We’re setting up to do something we haven’t done in a long time…launch a Kickstarter for our next manga. Even if you’ve run a successful campaign before this can be a daunting prospect. Sending your creative ideas out to the mercy of the crowd, waiting for a collective thumbs up after 30 nerve-wracking days of promotion.
A Return To London Comic Con
Last month saw mayamada return to the MCM London Comic Convention, the largest comic convention in the UK and a three day pop culture extravaganza in East London.
Serious About This Comic
We’ve had a great response to the Samurai Chef comic since we released it last year. After hitting our Kickstarter target to get the book printed, the amount of positive feedback has been so appreciated. It even got a 4 out of 5 star review in Neo Magazine!
StreetFest 2015
We had such a great time at StreetFest last year we’re coming back in 2015! This bank holiday Sunday we’ll be collaborating with the StreetFest team at their new home at Tobacco Dock.
Our stall will be packed full of our original anime inspired clothing, comics and hats. That includes our Samurai Beanies and Snapbacks too.
We’re also bringing something new to StreetFest this year, Samurai Chef chocolate bars available in three flavours: Crunchy Noodle, Cherry Blossom and Green Tea. These bars were a sell out at London Anime & Gaming Con and they will be restocked for Sunday May 3rd.
As well as the StreetFest market, we’ll also be running two competitions for prizes throughout the day. You can win your choice of t-shirt, snapback or beanie hat by taking selfies with our cast of characters.
The first person to tag @mayamadatees and @streetfest on selfies with all six of our characters by 7pm will get the prize and a comic too! Don’t forget to use the hashtag #sfselfie so we can keep track of all your entries.
We’re also bringing some artist fun to StreetFest with our colouring wall. You can get creative and colour in our characters for a chance to win one of our new notebooks when they’re released in the summer.
It’s all happening on Bank Holiday, Sunday May 3rd so make sure you’ve got your tickets. We can’t wait, see you there!
MCM Expo Birmingham
Last month we took a trip up north (well, north-ish) for our first visit to the MCM Expo at the NEC Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. After a great time at London Anime & Gaming Con, we were excited to get our second convention of the year off and running.
We set up in the Comic Village and manage to cover our table with regular and limited edition of the Samurai Chef manga as well as our new Samurai Chef chocolate bars.
It’s been a while since we’ve been to an MCM event, but we were quickly up to speed once we got our bearings.
There is so much to see at MCM. We only got to see a fraction of it from our stall, but we were treated to Robot Wars matches going on just behind the Comic Village – we loved watching that show!
We also got to meet up with some great exhibitors including Canime, Helenasia and Choizilla, who had one of the best presented tables in the Comic Village and a cool outfit too.
As always it’s about the cosplay and we saw a tons of great outfits over the two days of MCM Expo.
Even the security guards were getting into it…
So that’s two events down and many more to go in 2015. Not only conventions like Hyper Japan and London Comic Con, but we’ll also have our very own mayamada events starting with GamePad! in April.
Stay tuned to find out where to catch us after that one…
Easter Chocolate Design Competition
Easter is on its way and that means chocolate….lots and lots of chocolate. We’re calling on you to get your creative hats for a brand new, chocolate covered design competition.
Earlier in the year we teamed up with chocolate makers Cybercandy to launch a range of Samurai Chef chocolate bars. Now you have the chance to design your own packaging using your choice of mayamada character.
All you have to do is design your own label using at least one mayamada character for one of the three flavours; Crunchy Noodle, Cherry Blossom or Green Tea.
Check out the full competition details and stay tuned to our blog to see the entries. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!
London Anime & Gaming Con Recap
Our year of conventions got off to a great start with mayamada attending London Anime & Gaming Con earlier this month. LAGC is one of the more community focused conventions on the calendar and we joined some cool anime fans, gamers and exhibitors at the London Metropolitan University’s Rocket Complex.
We’ve been exhibiting at LAGC for a few years now and always enjoy the chance to spend more time speaking with the anime and gaming community. This time around was even better as we were given the chance to talk on stage about how we put together our manga books.
Of course we brought along our original anime inspired clothing, including a brand new kawaii t-shirt. The design features Hannah, one of the character from the 11th Hour story.
But the best treat was the thee flavours of Samurai Chef chocolate debuted at the convention! Green Tea, Cherry Blossom and Crunchy Noodles were a real hit at the convention with every bar gone by Sunday.
Cosplayers is a big part of any convention and LAGC is no exception. Check out our cosplay photos from the two days of LAGC and we’ll see you at our next convention, MCM Comic Con Birmingham.
Samurai Chef Creators: Writers
Over the past few weeks we’ve been looking back at the making of the complete edition Samurai Chef manga, talking to the people who played a part is bringing it to life.
We’ve heard the thoughts of the book’s illustrator (both of them), editor and printer. Without every one of these people the book would not have been possible, let alone look as good as it does!
But we couldn’t let them have all the fun, so here are our thoughts on the Samurai Chef book too:
Which part of the book did you work on?
