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Your source for in-depth interviews, manga spotlights, and expert advice for your life as a mangaka.
This month marks the one year anniversary of VIZ One-Shots! Under the guidance of editor Hisashi Sasaki, VIZ has published a wide variety of talented artists and their manga. We celebrate that achievement this month with an all-new interview and a look back at “Skin & Bone”!
CONTENTS:
In Conversation With Manga Editor Hisashi SASAKI
In the Spotlight - “Skin & Bone”
Upcoming Portfolio Reviews
Continuing our conversation from the inaugural newsletter, VIZ Originals One-Shots editor Hisashi SASAKI sheds light on the program’s progress, funny differences between mangaka, and the importance of chasing inspiration over genre.
Congratulations on reaching one year of one-shots! How would you describe the experience of working with mangaka over the past year? Have you noticed any interesting or fun differences in the Japanese and Western approach to one-shots?
Hisashi SASAKI: I’ve dedicated almost my entire career to being a manga editor, but this was my first time collaborating with aspiring mangakas from outside Japan with whom I didn’t share the same cultural background. (Not to mention, they are significantly younger than me!) I was initially super nervous about whether I could even manage to effectively converse with them.
However, I soon discovered that their passion for manga and desire to reach a wide audience were no different from those of mangakas from Japan. In essence, we had a common language of manga, which facilitated a smoother workflow than I had anticipated.
The nearly two-dozen one-shots you’ve published so far cover a number of genres and settings. Did you expect this kind of variety when you began the program?
SASAKI: I wanted to publish a diverse range of one-shots to convey a message to the mangaka community.
We don’t seek manga that is limited to a specific genre; instead, we welcome any manga that is good. This aligns with our true intention of discovering talented mangaka. I’m delighted and consider ourselves fortunate to have published one-shots across such a wide spectrum of genres in our first year.
Is there a genre you’d like to see that no one has pitched yet?
SASAKI: Not particularly. I want aspiring mangakas to draw what truly inspires them, not based off of a specific genre.
Editing necessarily requires a lot of back and forth with the mangaka. When you’re working on a one-shot together, do you tend to give feedback that suggests a solution to the problem, or nudge the mangaka toward finding the solution themselves?
SASAKI: I try to nudge aspiring mangakas to think for themselves as much as possible. This approach stems from my experiences during my time at Shonen Jump.
Since SJ is a weekly magazine, mangakas and I would meet every week to discuss the upcoming issue. I would share all the ideas I could think of, but they rarely incorporated them. Instead, they would come up with more intriguing ideas and develop them into thumbnails. This realization led me to conclude that only mangakas capable of generating ideas that transcend the imagination of editors can achieve professional success.
Manga originates solely within the minds of mangakas, from beginning to end. The role of an editor is to spot such talents and help their success.
Are there any goals or comments you’d like to make regarding the one-shot program as it enters its second year?
SASAKI: The ultimate goal of one-shots is to spot mangakas and mangas that have the potential for serialization. I aim to launch at least one—hopefully two—new series by the end of this year. And of course, I would love to see many more one-shots being published!
Josh Tierny & Valentin Serber’s “Skin & Bone” debuted on June 7th, 2024, alongside the VIZ One-shots program itself. Tierny & Serber created a powerhouse fantasy story, with big characters and action that’s sure to hook their audience.
Editor Hisashi SASAKI described their work this way:
Josh caught my attention with World Piece, where his passionate creative energy was on full display. Actually meeting him confirmed that assessment! And even though this is their first collaboration, Valentin’s impeccable illustration skills bring Josh’s story to life with that same energy. In a world filled with zombies, a bounty hunter and a woman with mysterious powers team up in a battle for survival! I’m already looking forward to seeing what these two create together next!
“Skin & Bone” covers a lot of ground in 50 pages. Is there a technique you used or an aspect of the story that you focused on to get your audience onboard quickly?
Josh TIERNEY: We originally had a prologue and flashback sequence that were several pages long each but reworked them into single images that have just as much impact. This way, readers get to meet Marr right away and see him head into battle just as quickly!
