Canon Reviews

Cheat Sheets by Tiger Tateishi

November 27, 2023

A Mathematically Perfect Series of Comics

Tora No Maki (original name of Cheat Sheets ) is a rare gem of comic art by Tiger Tateishi, a Japanese artist who lived and worked in Milan in the 1970s. The book collects his short, silent stories that combine humor, formal experimentation, and Buddhist philosophy. Tateishi was influenced by MAD Magazine, but also by the design and architecture of Ettore Sottsass, whom he assisted at Olivetti. His comics are full of visual puns, optical illusions, and surreal transformations that challenge the perception of reality. Tora No Maki was first published in Japan in 1982, after Penguin Books in London rejected it. It is now available in a new edition that showcases Tateishi’s playful and inventive style.

Story: The strips in this work do not follow a common narrative thread, but they still demonstrate remarkable plot and character development within each individual piece. The absence of words does not hinder the expression of the author’s vision and creativity. This work is a valuable example of how to craft engaging and meaningful stories without relying on verbal cues. Modern strip creators could benefit from studying this work and its techniques.

Art: As a person with a strong mathematical aptitude, I was amazed by the artistic craftsmanship in this book. I marveled at how Tiger Tateishi skillfully transformed one image into another with seamless transitions. While I read this book very quickly, I spent probably an hour just luxuriating over the art in this book.

Craft:
A limitation that I observe in contemporary comic strip authors is that they tend to adhere to a fixed number of panels in each strip without a thought if each is necessary. In contrast, Tiger Tateishi employs as many panels as are required to deliver the final punchline of the strip. Although some strips show a lack of accuracy in transforming one image into another, it is evident that Tiger Tateishi is bold in realizing their concepts. For instance, there was one strip where the image transition was illogical, but it enhanced the humor of the final joke. Despite the simplicity of most of the images in the book, the execution demonstrates the expertise of a true master of their craft.

Impact:
This book’s main contribution is the humor and delight that it offers to the reader. I also hope that it serves as a catalyst for more publishers to produce high-quality humor manga in the future. This strip evokes a similar feeling to Hey Look! by Harvey Kurtzman, as it not only entertained me, but also sparked my interest in other humorous works from the same era.

Clarification of Critique Categories

Nieves and 50 Watts have published a commendable edition of this book, which is a paperback with a neat design. The production quality may not be remarkable, partly due to the lack of additional content, but this is a genre of manga that faces many challenges in the American market. Therefore, I appreciate the efforts of Nieves and 50 Watts to produce a book that is affordable and that I doubt any other comics company would have taken on.

Cheat Sheets

This is a near perfect example of what the gag strip is capable. The concept for each comic is simple in concept but executed with mathematical precision which is reminiscent of M.C. Esher. This is a book one can read in 20 minutes but you will have to revisit due to the incredible craft underlying the work.

Reviewed by Alex Eklund

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