This week’s edition of Publishers Weekly Comic Week is still heavy on Comic-Con reports. For me though, the most noteworthy links are a pair of interviews Kai-ming Cha did with some visiting manga-ka. First she spoke with Bleach author Tite Kubo:
PWCW: What is your favorite aspect of creating Bleach?
TK: When I draw the scene that I’d been dreaming about or had always wanted to draw, that is the time that I’m happiest. The other time that I really enjoy is when I create new characters. But when I create new characters, it’s not usually when I’m working. When I’m running errands, it will come up in my mind, and then I’ll develop it. It’s one of the most enjoyable parts. But I enjoy drawing and creating manga, so it’s always fun.
Then, she talks to Hiro Mashima, whose Fairy Tail and Rave Master series has garnered no small bit of attention:
PWCW: In Rave and Fairy Tail, you have two main characters, both boys, who have no fathers. Additionally, two adventures in Fairy Tail entail saving a father-son relationship. Why is this relationship important for you to explore?
HM: It’s partly from my personal experience. I lost my father when I was younger. In a way, it’s difficult to imagine what a father is. In my stories, instead of introducing the father figure first, I introduce him in the later part and expand from there. I kind of keep him as a mysterious figure and introduce him little by little later on.