Valentin SERBER: Josh and I came up with a lot of ideas for introducing the lore of the story, but we were limited by the number of pages, so we decided to focus on what we wanted to tell the readers and what we loved to see in a comic. As an illustrator, I wanted to show cool characters, dynamism, and action scenes! I think the badass moments are what keeps the attention of the readers. At least for me!
The world of “Skin & Bone” feels very well-realized. Can you tell us something about the world that’s not present in the comic, such as background info that you thought about while creating it but chose not to include?
SERBER: Marr is a great bounty hunter, but he is only the 12th best. There are a lot of other warriors and terrifying skells waiting for their time in the backstages!
TIERNEY: Soma is the most mysterious character, but she does have a backstory already written. Part of it is that she had been a poor orphan girl raised to be a treasure hunter by her mentor, but her mentor ended up betraying her during a heist. She also has the ability to communicate with the spirits of dead animals.
Marr being the 12th best bounty hunter is a pretty good bit! Plus, he’s a fairly bright, heroic character. Why was a big club the right weapon for him, rather than a more traditionally heroic sword or similar weapon?
TIERNEY: Since the skells are skeleton monsters, without skin or muscle to cut through, I figured Marr needed a really heavy weapon to smash them with—or “grind some bones,” as he likes to say! A kanabō instantly popped into my head, which we took inspiration from for his weapon.
The spreads in your one-shot, like pages 24-25, are really striking. Valentin definitely delivered on the dynamism and action scenes, with a little humor on top of that too. What are both of your favorite aspects of action scenes? Is it panel-to-panel storytelling? Bombast? Abstracted violence? Something else entirely? Do you share any influences there?
TIERNEY: I wrote a base for the action scenes in my script, which Valentin fleshed out in some spots, abstracted in others, and overall, just brought a tremendous amount of energy to. I like to find little unique bits to put into the battles, like Marr being protected in a cocoon of insects called mayhides, which had been summoned by Soma. For me, personally, I’ll look at stuff like JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure for the sense of stakes and inventiveness, and then something like One-Punch Man for the comedic angle.
Action scenes in my stories usually bring in some edge — characters tend to lose fingers, eyes, and loved ones.
SERBER: I think my favorite aspect of action scenes is how dynamic they are and how attractive and explosive they can be. I really enjoyed manga with huge spreads when I was a kid, and I wanted to do the same. My main influences for this are super dynamic manga like Gokurakugai or Gachiakuta.
Josh, building on Valentin’s appreciation of dynamism and action scenes, what do you personally love to see in comics? Have you been able to pull that off in your work to your satisfaction, as well?
TIERNEY: I love just being able to open up a comic or manga and immerse myself in its world and feel like I’m forming a bond with its characters. If a reader ever re-reads something I’ve written, to re-experience its world and characters, then that might be the ultimate satisfaction for me.
Valentin, you mentioned that this was your first project in the industry. Did you pick up or learn anything interesting on this project?
SERBER: I have learned a LOT and I proudly believe that “Skin & Bone” helped me to understand and experiment my style and my abilities as a comics artist. I took the qualities from this project and worked on my weakness to be able to deliver a brand-new project a year later!
Do you have any comments for your audience?
TIERNY: When I was 12, I wrote the first two pages of something I called a “techno-fantasy,” which included Yellow the robot and a strong fighter who took care of him. With “Skin & Bone” I want to stay true to the heart of that unfinished story, using the techniques I’ve picked up since then.
We hope readers get a thrill from this harsh, mysterious world. Valentin’s action scenes are some of the coolest I’ve seen!
SERBER: I am just grateful for the opportunity to be read by all of you. This is my first project in the industry, so I really hope you have a good time reading it. All love!
The VIZ One-shot “Skin & Bone” is available now, in addition to the graphic novel series World Piece, also written by Josh Tierny!
Sign-ups for portfolio reviews will be opening soon. If you’re attending either of these conventions, stay tuned for more information!
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