Some comics demand more than ordinary words and pictures on a flat page. We've seen comics that use the infinite canvas of the Internet, comics that create a sense of visual depth, and comics that get a boost from a little animation. Yūsuke Murata's fanciful short manga leaves the two-dimensional world, using three dimensions (and some low-tech lighting effects) to illustrate the eternal battle between a manga artist and his editor.


Murata, the artist behind the American football manga Eyeshield 21, is a continuation of his Hetappi Manga Kenkyūjo R (Hetappi Manga Research Lab R), which ran for two years in Weekly Shonen Jump. The series focuses on a Jump editor who decides to change careers and become a manga artist instead, threatening Murata so he'll teach him how to draw.

Murata released this comic over Twitter, and it's fantastic to see how his use of folds and cutouts fit with the comic's goofy cartoon logic. Here's the beginning of the comic; you can read the rest at CrunchyRoll. [via ComicsAlliance]


"Argh!"

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(Ah...)




Saitou: "Mr. Murata!"

Murata: "Waaaaahhhh!!"

(Mr. Saitou, in charge of Hetappi R)




"What about the manuscript!!?"

(You're asking that now!!?)




"Not yet..."

(A poem composed just before death)




"What are you doing? C'mon... You mean to stick me with the loss of your manuscript?"

(Not good)




"Oh hello. I'm Saitou. Hetappi Manga Research Lab R, now on sale! I'm in it, so please buy it!"

(Unstealthy marketing)




"Now's not the time for this... The manuscriiiiiiipt!"

(The manuscriiiiiipt)




Parachute reads: "I ♥ Madoka Magica"

(Deco-parachute)




"Ahhh!"




WHAM!