Assuming you’re a fan of creative entrepreneurial types and other Young Pioneers, this definitely qualifies as breaking news: Dan Pink, the business author best known for writing the still-popular Free Agent Nation, is working on a book about career advice that will published in the form of a Japanese manga graphic novel.
For those not in the know, manga – which is actually the Japanese word for comics – is an absolute cultural steamroller in the land of the rising sun. Just about everyone in Japanese society reads manga, and because of that, nearly every social strata and subculture in the country is served by their very own manga title, if not five or ten or 20 manga titles. Take a ride on a Tokyo subway train during rush hour, and you’re likely to see dozens of salary men reading manga novels, some of them as thick as a small town’s telephone book. So while the idea of Dan Pink publishing a manga-style book about business and careers in America is certainly unusual, there wouldn’t be anything odd about it all in Japan.
According to Pink, who previously lived in Japan, and who announced his upcoming project during an interview with Marci Alboher for the New York Times, “[In Japan] you have manga graphic novels – book-length comics – covering a whole range of topics, like how to prepare for retirement or how to cook or how to find a mate. It is a whole genre, a medium analogous to television.”
Pink says his project will be “a 160-page graphic novel called ‘The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: the Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need.’” Pink also claims that readers of the graphic novel “will learn the six essential rules to a satisfying and productive career.”
The book will be available on April 1 2008; it’s already available for pre-sale on Amazon.com.
January 3, 2008 at 9:28 AM |
I will be interviewing Dan Pink in February for the Living Hero podcast. I’m taking audience questions in advance to put together a stimulating and fascinating program. Please participate! Just go to livinghero.com and enter your question in the question box. If you want to identify yourself, you can do , otherwise your question will be anonymous. And subscribe to the Podcast. I’m working on a great line-up of guests for the year.
January 3, 2008 at 3:13 PM |
Business Author to Create Career Guide Manga
The Labor Party reports that Free Agent Nation author Dan Pink, who has lived in Japan for a period of time, will be writing a 160-page manga about career advice titled The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: the Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need. The book w…
January 4, 2008 at 7:17 AM |
[...] The Labor Party reports that Free Agent Nation author Dan Pink, who has lived in Japan for a period of time, will be writing a 160-page manga about career advice titled The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: the Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need. The book will be released on April 1st, 2008. [...]
January 6, 2008 at 12:22 PM |
Just want to let you know that Dan Pink will be my guest on Living Hero towards the end of February. Just enter your email in the subscription box on http://livinghero.com to receive an email when the Podcast is broadcast. I’m writing to you and others in advance to give you a chance to participate in the formation of the interview questions. Just type your question into the question box widget on the right column of the page. Also, to see recent blog posts, just click into the recent posts question in the right side column. Once the Podcast is posted, comments can be added at the bottom of the podcast post. I look forward to a highly generative ongoing conversation and I do hope you’ll be part of it! Please spread the word! My very best, Jari Chevalier