Tokyo Days, Bangkok Nights

by Jonathan Vankin, Seth Fisher, Giuseppe Camuncoli

Great condition, great book.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics

Paperback

First published January 27, 2009

Reviews

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a delight to just look at the late Seth Fishers work, he's very talented in details as I know he was inspired by the greats like Moebius. He introduced a lot of anime style things in his art I found just heartwarming. Story wise it was silly but fun, the second story was a lot darker huge contrast from the first but equally captivating.

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for the wonderful artwork of Seth Fisher. He doesn't disappoint, but everything else does. I didn't get into the story at all unfortunately.

[Seth T. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tokyo Days, Bangkok Nights made me uncomfortable—mostly because I wasn't sure what I was supposed to think of it. Here. Let's start over.

Having only traveled internationally a handful of times—and always to Eastern Europe—and being left to rely on scattered reports from friends atop the untrustworthy testimony of pop culture for my understanding of various Asian cultures, it can be difficult to tell when a portrayal is capitalizing on pop fantasy and stereotype. Often, when reading a story that takes place in (say) Seoul, I'll have to ask myself, "Wow, can Koreans really be like that?" Being naturally and unfairly skeptical that anyone could be unlike myself, I generally just think: No, of course not. An obviously ethnocentric (and perhaps egocentric) conclusion.

Of course it's possible that Koreans could actually, as a culture, become so distinct through hundreds of years of not being me that they, as a culture, might do all kinds of things I could never imagine. My wife, who represents (I think ably) smalltown Mid-Western America has a way of looking at the world that is wholly unlike my own—and we're both from the same country. It shouldn't be hard for me to believe other people are so different. But simultaneously, I'm well aware that people are prone to stereotype—especially cultural practices they do not quite understand. So when reading a narrative set in foreign lands that presents a picture of a people that sits far from my own normative experience, I struggle between my distaste for stereotype and my own tendency toward ethnocentrism.

And so we arrive at Jonathan Vankin's two stories collected in Tokyo Days, Bangkok Nights.



The first half, fantastically illustrated by the late Seth Fisher, is a story that follows an American Nipponophile around Tokyo in a thoroughly madcap adventure. Vankin turns the pop sensibilities of the Japanese metropolitan society to blistering levels and gives the reader an eye into nothing but the most overblown Western fantasies of what Tokyo life must really be like. Or does he? It seems impossible that even a fraction of the things, people, and events represented could come even close to reality, but (!) never having lived there, maybe I'm wrong to think these things can't be real. I mean, the picture doesn't comport to anything I've seen in manga or anime, anything I've read in Murakami or Miyabe, or anything I can imagine my Japanese-exported friends could have engaged in before moving to California.

(It's kind of like Portlandia. I've never been to Portland so who's to say for sure, but it just doesn't seem plausible to believe the show accurately represents any viable experience in the city.)



The second story, far darker in tone, capitalizes on the stereotypes of Thailand we learn from reading stories on their icky sex trade. How the cities are mob-run. How Western "tourists" make the country their destination in order to have cheap sex with thirteen-year-old girls. How prostitutes would rather get abused by men than live as nobodies back at home. This story is just as unlikely and seems ripped out of 100 Bullets, only minus Brian Azarello's obnoxiously snappy patter. It caters to all the Western fears about the terrible, dark, exotic underbelly of Asia. Surely, no city could be so wildly corrupt as Vankin's depiction of Bangkok, here. Or could it? Again, I have no real means to ascertain the story's plausibility or the veracity of the kind of portrait that Vankin's painting.



It's frustrating. I'm never quite sure what to believe—though I lean toward feeling as though the stories abused my goodwill. Maybe some thoughtful reader can enlighten me to the truth of things.

So ignoring all that (as if I could), we have two mediocre stories. Neither are particularly investing, though both focus on the part of Americans in these foreign places—and on how foreign these Americans feel in these foreign places. The Tokyo half benefits from Seth Fisher's wild visions (though Fisher's wildness may actually contribute to the untrustworthiness of the narrative). Fisher is an artist of the first class and his energetic, anal illustration gives the story a sort of Pop! that it would otherwise lack. The colours are bright and unforgiving and the pace manic. There are yakuza, boy-band J-pop stars, overly polite everybody, a lavender-haired lolicon flight-attendant hopeful, and a girl who wants to take over the world through throat-grabbing, lapel-throttling soft power. It's all a bit much and, at the same time, rather slight—since there's not really any rewarding story- or character moments.



