23 June 2013

Status Update

Sorry to break the news, but it's another month without Historie... I really thought there'd be a chapter this June but I guess them's the breaks. Maybe next month... But for those who're looking to have their fix of manga set in the Classical era, you'll be excited to know that my next project is Alexandros ~Dream for World Conquest~. It's a condensed biography of Alexander the Great and I quite like it for its depictions of the Diadochi at the beginning and the end. If only there were more manga that focused on them... This manga's only 1-volume long, and I intend on releasing it in one go, but I thought I might as well release the first few pages as a preview since there's no Historie this month. Expect the whole volume to be out sometime in July.

I've been wanting to work on this for quite some time now, primarily because it's by Yasuhiko Yoshikazu. In case you don't know who that is, he's the original character designer for the iconic Mobile Suit Gundam. Although he's mostly known for his works as a character designer for anime, it's Yasuhiko-the-mangaka that I so adore and admire for two main reasons. For one, unlike in anime where Yasuhiko's lovely character designs are usually compromised due to the lack of budget, his designs shine brilliantly in manga. Definitely one of my top 10 mangaka when it comes to artwork, especially character designs. The second reason is that he makes exactly the type of historical manga that I love. He's much more dramatic than Yokoyama of course, but he still strikes a nice balance that never feels too "hollywood," for a lack of a better term. I definitely intend on doing most of his historical stuff over the years, especially Ten no Kechimyaku (oh man, do I ever have a hard-on for that one's setting).

Anyways, regarding status updates, I'm sure the #1 question on everyone's mind is WHEN'S THE NEW PUNPUN COMING!? Well, it's coming out in Japan on June 28th, so taking into the amount of time it takes for my raw provider to get it delivered and then scan it, I'd say a late-July release is most likely. I'll give a more definite release date once I actually get the raws. And yes, I'll do the live-typesetting threads like I did with the previous volumes. That's becoming sort of a Punpun tradition now. As for Zero, I still haven't found/gotten any more raws yet, so let's all try to be patient. I'm sure I'll be able to resume that following Punpun. That's it for now, feel free to ask any other question regarding my other projects.

Download:
Alexandros Preview:   Sendspace

31 comments:

  1. Thanks for the preview of an exciting manga.
    I heard somewhere that vol 12 is the last volume of Punpun. If it really ends, it may take months for me to recover from the shock that Punpun's finally over.

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    1. It's marked as "12 Volumes (Ongoing)" on MU, so no.

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  2. Wow, a new project, great. But I have to say that I find the font you used hard to read, unfortunately I am not a young guy anymore. ;)

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  3. Dammit, I've had vol. 12 on my PC, unread, since you released it. Can't muster the courage to go through the emotional battering. Must... get... to it...

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  4. Great preview. The art is really cinematic. You can almost hear a soundtrack for each scene..

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  5. What about VS?

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    Replies
    1. Already out, just look at Batoto, MangaTraders or try to find thread in 4chan archive.

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  6. punpun!!!!! aaaah :')

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  7. Hey Hox,

    Any news on the next volume of Zero or Shin Kurosawa?

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    1. No news on Zero and I'm not doing Shin Kurosawa for now.

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  8. Any glimmers of hope for La Croisade des Innocents? It sounds really interesting...

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    Replies
    1. I was planning on finishing that up earlier this year, but it seems Anonymous Delivers has taken it up so that project is officially in my "dropped" list, unless they end up dropping it too, in that case which I'll pick it back up and finish it.

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    2. Do they have a website? Bing is just giving me parcel companies.

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    3. Use mangaupdates (http://www.mangaupdates.com/groups.html?id=2863).

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  9. Are you still doing vinland or has the certain authority forbidden it?

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    1. Not gonna answer that question but feel free to think what you wish.

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  10. Just in case you guys don't Know, it seems it is confirmed that volume 13 will be the last volume of Oyasumi Punpun.. https://twitter.com/manganewsjapon/status/350439833300238336 and it will be coming at the end of the year! I'm pumped here!

    Ah, Hox, in case you want, I have all the magazine raws of the chapters of Punpun's volume 12, if you want to speed up the translation until the volume raw comes out to do the typesetting. If you want it, reply me, ok?

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    Replies
    1. I'm busy working on Alexandros at the moment but I'd still appreciate it if you sent me it via mail.

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    2. I sent it to the e-mail address in the "about" page.

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  11. great something different than Sangokushi (sry had to say it ;) )

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  12. Thank you as always for your work.

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  13. You're a baller Hox, keep it up.

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  14. Hey Hox, do you think I might be able to interest you in translating A Girl By The Sea? It's a two-volume piece by Inio Asano, and while the first volume was done by Kotonoha a couple of years back, they appear to have died (no releases or status updates in six months), so the second half is languishing.

    Thanks for all your hard work. :)

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    Replies
    1. I add myself to this request/suggestion. The wait for that second volume has been killing me...

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    2. As far as I know, Kotonoha is technically working on the series and I have a crap-ton of other projects that I can work on without resorting to taking other groups' projects. Come back to me if Kotonoha actually drops it or officially announces that they're dead. So until then... PLEASE STOP ASKING ME THIS QUESTION.

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    3. Oh sorry, I didn't know you'd been asked before. :(

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  15. Reminds me that I need to find some time to read that Trotsky manga of his.

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  16. Hokkusu you're my hero.

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  17. How does the Historie guy keep his job? He's literally Miura level slow, without 1/10th the art detail.

    And I'm guessing not even half the fan base seeing as how historical stuff isn't exactly trendy stuff.

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    Replies
    1. Iwaaki Hitoshi is a pretty big name in Japan. He has some magnificent mangaka career behind him, especially with Kisejuu which sold over 10 milion copies (more than milion copies per volume). He carefully develops the story while drawing almost everything (or completely everything) alone. It takes time.
      Since Iwaaki already proved to be great storyteller and his works sell, then publishers give him lot of free space. Iwaaki takes often these 4-5 month long breaks right before the new volume is published (8th volume comes out in August)so he could finish all his drafts from magazine chapters. One shouldn't rush art.

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