Next week, a copy of Tsutomu Nihei’s earliest stories will be available for people to check out.
Abara is a sci-fi horror manga that ran in Shueisha’s Ultra Jump magazine in 2005. As the growing success of Nihei has expanded with recent works like Knights of Sidonia, Blame!, and APOSIMZ being released in the US, it makes sense to continue bringing out some of his earlier works.
However, VIZ didn’t just license Abara — they’re publishing it as a deluxe hardcover edition. So the release will combine the two volumes released in Japan, which likely means lots of changes and decisions had to be made regarding its look.
Which is why I reached out to the designer of Abara, Alice Lewis. She answered questions regarding the process of creating the design you see today.
TheOASG: For general knowledge, can you get in-depth about the release of Tsutomu Nihei’s Abara?
Alice Lewis: This is the first time Tsutomu Nihei’s Abara has been available and translated in English! It’s an earlier work of his, and fans can probably see hints of things that tie into his other stories. We’ve collected the complete story into one deluxe edition (and also included an early short story of his, “Digimortal“).
The book itself is a really lovely 6.5×9 inch, 418 pages, and includes original color pages, as well as two folded color poster inserts.
From start to finish, how long did it take to work on the hardcover design for Abara?
It was a little over two months from initial idea to the final design getting sent to press, though that includes things like editing, getting approval, etc. My initial idea that turned into the final cover came very early on in the process, though there were some other contenders that we ultimately decided against.
Then it took a few rounds to refine the design (things like choosing the best font, exact colors, etc).
What are generally some of the challenges of taking a work that was originally a paperback release in Japan, and creating a book as a hardcover?
There’s always the push and pull of how close to the original Japanese release it’s possible, or even desirable, to be. And there are always some necessary changes that come with an English-language release (for example: Japanese text often runs vertically, standard book sizes are different, etc.) that require navigating.
What type of choices led to using the character on the cover now? I imagine you had a few to select from.
In the end, we chose the image that felt the most exciting and attractive. It was my favorite image as soon as I saw it, and I was happy we could showcase it on the cover.
Was there anything that you made sure you had to include in the overall design of the book?
We didn’t want to leave anything from the original out, so we made sure to keep all the original color pages as color and the fold-out posters as fold-out posters. The cover art from the two original Japanese volumes is also reproduced in our inside covers.
What were the programs you used to work on this?
InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator.
What else generally can impact the design of the cover? Is page count a factor, overall theme of the book, etc?
The theme and content are important, since we want to make sure that the cover visually tells a reader what kind of story to expect. For example, you probably wouldn’t use a cute script font and a lot of pink on a book like this!
Does the age of the original work (Abara started in 2005) play a role in how you designed it?
It was in the back of my mind as another piece of the puzzle when considering the vibe I wanted to convey in general. We also knew it might not be as well-known, so we leaned towards an image that was more exciting and engaging vs. one that was more classic and quiet.
From start to finish, was there one thing that surprised you the most as you were designing it?
Working with Tsutomu Nihei’s art meant I was looking at it for long time, and I’d say it definitely rewards looking at it closely. Each time I’d re-read the story, I’d notice new details and little plot points just in the art.
Finally, for those who are fans of Nihei and sci-fi in general, what should they be looking forward to from this release?
If you’re a fan of Nihei you can finally get the complete Abara in English, and in a really nice edition with all the original color. The art is great quality whether it’s a building exterior, an old woman’s face, or a creepy monster. Sci-Fi fans will probably enjoy his world-building and the way parts of the history are gradually revealed as the story progresses. It makes it a bit of a puzzle.
And of course, there’s also a dystopic future with creepy creatures/symbiotic armor, violent fights, secret societies, and hard-boiled cops.