The Bangkok half is drawn/inked in a style reminiscent of Eduardo Risso's fun, noirish work on 100 Bullets, capitalizing on visual cues to illustrate the darkness of men's souls. The story's all a bit bleak and plays to all the typical Bangkok cliches. Merited or not, I felt as though I had been there and done that. (Though not literally, human rights groups!) It was an alright effort, but didn't put anything on the table to make me come back for seconds. Flipping the artists would have maybe been inspired: having Seth Fisher draw this moribund story with his buoyant flair would have been subversive to the utmost and might have made this better worth my time.

All told, Tokyo Days, Bangkok Nights struggles but never quite gets out from under the weight of my discomfort with the way the book tells its stories. My fault? Maybe, but I can't help who I am. Your mileage may, of course, vary substantially.


_____________________
[Review courtesy of Good Ok Bad]

[Jedi JC Daquis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like Tokyo Days, Bangkok Nights. I can't believe that Vertigo (Pop!) published this. Tokyo Days, Bangkok Nights is a collected volume of 2 stories about the cities with 4 issues each. The Bangkok story is worthless. It has a poorly-executed plot with a lot of details I cannot even remember. The artwork is generic and forgettable. The Tokyo story on the other hand is more interesting. The artwork is good and unique but doesn't significantly increase reading interest because of the amateurishly-written story. These two stories are fill-in-the-blanks similar with each other. Pass this one.

[Keith · Rating 2 out of 5]

TOKYO DAYS:

I think if you mixed True Romance and Lost in Translation, you'd get Tokyo Days (or VERTIGO POP! TOKYO, as it was originally called). There's enough idiosyncratic, specific weirdness here to make me feel like Vankin knows something about Tokyo (and certainly Seth Fisher did), but the plot is a pretty hackneyed gangster story with a pretty creepy teenage girl fetishism that isn't quite forgiven by the fact that the protagonist is an openly pervy creepoid. It's kind of, like, a really interesting travel comic buried under a really bro-ey crime comic with highschool boobs and really bad funny-skeevy-but-not-really-funny narration.

BANGKOK NIGHTS:

All the reviews say that this half of the book (originally published as VERTIGO POP! BANGKOK) takes a left turn into utter bleakness, and they're not wrong. I just don't know how to feel about Bangkok Nights. With Tokyo Days, even though I didn't love the story, I never felt like I was coming away with a narrowed/limited/stereotyped idea about metropolitan Japanese culture -- Tokyo has always seemed like a pretty weird-ass city, much like all major cities are fucking weird, and I thought that TD reinforced that idea, added some gangsters, but didn't fall prey to stereotyping anyone but teenage girls (which is kind of fine).

It might be that I know zero about Bangkok, and therefore have no previous frame of reference, but this story, very literally, seems intent to communicate the idea that not only is the entire city irreversibly corrupt, but also that it wants to stay corrupt -- like the movie Chinatown, but worse, and also a commentary on an entire culture. I think that Vankin is trying to make a somewhat serious commentary here about the complicity of life in the third world, and he DEFINITELY is not cool with self-appointed 'white savior' activists who want to come in and fix things (there's a definite Green Inferno vibe here, swapping out cannibalism for the sex trade). But god, man, every person in this book is so shitty, as unlikable as the characters in Tokyo Days without any of the humor.

My concern is that both of these stories are essentially xenophobic and full of loathing for Westerners, which should be sort of interesting but just feels kind of one-dimensionally bitter. I'm no Pollyanna, and I like some nihilism in my storytelling. But this entire book has an "all are punish'd" message that just feels a little too willing to condemn, and lacking in requisite nuance.

[Michael Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining pair of stories with, for the most part, engaging characters. The first tale involves the yakuza/pop/youth culture of Japan and the second story is built around Thailand’s sex industry. Both stories kept me reading.

