The Wonders of Junji Ito
I've been inspired by many artists. Maybe even every artist I've ever come across has inspired me in one way or another, but none have inspired me nearly as much as Junji Ito, the world renowned horror manga artist. You may recognize the image shown here, as it's from one of his most well-known and popular works. The book is called Uzumaki, and, like all his other works, it's centered around an abstract idea that almost no one could truly make sense of. That's the interesting thing about Junji Ito. Almost none of his works make much sense. Junji Ito found a way to take abstract ideas and make them into horror, capable of creeping even me out. He explores ideas that he finds throughout his dreams and experiences and warps them into nightmare fuel. One thing that sticks out to me about Junji Ito is that he doesn't rely on gore to strike fear into his readers. Instead, he focuses on creeping readers out through unsettling art and ideas almost no one could ever think of. I hope to one day be able to reach his level and think of strange story ideas like his, but as it stands now I'm nowhere near his level. Unfortunately, my brain isn't as abstract as his, but hopefully as I continue to grow and improve I may be able to open my eyes to his world. I don't plan on being famous for my works like he is, but it'd be cool to strike fear into viewers over something as simple as a spiral or a balloon.