Review Fix chats with ‘Over My Dead Body’ author Jessica Knewasser, who discusses the origin of the manga and so much more.
Review Fix: What inspired this manga?
Jessica Knewasser: I find that my stories create themselves. I often see myself as a producer and my characters create stories by pitching ideas to me. At the time of Over My Dead Body’s creation, I was working on a project starring Hiroki’s roommate/ best friend, Kohei. I ended up disliking that story after a short while and eventually imagined telling my characters, “That’s enough! This project is over! I’m not gonna publish this story!” That’s when Hiroki appeared to me and pitched his story. I ran with it and because I liked Kohei so much from the other story, he came along with it too.
Review Fix: What did you read as a kid?
Knewasser: I started reading manga around age 14 but I started getting exposed to it earlier on. What really got me into manga was first watching anime. Obviously, I watched Pokemon like everyone else, but the anime that I think originally stole my heart was Yu Yu Hakusho, but then later that was Naruto. I eventually started reading manga because I wanted more Naruto content, but Naruto was only a gateway to all the amazing stories in the manga genre. The story that truly inspired me to be a manga artist was Fushigi Yuugi. The creator, Yuu Watase, is my favorite mangaka and I’ve tried to read as much of her content as I could get my hands on. My other manga artist hero is Hiro Mashima. I just love his sense of humor.
Review Fix: Why does manga matter?
Knewasser: I love how manga can break a lot of literary rules but still have compelling stories. In novel writing, the reader is basically stuck with the perceptions of the main character. Because manga is so heavily art based, writers are able to really showcase a cast of characters the same way a movie or TV show portrays its stories. What sets manga apart from TV or movies though, is that even if you read manga all day, you still spent the day reading, which feels more productive than watching TV. Manga is also cheaper to make so your favorite serieses have the ability to be portrayed from start to finish without worrying about networks canceling them. Best of all, your manga will never be interrupted by a commercial.
Review Fix: How do you want your manga to affect the world?
Knewasser: I just want to make good stories. I feel a lot of our media is forcing us to think about politics 24/7 and it’s just not healthy. People need a break! People need to be entertained. That’s why manga is so popular. The story is all that matters and the reader gets to finally relax for a while.
Review Fix: What’s next?
Knewasser: Currently, I’m working on Volume 2 of Over My Dead Body, but I also have some other projects in the works as well. I named my company Knewasser Productions because I wanted to create a company that specialized in manga but could also do other projects. I’ve considered working on other content but nothing is complete yet. After Volume 2, I might take some time to work on a different manga series that’s rated a little more PG this time but then return to my star project with Volume 3.
Review Fix:Anything else you’d like to add?
Knewasser: I created and published my manga by myself and I’d like to share a little insight on how I did it. I did not get a traditional art degree but I took a couple courses in college to help me achieve my goals. One of them was a graphic design course. My work is a hybrid between traditional and digital art. I start with a regular sketch on paper and pencil then I scan it onto the computer for the bulk of the work. Whether people prefer traditional artists or digital artists more, I don’t think it really matters because art can be created by any tool available. As far as making the manga goes, I actually learned how to do it by reading the columns in other mangas that I used to read. A lot of people skip them but each one really gave me great insight into the life of a mangaka and what needs to be done to create one.
Review Fix:Where can people find out more?
Knewasser: Follow me on my Instagram or Facebook! Insta is Knewasser_Productions and Facebook is Knewasser Productions. I have the paperback of Volume 1 available on Etsy: knewasserproductions.etsy.com and two options to buy my ebook: Kindle and Kobo.
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