How to Seduce a Sumo?

Comic, Ness Lee, nesslee.com

Sumos tend not be the image that  causes one to go “awwww.” Pictures  of baby pugs and kittens are the usual  suspects in that area. But in  How to  Seduce a Sumo?, Ness Lee’s drawings of  lumpy sumo wrestlers would make Mr.  Hyde want to cuddle a teddy bear. Lee’s drawing style is intentionally  childish, consisting mostly of simple  outlines, and the inside of the front  and back cover is covered in a repeating  pattern of nikuman or baozi (pork buns).  The whole zine just reeks of cuteness in  the best way possible. It is simply, but  also sleekly, executed, and wouldn’t  appear out of place in a little boutique  bookshop or on the impulse buy shelves  of a chain bookstore. The whole premise is delightfully  ridiculous. On one page, a picture of  a female sumo wrestler, pole dancing  in a string bikini is paired with the  advice: “Make him go aiyah! (bring him  to your yard with your milkshake).” On  another, a picture of a female sumo  wrestler covered in tiny pieces of sushi  is accompanied by the statement: “Get  delicious.” This zine had me rolling  around squealing. Over sumo wrestlers.  ‘Nough said. (Leanne Wang)

Leave a Reply