Sustaining as a Comic Creator: Health

Balancing life between passion and health to stay at the top of the game.

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Today, I want to discuss an important topic: staying healthy as a comic & graphic novel creator.

We all know the not-so-secret sauce:

Sit up straight. Rest your eyes every hour. Stretch. Workout at least 20 minutes a day. Meditate. Drink eight glasses of water. Less meat, more veggies. Eat rainbow food. Don’t forget the fruits, but don’t overdo them. Go easy on sugar. And less salt, too. Go low sodium. Make your food really bland. Take your vitamin. Go to bed early. Sleep those 8 hours. Repeat that for the rest of your life.

Yikes!

The truth is, many comic creators I admire have some real health issues.

Eiichiro Oda, creator of One Piece, once mentioned (and I paraphrased): “The turn-around time for comics is really tight. A lot of times, I only get about three hours of sleep a day.”

“One Piece”, created by Eiichiro Oda. (Image source: https://wallpapers.com)

Fujiko F Fujio, creator of Doraemon, passed out and died at age 62 while he was drawing at his desk.

“Doraemon”, written and illustrated by Fujiko F. Fujio.

The assistant of Yoshihiro Togashi (creator of Yuyu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter) revealed Yoshihiro Togashi suffered from constant back pain.

In “Sensei Hakusho”, Kunio Ajino revealed the daily life working as an assistant to manga genius Yoshihiro Togashi.

Yoshihiro Togashi is best known for his manga series “YuYu Hakusho” and “Hunter x Hunter.” Both series are among the best-selling manga in history.

Our profession requires us to sit by the desk and draw for an extended period of time everyday. We churn out work at the expense of our shoulder muscles, neck muscles, wrist muscles, hand muscles, and of course, our eyesight. Sitting too long results in poor blood circulation, which, in turn, affects our overall health.

When we are on a tight schedule or under heavy deadlines, we tell ourselves, “It’s the passion that matters!” But beware to not ignite that passion in an explosive way, or the burnout and physical pain will come back to haunt you fast.

Sure, many creators I admire have serious health issues, but many also try their best to lead a healthy lifestyle. Those are habits I try to pick up.

Takehiko Inoue, creator of Slam Dunk and Vagabond, plays basketball regularly to maintain his health.

“Slam Dunk”, written and illustrated by Takehiko Inoue, is the seventh best-selling manga series in history.

Marcie Colleen, lead writer for Epic’s Time Buddies and Kitten Ninja series, has a daily running and yoga routine.

“Kitten Ninja”, written by Colleen AF Venable and Marcie Collen, illustrated by Ellen Stubbings.

I myself am a big competitive badminton player. I used to play four times a week at two different local badminton clubs. Nowadays, I can only manage to play about two times a week, but I fiercely guard those precious hours.

My debut graphic novel “Monkey King and the World of Myths: The Monster and The Maze” will come out April 2, 2024.

Purchase MONKEY KING

Some walk the dog. Some swim laps. Some bike around the city. The key is to find a few physical activities you truly enjoy, allocate time weekly for them, and stick to the routine.

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For Wacom Cintiq users, I also recommend looking into a good pen-grip. I use the Ergo pen grip. It looks funny, but I find my hand muscles a lot less tired at the end of the day. (At $30, it’s PRICY, considering it’s really just a piece of plastic. I guess if you phrase it as “the thing that reduces hand muscle fatigues” or “a long-term investment in your illustration career”, it makes me feel slightly better. Slightly.) (Also, that silly carrot-orange color might be an eye-sore, and the designer in me cringes a little, but it surely makes my pen very visible on my desk.)

Plus Ergo Grip for Wacom Pro and Grip Pen Stylus.

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As for that mouth-full of cliché-goodie-advice I mentioned at the beginning?

Try to do as much as you can, but don’t kick yourself too hard when you can’t. They are reminders, ideals. Sometimes we hit the mark, and most of time, we don’t. All we ask is try. Then try again. And again.

Because if you love doing this, you want to this for a long time. Perhaps a life time.

And preferably not in pain.

Stay healthy, friends!

How "Slam Dunk" Stole the Hearts of a Generation

The energy in Takehiko Inoue's artwork adds to his storytelling magic.

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In my third year in high school, a Korean American transfer student came to our school for about a semester. We were in the same art class. She was REALLY good at drawing, and we bonded over our passion in art.

One day, while we were both drawing, she asked me, “Have you read Slam Dunk?”

