One of those things…

October 14th, 2008

I just wanted to share one of those moments of synchronicity that rule my life with you.

Seven Seas’ Afro Samurai just came out, to great acclaim. Reviewers are overwhelmingly enjoying it. Ironically and completely accidentally I am extremely good friends with three of the editors that worked on that volume.

Now, I know that doesn’t sound particularly strange, because of course I know a lot of the folks who work in the manga industry. However…these people do not work in the manga industry. And they have been my dear friends for more than 15 years – years before I became interested in anime and manga. And we met through something totally unrelated to entertainment, publishing, or anything you can probably guess. Isn’t that strange? That, of all the people in the world, Afro Samurai should land on their desk? I think it is. :-)

So, should you enjoy Afro Samurai, I want you to take a moment and think of the invisible people behind the volume, not the translators and creators, but the people who edited and proofread it, who shepherded it from manuscript to book, who did the retouching, the layout, the lettering – all the things you only notice when they are not as good as they might be. As you flip, carefree, through this manga and think how much you enjoyed it, take a moment to thank all those people for their hard work.

Since none of them read this blog, I think it’s safe to do this – thank you Meryl, Ed and Norma for all your hard work!

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