HawaiiStories: Hawaii-based comic books?

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Posted by Ryan on May 29, 2002 7:37 AM:

Oh, man. I thought immediately of No Talent Comics, but only after looking did I learn that they gave up the traditional comic angle and took their site offline.

One of the lead artists, Jon Murakami, was a cartoonist for Ka Leo. Easily one of the best pen-and-ink talents that publication ever saw before or since.

Thank the Internet gods for The Wayback Machine. It actually nabbed some of the page images (unlike Google's cache).

Huh?

Weird. Turns out I was listed on their site and didn't even know it.

Posted by Linkmeister on May 29, 2002 8:38 AM:

I know zip about comic books, but I wanted to say hello to Meri. Another Alexandrian! What is it about the place? (Meri, I graduated from HS there, a long time ago).

Posted by Ryan on May 29, 2002 9:27 AM:

How about Bruce Hale's "Moki the Gecko," who started off as a comic character before moving to children's books?

Or perhaps Deb Aoki and her weekly "Bento Box" strip in The Honolulu Advertiser?

And the Honolulu Star-Bulletin attempted a weekly reader-submitted comic showcase called "The Strip Show," perhaps inspired by the annual "Strip Show" exhibit at the UH Art Department. I'm not sure how long it ran, though.

Posted by Haken on May 29, 2002 10:21 AM:

As far as I know, No Talent Comics was it. I actually have a few of their comics in a box somewhere.

With the comic industry being the way it is, is not very conducive to the growth of local talents. And the local talents, being the way they are--"local"--can't compete with the talents on the mainland.

Posted by meri on May 29, 2002 10:52 AM:

Thanks for the great ideas! Sad to see that No Talent Comics have gone, though. :/ I've really been enjoying reaquainting myself with comics, and was so hoping to find Hawaii-themed bound comics. I will definitely be poking around some of the online offerings, however.

And, Linkmeister, howdy! I've been in Alexandria for about 5.5 years now, and am finally getting used to it. I'm dealing with the cold better than the hot, though. Yike.

Posted by ali on May 29, 2002 8:07 PM:

I don't know about comics, local or otherwise, but I like your Kimo! Welcome aboard!

Posted by Tom on May 29, 2002 8:16 PM:

Anyone remember Pidgen To Da Max? I believe the creators of those series also published a satire mag some time about 1984-85. There were spoofs of "Let's Go Fishing with Harry Kojima and Stan Wright", a sci-fi "Bufo the Frog" and a bunch of other local Mad Magazine type stories. I can't remember the title but it will bug me enough to go search for it on the ever-knowing WEB...

Posted by Keith H. on May 29, 2002 9:52 PM:

Ah, No Talent Comics. I remember it fondly. My good friend from high school, Eric Osaki, was the man who brought everything together.

(Ryan, did you ever meet him? Maybe that's how you got listed. I am too, under "Former Staffers"...I was asked to do their website, but couldn't due to other commitments, but I was always a supporter of his work.)

Jon Murakami, to my understanding, does graphic design for Borders Ward Centre and also does greeting cards for Maile Way Products. Loved his work.

I think Eric would be pleased to find out that people still remember his comic book after all this time.

Posted by Panther on May 30, 2002 8:51 AM:

It's a shame Tin Tin never came to Hawaii.

Posted by Ryan on May 30, 2002 9:01 AM:

I may have met Eric, through Jon, but I can only presume Jon listed me (and Genevieve, my ... successor) as one of the Ka Leo editors who was lucky enough to run his stuff.

I did happily notice when the greeting card line came out... and selling decently, if the growing amount of retail space they get are any indication.

Posted by jeff on May 30, 2002 3:19 PM:

The best Hawaii related comicbook character I have seen in a while is Kimo The Burly Mango. If you haven't seen him yet, he can be found protecting Meri's site.

Although not in comicbooks as of yet, I see great potential there. Who knows, maybe somewhere in the near future Kimo will have some friends such as Lani The Juicy Lychee, Al The Bruiser Apple-Banana, Pat The Bi-curious Passion Fruit, Wanda The Cheap Won Bak...the possibilities are endless!

Whatever may happen, all I know is that when I saw Kimo, I knew I must have a Burly Mango t-shirt.....once they become available.

Posted by NemesisVex on May 30, 2002 4:09 PM:

The Pidgin to da Max spin-offs were titled Papayas.

I remember reading about how Doug Simonson -- the guy who illustrated the Pidgin to da Max books -- branched into male erotic art mainly because all the spin-offs from Pidgin to Da Max ended up being duds.

Posted by julia on May 30, 2002 4:30 PM:

Pineapple man, which apparently is out of print.

