Posted in: Comics, Recent Updates | Tagged: anime, Comics, earthquake, japan, manga, tsunami

Praying For Japan Through Art

Published Sat, 12 Mar 2011 15:26:39 -0600

Last updated Sun, 13 Mar 2011 07:37:44 -0500

At the beginning of the week Tokyo-based manga artist Sensha Yoshida, was cooking stir-fry rice noodles and tweeted that he didn't notice the first earthquake.

Things changed quickly as tsunami and more tremors hit Japan leading to massive loss of life and damage and continuing disruption.

In a form of prayer, Takehiko Inoue, creator of Vagabond and Slam Dunk created a number of images (above) called "Smile".

Not raising any smiles were the rumours of the deaths of Masashi Kishimoto, creator of the popular manga series Naruto and Satoshi Tajiri creator of Pokemonwith one site going so far as to run a poll on whether Masashi or Satoshiri had survived or not. They've since been dismissed as hoaxes.

The electricity company TEPCO has called for energy conservation, as the result of nuclear power stations being shut down, currently nicknamed Operation Yashima from the anime Evangelion that sapped the power grid of Japan.

Anime Network has a list of people in the anime and manga industries who have been checking in, to dispel this kind of rumour mongering and worry in general, both living in Japan and visiting. They also have been keeping an updated list of comics and anime events that have been cancelled in the wake of the disaster.

Both Matt Fraction and Brian Bendis have been visiting Hawaii with their families, and have been kept awake by tsunami alert alarms through the night. Brian tweeted;

every time you sort of calm yourself down the tsunami alarm blares across the sky.

we all hear your thoughts and prayers. its so much its overwhelming. we're safe. we just have no idea what is coming…

And Matt concurred;

babies slept through the civil defense sirens; small victories. local news covering the countdown and incipient panic; no more japan news.

He even gave us an example of the siren;

here: imagine this every hour for, oh, five or six hours, as loud as you can stand http://t.co/tLIZJTv

In PR terms Marvel dodged a bullet not naming the Ultimate line Ground Zero as was originally planned by Bill Jemas. They must be grateful now that Jemas' Tsunami line also tanked.

But for now all those affected by the disasters are in the thoughts and prayers of Bleeding Cool writers and readers.

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