Misako Rocks! and So Does Biker Girl
By Kate Culkin -- Publishers Weekly, 6/27/2006
With the release of Biker Girl, a manga-inspired graphic novel by Misako Rocks!—aka Misako Takashima—Hyperion Books for Children is out to attract the hordes of young female readers who flocked to Disney's wildly popular W.I.T.C.H. series and made shojo manga an American publishing phenomenon. Published in June with an initial printing of 50,000 copies, Biker Girl is the story of Aki, a shy, bespectacled teenager who transforms into a glamorous superhero with the help of a magic bicycle.
Alessandra Balzer, executive editor at Hyperion Books for Children, calls Biker Girl "manga with a fresh approach." The book reads right to left, and Takashima aims to combine manga's emphasis on storytelling with the vivid action found in American comic books. The artist, born and raised in Japan and now living in Madison, Wisc., uses a Japanese calligraphy pen that allows her to create thick, dynamic lines and, in turn, images that explode off the page.
The book is an appealing mix of adventure, female empowerment and romance brought alive by Takashima's vibrant illustration. But while the book should appeal to manga fans, Balzer explains, "even someone who isn't immersed in comic book culture can enjoy it because it so accessible and so fun." Hyperion will also publish Rock's second book, Rock and Roll Love. Balzer notes: "We are very open to comics and manga. It just needs to be the right author."
A self-taught artist who has worked as an illustrator, a teacher and a puppeteer, Takashima also visited Madison High schools to work with kids. In a phone interview, she says she conceived of the story while biking to work at the Children's Museum in Madison. Admiring the vintage bicycles popular in the area, she also dodged cars, thinking all the while, "I wish I was a superhero." At the museum, she noticed many children, particularly girls, reading manga. Inspired, "I did a sketch of superhero girl—sexy with a helmet and with a cute, classical bicycle." In its final form, the story balances a celebration of adolescent girls' youthful energy with a message about the importance of growing up and accepting responsibility.
Melanie Scharler, senior manager of Communications at Disney Publishing Worldwide, says Hyperion has an extensive publicity campaign planned, including the distribution of promotional blads to 450 independent bookstores and at the 2006 New York Comic-con. And there will also be galleys distributed at the International Reading Association in Chicago. An online banner campaign through Burst Media is planned to drive potential readers to the book's Web site, which offers free screensavers and a sneak peak at the book. Look for advertising in Shojo Beat and School Library Journal. Balzer believes the book will be especially attractive to librarians, who are "are always looking for inroads to readers."
Takashima is at work on her next book, Rock and Roll Love, due in spring 2007. It's an autobiographical work based on her experience of moving to the United States. She says the book will be "complicated and dramatic, about what a girl feels, the push/pull kind of love thing." She says she is thrilled to be one of the artists bringing manga to the U.S. and especially to American girls: "I feel really honored to be part of it."