I also know *nothing* about comics, other than I saw this guy peddling his goods at a craft fair in Kane`ohe. I thought, "neat. A superhero named pineapple man" (easily impressed, I know.) A few years later, my brother took a drawing class from him at Windward mall.

Posted by bunny on May 31, 2002 2:18 AM:

I second that, Jeff. I, too, am waiting for t-shirts of Kimo, the burly mango. He's da bomb. ;)

Posted by meri on May 31, 2002 4:54 AM:

*grin* I'm glad you all like Kimo so much, since I adore him. I'll be passing on your praise to the artist. I will also be investigating t-shirt possibilities!

Posted by Ryan on May 31, 2002 8:49 AM:

I love Kimo too! Heck, maybe HawaiiStories needs a 'toon mascot?

P.S. This is too bad. As a one-time freelancer, I more than understand, but still... (Oh, wait — here it is. Thank the stars for 'View Source' and easy webmasters!)

Posted by meri on May 31, 2002 3:06 PM:

About those Kimo t-shirts... Would you folks prefer having Kimo on the back, with a pocket-banner with the URL and ". . . let the mango through . . ." on it, or have Kimo on the front (large) and have the URL and slogan across the shoulders? (I can only choose one design, it seems.)

Posted by jeff on May 31, 2002 7:05 PM:

I prefer Kimo on the back, with a pocket-banner with the URL and let the mango through..."

Besides, I like the idea of Kimo protecting my back....after all, he's 'The Burly Mango'. :o)

Posted by NemesisVex on June 1, 2002 7:01 AM:

Bwah. Looks like the language regarding electronic rights in the Starbulletin's freelance contract was a bit vague. Remembing which freelancers at the Statesman did and did not want their articles published online was a pain in the posterior.

Posted by Stella on June 1, 2002 11:31 AM:

Mmmmm. I wants me some wearable Burly Mango action... :)

As long as Kimo's printed onto the T-shirt with quality dye (and not the icky, sweat-inducing latex paint that some companies use to print designs onto shirts), I'm all for him, to paraphrase Jeff's words, having my back.

Posted by ali on June 1, 2002 4:23 PM:

Count me in on a Kimo tee!

Posted by bunny on June 5, 2002 11:05 AM:

Kimo on back, definitely. Are you going to sell via cafepress? I only ask, because they'll make t-shirts large enough to fit even me.

Posted by meri on June 5, 2002 11:13 AM:

Yeah, I'm currently planning cafepress, for much the same reasons. :) (That, and I've done self-run t-shirt runs before, and they were a hassle.) My only concern is that they might not be to Stella's liking, since their print method does leave a rather plasticy feel on the shirt until you've washed it a few times. I've done a mockup and have ordered a sample and should have it by the end of the week. I'll keep you guys posted!

Posted by Stella on June 5, 2002 5:18 PM:

Naah, Meri, don't worry about me - I think I can handle the "plasticky until after a few washes" kind of dye-transfer process - and considering how I do my laundry *ahem* Kimo'll be nice and wearable without being chafe-y. :) Anyway, let us know!

Posted by Linkmeister on June 5, 2002 8:50 PM:

You mean there are local t-shirts that don't feel like that? Hmmm...I'll have to advise my sister's place of employment for their next run! ;) Put me down for one, also.

Posted by meri on June 25, 2002 5:52 AM:

Hi! I think things are finally ready to go. I wanted to make sure everything was ok with the artist before I made everything public. Now that that is all figured out, Kimo is ready to make his clothing debut. ;)

You can find Kimo merchandise at CafePress. There are also mugs (coffee (2 sizes), and frosted), and a tile coaster. I'm not really thrilled with the coaster. The colors come out great, but it's kind of blurry. I'm quite happy with the other Kimo stuff that I've bought, however. (I have one 4XL shirt, one frosted mug, and one large coffee mug in addition to the tile coaster.)

If anyone is interested in any of the other products CafePress offers (clock, frisbee, license plate frame, ash t-shirt, baby-doll t-shirt, ladies tank top, golf shirt, baseball jersey, long-sleeved tee, sweatshirt, boxer shorts, visor, baseball cap, beach hat, stainless steel coffee mug, bbq apron, cooler bag, tote bag, mouse pad), let me know. I'll probably add more items as I get the inclination to resize the graphics appropriately.

I've also commissioned two new Kimos! One for 403 and 401 error pages and another for 404 error pages. I really like the preliminary sketches. :)

Aloha, and let me know if there are any improvements to the shirts or if there are any other items you'd like!

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Hawaii-based comic books?

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