Jacob Covey at FLOG!, the Fantagraphics blog.
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:55 pm
Craig, love your work and your blog.
Looking forward to Habibi!
Cory
August 22nd, 2007 at 6:03 pm
Mizuki Shigeru’s GeGeGe No Kitarou has been an enormous influence on me since I was a kid. Not only the art style but also the mood of that world and it’s stories.
Your piece is marvellous! I couldn’t believe when I saw it.
I’m looking forward for habibi.
Keep up with the excellent work!
August 22nd, 2007 at 9:42 pm
Badass.
August 23rd, 2007 at 3:26 am
It’s impossible not to love you!
August 24th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
wow oh wow! new drawings look so great. i was wondering what you would come up with next, and stumbled on this blog. wonderful! keep it up man, we’re reading!
August 27th, 2007 at 9:25 am
Craig, where did you find GeGeGe in color? Do you know of a good source for his material aside from the 3 out-of-print English language volumes? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
August 27th, 2007 at 9:39 am
great great artwork
wish i had birthday presents like that one…
well, now that i think about it, i DO have.
August 27th, 2007 at 12:08 pm
Your block is a great way to get to know “new” artists.You all know so much !! I´ll try to find something about MIZUKI. I´ve been loving comics for a long while but I was stucked in the same artists/ books/characters…. Lately I am finding new ones but I fall in love again and it´s hard for me not to read 5 times blankets before jumping to a new book.
Craig I love your work!!!!
August 29th, 2007 at 12:57 am
Hey Craig
What an inspiration you have been! I’m a 35 yr old industrial designer from Athens, Greece and I’m just getting to write and design my first comics over here. Sorry you couldn’t make it to the Comicdom Con in Athens last March. Anyway, keep up the amazing work and be well.
By the way, I understand you’re a surfer too. I also get to surf waves here in Greece as well as France and Portugal.
August 29th, 2007 at 2:36 am
Hi Craig, just wanted to say I really really like your work! Great blog too, I definitely have to check it out more often… Looking forward to Habibi!!! Good luck and keep up the good work!
greets Katrien
August 30th, 2007 at 4:06 am
When I saw a brand new copy of “Carnet De Voyage” sitting on the shelf at my former school library, I knew I had to steal that mother. Man, you are a crazy good artist, I really do look up to you, and hope to match your skill someday. One question though, how come It’s so hard to find a copy of “Doot Doot Garden”? Mail me back, I’m outie.
September 3rd, 2007 at 2:00 pm
Hello
Just a few words to let you know I love your work authentic generous and often painfully touching.
I work in a bookshop in Lausanne, Switzerland and all my collegues and friends are great fans…
You seem to be such a good person I wish you all the best in life.
Take good care.
September 4th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
hi craig,
i can’t wait to read habibi. your drawing style and your writing are both incredibly powerful. blankets was one of the most touching and thought-provoking books i’ve ever read, and i loved goodbye chunky rice and carnet de voyage as well. keep up the good work!
September 9th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
GeGeGe No Kitaro is incredible. There are “scanlations” online…and those three out of print books. But I’d recommend to everyone to just buy them in Japanese. The art and character designs are so inspiring!
October 5th, 2007 at 6:55 pm
Thank you for sharing!