Gorgeous Irene
Gorgeous Irene (ゴージャス★アイリン, Gōjasu Airin), titled The Gorgeous Irene in the aizōban, bunkoban, and digital editions, is a compilation of one-shots from Hirohiko Araki.
Summary
This volume compiles several previous works from Hirohiko Araki dating from before the publication of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. The short story collection includes: Gorgeous Irene, a two-part story about a two-faced killer for hire; B.T. "The Wicked Boy", the pilot for Araki's series about a boy's borderline-criminal escapades; Say Hi to Virginia, a science fiction story about two voyagers disarming a bomb; and Poker Under Arms, a Western story about a poker game between two wanted men. The aizōban and bunkoban editions also include Outlaw Man, a vignette about a man on the run from the law.
The tankobon edition includes artwork of Irene Rapona between short stories, while all subsequent editions instead include two full-color illustrations before the table of contents. The English titles used in the aizōban edition onward were contributed by Kazuhiko Kairiku, and the cover for the aizōban edition was designed by Mitsuru Kobayashi.
Chapters
- 001. Gorgeous Irene -Lauper's Palace-
- 002. Gorgeous Irene -The Girl in the Slums-
- 003. B.T. "The Wicked Boy"
- 004. Say Hi to Virginia
- 005. Poker Under Arms
- 006. Outlaw Man
Author's Note
ふたりに「おもしろい!」と言わせる作品をかくのがぼくの目標ですが……それはいったいどんな作品なのだろうか? ――デビュー作「武装ポーカー」も愛をこめて併録!!
What perspectives and ways of thinking did I use when writing these short stories? I'll try to remember... When I made my debut as a manga artist in December 1980, I had no doubt in my mind that the basis of a good story was suspense. There are many manga artists I like, but I especially learned a lot from the manga techniques of Mitsuteru Yokoyama (Babel II) and Sanpei Shirato (Legend of Kamui). Both of them are characterized by their prowess at building suspense: once you read a single page, you can't help but think, "Wh- What's going to happen next?!" and you'll have to keep running to the bookstore until you finish reading the final page. I need to study suspense!
Up until I turned 20, I only read novels, movies, and comics with boats in them. But looking back on them now, I realize that all of my favorite works have one thing in common: they all tell their stories by building unparalleled suspense. That's why I had to study them. I wanted to create manga with that in mind. There was one other element I needed: a style. To be honest, I didn't quite know yet what my own style would look like. Professional manga artists would take a look at my work and say, "Ah! What an artist!" and yet I hadn't the slightest idea of how to create a unique style for myself. Whenever I tried to draw detailed art, someone would say to me, "You're just copying your teacher," and so I felt like I was groping in the dark to find something that worked.
短編作品を描く時、どういう視点や考え方で制作していたのか? それを思い出してみる事にする。
1980年の12月に、漫画家としてデビューさせてもらった当時、「とにかく、ストーリーの基本はサスペンスだ」と信じて疑っていなかった。
好きな漫画家はたくさんいるけれど、特に『バビル2世』の横山光輝先生と、『カムイ外伝』の白土三平先生のマンガ技法には学ぶものが大きかった。両先生の特徴はとにかく、1ページ読みはじめたら、「どっ! どうなってしまうんだよお~~!?」と、ラストを読み終わるまで本屋に走らねばならない、極上の「サスペンスのテクニック」だ。
サスペンスを研究しなくては!
20歳になるまでただボーツと小説とか映画とかマンガとか読んで来た。でもふり返ってみると、自分の好きな作品は共通して全てすぐれたサスベンスのテクニックで話が語られていく。
だから自分も研究しなくてはならない。そういう視点でマンガを制作しようと思った。
それともうひとつ「絵柄」だ。正直言って当時、自分の「絵柄」というものにイメージが、あまりなかった。プロのマンガ家はひと目見て、あっ!この作家だ!という特徴があり、でも自分はどうやって、そういう自分だけの特徴というものを出していいのか、さっぱりわからなかった。
特徴を出そうとすると「クセがあってヘタ」と言われるし、上手に描こうとすると「誰先生に似ている」と言われるし、どうすっかなあと、暗中模索って感じであった。