Speed Racer: Behind the Art
by Janet Houck
Gomanga takes a break with artist Elmer Damaso to talk shop about Speed Racer's triumphant return to manga, complete with a modern makeover! Racing onto bookshelves in April 2007, take a peak to see what changes have been made to this classic title!
Thank you for talking with us! As a long-time anime and manga fan, is drawing a well-known and established series such as Speed Racer a dream come true? Or do you prefer working on original works?
Elmer Damaso: I always wanted to do my version of a famous manga or anime, and with Seven Seas' Speed Racer, I finally got my wish! However, I really don't have any preferences, and I'll be glad to work on anything as long as it's not hentai, yuri or yaoi. Hehe!
There's been a major change in the comic though. Originally, Speed Racer was going to be a full color comic, and now it's a left-to-right manga. Why the switch?
ED: I think the switch came when we realized that entering the US comic book market was not a very good strategy for a relatively new company like Seven Seas. The company has been positioned for the US manga market ever since its humble beginnings, and treading on "uncharted waters" this early on is not the best route to go. It's hard to compete against companies like Marvel, DC or Image Comics. Besides, creating a full colored comic also demands higher production costs, which adds more to the risk.
We decided that it's better to stick with doing manga for a while. Hopefully, when Seven Seas has established a better foothold and grabbed a bigger chunk of the market, then we can consider doing a full-color comic. My fingers are crossed...
Is Speed Racer still focused on the non-manga Western audience, or has it moved over to the nostalgic fans who watched the show on TV?
ED: The latter half of the first chapter in the manga was altered a bit to cater more to the manga fans after the decision to switch to black and white. An example of this is Trixie's relatively larger, rounder eyes. (All of my original designs looked like a cross between manga and a realistic rendering.) While they still don't look anywhere close to the original Speed Racer designs shown on TV, they are more focused now on the manga/anime fans.
My idea was to give the classic look a more contemporary design. Not too manga, but not more Western. I still hope that the non-manga Western audience, familiar with the show or not, will get to pick up a copy of Speed Racer. It's a nice way to introduce Speed Racer to a new audience, while keeping the fans of the classic show happy.
Judging from the few character sketches online, Speed has taken a turn towards the darkly bishounen, and Trixie looks like a modern babe. Was it hard to set aside the age-old original look? Are you afraid of alienating some readers? Do you feel that you've managed to balance the redesign with fan memories and expectations?
ED: To tell you the truth, the design process was painful. Hehe!
The original idea was to render Speed Racer for the Western audience, while still maintaining a bit of that anime/manga flavor. So I sent Jason some character and mechanical sketches and deliberated on it for almost a month. Designing, redesigning, making combinations of styles... I thought I was losing my identity. I think there were close to 15 variations of Speed alone. I wanted a design that wasn't really alien to the fans of the classic series, but I didn't want them to look too retro or outdated.
For most of the characters, I ended up giving them more chiseled or angular looks because the classic looked too rounded for me. Too soft. I wanted to give them tougher looks. As much as possible, I didn't stray too far away from their original costumes, with the exception of Trixie, because her original clothes looked too 70s, and I couldn't find a way to modernize it. Hopefully, the final result still carry that nostalgic feeling to the classic Speed Racer fans, while giving the characters a fresh new look for the newer audience.
How much research did you do on chimpanzee and child anatomy for Chim-Chim and Spritle?
ED: Like I mentioned in my Ravenskull interview, I'm not too comfortable drawing animals, but I'm glad my son has a book on animals. I used that as a reference. : ) I was uneasy drawing Chim-Chim at first. I was afraid that he might look weird, since I've never drawn a chimp before, but I got the hang of it over time. For child anatomy, it's relatively easier with all the chibis I've done in my lifetime.
Has the Mach 5 undergone an update as well? Does it still have buttons all over the steering wheel? How did you feel about blowing up that infamous car, if the teaser text on the website is true?
ED: The Mach 5 still sports nearly the same model body type as the classic, albeit some slight modifications done to streamline it a bit more. Most of the changes are made in the exterior, like better car seats and a better dashboard. I originally wanted to move the special buttons from the steering wheel to the dash, because all those round buttons reminded me of an antique phone dial, but I decided to keep it positioned on the steering wheel for the fans of the series. I just changed the look of the buttons.
Blowing up the Mach 5 was an exciting moment. I can't tell you anything more about it without spoiling the story though.
Is the eye-catching retro image on Seven Seas' Speed Racer web page going to be the cover for the first volume?
ED: It was supposed to be the variant cover of issue 1 of the full color comic book. Unfortunately, since that idea was scrapped, I will have to make a new cover design. I'm sure that artwork will be put to good use somewhere in the manga, or maybe for marketing or promotional purposes. Such good art should not be wasted.
Indeed. With mad scientists, explosions, robots and racing, the script from Dwayne Alexander Smith sounds really exciting! Did any scenes stick out as favorites for you, or like a Speed Racer episode, is it non-stop action?
ED: It's a great story, alternating between character interactions and the fast-paced race scenes. Personally, I love drawing the racing action. If there wasn't any page constraints, I'd definitely put more racing action in the volume. It's hard to cram in all the key scenes sometimes. I just love drawing all those drifting cars... yeah!
After you're done with Speed Racer, will you be returning to Unearthly or Ravenskull?
ED: I would love to get back to Ravenskull or Unearthly. However, Ravenskull is more likely the title I'll be working on next. I think Jason and Chris are planning a trilogy. I still have no news as to when Unearthly will continue production. All I got after volume one was an incomplete script for volume two. Maybe I'll just make a doujinshi of it? Hehe!
Finally, have you had any luck with the clones you were talking about in our previous interview? With working on three titles for Seven Seas, you're going to need them...
ED: No luck whatsoever. Oh well... maybe an extra pair of cyborg arms will suffice? Hahaha! Watch out for Speed Racer! Coming soon!
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