This is the second report documenting production of the fifth and concluding chapter of my artist book/comic Blotting Paper: The Recollected Graphical Impressions Of Doctor Comics. Creation and production of the new issue 2 Tickets to Tokyo Bay has begun and deals with the continued adventures of the cats Busch and Cohl and their canine acquaintance Barks. Set mostly in Japan but with some scenes in Germany it follows these characters in funny animal style and includes further recollections from the archives of my alias, Doctor Comics, including his visits to Japan and research into manga.

Dirty laundry hung out to dry, ink painting-© 2015 Michael Hill

A seasick cat all at sea, ink sketch-© 2015 Michael Hill

The characters Barks and Busch travel from Germany to Japan by sea, arriving in Tokyo Bay. Whilst their passage on a container ship is cheaper than flight it is not without some difficulty and discomfort.

Choreographing a cosplay routine, pencil sketch-© 2014 Michael Hill

Cosplay costume design, ink and pencil sketch-© 2013 Michael Hill

Being back on land in Tokyo is more conducive to fun and frolicking and access to a bigger range of food. They visit a manga fair and then Kitchen Town where they eat cake.

A Munchianesque Halloween cake design in Kappabashi, Tokyo, photo-© 2009 Michael Hill

For details of the production of all five issues of this artist book/comic and a continuing visual history record and time-line overview of the project read all of the BLOTTING PAPER production reports on the following posts:  Issue #1: No.1   No.2   No.3   No.4   No.5   No.6   No.7   No.8   No.9   No.10   No.11   No.12   No.13   Issue #2: No.14   No.15   No.16   No.17   No.18   No.19   No.20   No.21   No.22   No.23   No.24   No.25   No.26   No.27   No.28   No.29   Issue #3: No.30   No.31   No.32   No.33   No.34   No.35   No.36   Issue #4: No.37   No.38   No.39   No.40   No.41   No.42   No.43   No.44   Issue #5: No.45   No.46   No.47   No.48