Plastic dinosaurs and an endless stream of friends and admirers populated the small table outside the hotel where AnimeIowa was being held, and was also home to this writer, and the fantastic husband and wife couple behind the manga-style web comic Otaku No Yen. My time spent with Richard and Shannon Townsend was an excellent hour spent discussing manga that we all enjoy, as well as what makes a pair who write and draw manga tick. This article is my interview with them, and yet another fantastic perk that an anime convention has for a manga lover.

Bella Online (B): What got you into manga and the manga style?

Shannon (S): I actually used to try to draw Western style, but my art style didn’t fit. It’s very cartoony. I used to want to be an animator and work for Warner Bros. When I discovered anime, I decided to try drawing it and it just clicked. It was this perfect mixture of cartoony, Western, and Eastern.

Richard (R): I’ve always been a fan of both styles, Eastern and Western. It didn’t effect me to write for it [manga]. Originally, the comics started out as experiences from anime conventions.

B: Who are some of your influences?

S: Some Kazuya Minekura (Gensomaden Saiyuki), Maki Murakami (Gravitation), and RumikoTakahashi (Ranma ½). I do have a lot of American influences too. Neil Gaiman.

R: Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore, Joss Whedon. Both of us love Joss. And Frank Miller.

B: What is your artistic process like?

S: *She laughs* There is, there is a method to the madness. Basically Rich will sit down, write a script, usually at the last minute…

R: I write unlike the others [comic writers]. I know the beginning, the middle, and the end of the comic, but I do it on the fly.

S: He takes that and sends it to me, I do a story board, preplan, and get it approved by Rich. I do all the coloring and inking on my own.

R: We have a very good relationship between artist and writer, and we can compromise. We talk, and work out the best way to portray something. In the end, it’s a mutual respect kind of thing.

S: We pretty much agree on things, but we didn’t used to. We used to have major fights about it.

B: Any favorite mangas or graphic novels?

S: Gensomaden Saiyuki, definitely Gravitation, X-Men, I do love it. Anything by Yuu Watase.

R: Ken Akamatsu (Love Hina). Watchmen! The Killing Joke. We like anything. Japanese stuff, Korean, American stuff. We might as well be big raging nerds and enjoy it.

B: If you could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, who would it be?

R: Harlan Ellison. I actually got to eat breakfast with Harlan Ellison twelve years ago. I was just …*He makes a few noises of distinct, geek-filled joy*

S: I would have to say, though it’s so stereotypical, but so true, but Stan Lee. Because he seems like the coolest guy alive. I wouldn’t even want to talk business with him. The only other person I would like to have dinner with is Kevin Smith.

B: What turns you on creatively/What inspires you?

Both: Nathan Fillion. *laughs*

S: This is probably going to sound really, really weird, but great music. I can be sitting there just listening to something, and if it sparks something, I have to drop everything and just draw. Doesn’t matter what it’s from, but even great rock music will do that. Music does it for me.

R: A great story. A great story inspires me to write great stories. And not just fiction. Even real stories are great for inspiration. I love the Civil War.

S: Beer! Beer helps too.

B: What would you do with a million dollars?

S: Do you want the responsible answer or the true one?

B: Both are good.

S: Honestly, I would buy a new car, I’d buy a really nice house, and then I would fill it with dork stuff. Lots and lots of dork stuff.

R: I would quit my job and play video games all day long.

S: And then you would file for divorce.

B: What else are you passionate about aside from your art?

S: Oriental dance, belly dancing. I really enjoy that. And animal rescue. Theater.

R: Recently, breast cancer awareness. Theater.

B: What turns you off artistically in your media of choice?

S: Egoists. Egotistical artists who feel they have no more to learn and have bad attitudes. If I know a guy has done something, but he’s a complete jerk, I just can’t get into their work.

R: Someone who doesn’t try. Someone who says I could never do what you do, ever, so I’m not going to try. That just drives me up a wall. Because you never know until you try. My dreams were shattered, but I found a way to make that work. But I still get to do what I want to.

B: What are some of your favorite genres?

S: Space operas. The Space Operas are just great. Anything fan service-y.

R: Space operas, like Cowboy Bebop, Outlaw Star, and Firefly.

B: Describe in your own words your art.

S: Constantly evolving. It’s the best way I can put it. I’m never satisfied with my own art and I’m constantly trying to learn as much as I can. So it’s always, always evolving, but I always try to have fun with it.

R: That fits me too, entirely.

B: Do you have any favorite web comics that you read regularly?

R: Yes! Quite a few. Ctrl Alt Delete. VG Cats.

S: We both read Mystic Revolution. Paradigm Shift. The Devil’s Panties.

B: What was the first manga you ever read?

S: Sailor Moon, in Japanese. Tenchi Muyo. Actually, it was No Need For Tenchi.

R: The first manga I bought was Battle Royale. I read the manga, and then the novel.

A Friend Who Had Joined Us: Sailor Moon. It’s the manga gateway drug.

B: What controversial subject would you write about if you could be worry free when it comes to protesters, rotten fruit, pitchforks, torches, and legal action?

S: My answer is going to be a very steadfast the illegal downloading situation in the anime industry. It’s causing some serious, serious problems. Nine times out of ten, you have to be very PC ineloquent because it’s really changing the industry. I’m passionate about it.

R: I hate to do this to you, but she said it all. It really is effecting the market.

B: If you could only recommend one manga to someone who has never read anything in the genre, what would you recommend?

S: This is going to sound incredibly hokey, but Gensomaden Saiyuki. It embodies everything about the world [of manga] that I love. Romance, drama, great artwork, it’s an absolute piece of absolute artwork from start to finish.

R: Ai Yori Aoshi. Because there are characters in it from different cultures. Because it really does touch upon culture shock. It has it all. It deals with a lot of the social difference too.

Otaku No Yen is a manga-style web comic that is pushing the boundaries of traditional manga and traditional web comics by blending the two styles together. One can see from the way this couple works together, what they enjoy, and how passionate they are about the manga industry that any manga-lover will be further enriched to go to any anime convention where Richard Townsend and Shannon Townsend are guests.

Read the web comic Otaku No Yen, and stay tuned for a review of the first Otaku No Yen manga next week in AnimeIowa #3.