#sakana

[sakana-comic]

🐟✨SAKANA UPDATE✨🐟

Let's leave the chaos ladies for a moment and find some OTHER chaos to spy on.

Read SAKANA page 650 here!

[clownpalette]

SHARK 🦈💙

I finally figured out the colors 😭😭

+ Bonus cuz I didn't color and shade this for nothing 💀💀

[mynameismad]

THE RUMORS ARE TRUE! 

I am fresh off of drawing an entire graphic novel (which will be out in stores Feb 2024 oh boy!) and about to start Kickstarter fulfillment for my other (18+) comic, and NOW I FINALLY CAN GET BACK TO SAKANA. It has been a long few years for everyone. :U

Right now I'm focusing on building a buffer of pages before I decide on an official relaunch date, but there are NEW ACTUAL PAGES IN EXISTENCE AS WE SPEAK. I thought it would be hard to jump back in but turns out when you've done something 600 times already the BODY REMEMBERS.

I don't have a set goal for buffer pages other than "A LOT OF THEM" but I'll be posting them to the $5 tier of my Patreon until I decide on a public relaunch date (hopefully mid summer?) There's already 3 whole real pages up there. Unbelievable.

Anyhoo, thanks to everyone who's been waiting patiently for Jiro Sakana to get his ass in gear!! A whole pandemic has happened (is happening!) since the last update oh my god.

It's good to be back!

You can check out my Patreon here if you're so inclined: https://www.patreon.com/mynameismad

But regular public updates WILL RESUME sometime this summer (if everything goes according to plan) so you'll get to see the pages one way or another!

[burbled]

re-read @sakana-comic last week and had to draw about it YUUDAI BE UPON YE

[corndog-patrol]

yuudai my beloved dumpster fire 🔥🔥🔥

[hiveworks]

Interview with Mad Rupert, author of Sakana

September 2023

Sakana, the story of life and love in a fish market, is coming back from its hiatus soon! The strip comic style webcomic began in 2010 and follows Jiro, Taisei, Yuudai, and Chie as they navigate their relationships and learn to face their feelings. We asked creator Mad Rupert, author of Robber Robert and artist of Bunt!, for an interview to celebrate the series return.

Read Sakana | Shop books & merch | Read more Hiveworks comics

Sakana has been your baby for 13 years. What has the webcomic journey been like for you over the past decade?

It really has been over a decade, hasn’t it! There have certainly been ups and downs, periods where I was updating as much as I could, and also long hiatuses. I feel like webcomics have always been an amazing space to practice my craft and stretch my writing and drawing skills alike. You can kind of do anything you like with webcomics, and oftentimes people come up with wackier, and imho more interesting concepts than if they were beholden to a large publisher. Not that I haven’t made my fair share of traditionally-published comics and graphic novels… but there’s just something so gratifying about coming up with your own wild story and working towards its end on your own time. Webcomics are incredibly tough and time consuming, but also the ultimate form of self expression. 

What is the origin of Sakana? What made you want to tell this story?

Sakana actually started as a class project when I was a junior at the Savannah College of Art and Design. I had been accepted into the Sequential Art department’s yearly Japan trip to study comics and cartooning in Tokyo for a few weeks, and our final project was to create 11 comic strips based off of something that made a strong impact on us during the trip. We had visited the old inner market (now demolished) of the Tsukiji Fish Market at 4am one morning, and it was the most incredible place I’d ever been, so I decided to craft a short story that took place in the market. Beyond the first 11 strips, I decided to continue the story for as long as I could as a way to practice the comic techniques I was learning in class. That was over a decade and 600 strips ago! It really has become the most ambitious project I’ve ever undertaken.

Do you have the ending already written? Do you see a conclusion in sight?

Yes! I’ve always had something at least resembling an end in mind throughout most of the comic’s lifespan. For a long-format comic like SAKANA, I think it’s very important to have a rough ending planned out as early as possible, otherwise it becomes difficult to keep the narrative moving in a satisfying direction, drop little tidbits of plot that will pay off later, or even maintain your enthusiasm for the project. To be clear, the details of Sakana's “end” have changed many times, which is only natural with a very long project like this. But I’ve always kept crucial details the same: basically certain characters in a certain place at a certain time doing certain things (to keep from getting too spoilery haha.) HOW they get there, WHY they’re there, and WHAT exactly they’re doing will ebb and flow as the years go by and I myself get older and older. But having a general sense of the end in mind has kept things moving all this time. The story’s got one more volume to go, and then I’ll be done!

