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)