Working on the Simpsons manga is finally forcing me to learn how to draw children. I’ve always been really, really bad at drawing children. At last, Bart and Lisa look their age.
I’ve finalized the general style I’ll be using for this. It’s like a mix of my style with that of Fujiko Fujio, which makes it fun, because I grew up reading their work. Not just Doraemon, but also Paaman, Ninja Hattori-kun, Pro Golfer Saru, Chimpui, Kaibutsu-kun, Obake no Q-Tarou, and Esper Mami. I’m also studying Osamu Tezuka’s works as reference. I want this comic to have both classic and modern manga elements. That isn’t to say I can actually achieve this…
I’ve seen many parodies of anime, but not of manga. This is going to be a parody of manga, and I’m glad! Especially since I’m more of a manga fan than an anime fan (I don’t like most anime and I very rarely watch any, to be honest — I actually hated it when I was younger). It’s even going to be in black and white. There’s none of that overplayed giant robot/Sailor Moon/DBZ mockery, too. Kudos to the writer, who’s obviously familiar with Japanese comics!
On that note, here’s the best anime parody ever.
Here’s a drawing of Manga Lisa I did in the style I’m using for the comic.