It was the infant age of the internet. We had limited access to the world wide web through AOL – over that squeaky dial-up modem. The Age of Information had not truly arrived. My knowledge in world popular culture wasn’t great.

I shook my head.

My friend’s eyes widened with excitement, “Maple, you HAVE to read Slam Dunk! The artwork is insanely good!”

And that was my first encounter to the 7th best-selling manga series in history, the series that is often described as “the one that changes a person’s life.”

Before Slam Dunk, I don’t recall reading any manga related to basketball. Yoichi Takahashi’s Captain Tsubasa was a mega-hit, but it was on soccer. For baseball aficionados, there were Adachi Mitsuru’s H2 and Takuya Mitsuda’s Major.

When Slam Dunk hit the market, not only did it shook up the world of manga due to its popularity, it shifted the focus of sports culture in Japan.

Talk about the impact of a good story!

Slam Dunk revolves around a high school troublemaker with no interest or ambition – until he found basketball. It’s a story where reader sees the transformation of a young man from indifference to dedication and passion. The character’s growth speaks to the heart of a generation with a thirst to look for a purpose in life.

Friendships. Camaraderie. Teammates. Nemesis. Humor. Laughter. Jealousy. Tears. Trust. Falling down. Giving Up. Getting back up. Coming back stronger.

It’s the whole package.

Takehiko Inoue has been a basketball aficionado since high school. His love in the sport spilled over into his artwork. As a reader, one of the most exciting part of Slam Dunk is the way Inoue conveyed actions. You can almost hear the characters’ hearts pumping.

When Inoue finished working on Slam Dunk, he made another bestselling series Vagabond, a fictional story of a swordsman’s journey in the 1600s. Admittedly, I only glanced through a few books. It was very graphic, and that wasn’t my cup of tea, personally. But the artwork is top of the line, as always.

If you are looking for an exciting sports series, Slam Dunk is definitely a good choice. Keep in mind that the series was made in the early 90s. It was a different time, and some jokes are no longer appropriate today.

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Readers who are into sports-related graphic novels should also check out Gene Luen Yang’s Dragon Hoops.

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Do you like Inoue’s artwork? Do you have any sports comics or graphic novels that you love? I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments section below!

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Hilda and Some Notes on Panel Divisions

A look at the brilliant Luke Pearson and his great graphic novel series Hilda.

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The first time I picked up Hilda, I remember thinking: Why is this book so big?

At 8 x 11 inches, Hilda is at a size bigger than most graphic novels I see today.

(To be fair, a lot of European comics and graphic novels are also at this bigger size.)

But I think I also see a reason why it is bigger: the comic panels are done a bit differently from most other “modern” comics and graphic novels geared at this specific age range.

Most of the time, graphic novels avoid having too many panels on the same page, especially for younger readers. The reason is that it actually takes some time to “train” a reader to read the comic panels in the correct order.

With panel divisions, if you are not careful, the reader gets confused quickly. A confused reader will lose interest and put the book away. Each time a book gets put away, a little fairy dies somewhere in the Neverlands’ Public Library. It just goes downhill fast.

For example, when reading George Herriman’s Krazy Kat comics, I got very puzzled.

Krazy Kat was created over 100 years ago, literally. Time has changed. Most comics and graphic novelists don’t draw that many panels on a single page.

Which was why I did a double-take when I first read Pearson’s Hilda series. There were so many panels on a page!

But it felt natural immediately to read the panels in the correct order. After all, much like reading a book, we are used to going left to right, then our eyes hit the “return” button to the next “line” underneath.

There is an art to panel divisions. At this, Pearson did a masterful job. Despite having so many panels, there was never a time when I felt confused.

The slight trick, of course, is to never have the upper and lower panel stacked in the same width.

Sometimes, we also use subtle visual tricks to “guide” the readers.

Purchase MONKEY KING

Not only is Pearson’s panel division brilliant, the whole series is done beautifully.

There is a wonderful quality to Pearson’s illustrations. It’s a sense of magical serenity. The quiet nature reminds me of the joy in Tove Jansson’s Moomin books, and the adorable, woodland creatures exude a warmth similar to Hayao Miyazaki’s fantasy work.

In terms of story, the kind of adventures Hilda went on was the kind all kids dreamed of: exciting, warm, and fantastical.

What a master graphic novelist!

If you haven’t read Hilda yet, I highly recommend the series. It is now also an animated series on Netflix. It’s done well, but, as always, I prefer the books.

I look forward to many more Hilda books to come.

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Do you enjoy reading Hilda? Which is your favorite book so far? I look forward to your thoughts on the comments section below.