Speculative genres like sci-fi are so cross-pollinated with horror and fantasy and the Western that the conventions of one frequently bleed into the others. “Ghetto Samurai” brings the genre-blending eastward, and nods to the cowboy motifs that became integral to conventions of post-war samurai films in Japan.
“Story does not flow out at all,” Tawaraya says. “I usually squeeze my brain out. I make drafts when I have time, but sometimes it makes everything boring. I would not get excited if I knew exactly what I had to draw. My comic should be against typical ones, so I just try doing my best Fred Frith impression when I am making them.”
If he feels like he is wasting time, Tawaraya just starts inking without any ideas. He recounts the process behind “Saxophonist in 2084.” The slender, robotic-insectoid face was taken from an old sci-fi comic while the body and instrument came together in a flash. Another one, “Midnight Rescue,” came from a vintage brass button design.
“It is so funny that someone created a world inside a tiny thing,” he says of the button. “Making choices about what compositions will do, and where to go with them, is taking longer and longer than before. I typically improvise when
I get bored, so I do both planning and free style. I like keeping mistakes and developing them into something better. Being honest with yourself about what you want to do at any given moment is important, because your mood and intention changes every day.”
I MAKE DRAFTS WHEN I HAVE TIME, BUT SOMETIMES IT MAKES EVERYTHING BORING. I WOULD NOT GET EXCITED IF I KNEW EXACTLY WHAT I HAD TO DRAW.”
Tawaraya’s early work was mostly raw and black and white. He did not have a way to print in color and the Xerox machines he could access were all monochromatic. While making color images takes longer than the good ol’ Xerox days, Tawaraya now uses silk screening and risographs along with markers, spray paint, needle pen and scratchboard, and watercolors to achieve his look.
We can witness the stark layered effect this long multi-step process achieves in “Tentacle Head.” The pink hood with green scaling seems to sink deep into the background, as if the head is long and curved. The tentacled face itself is almost blurry and hard to focus on, shifting around as if between one dimension and another, one that can be seen and one that can only be sensed.
The immediacy of Tawaraya’s art can also be felt in music he makes with punk bands like 2UP in Tokyo and Dmonstrations in San Diego. The riffs are explosive, the bass is heavy, and the drums drop kick you in the jaw. “I feel more collaborative when working with other artists in bands and projects like that. Making comics and art is personal,” he says.
The worlds merge often, however, as Tawaraya is a prolific flyer-maker for bands and venues. He draws, colors, and letters these signs in his typical style. In one for the Casbah in San Diego, we see his lettering technique.