The Contributors: MaGnUs

Website: clockworkchap.carbonmade.com

MaGnUs (Martin Pèrez) is a writer, letterer, and radio host/producer. He writes articles, essays, short stories, and text for video games.

In Book 1, MaGnUs lettered the story "Bunbuku Chagama," written by Tom Peyer and illustrated by Federico Dallocchio, about an old man's gift of a shape-shifting Raccoon Dog.

For Book 3, MaGnUs wrote the story “Gaman,” illustrated by Pablo Praino, about a shop keeper's perseverance against a roving gang of bandits.

"Gaman" Appearing in Book 3

"Bunbuku Chagama" Appearing in Book 1

The Contributors: Patricia Morse-McNeely

Patricia Morse-McNeely was born in Galveston, Texas, to Bleecker L. Morse Sr. and Annie Maud Pillow Morse. She graduated from Ball High School, attended Business College, then worked 22 years in the business field as a secretary. In the early ‘40s, she attended TWU and the University of Texas for 2 years. She returned to UT in 1970, graduated with a BS in Education in 1972, and did post-degree studies for teaching the handicapped. She attended UTSA in San Antonio from 1974 to 1981, taking an MA in teaching LLDs in 1976 and a second MA for Counseling/Sp. Ed. Counseling.

She retired in 2000 after 26 years of teaching and working as a Vocational Adjustment Coordinator (counseling). She continued her studies in writing at Dallas Community Colleges and Austin Community College, as well as a correspondence course from the Institute of Children’s Literature.

Patricia has written since early childhood and is both poet and writer. She has been published in newspapers, newsletters, church bulletin and some private publications. In 2008, she published a small collection of poetry, "THE INCONSTANT MOON." Patricia has won some prizes for her poetry, several honorable mentions, and is presently rewriting a youth novel she wrote in 1950.

Mrs. McNeely is the great-great-granddaughter of S. F. B. Morse, inventor of the telegraph and box camera. He was a famous American and also wrote several tracts, essays, and some poetry.

Patricia has been a prolific contributor to Fables for Japan, donating multiple stories and poem. Here are just a few examples of her work:

"Sunset" Appearing in Book 3

"Sha-Kee, The Golden Cat" Appearing in Book 2

"Biography of Love" Appearing in Book 1

The Contributors: Rebecca Minor

Rebecca Minor was drawn to the works of Beatrix Potter and Aesop's Fables at an early age. Her writings have always sought to entertain while teaching lessons that children and parents can make connections over. She is currently working on a series of children's stories that will be illustrated by her husband, Jason Minor.

Rebecca has wrote the story “Well Frogs,” with illustrations by Jason Temujin Minor, for book 2, about a young Frog who is awaken to a world much bigger than he one he had know.

For book 3, Rebecca contributed a story called "Silent Blessing," illustrated by Beñat Olea Irureta, about a father's wish to attend his daughter's wedding.

"Silent Blessing" Appearing in Book 3

"Well Frogs" Appearing in Book 2

The Contributors: Jason Temujin Minor

Website: http://www.jason-minor.com/
Facebook: JasonMinorArt
Twitter: @jason_t_minor

Jason Temujin Minor has worked for over twenty years as a Comic Book artist, Game Developer, and Writer. He attended the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art in 1990 and started his own freelance studio, called Baraka Studios, in 1998.

As a comic book artist, Jason is best known for his work on "The Books of Magic," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," "Animal Man," and "Deadpool". He has also worked on such diverse titles as "Batman," "X-Men," "Terror Inc.," "Vampirella," and the Eisner Award winning anthology "The Big Book of Urban Legends." In 1997, writer Elaine Lee and Jason co-created the science fiction mini-series, "BrainBanx," for the short-lived Helix imprint of DC Comics.

In 2000, Jason transition from a 2d graphic artist to a 3d computer game artist. He worked for Sony Online Entertainment on their MMO, “Star Wars: Galaxies.” Jason became the lead character artist on the “Rage of the Wookiees” Expansion and he took over as Art Director of the Live Team in 2004. Jason is currently working for BioWare Inc. on their MMO, “Star Wars: The Old Republic,” as the lead character artist.

Recently, Jason has started to foucs on his writing. He won an award for his short story,"A Dance in the Woods", and contributed a short story and several interior illustrations for the horror flash-fiction anthology, “Flashes of Fear.” He writes a monthly, serialized story called “Chapter Play,” for the Gabriel Writer and is collaborating with his wife on a series of Children's books.

