Brief Abstract

TekkonKinkreet by Matsumoto Taiyo, originally serialized from 1993-1994, maintained a unique readership of indie Japanese musicians, American film directors, and European artists. The intensively psychological romp through the realm of rebellion, identity formation, and industrialization is consummated in an art style highly influenced by Franco-Belgian comic artists like Enki Bilal and Jean “Moebius” Giraud. Although some critics, like Scott McCloud, argue that Japanese comics “developed for years in relative isolation from their Western cousins,” Matsumoto’s chiaroscuro, panel shattering, and grid conception suggest otherwise. TekkonKinkreet has welcomed highly positive reception in the West including the 2008 Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material and in 2006, Michael Arias’ film adaptation was considered “the best in the video collection” at the Museum of Modern Art by Barbara London. This presentation considers the transnational nature of TekkonKinkreet’s structure, stylistics, and visual rhetoric while contemplating the latent content reading styles of Western readership.