POPPREVIEW: MBQ
By Felipe Smith

Writer and Illustrator Felipe Smith is a winner of TokyoPop's Rising Stars Of Manga and the first place winner of Japan's Manga Academy: Create Your Own Manga. Now Felipe and TokyoPop are joining forces to bring you the first volume of MBQ, hitting finer stores on July 12th. MBQ follows a group of people as they search for the thing that makes their lives complete, about having dreams but being forced to deal with the real world. Felipe stopped by to tell us about MBQ in his own words as well as share various excerpts and character illustrations to help entice all you beautiful people into purchasing his premiere Manga series, which you will undoubtedly love.

Felipe: MBQ is the story of 6 characters:

A struggling comic book artist named Omario, his aspiring film maker roommate Jeff, a Japanese American MC named Brian, a gun trafficking gang leader named Dee, a seasoned LAPD Officer near retirement by the name of Finch, and his Rookie partner O'Malley.

At first glance the one thing they all have in common is that they live in Los Angeles, but as the story progresses we observe their separate paths converge. MBQ is a story about the way people live and why.

One of my main concerns when creating MBQ is pulling the reader into the story through its setting and characters to create a certain sense of reality or familiarity. MBQ is geared towards a general audience, not exclusively towards comic book readers. It's a story about people written for people.

Many don't read comics, and they couldn't even begin to try, because all the colors and images jumping at them from the pages of a comic do nothing for them other than remind them of their childhood. The more nostalgic ones might pick one up, perhaps one about a superhero, and reminisce on how they wished they could fly when they were 3 years old. This need to reminisce will probably not bring most people to drop money at a comic shop every month, though. Adults need comics for adults.

Sex and Violence may be found in some adult comic books, but they are NOT what makes a book adult reading.

A book for adults deals with issues relevant to "grown-ups". Paying the bills, finding a lifetime partner, raising a family, grocery shopping or going out to a bar are all part of real life. They are things a kid may yet find little interest in; but to an adult, these are a fundamental part of everyday life.

When writing MBQ I try to include as many elements of everyday life as I can. Rather than alienating the reader with a bombardment of images they are not familiar with, may misinterpret (or may have little time to think about) I make the setting for my stories a familiar one. A street corner, the inside of a fast food restaurant, an apartment complex, a shopping mall, an alley, these are all things EVERYBODY has seen before and can readily identify. I often draw existing Los Angeles locations, since this city is the backdrop for MBQ. If the reader has been to or seen this location previously, he will immediately react to it. The fact that it's a real place depicted, not some made up generic looking background, might make the story suddenly more accessible, more authentic, "This is a REAL place, I could go there or have been there. Are these characters real too? Did this really happen?" It is at this point that a part of the viewer's reality has been portrayed accurately in a picture book.

The reader is no longer a passive viewer, but a participant of the moment; he is now there. To me that moment, if attained, is quite powerful.

Cast of MBQ:

Omario: Obnoxious. The embodiment of the self-centered artist, he's a fine arts school graduate who's $25,000 in debt, broke, jobless, and committed to his craft, making comics. He refuses to draw superheroes, robots, ninjas, aliens, or anything else that seems to sell in the market. Omario's rise to comic book stardom is very if-y.

Officer O'Malley: A rookie LAPD officer eager to prove his worth. Born in one of the harshest parts of East Los Angeles, Aidan Patrick O'Malley has seen his life threatened since a very early age. Living alone with his mother in a small apartment and attending the local public school, O'Malley was subjected to daily torture by the neighborhood bullies. There was no doubt in his mind about what he wanted to be when he grew up.

Jeff: A screenwriter and filmmaker who moves out to L.A. to make his dreams come true. A recent art school graduate, like Omario, Jeff also has a vision; but unlike his ranting roommate, he also has a firm grip on reality.

Jeff knows the bills won't pay themselves, so he works at the local MBQ burger joint to make ends meet.

Dee: Gang leader, weapons trafficker and shipment hijacker, he's one of the many who choose an alternate way of living in the city of Angels. Dee takes nonsense from nobody and is merciless when it comes to business and money. Besides that, he's a nice guy.

Brian: A poet and the lead MC for the local hip-hop group RLC, Brian is another artist trying to make his mark on the west coast while working minimum wage.



Officer Finch: O'Malley's training officer. Officer Finch attempts to advise the young and eager rookie on the ways of law enforcement. He's been on the LAPD force for many years and knows the streets well. Years patrolling the streets have taught him to be patient and to think, not always act.


The Burger Joint Scene

This is an excerpt from Chapter 4 of MBQ titled "Thank you Jeff".
This scene came out naturally. I've worked many customer service jobs, and have dealt with all sorts of customers; all shapes, sizes and dispositions. When working this kind of job, one where you're serving others, it's important to be cordial, attentive and, above all, patient. Depending on the customer, this last virtue may be hard to practice.



It's amazing how unreasonable people can get and how out of control they can grow inside a business establishment. Please be nice to waiters and servers in general; helping customers is a tough job. And tips are always well appreciated and ESSENTIAL.



The Urban Obstacle Race

LAPD rookie officer Aidan O'Malley is a promising asset to the force. He graduated from the academy with outstanding marks only matched by those of a graduate by the name of Castano, back in 1989. O'Malley is a natural; although he is just beginning his career he's already caught the attention of the force.



In the following pages we see officer O'Malley on his first day on the job, chasing a suspect. O'Malley is eager to prove he's all he was cracked up to be. He will stop at nothing short of becoming the perfect cop.



Omario Draws Comics

Omario lives on the first floor of a shared apartment, sleeping right next to the kitchen stove. A struggling artist will do anything to make art. Finding low rent is an integral part of surviving while trying to make it.




In this scene we learn a little more about Omario's struggle, and why, even though he shows aptitude for drawing and a considerable amount of skill, he is still unemployed and broke.



Rise and Shine Jeff

Establishing a link with the viewer through the visuals in a story is just as important as doing it through actual dialogue.

A character's surroundings can tell just as much about him as his own words; sometimes in a quicker, more natural way.



There are no words to guide the reader in this excerpt, just images. But these images tell us a lot about their protagonist. By observing his room we know what music he likes, what movies he watches, and whether or not he plays video games, we also learn that he cooks in his own room, and that he collects cereal boxes and decorates his room with them (this last detail is more apparent later on in the story). We also see that the character, regardless of his mismatched environment, moves around in it and goes about his daily activities with particular grace.



In some cases, pictures are worth a thousand words, even more so in the case of silent types like Jeff.



MBQ Volume 1 hits stores July 12th from TokyoPop and is rated OT [For Older Teens] with 224 pages for $ 9.99, ISBN: 1-59182-067-7, Diamond Order Code APR05 3099.

For more info visit Felipe Smith.com and TokyoPop.com. Also be sure to check out Felipe and MBQ at the San Diego Comic Con July 14th - 17th.

 

Felipe Smith, an American of Jamaican-Argentine descent, completed his high school studies at the American Community School in Argentina and then went on to pursue a BFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His ongoing efforts to achieve fame and fortune include: bussing tables in a country club in Indiana, waiting tables at a Chinese restaurant in Westwood, packing boxes, bubble wrapping monitors, and making keys at a postal center, serving soju shots to raucous customers at a Japanese karaoke box, and placing 1st and 2nd in international and national manga contests. Felipe's work has been published in the U.S., Canada, Argentina, U.K., and Holland.




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