This morning, the organizers of the Toronto Comic Arts Festival 2011 announced a new special guest: manga artist Usamaru Furuya, the creator of Genkaku Picasso (from Shonen Jump / VIZ Media) and the upcoming 2011 graphic novel releases from Vertical, Lychee Light Club and No Longer Human. Furuya-sensei will be at TCAF 2011 from May 7 - 8 at the Toronto Reference Library in person to promote the English language debut of Lychee Light Club, thanks to support from Vertical and his Japanese publisher, Ohta Books.
Furuya's stories are notable for their exquisite artistry and innovative, often provocative plot twists. Lychee Light Club is a one-volume story about a group of teens from an all-boys school who create a robot that they hope will find them the perfect woman -- but things go horribly awry when Lychee the robot kidnaps a girl who gives the boys' mechanical creation a few ideas of his own.
Here's more about Furuya and his most notable works from the press release sent out by TCAF this morning:
Usamaru Furuya launched his comics career within the legendary pages of GARO magazine with his debut work Palepoli. He would follow that experimental work by vigorously releasing a number of titles that displayed his elaborate artwork, and exceptional creativity. A unique ability to render a wide range of designs earned him the undying support of readers across the globe. Furuya has penned more than a dozen series since his debut, including - The Lychee Light Club (Vertical, Inc.), Genkaku Picasso (VIZ Media), The Children's Crusade, The Music of Marie, Teiichi's Empire, and Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human (due out from Vertical in Fall 2011). Furuya's Lychee Light Club will be receiving a theatrical adaptation in the winter of 2011.
Furuya's work in English includes selections from the manga Palepoli in the anthologies Secret Comics Japan (2000, VIZ Media) and Japan Edge (1999, Cadence Books), and his hilarious look inside Japanese youth culture Short Cuts (2 volumes, 2002-2003, VIZ Media). 2010 saw the beginning of the publication of his young-adult horror series Genkaku Picasso, part of the Shonen Jump Advanced line from VIZ media. A three-volume series (completing in May 2011), the series' dual settings of a mundane junior-high classroom and the rich inner dream worlds of its young inhabitants perfectly suit Furuya-san's abilities to expertly render reality and fantasy.
Usamaru Furuya is quite popular in France as well, and accordingly he has additional works available including Tokyo Magnitude 8, La Musique de Marie, and Le Cercle du Suicide. Other works include the experimental, nearly-wordless colour manga Plastic Girl, and a collection of Furuya's paintings titled Flowers. Furuya's work has also appeared in Chinese, German, and Korean.
This bit of news, in addition to last week's announcement of Natsume Ono as the other special guest from Japan pretty much makes TCAF 2011 the must-see show for fans of alternative / artistic / innovative manga.
Want to check out the Toronto Comic Arts Festival? If you're not already a Toronto resident, you might want to make plans now for your trip to TCAF, which will be held on Saturday, May 7 and Sunday, May 8, 2011 at the Toronto Reference Library at 789 Yonge St. in Toronto, Canada. Admission to TCAF is free and open to all ages.
In addition to Ono and Furuya, TCAF is also welcoming many notable comics creators from North America and Europe, including Jillian Tamaki (skim), Chris Ware (Acme Novelty Library) and Chester Brown (Paying For It). You can see the full list of special guests, exhibiting artists and publishers who'll be on hand at this year's show at TorontoComics.com
I've made my plans to be at this year's TCAF, have you? What do you think about this latest announcement? Add your comments below!
Image credits: © Usamaru Furuya / Ohta Shuppan, © Usamaru Furuya / Shueisha, © Usamaru Furuya / Shinchosha
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