Monster Island News: Anime News Network

Showing posts with label Anime News Network. Show all posts

Koichi Kawakita, R.I.P.

by Armand Vaquer

Above, Koichi Kawakita and Armand in Hollywood in 2000.

Very sad news has arrived from Japan via the Anime News Network.

Special effects director Koichi Kawakita has passed away at age 72 from liver failure.

They wrote:

Movie visual effects director Kōichi Kawakita passed away on December 5 due to liver failure. He was 72. A funeral service was held for close relatives, with his wife Toshiko as chief mourner. A memorial service is planned in the future.

I first met Mr. Kawakita in 2000 when G-Fest 2000 was held in Hollywood at the Roosevelt Hotel. A year later, Richard Pusateri and I met with him at his office in Toho Studios for a tour of the studio that was led by him and producer Shogo Tomiyama.

Above, pictured at Toho Studios in 2001 are (from left) Shogo Tomiyama, Armand, Richard
Pusateri and Koichi Kawakita with a Godzilla event suit. Photo courtesy of Richard Pusateri.

He didn't exactly recognize us at first. While we were outside looking over the studio with Mr. Tomiyama and Shozo Watanabe, it suddenly dawned on Mr. Kawakita who we were and he ran down one of the studio roads towards us exclaiming, "I remember you!" with a big grin.

Above, Koichi Kawakita describing items in his collection to
Richard Pusateri at Toho Studios. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

I found Mr. Kawakita to be a very nice man and quite enthusiastic while he was showing us his collection of Godzilla-related props and figures. I think his best Godzilla special effects work was in Godzilla vs. Biollante.

My sincere condolences to the Kawakita family.

This is a big loss and he will be missed.

To read more, go here.

Win A Trip To Japan!

Our good friends at Anime News Network are celebrating their 15th anniversary with a contest:

Anime News Network is turning 15 this year, and we want to celebrate by giving readers the chance to win a trip to Japan! This contest will run all summer long, with several chances to enter and win, and at the end, we'll draw a name and one lucky person will jet off to Japan for a guided adventure with our friends at PacSet Tours! The best part is, there are several tours to choose from, so if you've ever wanted to go to Japan, this might be your chance.

For details, go here.

ComiXpress Going Out-Of-Business

by Armand Vaquer

I had a suspicion that this was coming. I kept getting messages that their website is undergoing "maintenance." But a post from ComiXpress's president Logan DeAngelis today confirms my suspicions.

They are shutting down after a nine-year run. Thank goodness I have plenty of copies of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan to cover upcoming conventions and shows until I find a new publisher.

ComiXpress is a print-on-demand publisher of comic books and magazines. They have been the publisher of The Monster Movie Fan's Guide To Japan since 2009. This forces me to look for another comparable publisher.

Here's DeAngelis's message:

When we started ComiXpress back in 2004 it was just a handful of comic book creators with a dream to use new technologies to help their fellow creators get their books into print. We were lucky enough not only to have the know-how to make this dream a reality, but also the passion necessary to see where the road took us. Over the course of these nine years we have served hundreds of creators and printed thousands of books. And from the smallest single-copy order for an aspiring cartoonist not even in their teens to huge convention orders for industry legends, we have sincerely loved every minute of it.

As our nine year anniversary approached we took a step back and looked at how we’ve grown in that time and what the next nine years might mean for us – both as a company, and as the creative individuals who make up the pieces of that company. Ultimately, after much soul-searching we realized that although it’s been an amazing nine years, sometimes things just run their course and we’ve made the decision to close our doors. This decision wasn’t made lightly but we feel it’s time to close this chapter.

On the technical side, we wanted to let you know that all paid for orders will be shipping promptly, but no other orders will be moving forward. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

As we move now to shut down the presses and pack up the computers, we have some thanks we’d like to make. First, thank you to each and every creator whom we had the opportunity to work with. We never felt like your printer; we felt like your partner in bringing your wonderful works to the printed page. Next, thank you to the readers whose voracious appetite for independent, creator owned comics gave us the fuel to get out of bed in the morning. And finally to every member of our ComiXpress crew, past and present. We have always been more family than co-workers, and without exception you helped every day to make the impossible a reality. Go get some sleep and kiss your kids; you’ve earned it.

It really does feel strange to think that we won’t be making comics for you any more, but we truly hope that everyone who has worked with us over the past nine years will look back fondly on us and what we tried so hard to do for the creators.