Interviewer: Anthony Andujar Jr
Interviewee: Jimmy Johnathan Lee
Hello and welcome to the Artist Ant Interviews People Summer Series! Welcome to another edition to my latest talks with local and global creatives that are alive, hustling and thriving in their respective crafts! Today I have a special guest who I interviewed a few years ago as one of my interviewees from 2016! I figured it was only right to see what this creative individual has been up to, what has changed, what has been consistent, and whether or not his views and approach to his craft is different or the same. Please welcome to the cyberverse, Jimmy Johnathan Lee!
Q0. Who are your inspirations?
JL: Dave Sim especially his long 300 issue series Cerberus, Hayao Miyazaki (especially the manga version of Nausicaa), Ursula K. Leguin, Kentaro Miura of Berserk fame, Hideaki Anno of Evangelion fame, clamp, Kunihiko Ikuhara especially the anime Revolutionary Girl Utena, The Dune saga by Frank Herbert, the Hernandez Brothers (writers and artists of Love and Rockets), the german new wave film director Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1970s shojo manga especially the titles from Riyoko Ikeda of Rose of Versailles fame and Moto Hiago. The french new wave movies of Jean- Luc Godard. H.P lovecraft. The music of David Bowie, Bjork, punk rock And soul music. Finally, J. Michael Straczynski’s Babylon 5.
Q1. How did you get into art, most notably writing?
JL: It just came to me although I found I had more talent in writing despite my love towards drawing. Ya know, the funny thing is that I enjoy writing but reading can be a bit of a chore especially written prose.
Q2. When did you take art seriously?
JL: Because it gives me meaning and direction in my life. Without it, who am I? What am I? What is the legacy I’m gonna leave behind. I mean, I’m not getting any younger and the flow of time...the flow of fate has such gravity over me. Another final reason is that I have a need to prove myself to people that my craft should be taken seriously in terms of goals and career.
Q3. What drives you in your daily life?
JL: I don’t really know. What does drive me from the day to night? To look presentable and mature in front of people? Money sometimes. Food sometimes. Perhaps I desire to find the real truth, the truth that connects everything. Finally, I have a need to prove myself and have admittedly childish mentality of “me against the world”.
Q4. What made you the person that you are today?
JL: Many,many, mistakes and regrets. Mistakes and regrets are the teachers towards understanding one’s truth, beyond the personas and perceptions.
Q5. If you could speak to any living creator or inspiration, who would it be, why, and what would talk to them about?
JL: Dave Sim despite and perhaps because of his controversial views and behavior. However, he is an important figure of the 1980s self-publishing independent comic book wave. If I met him in person, I would like to talk about the creative process, self-publishing back then & today, themes and ideas in his work, characterization, etc. Plus, I admire his tenacity from a rough amateur artist in his 20s to being one of the best creators in the industry. Also, he boosted the careers of other creators like Jeff Smith, Colleen Doran, Terry Moore, Jason Lutes, etc.
Hideki Anno who created, directed and wrote Neon Genesis Evangelion. The reason is that I want to talk about the creative process with the man who created the Watchmen of mecha anime. Anno and his team had to fight censorship and budgeting issues to finish the show; such tenacity is admirable. Also, he was a big student of film, literature and pop culture which influenced his work, including Eva. Plus, he made some odd anime such as Kare Kano which is a fusion of shojo romantic teen drama/comedy and deep psychoanalysis.
Kunihiko Ikuhara who created, directed and wrote Revolutionary Girl Utena. He seems such an eccentric and fascinating man. Being friends with the creator of Eva, working on the original Sailor Moon anime, then gathering a group of other artists to work on Utena; essentially
Evangelion’s sister in terms of its postmodern deconstructionist themes. While Evangelion takes a look at the mecha genre, shonen tropes, and Freud, Utena takes a look at the magical girl genre, shoujo tropes, fairy tales, and Jung.
Q6. If there were any deceased creators , actors, singers, writers, etc that you would want to speak to, who would it be, and why?
JL: Ursula K. LeGuin. She was the most prominent sci-fi/ fantasy writer in the past few decades. Without her Earthsea books, Harry Potter would never have existed. She brought into a lot more metaphysical and philosophical concepts into science fiction/fantasy such as genderless aliens. Taoism, the power of names, etc.
Osamu Tezuka because he is the God of Manga. Without him, manga and anime would never have been really a thing. He creates so much of the fundamental tropes of anime/manga. For example, the big eyes of a lot of anime is from Tezuka who was a huge fan of classic Disney animation like Bambi. Also, he was so prolific, creating a new title for a few years, from Astro Boy to Kimba the White Lion(the original Lion King) to more darker works like MV and Alabaster.
Rainer Werner Fassbinder, one of the most prominent and definitely the most prolific film direction of the 1970s/80s German New Wave cinema. He experimented with so many genres and techniques and was so prolific that he made a movie & play almost every single year. He is the creator Francis Ford Coppola wishes he can be. Big themes, big production goals,
and big ensemble casts are his career style.
Q7. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
JL: Berlin, a city that has such cultural history. In the 20s, it was the epicenter of theatre, music, cinema, art and culture with openly queer residents. In the 70s and 80s, it was the epicenter of music and cinema that has so much influence with the synths of Krautrock and the deconstructionist avant-garde nature of the German New Wave Cinema( like Herzog and
Fassbinder).
Q8. What is one thing that you fear?
JL: Failure, dreams not being achieved, settling into mundane mediocrity.
Q9. If you had a superpower what would it be and why?
JL: The power to travel the Multiverse by opening up portals to each universe.
Q10. What catches your attention when you meet people?
