DAN HIPP ON GYAKUSHU

[MattBrady]

by Chris Arrant

Gyakushu Means 'revenge'.

But there's more to revenge than one simple thing, just as there's more to TOKYOPOP's Gyakushu! than revenge itself.

The series starts with a husband, wife and son enjoying and idyllic life in a remote plain where they live. But when a wretched shadow from the husband's past comes into the peaceful surroundings, their lives are torn apart. Shattered beyond repair, the husband has but one choice: resume his warrior ways and find revenge on those who wronged him. As the narrator says, there is no love or joy in the story… only death.

Gyakushu! is simple and stylishly done story of a thief, a book, a mystic and a marriage. The story, simple as a revenge tale can be, is but the framework on which Hipp hangs his unencumbered lush illustrative style that belays both power and substance. Although classified under the "world manga" moniker, Hipp's approach is more a hybrid of traditional Japanese manga and street art. Serving as Hipp's first long-form work as writer and artist, Gyakushu! is a opening salvo for what should prove to be a creator to watch in years to come.

Newsarama: What does 'Gyakushu!' mean?

Dan Hipp: Gyakushu is a Japanese word. My initial understanding of its meaning was somewhere in the ballpark of "revenge", which is appropriate enough, but further research and happy accidents led me to a couple other meanings. The first is "strikes back" and the second is "a memorial for one's self." Either case is appropriate, considering the story really just comes down to REVENGE! The "memorial for one's self" meaning just makes me look really clever, when it was initially incidental, har, har!

NRAMA: Revenge it is, then. Why did you want to tell this kind of story?

DH: Originally I just saw the story as a 3 Volume blood-fest of all out action. Nothing but revenge. But as I started to lay out the story and develop the characters, more background and story points revealed themselves. So while I maintain that it's still a story rooted in revenge, there's a whole lot of other stuff on the side of the road along the way. I'm working on Volume Two and I think it will be interesting to see if anyone has any idea where this is going. But in case it's obvious, I still have plenty of decapitating, blood-letting, chomping, slicing, smashing and general acts of cannibalism in there too. HOORAY FOR VIOLENCE!! Aww crums, that one sounded wrong too, didn't it?

NRAMA: The story follows the world's greatest thief, who has retired from his trade to live out his days in a secret valley . Why'd he decide to give it up, in his prime?

DH: By falling in love and starting a family he finally had a sense of purpose.

I think it's pretty easy to relate to if you're in love, the idea that you'd give it all up to be happy and keep your loved ones safe. Of course all that sort of back fires in the story, but thankfully we're not all master thieves so we don't have to relate so specifically. Anyhoo.. that whole idea of giving up what he knew is etched out a bit more in Volume Two (he teased from behind the curtain of elusiveness).

NRAMA: Speaking of the thief – that's the only thing we know him by, 'The Thief'. Can you tell us about him?

DH: Well, I won't give you too much, as I think it's important that you discover him in full as the story unveils over the three Volumes. That said, on paper he's every anti-hero you've ever seen before, nameless to us, bent on revenge, for a life taken from him, and past where he was the best he was at what he did, until the whole house of cards came crashing down about him.

NRAMA: Just prior to retiring, the thief stole a very valuable book from a sorcerer named Viktor. Why does Viktor and the thief want the book?

DH: Ahh, that damn curtain is going to keep this one hidden too.

NRAMA: Man, I'm tripping over that curtain.

DH: All the reader needs to know is that the book was a bargaining chip for Viktor to trade to the Three Kings for absolute control of all the lands beneath the heavens. So whatever is in that book, aside from the location of the secret valley where the Thief settles, better be pretty good. Or at least scrumchelescant. Hmmm, scrumchelescant.

NRAMA: Viktor, and his cohort Wretchik, tracks down the Thief and his family and ruins any possibility of a happily ever after. Kidnapping his wife and child and leaving him for dead – what's left for the Thief after this tragedy?

DH:REVENGE!

NRAMA: GYAKUSHU!

DH: GYAKUSHU!

When I was looking for a book to pitch to Tokyopop, I knew I wanted the basic story to boil down to brutal, primal revenge. Sure there are all the extra characters and story points, but it can be weeded down to revenge. Many of my favorite stories do the same thing, so I tried to see if I could take a story you've heard, seen, or read a thousand times in a thousand different ways and tell it with my own twist, hopefully pulling off something a bit different than what you've heard, seen, or read before, while keeping the same flavor.

NRAMA: The story is told in an out-of-order sequence reminiscent of Pulp Fiction. Why'd you choose to go this route?

