Manta-Man by Chad Sell

I’ve been referencing it for a while now, but I’m excited to officially announce that I’ll be doing a self-contained story featuring Sachiko in a creepy, supernatural tale of desire and destruction. I’m hoping to have it complete within a few months, possibly in time for some of the comic conventions at which I’ll be exhibiting.

The idea had been germinating ever since I ran across Obakemono, a delightful site collecting illustrations and descriptions of mythical Japanese creatures. I was immediately drawn to some of the eerie folktales, and it seemed perfectly natural to incorporate them into Sachiko’s ninja world. My new comic story will feature my own spin on one of these stories–given my inclinations, you can guess in what directions I’ll be taking it.

The story will also give me the chance to experiment inking with a brush and brushpen–in fact, while sketching out some of my ideas today, I was so taken by my early results that I wanted to share some spoiler-free glimpses here:

Last week, I traveled to Atlanta and visited the Georgia Aquarium, where they have some gooorgeous manta rays! We sat and watched them for ages, and it’ll definitely result in improved depictions of Manta-Man himself.

Also, at the zoo, there were baby pandas and birds kissing.

(Thanks to Tim Abbott for the photos!)