T!M. Finney :: 80s & Up Vertigo

Vertigo Pop! Tokyo No. 3 p. 8 by Seth Fisher

Artists: Seth Fisher (Penciller) , Jonathan Vankin (Writer)

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Vertigo Pop! Tokyo No. 3 p. 8 by Seth Fisher Comic Art

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Artwork Details

Title:	Vertigo Pop! Tokyo No. 3 p. 8 by Seth Fisher
Artist:	Seth Fisher (Penciller)
Artist:	Jonathan Vankin (Writer)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	804
Likes on CAF:	6 7
Comments:	5
Added to Site:	2/25/2018
Comic Art Archive:

Description

Seth Fisher and I had a lot in common. We both came to Japan in the 1990's on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program. On the Japanese government's yen, we relocated to rural areas of Japan and taught English in high schools. Also, we both were infatuated by Japanese pop culture and manga. In different ways, I think we both kind of "found ourselves" here.

I saw a picture of Seth at some point, it was probably after reading about his tragic death, and, as he was a fairly distinctive individual, I was convinced that we had actually crossed paths once. I was out with my friend's crew (I'm guessing it was in Shinjuku) and we ran into another group of friends that I'm fairly sure included a guy who looked like Seth. There's no story beyond that. Somebody in our group knew somebody in their group, greetings were exchanged, and then we both walked off into separate adventures. I'm sure if he were still alive (and if it were really him), he would have had no reason at all to remember it.

Our shared Japan connection is a fascination to me, but of course, it is his art that truly connects me to him. When I saw his work on Green Lantern: Will World and the "Snow" arc in "Legends of the Dark Knight," I saw an artist who, similar to Geof Darrow, combined the clean but highly detailed look of European artists like Moebius with various manga aesthetics into his own unique and instantly recognizable drawing style.

This aesthetic worked particularly well for him when he drew "Vertigo Pop! Tokyo." In an interview published in Vertigo Comics, writer, Jonathan Vankin, said the comic came about after a Vertigo editor introduced and asked them to come up with a story set in Japan because she knew they both had lived there. Together, they were able to create the comic that I believe was Seth's most personal and fully-realized work.

It's basically a screwball comedy about a hapless "gaijin" (or, if we are being politically correct, "gaikokujin") named Steve (or, as he is called by many of the characters, "Stebu" -- the "v" sound is difficult for a lot of Japanese people as it isn't used in their language) who moves to Tokyo's Akihabara district basically so that he could buy all the new electronic devices he couldn't get living in the States. However, as he often finds himself adrift while trying to navigate his new cultural environment, he somehow ends up involved with a manipulative high school girl named Maki who is using him for, among other things, practicing her English. She has a brother, Ryuji, who, having failed at school, is forced to join a yakuza gang after his mother calls up a local gangster and asks him to give her son a job. His boss gives him an assignment to extract money owed to the organization by Hike, the lead singer in a Japanese "visual kei" (think glam rock) pop band, who, as luck would have it, is Maki's favorite artist.

The story takes us on a travelogue of Tokyo (Akihabara, Shibuya, Ikebukuro, Harajuku, Budokan, Tokyo Tower, Yoyogi Park, etc.,) with a plot that somehow manages to mix extortion, kidnapping, possible underage sex, drugs, rock'n'roll, high school bullying, public urination, public puking, stolen tricked-out vans, illegal phone cards (which are no longer a thing because smartphones have made public telephones nearly anachronistic), high-definition handheld video recorders, the custom of ritualized Japanese apologies, cosplay culture, punch perms, seaweed burgers, Japanese home life, salary man travails and J-pop stardom into one "nabemono" (Japanese one-pot dish) of a story. In other words, minus (one would hope) the part where an adult has sex with a high school senior, the stuff that happens to pretty much all us "gaijins" (sooner or later) if we stay here long enough.

I think VP!T is far and away Seth's best work, and, though I may be a bit close to the subject, the comic is really something of an unsung masterpiece. At the very least, it doesn't get nearly the attention that his superhero work does.

Except for a few pages that made their way into the OA community, most of Seth's art was retained by the family after his death. Recently, through Felix Comic Art, Seth's mother and brother decided to sell some art in their possession to benefit Seth's widow and son here in Japan. This provided me with the opportunity to buy this page from issue #3.

On it, we see Ryuji, still trying to come to terms with his work as a gang enforcer, popping some speed in the public toilet of Krispy Burger, the fictional fast food joint where Maki has taken her gang after kidnapping Hike away from the Yakuza. However, in the span of time it took her brother to pop in and out of the toilet, his sister managed to start a food fight of epic proportions. Finally, we see Maki, holding a gun that she stole on Hike, as she leads him out of the restaurant so that she can show him off to the other members of his Japanese fan club, thus proving that she's Hike's number 1 fan.

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About the Owner

	Timothy Finney
Joined:	August 2006
Last Login:	September 2025
Country:	JAPAN
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Rabid Ferret
Member Since 2005

Posted on 2/25/2018

Wonderul write-up and story! This is such a distinct book and it’s great to read the perspective of someone else who’s lived that life. Great piece!

Alex Johnson
Member Since 2006
Forum Moderator

1 - Posted on 2/25/2018

Like Rabid says, “Great write up.” I missed Seth’s work when it came out and have read only his FF story on RF’s recommendation, but I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen. I think I’ll go look for VP!T now.

Robert Altamura
Member Since 2006

Posted on 3/3/2018

Just started reading this. Nice analysis of plot. Cool page.

Joe F.
Member Since 2011

Posted on 3/19/2018

Great write-up!

Congrats on securing this in a competetive art drop!

Michael McIsaac
Member Since 2020

Posted on 11/25/2021

Wonderful write-up in the description. Fisher's death was such a tragedy. Thank you for sharing some of his amazing artwork!

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