Conversation With Junko Mizuno

Junko Mizuno is one of Japan's most interesting and hard-working contemporary manga illustrators. Her incredible collection of graphic novels are a testament to her mastership of comic work; her unique style is instantly recognizable, a wonderful combination of adorable, psychedelic, feminine, alluring and dark character-based imagery.

Some of her knockout titles include wonderfully twisted fairy tales such as Hell Babies, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, and Princess Mermaid published by Viz, and most recently, her graphic novel Pure Trance published by Last Gasp.

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Despite her busy schedule designing everything from toys to stationery, she agreed to an exclusive interview here at SuicideGirls. In fact, she's enthusiastic about SuicideGirls, and says she not only loves the site, but occasionally references SG models for her figure drawings! We love you too, Junko Mizuno. Read on..


SUSIE GHAHREMANI: Tell me a little about your artistic background.

JUNKO MIZUNO: I've been drawing as long as I can remember. I started drawing comics and illustrations and collecting them into books/magazines when I was around 4 or 5 years old. I used to force my sister to read them.
That's how I trained myself in art. I've never had any formal art
education. Now I live in Tokyo, drawing illustrations for many
different media: designing toys, making stories for my comics, etc.

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SG: What inspires your work? Who are some of your favorite artists?

JM: Everything in the world inspires me!

I have too many favorite artists to list them all. Aubrey Beardsley, Eric Stanton, Kazuo Umezu, Hideshi Hino, Niki De Saint Phalle, Henry J. Darger to name a few.

SG: Tell me about your favorite piece you've done; what makes it your favorite and why?

JM: My favorite piece is always the latest one. This image is a part of the piece I'm working on right now. It's my favorite for now.

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SG: How do you overcome feeling drained of inspiration or out of ideas?

JM: Luckily, I've never been out of ideas so far but sometimes, I do get stuck -- especially when I'm thinking how to execute the ideas in my head.

The things I do to change my mood are... walking around, shopping around, drinking and talking with my friends, or cleaning up my room. If all of these don't work at all, I just go to bed and sleep.

SG: What's your favorite texture?

JM: Whenever I get tired, I feel like touching something furry.

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SG: What is your guilty pleasure?

JM: Oversleeping.

SG: What's next for you and your work?

JM: I just made some concepts for a web game called "Die Bunny".
I'm so excited because it's my first time getting involved in making a game. It's still in development but they already have a webpage. I really can't wait to play it!

Also, I'm designing some new vinyl toys, working on my 10th anniversary
collection book, planning two group shows in US next year etc. All my new projects are announced on my website.
Please visit www.MIZUNO-JUNKO.com.

web address: http://suicidegirls.com/news/all/18264/Conversation-With-Junko-Mizuno/