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Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Some questions for you:
1. Can someone please explain to me what is happening in these Kogepan comics? Is it supposed to be funny? If so, why? 2.In a recent interview with the playwright Tony Kushner (Angels in America) he talks about about how much he loved comics- and that he had his pocket watch engraved with "Cogito, Ergo Sum" a motto he aquired from a Marvel Comic Book.
What comic was this?
3. In Kill Bill 2, Bill gives Beatrix a spiel about superheroes and their alter egos; Batman is actually Bruce Wayne, Spiderman is actually Peter Parker, but what makes Superman different is that Clark Kent is actually Superman.
I'm pretty sure that this idea is swiped from someone, and I think it's Frank Miller. Anybody know for sure? ***If anyone can assist me with any of these extremily urgent and important matters it would be much appreciated.
posted by Alan
permalink
6:18 AM
8 Comments:
"The particular brilliance of Superman lay not only in the fact that he was the first of the super-heroes, but in the concept of his alter ego. What made Superman different from the legion of imitators to follow was not that when he took off his clothes he could beat up everybody -- they all did that. What made Superman extraordinary was his point of origin: Clark Kent.
"Remember, Kent was not Superman's true identity as Bruce Wayne was the Batman's or (on radio) Lamont Cranston the Shadow's. Just the opposite. Clark Kent was the fiction. Previous heroes -- the Shadow, the Green Hornet, The Lone Ranger -- were not only more vulnerable; they were fakes. I don't mean to criticize; it's just a statement of fact."
-- Jules Feiffer, "The Great Comic Book Heroes"
By Juniper at 9:13 PM
I was curious about the Kogepan strips, too, so I asked a good friend of mine who knows about such things. He said of the strip on the left-hand side:
"Japanese homes (older ones) aren't heated well so students do their work with their legs under a heated table. The table is called a Kotatsu. The joke is that it's cold so the bun [Kogepan] crawls into/under a warm table. He has to be lured out with milk (the equivalent of beer). Think of a teenager refusing to get out of bed until he's lured with a pizza."
By Juniper at 4:42 PM
Thanks so much for both those answers. Feiffer! Makes total sense but I never would have thought of it being him., even though I read that book when I was a teenager. I like the bit "I don't mean to criticize; it's just a statement of fact" which makes it seem like even more of a burn for some reason.
thank your friend for me too. I googled 'tableheater' before I posted this question but came with nothing. These strips could do with a 'key' to all the culture references in them. But I think that even in spite of the cultural differences it's just a wierd comic. Cute and wierd.
I think the meaning of the one on the right is starting to gradually sink in. He's jealous that he didn't get frostbite, right?
By Alan at 7:48 PM
Hey Alan - I was just looking through some old journals and I found some clippings of Maciek and Fiona, signed... Alan Hunt! Did you ever collect them? I used to enjoy that strip when I was in university.
'Cogito Ergo Sum' is from the Marvel comic, 'Semper Fi'.
By Matthew Forsythe at 12:11 PM
waitaminute. scratch that.
'semper fi' is from semper fi. i have no idea whcih comic 'cogito ergo sum' is from .
By Matthew Forsythe at 11:14 PM
Hey Matthew,
I never collected the strips- there are changes I want to before I do. Seems so far in the past now , too. Glad you enjoyed them, I had fun doing them.
I don't think I know 'Semper Fi'
Keep up Ojingogo I'm liking it a lot!
By Alan at 5:47 AM
it's supposed to be sad!!!
koge pan is a burnt bean paste bread... and no one will buy him. well he's always pissed off (that's the little brown cloud thing above his head, showing that he's frustrated). and well non-burnt bread actually had moisture right? so it can get frostbite supposedly. well koge pan is all burnt and dry and crispy and hard and he has no moisture and so he won't get frostbite.
the point is he wants to be normal, not burnt.
his vision of happiness is being bought and being eaten I guess
don't ask why... they do weird things in some comics
Idunno I find koge pan pretty darn cute.
By at 12:23 AM
kogepan rocks! so does hello kitty, pucca, miffy etc... here is the story for you all! :
I am Kogepan. I was from a bakery shop in Hokkaido. My bakery shop is very famous in Japan because the red bead buns that it churns out are so delicious that only 20 of such type are made each day. I was supposed to be a delicious red bean bun too, but an unfortunate accident had happened...
On the day I was supposed to be brought into the oven, I was thrilled because the moment has finally arrived for me to become what most breads have always wanted to be - a high quality red bean bread.
As I continue to ponder on that, I began to giggle in excitement.
When the baker began to take me and my friends out from the oven, I was ecstatic because everything had went smoothly. However, my happiness is somehow short-lived when the baker accidentally tilted the pan and...
And I fell back into the oven and disappeared into a cloud of smoke. I looked around for my friends but they were not there. I was very afraid.
I was getting cooked again and there was a burnt smell seeping out from me. I thought to myself "Somebody please come and save me!"
Nobody noticed that I was missing and I waited in the oven for another 30 minutes. My skin was no longer a golden color and had turned dark brown. I smelt awful.
Finally, the baker saw me and took me out from the oven, but he did not place me back on the shelves where the other red bean buns were.
I am a burnt bread and certainly, nobody wants to buy me. I felt lonely and upset. I thought to myself that my life as a bread was very meaningless. I was so disillusion that my eyes turned white.
The other red bean buns always mock at me, calling me awful names. The baker did not even pay attention to me at all. I think the whole world hates me.
I decided to run away from home. Nobody will care anyway. I shall run to a place where nobody exists and nobody will make fun of me.
I spent most of my time smoking and drinking milk as beer. I became very depressed and pessimistic.
After a few days, I finally came to my senses, and decided not to live my life like this anymore. The bakery is still my home after all.
Back at the bakery I decided to read a book titled "How to become a delicious bread" to improve myself. I believed that if I continue to work hard, I will eventually attain my dream of becoming a delicious red bean bun.
But every time I see the other red bean buns I lose hope and become jealous again. I always lecture them about the life of being a bread and because of that, all of them were afraid of me.
Other Characters
Kuriimupan (creamy bread) is also a burnt bread like me. We are very good friends and we always drink beer (milk) together and often run away from home.
They are called Kireipan, as known as the pretty breads. They are delicious and unlike me, they are not burnt. I am always jealous of them.
My friend Sumipan is even more burnt than me. He is called the charcoal bread and he is also my very good friend.
Ichigopan is the latest addition to the family. He is the strawberry cream bread and unlike the other bread, he is pink in color.
By at 8:10 AM
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