Before Encountering American Comics

—Kawano-san, did you know Sasaki-san was submitting fan art?

KawanoI found out towards the end of junior college. Until then, I just played games and stuff. But around the time I joined a company, drawing digitally was starting to become popular in Japan. I bought a computer myself and thought I'd try coloring, so I asked Sasaki, 'If you have any line art, can I have it?' That's how we developed our style of creating a single piece together.

SasakiI handle the line art, and Kawano does the coloring.

KawanoWe both had unrelated jobs and drew illustrations as a hobby, submitting them to contests like those in “Koubo Guide.” We once submitted to MediaWorks and won an award, but it was around the dawn of light novels, and they asked, 'Can you draw moe art?' I tried, but I just couldn't draw it well.

SasakiSince I was drawing tokusatsu, I didn't really get it (laughs).

KawanoWe were good at drawing for children, so we mainly did illustrations for Gakken's educational series.

—What was your encounter with American comics like?

SasakiSpawnwas how I found out. However, I couldn't get the original issues in Sapporo, so I called an American comic specialty store in Tokyo calledCyberdyneand had them mailed to me every month.

KawanoEmail wasn't mainstream yet, so we'd look through the catalog magazine “PREVIEWS” and ask, 'Do you have this issue?' Ordering from Sapporo meant quite a high phone bill.

—Were there any artists you particularly admired?

SasakiThe first artist I really liked wasDeadpool, Ed McGuinness. I would buy anything he drew, whether it was DC or Marvel.

KawanoI likedFantastic Four's artist, Mike Wieringo. He was so good at drawing children as children, which I loved. It was very sad that he passed away so young a few years later.

—What led you to start working on American comics?

KawanoAt the time, Mitsuko Mitsuoka, a translator and American comic writer, had an article on her American comic information website stating, 'Marvel is looking for Japanese artists.' This was around the time when American comics with a Japanese manga-like art style were trending. So, we gathered our artwork, put together a portfolio, and sent it to the Marvel editorial department. We received a call from C.B. Cebulski, who is now the Editor-in-Chief at Marvel.

SasakiC.B. speaks Japanese because his wife is Japanese.

KawanoWe were incredibly surprised. And then he asked, 'Would you like to drawX-Men?

SasakiOur first job was a single pin-up for “X-Men.” After that, we were asked to do a short story for “Fantastic Four.” Since we had only done illustrations, I wondered if we could do it, but we said 'Yes,' and they let us draw 10 pages. From then on, we started receiving regular work.

KawanoIn American comics, there's a division of labor: one person for the story, one for the art, and one for the colors. Since we were already working in a divided way, it suited us perfectly.

SasakiWe did two issues ofGUS BEEZER, a story about Peter Parker's nephew, and then the seriesPOWER PACK, which we worked on for three to four years. It's about a team of the youngest Marvel heroes, four siblings, a modern take on a series from the 80s. The story involves them interacting with Marvel characters like Wolverine and the Avengers, making it easy for children to read.

—Were there any challenges in drawing American comics?

SasakiAround 2005, Marvel's content restrictions became stricter. For example, J. Jonah Jameson, who works at the newspaper where Peter Parker is employed, couldn't be shown smoking. Especially since we were drawing for all ages, direct physical violence was also prohibited. We had to draw a panel showing a punch, and then the next panel would show the character flying back.

KawanoWe couldn't even show the tips of blades. So Wolverine's claws were always off-panel (laughs).

SasakiGirls couldn't show their midriffs or have piercings.

KawanoAnd their bust size couldn't be too large.

SasakiRight. Up to a B cup (laughs).

—The rules were very detailed, weren't they?

SasakiIt's a bit more relaxed now, but it was a pretty strict period.

—Since then, you've drawn many cover arts and short stories. What would you say was a particularly significant turning point?

SasakiAvatar The Last AirbenderThere's a highly successful animated series in America called “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” It was also made into a movie by director M. Night Shyamalan,The Last Airbender (2010), and the comic series continued its story. We were approached by Dark Horse Comics, known for titles likeHellboy.

KawanoWe worked on 15 volumes, each 72 pages long, which took us five years to complete. During that time, we continued to do occasional work like covers for Marvel, but we were mostly communicating with Dark Horse. Even when drawing “Gwenpool,” people overseas would say, 'Oh, they're the ones who drew “Avatar”!'