JL: If the person and I can truly connect with a single long conversation; that is what catches my attention. For romance and lust, I do have a taste for French-Lithuanian women who such natural beauty that they don’t need make-up.
Q11. What is one word of advice that you would impart to your younger self?
JL: Take charge of your fucking life because you alone must make have the choices, the work and the goals. In the end, the only power we really have…the only thing we can really control…the only thing we really can change is ourselves. Love yourself for someone who does not love oneself cannot truly love others.
Q12. What are three books that you always remember or return to, and why? How did they shape you?
JL: Dune by Frank Herbert. This book and the rest of the series introduced me to concepts of Fear being the mind-killer, the power & danger of charismatic leaders especially people being revered as messianic figures, cosmic awareness with the concept of the Golden Path & Mendats, political intrigue among feuding nobles, eugenics, environmentalism, substances that can expand the limitations of the mind & soul. You could say the book inspired stuff like A Song of Ice and Fire, the Inhumans, Star Wars, the older Gundam shows with concepts like Newtypes and the Marvel Cosmic stories from Jim Starlin.
Underground by Haruki Murakami. A very harrowing account of victims of 1990s Tokyo subway Sarin attack and the people behind the crime who are the Aum Shinrikyo. It delves into why the people a cult such as the Aum Shinrikyo and doing such crimes. It looks at the alienation that a lot of overworked young people, the allure of a cult that promises security and community, and the environment surrounding this era with the Lost Decade recession.
His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman. A sweet young-adult series of books about the corruption of organized religion, parental abuse, the multiverse, growing up, and nature of science. It caused some controversy among the religious conservatives when the movie adaptation was being released around 2007. Also, I find it to be entertaining and oddly mature at times.
A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin. Yes, the show became so so bad with “mah queen” and “I don’t want it.'' However, the books are still so good. Unlike that show, the books have a shifting POV structure which I find fascinating and has influenced my writing. In addition, compared to the show, the books paints a more vivid critique of war, the feudal system, the abuse of women, the abuse of the common folk, and the danger of messianic figures. An example of such themes can be seen with the Broken Man speech from the 4 th book A Feast For Crows; this speech from a priest tells the stories of the peasants forced to suffer the bloodshed of the wars that petty royals and nobles create. These peasants who thought fighting in war would bring some social status only faced trauma and suffering.
Note: this speech was never in the show. Finally, unlike the show, the magical elements are much prominent and cooler; it has a spooky occult vibe with all of the Stark kids having warg powers, a horn that break The Wall, vengeful undead zombies powered by the fire god, warlocks, etc.
Q13. If you could continue or remake a movie, or franchise, what would be your film of choice ?
JL: 1. Remaking the entire Star Wars prequel trilogy as a five-season
mature adult drama.
2. Remaking Buffy the Vampire Slayer as an indie black and white comic
book. Make it morally grey, improve on unpopular characters.
3. Turning the One More Day story from the Spider-Man comics into a
13-episode anime. Taking inspiration from Evangelion and Serial
Experiments Lain. Also an influence of Jacob’s Ladder.
Q14. If you were to make a film, novel, or comic book based on an album, what album or artist would you pick?
JL: The entire Berlin Trilogy of albums from David Bowie as three movies of hand-drawn mature dramatic animation. The first album Low would be about some young runaway all alone in the bustling city of Berlin, it would be lonely and existential. The second album Heroes would the runaway trying to recover from booze, depression and running away; still in the decadent streets of Berlin. The final album Lodger would be the runaway going through a surreal vision quest where he or she gains cosmic awareness of life, the stars, the sun, and the moon; finally achieving nirvana.
Q15. Who In this life, has motivated you to stay true to what makes you who are?
JL: That is such a tough question. I can say the people I admire like Dave Sim, Davie Bowie and Hendrix. I dunno.
Q16. Where do you hope to see yourself in five years?
JL: I dunno. I regret the past and fear the future, the only thing that keeps me going is the present and the present.
Q17. What are three albums or songs currently, that you listen to on repeat? And why?
JL: 1. Los Angeles from the 1980s L.A band called X. It is one of the best punk albums from that scene and era. The sound of this album combines hardcore punk, 1950s rockabilly, and catchy pop hooks. To me, the whole album feels like a collection of short stories about outsiders living in 80s L.A. It feels like Love & Rockets in punk music form.
2. The Game Of Thrones Soundtrack by Ramin Djwadi. Yeah, the show became hot garbage but the music is so wonderful and tells the story better than the actual writing. Favorite track currently I listen on repeat is “The Night King”, that track gives such as ominous Lovecraftian
otherworldly vibe and has been influencing on my writing. When I listen to track on repeat, I imagine a man stripped of his humanity by the gods and believes that all these petty nobles and royals deserve an eternal winter for their sins.
3. Superfly Soundtrack from the soul musician Curtis Mayfield. To me, Curtis Mayfield is underrated in the realm of 1970s soul. He never had the fame and attention of artists like Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye but in my humble opinion, he was far ahead of the game. His albums rival not just soul but also the best of prog-rock in terms of concept and musicianship. With Wonder and Gaye, the former can sometimes deep too much into sugary sentimentalism
Other music are Captain Beefheart, David Bowie, The Jam, Fiona Apple, New Radicals, folk music, and A Tribe Called Quest
Q18. What color speaks to you the most and why?
JL: Red. For me, red is the color of fire, blood, birth and rebirth. Red is such dominating color; from our bodies to the skies. It is a powerful color in many myths and legends.
Q19: What is your greatest weakness?
JL: Organization, self-doubt, despair and procrastination.
Q20. What is your greatest strength?
JL: Imagination and the ability to pick up ideas from other sources.
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