About a month and a half ago, artist James Harvey saw some Akira/Simpsons fan art done by Ryan Humphrey.
Inspired by the energy of the energy of the combination, Harvey proposed a group project to folks on the internet that was as silly as it was monumental. Harvey proposed they redraw the entire 6 volume, 2160 page Akira saga, transposing it into the Simpsons universe. The Bartkira project was born.
It’s been really interesting to see the hands of so many creators distort and warp the Akira saga.
I was assigned pages 276-280 of the second volume of Akira. Last week I finished my 5 pages.
Having just returned to Pittsburgh, PA, I haven’t had access to a scanner nor tablet. Despite that, I wanted to create something exciting, that distilled and slightly abstracted the core elements of Otomo and Groening’s respective universes. I also wanted to make the pages a bit garish.
Here’s what I worked out. I’d love to hear what you think.
If you’re interested in seeing more of the work that people have churned out for the Bartkira project, hop on over to the Bartkira Tumblr page.