How does a Jewish guy from Oklahoma end up writing a manga-style graphic novel for Tokyopop?
PAUL BENJAMIN: It’s a very easy, step-by-step process. First, since the Jewish guy from Oklahoma is just about the only Jew in the state, he turns off the lights in the synagogue then leaves Oklahoma. After going to college in Arizona he moves to Los Angeles and spends 10 years working as a Hollywood executive and a graphic novel editor. This exposes the Okie to comics from all over the world rather than the primarily super-hero-centric American comics he grew up reading. After selling his house in LA to move to Austin, Texas, the comics editor can now afford to take some time off from a day job to focus solely on his writing career. Having made contacts with many artists and editors during his years in the comics business, the Oklahoma Jew sits down with a Tokyopop editor and pitches some ideas. He then calls the American artist trained in Japan with a Japanese art partner for a wife and asks them to co-create his manga story about a high school for demigods in present day Los Angeles
