Japan is known for being a country that loves both Fan Service and Fanfiction, and both are in full Otaku effect in the 1980s Japanese music magazine called 8 Beat Gag. The magazine features Manga caricatures of popular western artists of the time—drawn for the most part by manga artist Atsuko Shima.

The wonderfully weird comics feature The Cure’s Robert Smith, David Sylvian and Ryuichi Sakamoto, Dave Vanian, Peter Murphy, Morrissey, Ultravox!, and more in situations ranging from being cute to amazingly bizarre.

We have not been able to translate any of these yet, save for the one below, where The Damned’s Dave Vanian, Duran Duran’s John Taylor, and The Cure’s Robert Smith are complaining about tourist season.

Here are more from the Robert Smith issue:

David Sylvian issue:

Here is where the full fan fiction treatment is in full effect, with the romantic pairing of Japan’s David Sylvian and electronic music pioneer Ryuichi Sakamoto:

“The main story in the comic involves David being in the UK and missing Ryuichi. He decides to visit Tokyo to further the “romance” and finds himself in competition with Akiko Yano, Ryuichi’s wife. Quite a humorous story written by a woman who was a huge Japan fan. She caricatures herself on the cover as looking very guilty about writing such a homo-erotic story, possibly in parody of the lyrics to ‘Forbidden Colours’.

(Sincere thanks to Craig Peacock for this review).

Additional info on the cover: The front cover shot is an alternate take from the cover of the Japanese 7″ of Forbidden Colours. The back cover picture is from a fashion shoot David and Ryuichi did for an ad campaign for a department store, however it was never used.”-DavidSylvian.net



















More Manga from 8 Beat Gag: