Published In
The Comics Journal
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-20-2021
Subjects
Cartoonists -- Comic books strips etc., Japanese literature, Cartoonists -- Japan -- Biography, Graphic novels
Abstract
Translated by Jon Holt and Teppei Fukuda
The first time I can remember encountering Matsumoto Taiyō’s work was probably when he released his short story collection, Blue Spring (Aoi haru - Matsumoto Taiyō tanpenshū [stories published from 1990 to 1993; Shōgakukan, 1993]). All of the stories concern a bunch of young dudes -- full of desires, frustrations, and violent tendencies -- and no chance they can ever get past those things. I thought to myself at that time, “Ah, I bet this stuff means a lot to readers in their teens, but they don’t really do anything for me.” After all, I was a man in my forties, so this stuff wasn’t on my radar as I was busy becoming a grown-up. Keep in mind that Taiyō himself was just in his early twenties. So, it really wasn’t that unnatural for him to write about life like that.
Rights
The Comics Journal © 2021 Fantagraphics Books Inc., All rights reserved.
The final published version is posted with author consent and publisher permission.
Persistent Identifier
https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/wll_fac/159
Citation Details
Fusanosuke, Natsume; Holt, Jon; and Fukuda, Teppei. (2021). Making it Just in Time: Author-Creator Matsumoto Taiyō, The Comics Journal.