Cartoonists MariNaomi and Noah Van Sciver sign at Kafe Kerouac on Tuesday, June 14 at 7:00 PM!
About the books:
Turning Japanese by MariNaomi, published by 2dcloud, is an illustrated memoir that chronicles MariNaomi’s experiences working in illegal hostess bars in San Jose and Tokyo while attempting to connect with a culture that had eluded her since childhood. The story begins in 1995 (where Mari’s first memoir, Kiss & Tell: A Romantic Resume, left off), when 22-year-old Mari had just gotten out of a long-term relationship. She moved to San Jose, California, where she was exposed to a wider Asian population than she’d ever known in her hometown of Mill Valley. It didn’t take her much time to fall in love with a new person. Soon after, she found employment at a hostess bar for Japanese expats, where she was determined to learn the Japanese language and culture. This all in the hopes of finally connecting with her Japanese relatives without the use of her mother as a translator. Turning Japanese is a story about otherness, culture clashes, generation gaps and youthful impetuosity.
Featuring over a dozen literary comic shorts by acclaimed cartoonist Noah Van Sciver. Whether in his fiction (Fante Bukowski) or nonfiction (The Hypo: The Melancholic Young Lincoln), Van Sciver has carved a niche as a keen observer of the human condition, exploring the decisions people make that make, break, and define them. Disquiet showcases the best of his short work, including: “The Death Of Elijah Lovejoy,” the story of the midwestern abolitionist in the 1830s who published a radical newspaper that denounced slavery and provoked local mobs to destroy his printing presses; “The Lizard Who Laughed,” a painfully dysfunctional reunion between an absent father and his adult son; and “Punks V. Lizards,” an anarchic and darkly comic piece of absurdity that blends Quadrophenia with Jurassic Park. As writer/musician Robin Edwards (Lisa Prank) notes in her introduction, “The stories in this book run all over the place… What comes through is wholeheartedly Noah: anxious and funny and depressed and weird and brilliant.”
About the authors:
MariNaomi has been making memoir comics since 1997. She’s the author and illustrator of the SPACE Prize-winning Kiss & Tell: A Romantic Resume, Ages 0 to 22 (Harper Perennial, 2011), the Eisner-nominated Dragon’s Breath and Other True Stories (2dcloud/Uncivilized Books, 2014), the upcoming Turning Japanese (2dcloud, 2016) and I Thought You Hated Me (Retrofit Comics, 2016), and her self-published Estrus Comics (1998 to 2009). Her work has appeared in over sixty print publications, and has been featured on numerous websites, such as The Rumpus, The Weeklings, LA Review of Books, Midnight Breakfast, Truth-out, XOJane, Buzzfeed, PEN America and more. Mari’s work on the Rumpus won a SPACE Prize and an honorable mention in Houghton Mifflin’s Best American Comics 2013. MariNaomi’s comics and paintings have been featured in such institutions as the De Young Museum, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the Cartoon Art Museum, San Francisco’s Asian American Museum, and the Japanese American Museums in Los Angeles and San Jose. In 2011, Mari toured with the literary roadshow Sister Spit. She is the creator and curator of the Cartoonists of Color Database and the Queer Cartoonists Database. Visit MariNaomi’s website at marinaomi.com
Noah Van Sciver first came to comic readers’ attention with his critically acclaimed comic book series Blammo, which has earned him 3 Ignatz award nominations. His work has appeared in Spongebob comics, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mad magazine, Best American Comics 2011, and The Stranger, as well as countless graphic anthologies. He currently is the fellow at the Center For Cartoon Studies in White River Junction, VT. Van Sciver has four graphic novels: The Hypo: The Melancholic Young Lincoln, Youth Is Wasted, Saint Cole and Fante Bukowski: Struggling Writer. Visit Noah’s website at: noahvansciver.tumblr.com
About Kafe Kerouac:
What is Kafe Kerouac? It’s many things to many people. For some it’s the place they study for finals, have drinks with friends, see a poetry slam, comedy show, view artwork, buy books and records, meet for a first date, play board games. In truth, Kafe Kerouac is an alternative space to hang out with friends and enjoy great coffee, baked goods, beer, wine, and more… A place that loves art in all its forms.
Kafe Kerouac
2250 N High Street, Columbus, OH 43201
(614) 299-2672
