Helen McCarthy
Encyclopedia
Helen McCarthy is the British author of such anime
reference books as 500 Manga Heroes and Villains, Anime!, The Anime Movie Guide and Hayao Miyazaki
: Master of Japanese Animation. She is the co-author of The Erotic Anime Movie Guide and the exhaustive The Anime Encyclopedia with Jonathan Clements
. She also designs needlework and textile art and makes poetry.
to run an anime programme at a convention, start a dedicated anime newsletter, and edit a dedicated anime magazine."
In 1991 she founded Anime UK magazine, and in 1992 became one of the principal contributors to Super Play
, an SNES title with a heavy anime and manga bias.
Anime UK became Anime FX after a change of backer and closed at the end of 1996. Andy Frain of Manga Entertainment
, then the most influential anime distributor in Britain, took issue with the magazine's editorial policy and later with its involvement in the campaign against the trademark
ing of the word "manga", but this did not affect either McCarthy's position or the magazine's publication. She also contributed to Manga Mania magazine, and after Anime UK closed she edited it from 1997 to 1998. More recently she has written for British magazines and newspapers including the Daily Telegraph, NEO, SFX and ImagineFX.
McCarthy was able to apply her convention-running knowledge gained in SF and media fandom
when Anime UK ran the successful one-day convention AUKcon, which attracted attendees from all over Europe in 1994. She has written numerous articles and essays and is a frequent convention
guest, as well as speaking at film festival
s and academic gatherings in Europe, America and Japan. She has curated and delivered four successful seasons of lectures and screenings at the Barbican Cinema
in London. In September 2008 she curated and presented a week-long film season and exhibition to mark the 80th anniversary of the birth of Osamu Tezuka
, also at the Barbican. The season featured London's first professional Japanese kamishibai
performance.
Manga Cross-Stitch, a guide to using the visual grammar of anime and manga to create original needlework designs, appeared in 2009. Artist Steve Kyte provided many of the designs in the book, the rest being created by McCarthy. She has since expanded her needlework activities with workshops for the Japan Foundation and at conventions.
She tweets haiku daily as @tweetheart4711.
Provoked by piracy of her work in 2010, she has spoken and blogged about the impact of intellectual property theft on authors, and on creators' rights to decide how, when and where their work will be published. She supports legitimate sharing through Creative Commons, and has licensed text on her blog, including new research on less-known manga artists, for non-commercial sharing under a Creative Commons 3 Attribution-Non-Commercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported licence.
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
reference books as 500 Manga Heroes and Villains, Anime!, The Anime Movie Guide and Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...
: Master of Japanese Animation. She is the co-author of The Erotic Anime Movie Guide and the exhaustive The Anime Encyclopedia with Jonathan Clements
Jonathan Clements
Jonathan Clements is a British author and scriptwriter. His non-fiction works include biographies of Confucius, Koxinga and Qin Shihuangdi , as well as monthly opinion columns for Neo magazine...
. She also designs needlework and textile art and makes poetry.
Background
McCarthy was the first English-speaking author to write a book about anime, in addition to being "the first person in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to run an anime programme at a convention, start a dedicated anime newsletter, and edit a dedicated anime magazine."
In 1991 she founded Anime UK magazine, and in 1992 became one of the principal contributors to Super Play
Super Play
Super Play was a UK based Super Nintendo Entertainment System magazine which ran from November 1992 to September 1996.Super Play was notable for a number of reasons. Firstly, it covered in great detail the console role-playing game genre...
, an SNES title with a heavy anime and manga bias.
Anime UK became Anime FX after a change of backer and closed at the end of 1996. Andy Frain of Manga Entertainment
Manga Entertainment
Manga Entertainment is a producer, licensor and distributor of Japanese animation in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Australia and New Zealand...
, then the most influential anime distributor in Britain, took issue with the magazine's editorial policy and later with its involvement in the campaign against the trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
ing of the word "manga", but this did not affect either McCarthy's position or the magazine's publication. She also contributed to Manga Mania magazine, and after Anime UK closed she edited it from 1997 to 1998. More recently she has written for British magazines and newspapers including the Daily Telegraph, NEO, SFX and ImagineFX.
