Interviews

Interview With Nate Maurer

By LJ Douresseau
February 23, 2005 - 10:15

Nathan Maurer won the grand prize of TOKYOPOP’s The Rising Stars of Manga 3 competition and is the Q&A subject of Mr. Charlie #45. At the July 2004 Comic-Con in San Diego, TOKYOPOP formally announced that Nathan’s winning entry, “Atomic King Daidogan” would become a new manga series and will feature the same characters who appeared in the original short story.

Born in Santa Barbara, CA, Nate Maurer reside in Goleta, CA where he in now hard at work on new material for the Daidogan manga. The original tale is a mixture of farce and parody focusing on shonen action. Giant robots, babes, a pimp king, and a plucky hero who speaks atrocious English are the players in Nate’s new manga world. He answered a few questions for the column back in mid-November:

Would you mind introducing yourself to the readers?

NATE: Hi everyone, I'm Nate Maurer. I'm that one dude who wrote “Atomic King Daidogan” for TOKYOPOP's 3rd Rising Stars of Manga competition, which I'm now turning into a full-length book series. Yup.

Would you mind also introducing the readers to the characters and concept of your winning entry?

NATE: It's set in kind of a neo-70s future Tokyo, and it centers around the owner of this tiny ramen house, Goto Onishi and the nightclub owner who loves making his life miserable, Pimp King Oboe. Also, there are giant robots involved. The entry is basically a springboard into the rest of the story, which is going to be pretty huge, and, I hope, a lot of fun to read.

At what point were you first exposed to manga and anime, and what were your initial reactions to it?

NATE: The first anime that I can remember watching was this old Streamline dub of Robot Carnival and I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever laid eyes on. Particularly the “Tale of Two Robots” segment, which ended up being a HUGE influence on the story that eventually became Daidogan. Then I saw “G-Force” (aka “Gatchaman”), which was like the most unintentionally hilarious thing I've ever seen. Also a huge influence. You'll see why later on in the book.

What was it about the form that attracted you to manga, and what were the particular titles and creators who appealed to you?

NATE: Because (for the most part) manga doesn't focus so much on obsessively detailed artwork, it's far more effective at conveying movement and expression than, say, most superhero comics. It feels much more like animation put to the page, and I find that very appealing. Eiichiro Oda's One Piece is a perfect example of this. The art is absolutely bursting with energy, and it's a hilariously entertaining story to boot. Awesome.

When did you first become aware that there were U.S. based publishers of manga (like Eclipse, Dark Horse, TOKYOPOP, etc.) and what titles did you like?

NATE: I found out that Dark Horse was publishing manga when my brother brought home an issue of Gunsmith Cats back when I was in 8th grade, and then a bit after that, I stumbled on some old issues of AKIRA, which was totally sweet. I think those were done by Marvel. Anyways, it was really cool to find out that manga was becoming all popular and accessible, so I read whatever I came across. Nowadays, I'm really enjoying Planetes, One Piece (as I mentioned), and GTO.

When did you become aware of TOKYOPOP and the Rising Stars of Manga contest and was this your first entry?

NATE: I discovered it about three days before the deadline for Volume 2, and I was really bummed because I thought I had missed out on the opportunity of a lifetime. Then I got my head out of my ass and saw that they were having another contest, so I got my act together and submitted Daidogan, which was, yes, my first entry.

Was your entry something you’d been working on for a long time, or was it something new for RSOM? Did you have to rework the concept to make it fit the preconceived notions of what manga is?

NATE: Yeah, I'd been tweaking and reworking it for a very long time. It's so completely different than what my original idea for it was, but wow, is it better that way. And I had always envisioned as a manga, so I didn't really have to do any reworking in that regard.

How does your work fit in with the “manga style,” and I’m asking this knowing that manga encompasses an incredibly broad base of genres and storytelling techniques?

NATE: Pretentious though it sounds, I really try my best to approach my comics as a director as well as an artist; i.e. I try and make my layouts seem more like storyboards than panels, and I really try and make the pacing of the story much more taut, relying more on action, body language, expression rather than huge amounts of expository dialogue. These are all qualities that make manga appealing to me, so I do the best to apply them to my own work as well.

Is it your goal or dream to be a cartoonist, and how are you working towards that goal in terms of educating yourself about the history, form, and content of comics?

NATE: Thanks to the awesome folks at TOKYOPOP, I'm already well on my way to achieving that dream. That said, though, I still have a LONG way to go before I'm going to be halfway comfortable with the quality of my work, so I'm always educating myself. Every film or show I watch, every book, comic book, or manga I read, all serve as inspiration, and I'm constantly taking notes, mental or otherwise, on how I can tighten up my storytelling, improve my art, or sharpen my wit. It's said that you never really stop learning, and I've certainly found that to be true.

Did winning change your long range plans in terms of your work and/or budding career as a cartoonist?

NATE: It sure did. In fact, it completely turned my career plans around. I was originally planning to study music (I've been playing the piano since I was 5, and still do to this day) and perhaps minor in art, but the Rising Stars competition came along and totally changed everything. It also helped me realize that not only could I make a living with art, but it was, in fact, what I enjoyed doing more than anything.

THANK YOU, NATE. You can visit Nate’s art site at http://captainosaka.deviantart.com/. THE RISING STAR OF MANGA, VOL. 3, which features Nate’s entry, is available at your local comic shop, nearest bookstore chain, or online at Amazon.com.

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Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12