Japan Super Wonder Get : 100% Orange

I came across a comic book called "Sunao Sunao" by an artist called 100% Orange. Printed in black and white and crude in execution, I thought it was a reprint from the 60's or 70's. But when I found a book collecting his commercial artwork, I soon realized this was an amazing contemporary artist. I love drawings like these with rough, loose line-work. It's so kinetic and alive. And his sense of design, his use color and shape, and his sense of humor and whimsy make him someone I'm extremely respectful of.

Japan Super Wonder Get : Jansson's Alice in Wonderland

While in Japan, my favorite part (other than the food) was seeing all the books and toys. We wandered through endless bookstores filled with great comics, illustrations and animation art. The only downside to getting a lot of books is that they're heavy to lug around. I'll post some of the best ones, starting with this:

Alice in Wonderland illustrated by Tove Jansson.


If you're not familiar with her, she's a Finnish author who created the extremely popular Moomintroll series of children's books. Drawn and Quarterly recently put out a collection of her comics.

What I love most about her art is it's both sweet and melancholy. It's imaginative and charming, but not cutesy. And yet there's a feeling of that bleak, overcast, Finnish-ness to all of it.

She approaches this book with such a unique take. Look at how she draws the Mad Hatter looking nothing like the goofy, insane man we always see. He's more like a crazy hermit.












If you want to see all the art, someone has scanned it at this site.