In the years of doing this podcast, we’ve encountered many comics from Japan, but not many about Japan. One in the latter category is “Tonoharu”, about an American teaching English in Japan (an occupation that some of us on this podcast know a bit about!); the second installment of the four-book series was recently released.

This week Tim calls up creator Lars Martinson to pick his brain on such questions as, is it jarring for some readers to see a comic about Japan that doesn’t look like manga? What was the inspiration for the style you did choose? And just how long does it take to draw all those lines?! A great discussion ensues.

Lars Martinson blogs on Creating “Tonoharu”

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