McCarthy was able to apply her convention-running knowledge gained in SF and media fandom
Fandom
Fandom is a term used to refer to a subculture composed of fans characterized by a feeling of sympathy and camaraderie with others who share a common interest...
when Anime UK ran the successful one-day convention AUKcon, which attracted attendees from all over Europe in 1994. She has written numerous articles and essays and is a frequent convention
Anime convention
An anime convention is an event or gathering with a primary focus on anime, manga and Japanese culture. Commonly, anime conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activities and panels...
guest, as well as speaking at film festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
s and academic gatherings in Europe, America and Japan. She has curated and delivered four successful seasons of lectures and screenings at the Barbican Cinema
Barbican Centre
The Barbican Centre is the largest performing arts centre in Europe. Located in the City of London, England, the Centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibitions. It also houses a library, three restaurants, and a conservatory...
in London. In September 2008 she curated and presented a week-long film season and exhibition to mark the 80th anniversary of the birth of Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Tezuka
was a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer, activist and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack...
, also at the Barbican. The season featured London's first professional Japanese kamishibai
Kamishibai
Kamishibai , literally "paper drama", is a form of storytelling that originated in Japanese Buddhist temples in the 12th century, where monks used emakimono to convey stories with moral lessons to a mostly illiterate audience....
performance.
Manga Cross-Stitch, a guide to using the visual grammar of anime and manga to create original needlework designs, appeared in 2009. Artist Steve Kyte provided many of the designs in the book, the rest being created by McCarthy. She has since expanded her needlework activities with workshops for the Japan Foundation and at conventions.
She tweets haiku daily as @tweetheart4711.
Provoked by piracy of her work in 2010, she has spoken and blogged about the impact of intellectual property theft on authors, and on creators' rights to decide how, when and where their work will be published. She supports legitimate sharing through Creative Commons, and has licensed text on her blog, including new research on less-known manga artists, for non-commercial sharing under a Creative Commons 3 Attribution-Non-Commercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported licence.
Publications
- Manga Manga Manga, A Celebration of Japanese Animation at the ICA pub Island World Communications (London) 1992. ISBN 0 9520434 0 8
- Anime! A Beginners Guide To Japanese Animation pub. Titan (London) 1993. ISBN 1 85286 492 3
- The Anime Movie Guide: Japanese Animation since 1983 pub. Titan (London) 1996 ISBN 1 85286 631 4
- The Erotic Anime Movie Guide (with Jonathan ClementsJonathan ClementsJonathan Clements is a British author and scriptwriter. His non-fiction works include biographies of Confucius, Koxinga and Qin Shihuangdi , as well as monthly opinion columns for Neo magazine...
) pub Titan (London) 1998 ISBN 1 85286 946 1 - Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation pub Stone Bridge PressStone Bridge PressStone Bridge Press, Inc. is a publishing company distributed by Consortium Book Sales & Distribution and founded in 1989. Authors published include Donald Richie and Frederik L. Schodt...
(Berkeley, CA) 1999 ISBN 1 880656 41 8 - The Anime Encyclopedia: Japanese Animation since 1917 (with Jonathan ClementsJonathan ClementsJonathan Clements is a British author and scriptwriter. His non-fiction works include biographies of Confucius, Koxinga and Qin Shihuangdi , as well as monthly opinion columns for Neo magazine...
) pub Stone Bridge Press (Berkeley, CA) 2001 ISBN 1 880656 64 7; 2nd edition 2006, ISBN 1 933330 10 5 - 500 Manga Heroes and Villains pub Collins & Brown (London) 2006 ISBN 1 84349 234 3, Barron's Educational (USA) ISBN 9780764132018
- 500 Essential Anime You Must Own pub Ilex (Lewes) 2008, ISBN 9781905814282, Collins Design (USA) 2009, ISBN 978-0061474507
- Manga Cross-Stitch: Make Your Own Graphic Art Needlework, pub Ilex (Lewes) 2009, ISBN 978 1905814510, Andrews McMeel (USA) 2009, ISBN 978 0740779657
- The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga pub Ilex (Lewes) 2009, ISBN 978 1905814664 Abrams ComicArts (USA) 2009, ISBN 978 0810982499
Awards
- 2010: winner of a Harvey Award for The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga
- 2010: nominated for an Eisner Award for The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga
- 2008: Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation/Authors' Foundation award for research into Japanese animation and comics.
- 2006: IMAF Award for Outstanding Achievement in Anime and Manga, sponsored by the International Manga and Anime Foundation.
- 1997: Japan Festival Award for work in promoting understanding of Japanese culture in Britain, from the Japan Foundation.
- 1994: Osamu Tezuka Award for Anime UK