Usagi Yojimbo DojoBoard

A new comic I just ran across on ebay which sounds interesting enough to possibly check out....

Sarah Parr wrote: Hi everyone!

I’m pleased to announce that my first solo comic book project is finally in print!

Ninja Tom's 'Philosophy of Life' follows Tom, a grizzly bear who is also a Master Ninja and his apprentice Tayo's adventures. Tom tries to impart his knowledge to the young Tayo by telling him stories which appear in the comic in a different art style to the rest of the book.

Ninja Tom's 'Philosophy of Life' is an experiment in art styles and storytelling, and will hopefully be a fun read for all ages.

You can find out more and see previews of the book at: http://www.ninjatom.tk/

The first issue is 28 pages Black & White with a full colour painted cover for $2.99 from here:
http://www.comixpress.com/catalog/produ ... cts_id=301

I hope you take the time to take a look, and if you like it please tell your friends

Thanks for your time

Sarah ‘shiro’ Parr

Looks interesting, but I can't help but wonder if it's anime/manga inspired drivel.

I didn't read anything in the description to give any indication that it is influenced by anime or manga. Then again, Sarah doesn't really give any information concerning influences at all. I am very curious to check out an issue or two, and with only 4 issues released so far, I'll probably order a whole set of them. I like the description on her web-page describing how she created the character out of a childhood toy (stuffed bear armed with a toy samurai sword) and how she uses the medium to experiment with differant drawing styles. The fact that the Comixpress web-site offers quick and inexpensive shipping and payment by paypal is an added incentive. Also, I have run out of Usagi tpbs to buy my nephews for christmas....

Hello, thanks to Steve for inviting me here and for checking out the book!

Shishio, I think if you take a moment to look at the art previews on the website, I hope those alone should dispel any concerns of Ninja Tom being just another westerners attempt to ape the manga style.

The story too owes more to books like Soulwind, TMNT’s, Bone, Rover, Tellos and Usagi Yojimbo than it does to any manga.

I am influenced by easten culture and so naturally I read and am influenced by manga but I don’t limit myself to one style I borrow from whatever culture/book/story inspires me whether it be from west or east or wherever.

I've been interested in myths, legends, stories from world cultures all my life, from Celtic to Native American to Australia Aboriginal and many many more.
Although the east is the current focus of my interest I hope the things I've learned from studying other cultures also gets filtered through my stories.

In the end tho, I'm the creator and so I'm biased, only you can decide if it'ts drivel or not, I hope you'll take a chance on it!

Well, I don't want to ramble on with info about the book and I'm not good at that kinda thing anyway.
I'll be happy to answer any queries about it anyone has as best I can tho.

Welcome to the Usagi Yojimbo Dojo Forums, Shiro, and thanks for posting about your comic.


Ninja Tom's 'Philosophy of Life' #1

I am still waiting for the issues I purchased to arrive (it has only been a couple days since I placed the order), but I am anxious to see and read them.


The original Ninja Tom

One question that has been puzzling me, Shiro, is the bandages around both of Ninja Tom's hands? Is that something which is explained in the first issue?

Abayo....

ah haha wow, you're really eager to read them huh, I'm feeling the pressure now ...will he like them or not! ^^"

in answer to your question about the bandages Steve, actually it’s not explained in any issue. *Tom hasn’t even told me why he has bandaged paws yet! XD"*

As you know Ninja Tom is an experiment, the project I was working on previously (currently stalled) had an epic story with detailed and complex characters, so with Ninja Tom I wanted to get away from that and just write and draw something good fun and not get all lost in deep plot and character.
I hope the characters still have enough about them to draw you in, I think they do, the fact that you don’t know too much about them leaves room for them to grow in the readers imaginations I hope. And things like the mystery about Tom’s bandages and the past between him and Kou the Darkclaw master I hope fuels peoples imaginations about him.

Much about the book, both in story and character, leaves the reader to fill in gaps and use their own imaginations, hopefully without seeming to lacking in substance.
But you’ll have to tell me whether that worked out or not once you’ve read it.

shiro wrote:Shishio, I think if you take a moment to look at the art previews on the website, I hope those alone should dispel any concerns of Ninja Tom being just another westerners attempt to ape the manga style.