Lao and I created the Samurai Chef character and story.
This involved developing the plot, creating the characters within the story and writing the script for Pinali to translate into the final comic pages.
We were also responsible for managing various elements of production from writing, to the Kickstarter, all the way up to the printing.
What was your highlight during the process?
Seeing the story slowly come together with each completed comic page.
Even though we already knew how the story would unfold, it was amazing to see the words of the script come to life visually page by page.
Pinali has a talent for bringing the characters to life and seeing the little touches she added along the way meant we could experience the story in a new light.
What was the biggest challenge for you?
The editing process. After we got through enjoying the comic, we had to get to the work of making sure it was printed without any mistakes.
We also wanted to get the book finished in time to send books to our Kickstarter backers before Christmas and for Hyper Japan in November. There was a lot of pressure on to put everything together in a short space of time.
Luckily we had a great editor, Lara-Lee, who caught all spelling a grammar mistakes…turns out there were a lot of them! But she stayed alert throughout the whole process and is the reason the book reads as well as it does.
What do you hope readers will take away from Samurai Chef?
Without giving too much away, there are some lessons in teamwork that hopefully come through over the course of the book.
Aside from that, we hope people will take away the belief that if you have a good idea you can bring it to life. The Samurai Chef is an original story idea that we created from scratch. If you’re working with your own idea, it can be done!
Who is your favourite character in the book and why?
We love all the Samurai Chef characters equally as if there were our own children…but we like Zane more equally.
He doesn’t have a huge part in the book but we liked the way he maintains a cool assuredness and balances out Kamu’s somewhat unstable energy.
Other notable mentions go to Ms Yasahsii, Jimi and of course the Samurai Chef himself.
What’s next for the Samurai Chef and mayamada?
The Samurai Chef story is complete for now, but it’s not the end of the character and another book is definitely a possibility in future.
For now we’ll be working on releasing comics for other mayamada stories. Serious is coming next, but expect to see something from 11th Hour and Hot Lunch stories too.
We’ve got a lot happening in 2015 including new clothing designs and event plans too. Stay tuned…
Samurai Chef Creators: Printer
We’re back again for another look at the people that brought the new and complete edition of Samurai Chef to life.
Once the script was written, illustrations illustrated and spelling and grammar corrected it was time to get the book printed and finally in our hands.
We first met Rich Hardiman when producing Samurai Chef Volume 1. He was the reason the book came out so well so when it came printing the latest comic he was the only person to speak to:
Which part of the book did you work on?
The book printing.
What was your highlight during the process?
Getting to see the idea evolve over the course of a couple of years. The plot was in place early on, but it was great to see the mayamada team develop & learn the ropes of publishing.
What was the biggest challenge for you?
Meeting the deadlines! The guys supplied files in really good condition, so that wasn’t a problem.
What do you hope readers will take away from Samurai Chef?
I hope they’ll have a lot of fun with it, and look forward to seeing more from the mayamada network. Samurai Chef is a really novel idea, with a remarkably well developed universe, considering that it’s been created out of nothing!
Who is your favourite character in the book and why?
You can’t really look past the Samurai Chef himself, can you? I love the idea of having the pivotal figure completely inscrutable right up to the climax.
If you could be a mayamada character, which animal would you be?
I’d like to say cat, but I suspect I’m not really wily enough for that… Perhaps some sort of dog. One of the tenacious ones – a terrier or something.
As for the show – I’d like a police procedural drama if it’s on offer. That’d work with a terrier, right?
Samurai Chef Creators: Editor
In the lead up to London Anime & Gaming Con we’re giving you an insight into the making of our new manga title, the complete edition of Samurai Chef.
So far we’ve looked at the illustrators who brought the story and characters to life. But images are only half of any good comic, what about the words?
This week we’re talking to Lara-Lee, the editor of the book and the person who made sure the dialogue was accurate and made sense…well, as much sense as a monkey samurai chef on a fantasy television network can make anyway:
Which part of the book did you work on?
I edited the book – so if you spot any mistakes (not that you will…) Don’t. Tell. Anyone!
What was your highlight during the process?
Holding the finished product. Working with Nigel and seeing the story and characters come to life was a pleasure – my job would have been a whole lot harder if he wasn’t as receptive to the changes that needed to be made.
What was the biggest challenge for you?
The time constraints. We had a strict deadline to work to so the pressure was intense towards the end, but I’m a lawyer by day so I’m used to it!
What do you hope readers will take away from Samurai Chef?
Hunger – not just because some of the dishes could be quite yummy (before they come to life), but also a hunger for reading, anime and finding out more about mayamada!
Who is your favourite character in the book and why?
It has to be the Samurai Chef himself, specifically when he’s battling the Cherry Kitchen’s taffy cake. I couldn’t stop laughing at his face throughout this part!
What book are you enjoying now?
Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer – I don’t read many books more than once but this is my third time round. I love the contrasting circumstances of the main characters and seeing them evolve throughout the book. I love any book that has ability to make my jaw drop!