SasakiThe popularity of “Avatar” is immense overseas, appealing to everyone from children to adults. Around the time we felt we had honed our comic drawing skills with “Avatar,” Marvel offered us a Christmas short story for “Gwenpool” (Gwenpool's Holiday Special #1).

Page02.The Background of Gwenpool's Creation

The Background of Gwenpool's Creation

—Gwenpool, one of the new generation of Marvel heroines, was born from a variant cover drawn by Chris Bachalo (published in 2015 inDeadpool's Secret Secret Wars #2), wasn't she?

SasakiThat illustration became popular, and she first appeared in the main comic inHoward the Duck (Howard the Duck Vol 6 #1). We referenced Danilo Beyruth's art in “Howard the Duck” but drew freely. In American comics, you don't have to mimic the previous art style; you can draw as you please. After that, we were offered the main artist role for Gwenpool's series. It seems the original writer, Christopher Hastings, specifically requested GURIHIRU.

SasakiEach time, we'd receive a script of about 20 pages. After it was translated, we would start drawing.

—Gwenpool features various Marvel characters, including Spider-Man.

KawanoThat's all written in the script, so we don't just add them in ourselves (laughs).

—GURIHIRU's Gwenpool is very cute, with modern touches like the shark backpack she wears.



Since she's a typical teenage girl, I wanted it to be pop. When creating the visuals, I made sure not to use too many dark colors.

SasakiMany other American comic colorists use a lot of gradients, but we decided to go for a flatter, more anime-like feel.

KawanoIf you compare our work with other artists, you'll notice that our Gwen is a crybaby. (laughs)

—There's a distinctly feminine perspective in the details of “Gwenpool.”

SasakiThe original artist for Gwenpool was male, but since then, all the artists have been female.

SasakiSince the story is about an American comic fan entering that world, it might be easy for readers to empathize with her.

—It feels like the number of female American comic fans has grown in Japan as well.

SasakiIt's surprising. Before, only a small segment of male fans knew about our work.

KawanoThere have been waves of American comic popularity in Japan before, but they always faded. It's only really taken root since the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) began.

Page02.Regarding the Realization of Characters

Regarding the Realization of Characters

—Amidst this American comic popularity,MAFEX GWENPOOLwas released. What led to its realization as a figure?

SasakiMedicom Toy made a surprise announcement at last year's Tokyo Comic Con, but we actually didn't know about it. A fan told us, 'It's out,' and we went to see the display (laughs).

KawanoThe licensing agreement was handled entirely through Marvel.

SasakiAfter that, they contacted us for the package illustration, and we discussed things further.

—What were your impressions when you saw the actual product?

KawanoThe details were incredibly well-made, and I was surprised to see two types of backpacks included – the shark and the penguin. They really read the original comics carefully.

SasakiYou can tell it was made by people who truly love the source material. What I found interesting was that many people who hadn't read the original comics bought the Medicom Toy Gwenpool figure after seeing it.

—Next, scheduled for release in May next year, isMAFEX DEADPOOL (GURIHIRU ART Ver.), a figure based on the Deadpool drawn by GURIHIRU.

SasakiDeadpool wears a mask, so I figured any artist's rendition would look similar, but they said, 'It will be in the product name as the GURIHIRU version,' and I was like, 'Really?'


There's been a lot of positive buzz on Twitter about the upcoming GURIHIRU version of Deadpool figure.

It's gratifying when people say, 'This sculpt really captures GURIHIRU's art.'

KawanoIndeed, we don't emphasize muscles too much in our drawings. We don't show very defined abs, giving a slightly softer look.

It's amazing how well that's been reproduced.

—And then, scheduled for release in June next year, isMAFEX EVIL GWENPOOL, the 'evil Gwenpool' who appeared in the Japanese edition comic (“Gwenpool: I Broke the Fourth Wall”).


SasakiWe're drawing the final two episodes for the last volume of the Japanese “Gwenpool” comic, which will be released by Village Books next spring. Currently, we are drawingThe Unstoppable Wasp. The protagonist is Nadia, and the setting is slightly different from the Wasp in the movieAnt-Man and the Wasp.

KawanoAlso, next year, we'll be drawingSuperman Smashes the Klanfor DC, a story about Superman set in the 1940s. In that era, Superman's chest 'S' was black, not surrounded by yellow.

—We're looking forward to it. Lastly, could you tell us the origin of your artist name, GURIHIRU?

SasakiWe get asked that at every interview.

KawanoLet's keep that a secret (laughs).

Tokyo Comic Con 2018

• Feature | Back to "MEDICOM TOY" TOP