After the first incarnation of Fables for Japan fell through, Jason picked up the project and took over the recruiting, organizing, editing, and publishing.

“Boy in the Water,” Jason's story for Book One, is about a young boy who finds himself lost in a gray empty watery world after the tsunami washes away all he once knew.

For Book Two, Jason wrote and illustrated a "Oyuki" a sequel to the Japanese ghost story, "Yuki-Onna and Minokichi," picking up the story many years later with Minokichi is an old man on his deathbed, telling his ten children the truth about their mother.

In Book Three, Jason wrote the story, "A New Year," illustrated by Laurie Greasley, about two mysterious men how help a earthquake survivor achieve his New Year's wish.

"A New Year" Appearing in Book 3

"Oyuki" Appearing in Book 2

"Boy in the Water" Appearing in Book 1

Also check out Jason's books in print.

  

Book 3, The Official Release Date!!

Mark your Calendars!

Fables for Japan, book 3 will be officially available for purchase and download on:

June 1st, 2012 at noon!!

Downloadable e-Book

157 pages!

The 3 part anthology ends in spectacular style with 30 unique fables, comic stories, and poems, all beautifully illustrated and inspired by Japanese myth. Such as the tale of a slave boy who teaches his abusive master what forgiveness really is, the fable of three greedy brothers’ desperate search for treasure, a lonely Kami who sacrifices everything for love, the young thief who becomes a hero with the help of a talkative umbrella, and many more. From a dark tale of the perfect cup of tea to legends exploring the true nature of God, these stories have been lovingly crafted by 40 of the top writers and artists around the world, including the talents of Alan Grant, Andrew Robinson, Charles Whipple, Eduardo Francisco, Federico Dallocchio, Huseyin Ozkan, Jean-Jacques Dzialowski, Jeff Crosby, Ken Bastard, Yao Xiao, and many more.

Great stories for a Great Cause!

Thank you in advance and we hope you will enjoy the book.

And remember you can still buy Book 1 and 2 by clicking here!

The Contributors: Carol MacDonald Menchu

Carol MacDonald Menchu is an intuitive poet. Her chapbooks, “The Musing Mistress” and “Beyond The Gate,” are both collections of individual poems woven together to tell a story. Menchu, a resident of Georgetown Texas, is a Montana native.

For book 2, Carol wrote several several haikus inspired by the famous Japanese artist, Hokusai.

For book 3, Carol again donated several poem, this time inspired by the elaborate decorations Japanese gardens. She also wrote a short story inspired by true events from her own childhood called, “Chīsana Aoi Chō.”

"Reality" Appearing in Book 3

"Five Little Mouses" Appearing in Book 2

The Contributors: Ana-Maria Maximencu

Website: dollinjune14.deviantart.com

Ana-Maria Maximencu lives in Romania. She attended an art high school in her hometown of Cluj-napoca, and later studied art at University and graduated with a Masters degree in graphics.

Since then she has participated in a few group exhibitions and spent several months studying in Athens, Greece. She loves photography as a wonderful way of capturing all the beauty of this world.

“The bond with this beauty, with life, is essential to every human and all the beauty around us is just 'shattered pieces of a greater beauty, that was heaven, in the beginning…' as a Saint from Optina Monastery once said. I try to use my skills, not just to create something 'nice' or 'beautiful', but also to deliver a message. Every artist should be very aware and responsible for the messages his art deliver to the world."

—Ana-Maria Maximencu  

Ana-Maria illustrated “The Lonesome Pine of Takata,” written by Patricia Morse-McNeely, about the single tree left standing after the tsunami struck the historic resort town of Rikugentakata (affectionately called Takata)

The Contributors: Chris Bivins

Website: www.cbiv85.blogspot.com

Chris Bivins is an illustrator/animator based out of Atlanta, Georgia and a recent graduate from the Art Institute of Atlanta. He currently works at a casino game company called Cadillac Jack where he creates graphics, concept designs, and animations for slot machines. In his free time he freelances as an illustrator.

Always seeking new opportunities to stretch his wings, he hopes to one day create his own graphic novel, and become an art director for an animation studio. As a fan of comics and animation since he was kid, creating engaging stories with awesome visuals has always been a driving passion.

