TEKKONKINKREET: Black & White is a graphic novel by Japanese mangaartist Taiyo Matsumoto. With its first publication in the 90s, thestory involves two street kids with violent tendencies and abilities onthe verge of superhuman. At the core of the story is the strugglebetween the children and all the various adult influences that wouldlook to corrupt them but this isn't a children's story. It's way tooviolent and surreal. It is part coming of age, part fight againstcriminal and corporate greed and part allegory for resisting the illsof the modern world with one's last dying howl.
Originally released as separate books, VIZ rereleased the storyas one large volume and enlarged the size. This re-release coincidedwith a Japanese release of the larger volume as well as a US release ofan animated movie based on the comic. This design has many pieces.There is a reversible dustcover with a poster of exclusive artwork onthe inside. There is a regular cover that mimics the Japanese cover, abind-in poster and an art gallery at the end of the book.
Thesubhead of the story is Black & White, which references the twomain characters of the story as well as their inverse integralrelationship to each other. I chose to express the vibrancy andintensity of the comic through teal and peach instead of the obviousblack and white. There isn't much that is obvious about this story.Even the artwork is vastly different to most Japanese comics. I alsochose to focus on the theme of electrical wires. The story often takesplace leaping through the sky in a decaying Japanese metropolis. I usedthe imagery of tangled wires as a theme throughout the book to evoke afeeling of height, precarious yet powerful.
Although Idesigned hundreds of books (in addition to countless ads, collateral,pop pieces, exhibition graphics, catalogs and websites) while workingat VIZ this remains my single favorite project.
Originally released as separate books, VIZ rereleased the storyas one large volume and enlarged the size. This re-release coincidedwith a Japanese release of the larger volume as well as a US release ofan animated movie based on the comic. This design has many pieces.There is a reversible dustcover with a poster of exclusive artwork onthe inside. There is a regular cover that mimics the Japanese cover, abind-in poster and an art gallery at the end of the book.
Thesubhead of the story is Black & White, which references the twomain characters of the story as well as their inverse integralrelationship to each other. I chose to express the vibrancy andintensity of the comic through teal and peach instead of the obviousblack and white. There isn't much that is obvious about this story.Even the artwork is vastly different to most Japanese comics. I alsochose to focus on the theme of electrical wires. The story often takesplace leaping through the sky in a decaying Japanese metropolis. I usedthe imagery of tangled wires as a theme throughout the book to evoke afeeling of height, precarious yet powerful.
Although Idesigned hundreds of books (in addition to countless ads, collateral,pop pieces, exhibition graphics, catalogs and websites) while workingat VIZ this remains my single favorite project.
