Thursday, February 02, 2006

Junko Mizuno



In several recent online and real-world conversations about comics and art, the subject of creepy-ness has come up, and it's clear that for me, the conjunction of the "nice" or "the mundane" with mayhem and the macabre is what definitely affects me the most.

Consequently, I've become intrigued by the work of the Japanese artist Junko Mizuno, who joins weird and unsettling subject matter with a child-like drawing style (or, rather, a style that would appeal to children).

I first learned of her work from an article in Juxtapoz magazine (#60; Jan. 2006); the illustration is from p. 55. Mizuno is also interviewed in the most recent issue of the Comics Journal (#273; an excerpt is available online, here.)

Mizuno's drawings definitely have a surrealistic, id-unleashed quality. It's also no surprise that several of her titles are reworkings of fairy tales. Though I'm not at all well-versed in Japanese manga, my guess is that Mizuno's work represents a fairly distinctive style and vision. While others may explore similar themes, I'd guess no one else's work looks quite like hers.

Comments:
Very interesting! I like the style quite a bit. It hit a note in my mind of another artist, Mark Ryden. He has a similar juxtaposition of child-like painting style with sometimes disturbing images.

For instance:
http://www.markryden.com/paintings/bunnies/puella.html

btw, do you visit comicbloc.com? You might like their forums better than DCs. :)
- Nida
 
Hey, Nida!

Thanks for the link to Ryden. And I guess the third member of the trilogy is Camille Rose Garcia.

Yeah, I haunt the Comic Bloc and CBR forums, too. I picked out the DC Boards in my post because they're so heavily trafficked.
 
Thanks for the link to Camille - I found her work on eBay and hope to nab a postcard or two. :)
 
No problem, N.

And, by the way, have you seen these CRG figurines? I was browsing in a store that had them on the shelf: they made me do that classic movie double-take, where you whip your head around like a cartoon character.

I just wish they weren't so expensive ($100+).
 
No, I haven't seen them. Very cool!
 
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