Chris illustrated the story “Brothers’ Three,” written by Jeff Baker, about three conniving brothers in search of riches. Here a taste:

The Contributors: Chris Johnson

Website: http://savyercity.wordpress.com/

Chris Johnson writes, edits, and letters comics. At the moment, Chris is working on six different comic series and a few one-shots – two of which will see print May 2012, iBotics and Wreckingball. He has also writing an independent zombie movie script and a children’s book.

Chris wrote two stories for book 3, “The 47th Samurai,” Illustrated by Damon Smith and Jason Temujin Minor, and “Don’t Fear the Reaper,” with art by Ken Bastard

Here is a page from The 47th Samurai, about a young apprentice Samurai turned Ronin, looking to regain his honor.

The Contributors: Federico Dallocchio

Facebook: Federico-Dallocchio

Federico Dallocchio is a comic book artist from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He has worked for Wildstorm, DC Comics, Dark Horse, and Marvel on such books as "Star Craft," "Suicide Squad," and "Star Wars, Knight Errant."

For book 1, Federico teamed up with Tom Peyer and Martin Pèrez on the story of an old man's gift and a shapeshifting Raccoon Dog called, "Bunbuku Chagama." For book 3 Federico provided the artwork for Alan Grant's story, "Hotei's Gift," about a young slave boy and his abusive master.

Here is page 2 of Hotei's Gift, appearing in Fables for Japan, book 3, coming soon

And here's a sample from Bunbuku Chagama, appearing in book 1:

Check out some of the books Federico has done:

   

The Contributors: Alan Grant

Alan Grant has been a freelance writer for over 30 years. His first comic script was a 5-part love story - based on The Portrait of Dorian Gray - that appeared in the girls' romantic magazine "Mirabelle" in the early 70s. He went on to co-write the groundbreaking comic, Judge Dredd with Kelvin Gosnell and, in 1980, he began co-writing with John Wagner, handling Judge Dredd, Strontium Dog, Sam Slade RoboHunter, Helltrekkers, Tharg's Future Shocks, Anderson PSI, Bad City Blue and more. 

In 1987, Alan began writing the Batman monthly book. He would go on writing Batman, Detective Comics, and Shadow of the Bat for the next 13 years with artist Norm Breyfogle. He also wrote Lobo, LEGION 89, and The Demon for DC comics, as well as the junior novelisations of several of the Batman movies and a number of original novels featuring DC comic characters like the Justice League.

For Epic Comics, a division of Marvel, Alan produced The Last American with John Wagner and Mike McMahon and wrote the comic adaptations of the RoboCop movies, as well as the monthly RoboCop comic. He also wrote several series of the Terminator comic at Dark Horse.

Along with Jon Wagner, Alan co-wrote The Bogie Man, which went on to become Scotland's best-selling independent comic and spawned several sequels. It was also adapted into a BBC TV show starring Robbie Coltrane, Craig Ferguson and Midge Ure.

More recently, Alan has been working for the Irish publisher Berserker, on The Dead: Plague of Flies with artist and old friend Simon Bisley, and Church of Hell with Glenn Fabry. Renegade Arts Entertainment commissioned him to write the 4-issue horror story Channel Evil, as well as the graphic novel, The 1812 War Between Canada and The USA.

For Book 3 of Fables for Japan, Alan wrote a short comic story about the complicated relationship between a servant boy and his master, exploring the meaning of buddhist forgiveness, called "Hotei's Gift," Illustrated by Federico Dallocchio.

Here is a glimpse:

The Contributors: Beñat Olea Irureta

Websites: http://obscurebt.blogspot.com.es/ and http://obscurebt.deviantart.com/

Beñat Olea Irureta is a young Basque illustrator who works for children books, comics, and novels. He loves creating magical and quirky worlds with real characters, capable of transporting and touching the reader.

In Book 3, Beñat illustrated the story, “Silent Blessing,” written by Rebecca Minor, about a father’s wish to be present for his daughter’s wedding. Here is a look at one of his pieces:

The Contributors: Laurie Greasley

Website: http://laurieillustrations.blogspot.com/

Laurie Greasley was born in Cumbria, England in 1985. He studied for his BA in illustration at the University College of the Creative Arts and graduated in 2006. Post graduation, he became an art teacher at two colleges in Coventry before leaving to teach English in Japan from 2008 to present.

