Jamie S. Rich (the S is for Sexington) is editor in chief at Oni Press, and an accomplished
author. He's a man who isn't afraid to like comics made for little Asian girls, and has the
ability to make you feel ignorant for not. Here's what he had to say about comics, manga, and
cracker jack rings.

With Japanese comics rise in popularity over recent years, many American creators have tried to emulate the style of manga. Do you feel many accomplish their goal?

Sure. I think the more successful ones, though, are people like Christine Norrie and Chynna Clugston-Major and Paul Pope--folks who have their own story to tell and don't set out to "do manga." It's just that the influences come through on a more natural level. It seems to me that when someone sits down and decides they are going to ape any style, it comes off as a copy, and is a little soulless and ends up ultimately missing the point of art. Whereas someone like Arthur Dela Cruz can employ a very manga-like storytelling style on Kissing Chaos and have it click, even without it being instantly recognizable.

Do you feel many hit the art style but fall short on the pacing?

I think actually when they fall short, they fall short overall. Let's be honest--a lot of what passes off as "manga style" is really anime style, and that's the cliche big eyes, floppy hair thing. But, even if I look at the examples above, often they tend to lean towards one or the other. Paul Pope is more about the pacing than the art style, where Chynna Clugston-Major is more about the art style than the pacing--at least in Blue Monday. I think Scooter Girl definitely owes more to its page layouts to Rumiko Takahashi than Evan Dorkin.

Do you think American manga will ever read like its Japanese counterpart, or will the influences remain cosmetic, such as in Warlands or Marvel Mangaverse?

I think it will eventually go beyond that, and I think it already has. I would hope we'd ultimately end up with our own hybrid of it. I hate to keep referring back to the other examples, but I think that's what these people are doing. I just don't see any reason for trying to approximate what is so natural and organic in Japan and not bend it to our own purposes. It's the same with European comics, like with what Daniel Krall did on One Plus One with a more European style. Or how Mike Allred adapts a classic comic book style. Or better yet, Andi Watson with European comics, manga, and traditional art.

Speaking of manga, I understand you do rewrites for Tokyopop. Not many people understand how manga makes its way from its untranslated form to what we see in bookstores. Could you tell us your role in this process?

I get a script, and it's a very rough translation of the book. I sit with it and the actual manga, and I go through it line by line, trying to take into account what I think the author is attempting to communicate, and how I can make it sound better in English. Depending on the project, I may also have concerns from the publisher about what their goals are with the book. So, something like Gravitation, which is rooted a little more in current pop culture, might require something different than a CLAMP book, where I try not to deviate much at all into Americanisms. Overall, the main thing is to make sure the book reads right, and not like some badly subtitled version of an otherwise good manga.

So it’s not just magic elves?

Well, what I have in my pants is my own business.

What are some of your favorite manga?

Fushigi Yugi, Video Girl Ai, Peach Girl, Revolutionary Girl Utena, all the Rumiko Takahashi books, One Piece, Oh! My Goddess, Lupin III, all the CLAMP stuff (making it a real honor to work on them)...I actually read a whole lot.

How did you get started rewriting?

I conned my way in, muscled in with a crowbar. Tokyopop came looking to talk to real creators, people who worked for Oni, and I sort of said, "They're flakey. Take me instead. I can do that stuff."

As an editor you’ve been through your share of submissions. What are the mostcommon mistakes aspirng artist make when they pitch a project?

It usually begins with them not really having a clear idea of what we do as a publisher, and ends with them just rehashing someone else's comic. Sometimes it seems appropriate originality is like some kind of holy grail.

Oni no longer accepts submissions, yet you guys still debut a lot of new talent. How do you go about finding new people?

Well, my standard cheeky answer is the same as we always have. Beyond the legal issues involved, it was easy for us to drop taking submissions because it wasn't a source of finding talent for us. We always ended up finding people at conventions, though mutual contacts, and then the occassional minicomic or webcomic. That meant the most time consuming element--the mail-in process--was the least effective (or completely ineffective), so we just said, "Screw it. Let's stop."

When did you know you needed to be a writer?

There was never a question of me doing anything else. Earlier on, when I was really young, it was a cartoonist. I wanted to be Walt Disney. I just couldn't draw. As I got older, I realized that really the part of it I loved was the storytelling aspect, and got very honest with myself and decided to ditch the pretense that I was an artist and just focus on the writing. I think I was in junior high. But I never wanted to be any of the traditional things boys are supposed to want to be when they grow up. I wanted to entertain through story.

Who are the major influences on your writing?

Harlan Ellison, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Philip Roth, J.D. Salinger, Andi Watson, Billy Wilder. I would say there is probably a little bit of Asian influence, too, be it manga or Kurosawa or novelists like Dazai and Kawabata--mainly for the pacing and the personal expression--and these days Zhang Yimou and Wong Kar-Wai. Pop music.

What do you hope people will take away from your writing?

I hope the characters haunt them in some way. I like them to stick with you. I also like when I get to the end of a book and I am stunned, but not exactly sure why, and I have to go back in my head and piece it together and think about it. I am also quite pleased if people say they identify, that is spoke to them about their life.

Do you have amything currently in the works?

Yeah, I am making slow progress on my second novel, The Everlasting. I occassionally touch a screenplay and a novella. I am a slow builder. (That includes lovemaking, girls, so be warned.)

What’s better, Breakfast at Tiffany’s or Roman Holiday?

No question. Breakfast at Tiffany's.

I’m going to pretend it’s because of your love for the A-Team.

Cut My Hair, the first novel from Mr. Rich, is about growing up and wanting more than you can get. Well, it's actually about more than that, but if you're so damn interested just click here and buy it. Includes illustrations by Chynna Clugston-Major, Andi Watson, Scott Morse and a swell cover by Mike Allred.

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