I wasn't talking about the art; I think your art is very nice, actually. I was talking about the story. There are a lot of fanboys out there that want to make comics about things they like despite the fact they know nothing of them except what little they learned from whatever anime or manga they're infatuated with.

For example, "Oh my god! Ninja are so cool! I'm totally going to draw a manga about ninja!"

And then they make something that's nothing but fanservice and Mary Sue-ism.

I'm not making any accusations, just speculating. I'll probably check out your comic if the reaction from others is positive.

You're safe from any fanservice because I'm not a fan'boy' tho I understand with my pen-name it's a bit confusing. Your safe from any fangirling too in case that worries you also.
And it doesn’t contain any Mary Sue-ism!
I don't claim it to be revolutionary and new because no story can be that,
but it's not a caricature of any manga or indeed any comic I've read.

I wish I could describe the story to you better but firstly I don’t find it easy to do so, although they are simple stories which I could summarize and have done on my website, it's not just about the words and the story but about the atmosphere and the readers own thoughts when they read it. I hope reading an issue is an individual experience for each reader and so I cannot express in words the true feel of each story in the book.
Secondly because of this I don't wish to talk about the stories but would rather a reader makes up their own mind and reads the story as deeply... or not as they want from an unbiased viewpoint.

I can tell you though that despite the title there's very little even to do with ninjas in it other than the characters are martial artists, Tom is closer to a Samurai or a Monk in nature, but those didn't make such catchy sounding titles!

Shishio wrote:There are a lot of fanboys out there that want to make comics about things they like despite the fact they know nothing of them except what little they learned from whatever anime or manga they're infatuated with.

On this matter, well for a start be assured my exploration of any culture goes beyond only experiencing thier pop culture, I'm far more interested in thier history, religions, lifestyles, myths, etc tho I claim to be expert in no culture.

Although Ninja Tom does takes a lot of influence from Japanese culture, I do not profess to be an expert in Japanese culture by any means and I do not claim that anything in Ninja Tom is an accurate depiction of any culture, Japanese or otherwise, it is by it's nature a mix of my many years interest in storytelling, cultures, nature and much more, it is pure fantasy and should not be taken as a comment on any culture or way of life.

I feel no matter what I say here you will not be persuaded, which is natural because as I said before anything I say will be biased so why should you listen to me!?
I hope Steve enjoys the book and can give you an unbiased opinion on which to base your choice to purchase a copy or not

Thank you for your interest in the book!

Sorry not to get back to this topic sooner....

The four issues I bought arrived about a week ago, and I finally got a chance to sit down long enough and read them through.

To describe my opinion of Shiro's Ninja Tom comic and work in general in the easiest posible way is to say that I will be looking forward to and purchasing each new issue whenever they become available. Considering that I currently only follow one comic series (Usagi Yojimbo) and two manga series (Path of the Assassin and Satsuma Gisheden), finding something new to look forward to is very rare.



While Ninja Tom is not an epic adventure series like Usagi Yojimbo, it is an entertaining and enjoyable comic with likable characters and a creator who opens up and shares her motives and influences, as well as her feelings regarding what she is attempting to do in each issue as well as her own opinion on how well she succeeded in obtaining her desired goals.



As she describes on her web-site, Ninja Tom is a forum for her to experiment with differant artistic styles and methods. Sometimes, it is trying to use a brush for all the art in an issue. And other times, she might attempt to push the boundries of what she feels are self imposed limitations or restrictions within her "style". Either way, she provides an introduction and an afterwords to each issue where she shares some insights into what motivated each issue.



The cast of characters is still relatively small, and even though Ninja Tom is the title character, his student Tayo very quickly steals the comic and the readers affections. I am also still curious about the story behind the bandages.....

My apologies for not being a better reviewer or critic.

Abayo.....

PS
The images above from Shiro's Tea story actually predates Stan's story "Chanoyu" by a couple months

Thanks very much for your review, it's certainly made my day to know you enjoyed it and I feel honoured to make your comic list!
I better get to work on some more quick!

HA ha I knew Tayo stole the show! I never intended him too, he just always takes the spotlight!

I've been thinking more about Tom's background recently, so maybe the bandages will get explained one day.

Thanks again for buying the book and for your review, it's always interesting and encouraging to know that people are reading it and enjoying it!