Your hiatus is a result of working on a traditionally published graphic novel, coming in 2024. Is there anything you can tell us about your book?

My new graphic novel is called Bunt! and it’s a collaborative effort between myself and my dear pal, Ngozi Ukazu (author of popular webcomic Check, Please!) Ngozi wrote the book and I drew it, and we’re both really proud of what we’ve made! It’s already available for preorder all over the place and it will officially be out in stores in February 2024. We’re really looking forward to getting out there this fall and winter and spreading the word about it!

You recently successfully completed a Kickstarter for an 18+ comic, Robber Robert, as well. What is it like balancing these different narratives, genres, and mediums of publishing comics?

It’s definitely been a struggle at times to balance everything, and I definitely don’t recommend working on 3 giant projects at the same time! I finally had to admit that I couldn’t do it all at once, which led to me putting Sakana and RR on hiatus to finish Bunt!, and then keeping Sakana on hiatus while I finished up RR. I really burned myself out on comics for a while, and it’s been a huge struggle to get myself back to a good place with my work. Finishing Bunt! and RR Chapter 1 has really helped reenergize me, but I can always feel myself trying to overload my work schedule again and again. It’s my greatest weakness as a professional artist.

What keeps you inspired?

Making something for myself, practicing my craft, and putting my own stories out there are all huge driving forces in my life. Learning to stop overwhelming myself with work has also helped a lot. Looking back on all the art I’ve made and all the different things I’ve tried makes me feel like I can do anything I put my mind to, so long as I give myself the time and space to enjoy the process.

Do you have any webcomic or graphic novel recommendations?

I’m a big fan of anything fantasy or sci-fi, especially if the narrative approaches the fantastical elements in a weird, unique, and kind of gay way haha. My favorite manga is currently Delicious in Dungeon, but I’m also a fan of historical series like Golden Kamuy and Bride’s Story. For webcomics, I love anything by Evan Dahm, like his long-format series Rice Boy and Vattu. As for Hiveworks comics, there’s too many to list individually but my current favorites are Fairmeadow by KP, and Tiger, Tiger by Petra Nordlund. 

Any advice for new readers of Sakana?

I would say…despite its high page count, it’s not that long of a read! The strip format keeps it moving at a pretty quick clip when read all at once (but it certainly didn’t feel like that over the last 13 years updating one page at a time!) I know that the format and the black and white rendering might feel a little dated in the current era of Webtoons and full-color stories, but I’m too stubborn to change now, and I really appreciate anybody giving it a shot! Also, no matter who you are, or how much you dislike him in the beginning, Yuudai will probably be your favorite character.

You can read Sakana for free at sakana-comic.com and print books are available at hivemill.com

[bogglle]

some sakanarts

[blackdamvi6]

god am i obsessed in a webcomic

[tanuki-kimono]

Joyful primary colors for this outfit, pairing bright striped kimono with a fun fishes patterned obi

[ceruleankitkats]

finally finished my Sakana book covers ☺️

you should read sakana it's so fun and good

[atlasthemayor]

I did a little meme because it seems I have a type™

(i'm SURE I missed some, but oh well)

[sakana-comic]

🐟✨SAKANA UPDATE✨🐟

Why accept a victory when you could fight it tooth and nail instead??

Read page 625 here!

[clownpalette]

NEW OC DROP! 💙

I have to post as many ocs before the event 💀💀 because it's supposed to include all ocs;

[mynameismad]

SAKANA IS BACK.

That's right, folks. They said it COULDN'T BE DONE. They said it would NEVER HAPPEN. Well guess what, I'M TOO STUBBORN FOR THAT.

Check out Chapter 25, starting September 5th, at 9:30am est! The site got a big facelift too! wow!!

✨🐟https://www.sakana-comic.com/🐟✨

[startrekivthevoyagehome]

fuck it sakana doodle dump

[corndog-patrol]

some more sakana stuff because i love these guys 👐