Bata Neart

And so here we are, the thing that has been holding me up for all these months 😀

As Aoife mentions, I have been very lucky and have been receiving lessons from the very awesome master manga-ka Nao Yazawa. That was part of the an experimental web-course run at Manga School Nakano which I’ll explain a little more as we proceed into the manga itself.

But first, some little bits and pieces you should know.

1) This is a one-shot non-canon Bata Neart manga.

This 16 page one-shot is based heavily on the Bata Neart you already know. However this story is *outside* the normal continuity of Bata Neart. So please don’t be too alarmed if everything seems too different. Everything will go back to normal continuity once we get back to Chapter 6.

2) This was written in the Japanese Right-to-Left format

As Aoife pointed out, it’s all Japanese style, which means that even though it is in English, the panels should be read Right-to-Left. Unfortunately, the Comic Nav buttons don’t reflect this, and you’ll need to click ‘Right’ to get to the next page. I’m afraid I can’t change that, and I’m sorry for any confusion that may cause.

3) The whole manga can be read on my Deviant Art page right now!

No, you are not seeing things. All 16 pages are up there for you to read, right now.

Click here to check out the first page!

This would usually be an insane thing for a web-cartoonist to do, and it may very well still be. But I’m still going to post this one-shot page by page for the next 16 Fridays. The main reason for this is that I really will need those 16 weeks to play with. First: I’m in the process of producing a mini-manga which will join a book that Nao Yazawa is working on, so I’m going to need a few of those weeks. The second reason is that I am going to now try my level best  up my game. Nao has armed me with new knowledge which I am hoping will help me in this goal.

I want Chapter 6 and Bata Neart – Book 2 to be a genuine leap forward in making this story more enjoyable, and in making it prettier than I can currently manage. So I’ll need some of those weeks to prep it correctly.

But why should you tune in every Friday, if you can just read it on DA now?

There’s a lot of back story to this project which I’ll share weekly, that I think you might enjoy learning about. From how I got to know Nao a few years ago, to the work I’ve put into helping Nao with creating Manga School Nakano’s English program, right up to the challenges of producing this manga which taking care of a new born. I actually had to cancel a lesson because I needed to drive to the hospital for the birth!

In addition, I want to share what I have learned, and the effects it is having on my planning for both Bata Neart & Back Office. And lastly, Aoife will be available in comments for her opinions, inputs and to answer questions you might have for her.

So there you have it folks. I really do hope you enjoy 🙂