During the March 11th quake, Laurie was living in Hitachi Ibaraki, a coastal city in northeastern Kanto, about 100km from Fukushima Daiichi. I asked him to write about his experiences for the introduction to Book 3. Here is an excerpt:

“Many of the local teachers and I had come together in my apartment. We were all pretty stressed but in good spirits and did the only thing we could...pooled food and alcohol. Even 3 days after we were still oblivious to what was going on around us. We were getting small snippets of information here and there but had no idea of the scale of the tragedy in the north. On the 3rd night, the power came back – which was cause for celebration in itself, as it allowed us to call home and tell loved ones we were still alive but we were sobered by the news reports.”

Laurie also illustrated the story, “A New Year,” about a young man saying good-by to his family during the 2012 New Year’s celebration. The story is set in Tokyo at the Zojoji Temple. I asked if Laurie would be interested in doing the artwork for this story and, by pure chance, it turned out that he was at Zojoji Temple, New Year’s night, at the very celebration described in the story – it was a perfect fit. Here is a peak:

The Contributors: Nicola Hwang

Website: http://nicolahwangportfolio.blogspot.com/

Nicola Hwang is an Illustrator, Character Designer, and Concept Artist. She also has a talent for memorizing cartoon dialogue, conversing with animals, and talking about herself in the third person.

Hailing from the metropolitan island of Singapore, Nicola has been doodling and drawing from the time, she could hold a crayon. Having grown up on a staple diet of cartoons, ranging from Disney classics to Warner Brother shorts and everything in between, it’s been her dream to work in the colorful realm of Animation. 

Since Graduating from Nanyang Polytechnic School of Digital Media Design with a diploma in Animation in 2007, Nicola has worked on everything from animated television series, to iPhone games, to eBooks for kids. She also illustrates for postcards and covers for comics. Nicola currently freelances as an independent Designer, Illustrator, and Voice Actor. When she’s not plastered to her work desk, she’s helping out at a local Children’s center, taste-testing (devouring) her mother’s cooking, and trying to get her two dogs Cooper and Lukas to help her take over the world.

Nicola provided illustrations for a series of poems, written by Carol Menchu, in book 3. Here are just a few of them:

The Contributors: Maria Henriksen

Website: http://maria-henriksen.blogspot.com/

Maria Henriksen is 20 years old and studying to become a Character Animator with a Bachelor at the Animation Workshop in Viborg, Denmark. There she is learning the foundations of art while finding new ways to develop her own style and try new techniques.

For Book 3, Maria illustrated the short story “Chīsana Aoi Chō,” written by Carol Menchu, about a young girl’s outing with her father and an unlikely companion.

Here is a glimpse: 

The Contributors: Matthew Funk

Website: http://onthesubjectofbeingawes​ome.blogspot.com/

Matthew Funk is a college student and an aspiring comic book writer and novelist from Bend, Oregon. After the tragic events of March 11th 2011, he felt compelled to help the suffering people in Japan. Matt initially came up with the idea for an anthology of stories and artwork inspired by Japanese folklore, called "Fairy Tales for Japan," with the proceeds going to the Red Cross. While that first incarnation of this project fell through, his work makes up a large part of "Fables for Japan."

Matt has recently started self-publishing his own anthology called Blank Page Comics. You can check them out here: http://blankpagecomics.blogspot.com/



As one of the top contributors, Matt has written 9 short stories that have appeared throughout the 3 volumes of Fables for Japan. "To My Masterpiece" tells the story of an artist trying to express his love for his wife. "Monkey and Wolf" gives voice to a smart-ass monkey and a smug wolf. "Sun and Moon" tells the legend of how the Sun and Moon found their places in the heavens. In "There is a Troll Under the Bridge," a trusting Samurai encounters a clever Troll. "There Were Pixies Dancing" warns of the dangers in upsetting a Pixie. "Origins of the Flying Fish" tells how an outcast fish finds his wings. "Aneko in OZ" takes us to the wonderful land of OZ for a new adventure. In "Fox and Bear," an arrogant young fox is taught a lesson in moderation. And last but not least, "Makoto the Kami" tells of a lonely Kami and the sacrifice he makes for love. Matt's stories take the reader to new and familiar places but often ends with a darkly comedic twist that leaves you wanting more.

Here is a brief preview from "Makoto the Kami," illustrated by Jean-Jacques Dzialowski and appearing in Book 3, coming SOON!