The mundane and down-to-earth topics make one forget that Mikiko has an interesting life in and of itself. First, as you might have subsumed, illustration and art is her life, and that automatically makes it awesome. Second, she was "born in Tokyo and grew up in Hong Kong, Germany, Japan and Belgium." And now she lives in London, UK. A globetrotter right from the crib!
She also shared how she's been doing recently, and it seems that she's enjoying the world and been busy: "I'm very well, thank you! I've been working on many projects and going to conventions again for the first time in a long while. It's wild and I forgot how much I loved it. It's like reconnecting with the world again!"
Mikiko's relationship with manga and art is also noteworthy to mention. She said that for her, "manga (Japanese comics) is a way for me to connect to home," which is Japan. She made her decision to live the life of an artist when she was 12: "I was always into cartoon drawings, but at age 12 I read my first Shonen Jump magazine (action adventure!) and decided, that's what I wanted to do as a job."
The comic's been in a hiatus as of late, but not because Mikiko is not interested in them anymore, but because she's working hard on new stuff!
"I put a few things on hold as I work on some upcoming comics that I'm very excited about! I have a fantasy series in the works that I'm pretty excited about. It's not certain when I will release it, but it will be a series I've been planning for many years. I'm a big fan of fantasy and it was long overdue.
Right now I'm taking a break from them as my mental health suffered a bit during Covid especially, but I hope I can pick up the series again some time. My dream would be to include lots of readers' stories, since we're all very much alike and have fun stories to tell!"
Now, down to the worldly details of this genuinely interesting comic artist. For one, as one would guess, most of it is made out of the typical grind of an illustrator. Emi, a cat which makes her frequent appearance in comics, is Mikiko's "favorite thing in the world". Oh, and she loves her husband, too. Besides these two, the things that inspire Mikiko the most are "people, music, and life with its funny problems in general. Other artists too of course! People are so creative and funny, it's inspiring.
Mikiko also told about her humble beginnings as an illustrator and of the comic. When asked if the life of an illustrator is difficult, she said "it is, especially in the early years. I consider myself lucky that I have a supportive fanbase, a good reputation and lots of experience.
Also, it helps having hundreds of pieces of art visible to the public that help me connect with interesting projects and people."
"Originally the mini-comics started out as little jokes and gifts I shared with friends and family. The first one I posted in 2010, and it unexpectedly went viral. People seemed to connect with my mundane daily experiences and it was always very cool to see the love the comics received."
If you know Bored Panda, you know we're never short on comics. Here are some of the most recent ones that we posted. If you're up for some classical type of comic as if they're fresh off of the newspaper, Will Santino shall provide exactly that. All of these comics are sweet and all, but perhaps they're too sweet for your dark tastes? Well, we have something for you, too. Oh, and one last random suggestion: swords. You heard the word, swords.
According to Mikiko, the most important thing in a comic is "The story and flow is the thing I find most important and often neglected. If the timing isn't right, the best jokes won't get a laugh! It's invisible to most readers, but great comics have a great rhythm in their storytelling."
Here's a special message from Mikiko to you, our dear readers:
"Big thanks to Bored Panda for having me back, it's always a pleasure! Also a huge THANK YOU, dear readers, for always sharing, laughing and loving my work! It means the world to me and I hope we can see each other again soon, here or at events, in a bookstore or on the road."