[Jonathan Briggs · Rating 1 out of 5]

In the early 'oughts, DC's Vertigo imprint decided horror, fantasy and weirdo superhero comix weren't raking in enough of that young hipster dollar and envisioned Vertigo Pop!, an imprint of an imprint to publish comix so much cooler than you could ever dream of being and lure in all those readers of "Hate" and "Ghost World." This is a lesson Vertigo has yet to learn, but corporate-engineered, contrived attempts at coolness are generally doomed to failure, artistically if not always financially, and the Vertigo Pop! books were miserable flops. So now DC's trying its luck again, repackaging two of the Pop! miniseries in one volume. Twice the yuck for yer buck. Jonathan Vankin ran around "exotic" (does that sound patronizing to anybody else?) Asia for a while and picked up enough local slang and color to impress his editors and write these two adventures, filled with such insufferably cute lines as "Maki asked me to meet her the next night, at Nihon Budokan. You know, as in 'Cheap Trick Live at Budokan'" (I want you to bite ... MEE!) or "Please hold this honorable gun. If it is not too much trouble, shoot him if he escapes." Those two pearls are from the "Tokyo Days" half of the book. You could pick any random line from "Bangkok Nights" and find something just as grating, if not more so. It's a book rife with fashionably radical posturing (Che Guevara T-shirts and Howard Zinn references) and manufactured cleverness. Basically each story boils down to "Oh, those Asians and their wacky customs, will the white tourists ever understand?" "Tokyo" artist Seth Fisher put his own spin on the manga style by drawing all the characters without noses. You have NO idea how off-putting that is until you see it for yourself. Giuseppe Camuncoli fares slightly better in "Bangkok," but I've never much cared for his jaggedly angular drawing. Some works of art are ahead of their time and have to wait years to receive their just due. That's not the case here. Sorry, Vertigo, these comix remain just as lame today as the day they were originally published.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half, the Tokyo half, was a bit silly. American gaijin hangs out with quirky Japanese girl, yakuza get into the mix, etc. A bit too predictably Western Stranger in a Strange Eastern Land for me. The second half is about a couple visiting Thailand who get caught up into the dark underworld of Bangkok when they try to save a girl from the sex trade industry. This one was quite informative in a way, as far as the attitudes of the sex workers, the pimps, the society, and the customers. It does not have the happy Disney ending though, but a less satisfying but dishearteningly more believable one.

[Kamakana · Rating 5 out of 5]

.??? 2010s: i have read this now 3 times, and read (some) of the negative reviews, but i am confused, i do not understand complaints about writing, simplicity of plot, cliche characters etc. i read some that say the art is very good ‘but...’. and i think, that is the point, the art is very good, the art is beautiful, the art tells the stories, the art is what i want in graphic work. if the story can be told in words, tell it in words. if you want to use images, want to create another form of art, then tell it in visual art. for me, this is beautiful art...

[Steve Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

By far the biggest asset of this book (2 titles compiled in one) is the artwork. The storylines are a bit simplistic, but at the same time entertaining in a "pulp fiction" kind of way. Since the authors and artists are westerners, I am left feeling curious about how much of the asian themes are realistic, and how much of them are a western projection (outsider's view) onto an unfamiliar reality.

Due to nudity and mature content, this title would NOT be suited for use in schools.

[Desmond Killian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow. Seth Fisher was such an awesome illustrator. Taken from us too soon!

[Frank McGirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating is for the first story, 1.5 stars for the second.

Tokyo Days is a fun romp, significantly enhanced by the fun, "pop" art of Seth Fisher. A barely likable protagonist takes us through a "strange japan" misadventure that mixes cosplay girls, the yakuza, and rock-n-roll. There's nothing deep here, but it manages to keep up the fun level of the premise.

Bangkok Nights goes for depth, but fails. We again get barely likable protagonists who are dabbling with taking on the wickedness of the Bangkok sex trade. This misadventure is trying for grit, but it's limited attempt at the end to explain the complexity of that culture and the people engaged in it, just seems feeble.

[Anupma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely loved the Bangkok story. The one set in Tokyo is overwhelming and OTT but in all fairness so is my experience in Tokyo as a tourist. The detailed art is wonderful in both, the striking styles add so much to the stories.

[Marisa Fulper · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the illustration styles, narratives were alright.

[Colin Oaten · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 tales connected by the theme of East meets West and the clash of cultures that ensues. Wonderful art on the Tokyo segment from Seth Fisher,tragically lost too soon.

[Zigrida Sala · Rating 2 out of 5]

Incredibilmente americano

[Federico · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Tokyo Days, Bangkok Nights - Jonathan Vankin → ☆☆☆]

[Thom Webb-Riley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing art, weird story.
Weird.

[Artur Coelho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pop. Popular. Colorido. Ruidoso. Divertido. Contemporâneo. Vertigo Pop apostou em grafismo arrojado e argumentos de ponta para contar histórias com um cunho radicalizante cujo tema são aspecto da cultura pop global em três grandes mini-séries. Nessa vertente, Jonathan Vankin e Seth Fisher inspiram-se no manga e celebram a idealização da cultura pop hipermoderna nipónica num divertido Vertigo Pop Tokyo que mistura cosplayers, yakuza, cantores da moda e expats apaixonados por Akihabara perdidos nas traduções. Peter Milligan e Philip Bond revisitam o legado musical britânico num conto sobre estrelas de rock desvanecidas, medo do envelhecimento, loucuras da indústria musical e lendas da espiritualidade indiana no áspero e nostálgico Vertigo Pop London. Jonathan Vankin e Giuseppe Camuncoli levam-nos ao paraíso do turismo sexual onde nada é o que parece e os pressupostos colidem com a dura realidade em Vertigo Pop Bangkok. Estilisticamente ruidosa e com narrativas anormais para o género, Vertigo Pop tornou-se uma das marcas da vertente adulta e erudita da DC Comics.

[Matt Shaqfan · Rating 4 out of 5]

this actually collects two different series originally put out by VIRTIGO POP and written by jonathan vankin.

seth fisher. man-- i just wish he wasn't dead. no other way to put it, cause his art was so unique. anyways, he draws the TOKYO DAYS story, which i liked better than the BANGKOK NIGHTS. DAYS is a little mor light-hearted and fun. its about an american dude becoming friends with this girl, who's kind of insane, and is also a sister to a yakuza wannabe-gangster. craziness ensues. good stuff.

NIGHTS is about a young couple on the brinks, taking a trip to thiland, and then they get mixed up in the sex-trade game-- trying to rescue some girls and stuff. there's not a happy ending, and this is more serious a story than DAYS but still pretty good.

[Eric London · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great graphic novel by Jon Vankin, an American who spent time working in Tokyo for an English language newspaper. The first half of the book is about the adventures of an American working in Japan with a girl groupie of a Japanese pop band; a very funny ride through the strangeness of Japanese pop culture and attitudes towards foreigners, mobsters, and even food. The second half is a darker but still comic take on the Bangkok sex business through the eyes of a female American tourist who tries to right the wrongs she sees everywhere.
http://www.amazon.com/Vertigo-Pop-Tok...

[Jorge · Rating 2 out of 5]

I made it about to the half way point of this book. I was still in the first story "Tokyo Days" when i decided to drop it and not continue reading it. It has a really unattractive look and the story was a bit all over the place and the mix of Romaji into the dialogue was a complete fail. It just seemed messy. It didn't keep into it. I would recommend this to anyone. Sadly, I couldn't make it ot the second story and who knows that one might be a good one.

[Sarah]

Two totally unrelated books in one. First is a mangaesque story set in Japan. It is ok, but nothing ground breaking. The second is a story that really shines. Set in Thailand, it is about a well meaning but fucked up couple that try to rescue girls from sexual slavery. Both thought provoking and action packed. I'm not sure it is worth buying just for the second story however.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I should have just stayed with the Tokyo Days one. Bangkok Nights wasn't bad it just was kind of there. The art was a little hard to get into at first but it grew on me. I loved the bright colors. It's part of my mission to go blind by 30.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clumsy storytelling, mediocre dialogue, and absolutely first-rate art. especially in Tokyo Days. The genius behind the art of Tokyo Days, Seth Fisher, died suddenly not long after the work's completion. He had great things ahead of him and will be missed.

[Hillingdon Libraries]

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[Eli · Rating 1 out of 5]

Two short stories about Americans abroad. They were both so bad I really couldn't finish either. It's just chalk full of bad stereotyping and the overall feeling of "oh those wacky asian cultures". I did like the art for each but the stories were not good.

[snott · Rating 2 out of 5]

good art from Seth Fisher.

Vankin's writing, meh.

[Marissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Man, this was badly laid out and badly written. The plot jumps all over the place and the characters are shallow. Blech.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed both stories because they are so far from my life. It was a nice adventure. I favor the first artist though because of all the details. (the tiny pictures of signs and toys, ect)