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COMICS RIFFS I LOVE: Tetsuro Ueyama's MITSUYOSHI opening pages
🕑 Added 2019-11-22 14:01:01 +0000 UTCIn Tetsuro Ueyama's awesome but hyper-obscure 2000-era manga Solevision Mitsuyoshi (never translated, alas), every chapter of the series kicks off in the same manner; and this is an "opening pages" technique I've long adored and used myself.
First off, we start with a page of slightly cryptic panels, usually without a clear view of the character(s) involved. Here, in the first page of the first Mitsuyoshi chapter, a mysterious girl is trying to batter her way through a wooden gate:
Then BAM, she smashes her way through the gate and springs off down a hillside in a spectacular, sprawling double-page spread:
After the cliffhanger ending of the first episode, the second Mitsuyoshi chapter starts off with, again, a slightly unclear series of shots:
...and then BAM, breaks you off another double-page spread establishing the entire setting, and fully displaying the giant beastie that our heroines (and hero) are confronting:
For me, the "introductory page of slightly unclear panels" followed by a "big ol' splash page or double-page spread immediately clarifying matters with a bang" is one of the best possible ways to kick off a story.
The third Solevision Mitsuyoshi chapter again starts up with a few slightly unclear images:
...before BAM, we get a double-page spread showing us that the girl is engaged in swordfight training:
If I have the available pagecount, many or most of my stories start off in this manner. Here's the opening page from Empowered: The Wench with a Million Sighs, which again starts off somewhat cryptically:
...and then BAM, expands into a spread establishing the whole scene in an action-packed image:
Same deal with the intro to the story "Shove It, Chevalier" from Empowered vol.10. Again, the first page's three disparate images convey varying impressions...
...before BAM, the next page's "splash" makes it clear what's going on.
And another story from vol.10 features the same approach. Unclear close-ups...
...Then big ol' establishing splash page:
What can I say, folks? I g-d adore this approach.
POSTSCRIPT: Interestingly enough, though, I didn't actually pick the technique up from Ueyama, as I had initially thought when planning this post. Turns out that I've often kicked stories off like this in my earlier career, with the opening pages of Titans: Scissors, Paper, Stone being a key example. (Also, the opening pages of Iron Man: Hypervelocity, key moments in Gen13 and Dirty Pair, etc.) I'd scan s'more examples for y'all, but I've already blown a g-d hour and a half on this post. Yikes!
Comments
Lex of Excel
Very reminiscent of the intro pages Jack Kirby used to do, but with a more interesting build up!
KranberriJam
Something else I subconsciously noticed about your work that I love. Now I'm going to dig through some other comics and see if I can spot this technique being used elsewhere.
Adam Warren
You're very much welcome! I've definitely enjoyed doing this feature, especially in contrast with the inherently (if unavoidably) negative FAILED-PROJECT FRIDAY series.
Adam Warren
Dunno what to tell you; I've always loved this approach, as it even appeared in early DIRTY PAIR on occasion. Can't think of a particular comic (or, more likely, manga) that might've inspired it.
Jon
This series of posts is gold, thanks so much.
TF Commando
So if you didn't get the technique from Ueyama, where did it come from for you?
NinjaBits
Man I hope it at least becomes available to purchase here. Even though Im unable to translate, his visual storytelling is well worth owning for me.
Adam Warren
Looks like he's had a new series, HOSHI MAMA (presumably meaning STAR MAMA, implying SF-iness), going on for rather a while; haven't been able to find out much (or anything) about it as yet, though. https://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=138931
NinjaBits
God I love Ueyama's work. I have all of Solevision, Metal Guardian and Tenga Girl. I wish I was better with languages or that Google translate app worked better. I'd love to get context for all the beautiful artwork in those volumes. One of the similarities I love in your work as well as Ueyama's is how much texture and detail goes into everything but nothing is lost in following it. It's always such an amazingly clear read.
Strypgia
Looks like I need to hunt down a copy of IM: Hypervelocity.
Jack Hallows
awesome! thanks for sharing!