DH: The story is simple enough and has been done enough times, that I think a great deal of the mystery comes from having the onion peeled back slowly, with certain pieces being shown at specific times. You may or may not know where it's going and that's half the fun for me as a writer.

NRAMA: The artwork for this book isn't the traditional pen & ink of most b&w comics. Can you tell me how you got the look you do in your book?

DH: The look is informed by the story. For some reason I'm fascinated by snow in movies and comics. I suppose you could see that as a bit of a cheat, as more snow means less to draw, har, har, but I LOVE the high contrast that I get to play around with because of it. I've been waiting for years to tell a story in the snow and this just seemed perfect given the subject matter.

Additionally, there are a great deal of flashback sequences, which I use gouache (a water-color type medium) for. It gives me a warmer quality, for a warmer time in the story. That's in contrast to the cold medium/style I use for the frigid present. It's pretty great actually, since I get to switch back and forth between mediums during the production stage.

NRAMA: So what do you do when you're not drawing comics?

DH:Most of the time I'm drawing/writing comics, but right now I'm also teaching a high school art class. A special instance came up where I was able to take over a classroom for a few months, so high fives were given and I dove in. I taught art at the same school a handful of years back, but left to pursue comics. Whenever the chance pops up to hijack a class I'll jump at it, time permitting. I love teaching to the point that I don't know if I could really articulate how it is. If you do it you might understand the magic, but if you haven't it's like when your parents tell you about how the world is, but you won't really get it until you've experienced it yourself and even then you may still miss it. Maybe that's a ridiculous simile, definitely way too deep, but regardless, I recommend teaching art for any artist out there, it's an amazing way to really remind yourself what you know about art and what you're just cheating on.

NRAMA: WOW -- having an art teacher who does comics sounds like a teenage fanboy dream come true. Can you tell us about your side of it?

DH: It's pretty rad, because I get to wallpaper the room in all the stuff I pick up for free at Comic-Con from all the different companies. I'm too old to put them all up at home, so the classroom gets to be my own personal awesome-town of comic and movie posters. The kids love it and we've gotten to do some grand projects. I pretty much just take any normal project you'd do in any art1 class and put my own twist on it, so instead of nature, it's monsters, or whatever. Of course it's STILL school, so regardless of how swell I could possibly make it, come the end of the day the kids are ready to go home. But yeah, I've signed a few books here and there when the kids ask. Mr. Hipp is for the children. Wait, that didn't sound right.

NRAMA: So what's coming out next?

DH:Right now I've got a light brigade of projects on the horizon. First out of the gate is a short story I did with Magnificent Mark Sable for IMAGE's 24seven Vol. 2 this summer. It's a fun little story IN COLOR (HIGH FIVES!), so I was keen to tackle that. The second Volume of GYAKUSHU! comes out later this year (I'm working on that now), and believe it or not I've still got the new Volume for the Amazing Joy Buzzards on the distant horizon. That's a project that's been slow in the making, but the break in time will be appropriate for the story and worth the wait. There's another project or two out there, but nothing signed just yet, so I'll keep that behind the elusive secret curtain...of elusiveness.

NRAMA: Curtains.

[jsf]

Saw this as a part of TokyoPop's FCBD offering, and thought it looked good. Definitely going to pick it up when I get the chance.

[tim seeley]

Great book. I picked it up when I was at TP a few weeks ago. AWESOME art.
TIM SEELEY

[NightRiver]

Originally Posted by jsf

Saw this as a part of TokyoPop's FCBD offering, and thought it looked good. Definitely going to pick it up when I get the chance.

Yeah same here. I really like the art style, and I really did these OEL manga books. Im totally digging King City, Sharknife, Scott Pilgrim and now Gyakushu.

[ryancody]

Hipp is an amazing artist, reading this book is like watching a movie, I highly recommend it to everyone, well worth the price of admission.

[BanMan]

I gotta remember to get this book.

[marioboon]

Dan Hipp is DA MAN!
Buy art from this man, he'll spoil you cheaply!

Will pick up his book in SDCC!

[RAd]

I already have Gyakushu Vol. 1 (and every comicbook drawn by Hipp) and I can't wait to see more from him. I am glad to see him getting more attention.

[Comic Mom]

GYAKUSHU! is a visual treat -- no one draws like Mr. Hipp. I also highly, highly recommend Amazing Joy Buzzards -- that comic rocks harder than any other, ever. Man, those high school kids don't know how lucky they are!