One thing that I’ve spent a while thinking about during the process of making of this webcomic has been revealing the influences on my work. There is an interesting balancing act, reveal too much too soon and you tend to be seen as too triumphant, self important and so on. Too little too late and nobody will ever know!
So, why not leak everything drop by drop? A splendid idea.
Influences on Hard Graft #1: Kita Koga.
Kita Koga is a manga that is published in the current affairs magazine Monocle. The magazine itself is a delightful indulgence full of positivity and almost hyperactive with its enthusiasm about cities, art and so on.
Where it does shine however is in the inserts! One such insert is the current affairs manga: Kita Koga by excellent artist Yasaka Takanori.
Kita Koga is set in the present day and follows a Danish-Japanese savvy man-about-town and spy Niels and his fun and games in the world of spying.
Being an ace designer as well as a man of culture, our Niels knows all the best places, all the best haunts and all the best things to things to wear, use and drive. Product placement in a tasteful manner which is pleasing to the eye adds to the experience and gives a certain level of glamour and mystique to Kita Koga. James Bond wasn’t tasteful and deliciously glamourous because all the real world products had the names changed after all.
But it is the way that Takanori manages to cast the various locations that Niels travels to which sets the tone for the rest of the storyline. The level of detail that he puts into the locations is just as lavish as what he heaps on the storylines as well.
Speaking of storylines, they are grand in their objectives and involve massive conspiracies, corporate crime and vile sinister individuals from sneaky and sneering Corporate plutocrats to deviously intelligent terrorist leaders (usually European in origin I might add) and they add to the deliciously sumptuous storylines.
In the end, I reccomend that you try and find a copy of Monocle and check it out!
