Cloverfield Viral Lives On With Japanese Comic

1/20/08

Cloverfield Viral Lives On With Japanese Comic

1/20/2008 |

Posted by Dave and Thomas

Cloverfield Manga Offers More Cryptic Clues

I have an eerie sense that the viral world of Cloverfield will be around for awhile. Actually, I hope it does. I've enjoyed everything so far but I still have a lot of questions. Like why are all the viral world dates centered around 1-18-08 but the movie is on 5-22-0?

Also, what is happening with this cool manga comic that popped online a week ago? Not only does it mention Tagruato in the strip but the official first issue is out and guess whose name is in the credits? If you guessed J.J. Abrams you'd be correct.

The manga is still not translated but hopefully by getting it out there we can find out what is going on. Thanks Brandon for the tip. Again.

(via Wired.com) Japanese magazine Shonen Ace posted the first installment of a manga based on J.J. Abrams' new monster flick, Cloverfield, to its website last week. The tie-in manga, titled Cloverfield/Kishin, follows the story of a Japanese boy named Kishin whose fate is somehow tied into the apocalyptic events taking place in New York City. Artist Yoshiki Togawa will draw three more installments of the manga, with the next one slated for online release in late February. There aren’t any English translations available yet, so for those who are curious, here’s a brief synopsis:

The first chapter opens with Kishin helplessly being picked on at school. The bullies tease him about his mom being a weirdo (we find out she is dead in a flashback sequence). Just as a pretty classmate helps Kishin out, giving him back his stolen pants and untying his arms from behind his back, the school emergency alarm goes off. But that doesn’t mean he's off the hook yet –- the bullies decide to lock him in the gym storage space, snickering: "Isn't that what you're supposed to do in an emergency? Go somewhere safe when you're in danger? It's dangerous outside, with us here."

While this is going on in Japan, a cargo shipper at sea is anxiously waiting to dock. He has a baby on the way and can't wait to get home to his wife. Just as he's being reassured that they're not far from shore, a mysterious set of eyes starts to emerge from the sea. The last sentence reveals that Kishin and this monster are somehow tied together.

Check back to Underwire for a synopsis of Chapter Two.

Labels: cloverfield, cloverfield manga, cloverfield viral, comic, japan, JJ Abrams, Tagruato

3 comments:

Anonymous said...: The translation for the manga is posted on this site

http://merzmensch.blogspot.com/2008/01/cloverfield-manga.html

Looks like i was right about Tagruato finding the monster... :) Then again, the second part of the manga hasn't been released yet.; January 21, 2008 at 9:56 AM
Anonymous said...: I bet, this kid is actually the founder of Slusho.
Just a thought, i mean, it does mention his mother.; January 21, 2008 at 11:38 AM
Dave and Thomas said...: Thanks guys for the clues.; January 21, 2008 at 12:08 PM

What is Cloverfield?

Welcome to 1-18-08 Project Cloverfield Blog.

Cloverfield is the J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias) produced monster flick directed by Matt Reeves. Get caught up on all the Cloverfield news including the viral world of Tagruato, TIDOwave, and Slusho!? And now Aladygma?

However, I love viral campaigns. Cloverfield taught me the fun of being involved with the viral world of movies and TV. That's why I'd like to branch out this site to cover some of the major viral campaigns as they are developing. Feel free to drop me a line or tip on any you find interesting.

Welcome to Cloverfield

Very few facts emerged from the viral campaign that was Cloverfield. It all started after a short, teaser trailer for Cloverfield appeared with the Transformers movie in early July of 2007. Since then, speculation surrounded what the title of the movie would be (Monstrous, Overnight, etc...) and what the monster really is and why it is tearing up New York City.

A few pictures and covert videos from the film showed up online and there were only a few core facts we knew of including the poster, the teaser trailer, and a few websites at 1-18-08, Tagruato Corp, and Slusho .

In November, the official full-length Cloverfield trailer was released that helped open up the story as well as cement the "Cloverfield" name for the movie. A short glimpse of the Cloverfield Monster was seen but for most people they still had little or no clue as to what it was.

The movie centered around five young New Yorkers throwing their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city. Told from the point of view of their video camera, the film is a document of their attempt to survive the most surreal, horrifying event of their lives. Cloverfield opened the weekend of 1-18-08 and set box office records for a movie in January with a monster take of over $40M. Continue to check back here for updates on the mystery and viral campaigns of Cloverfield.

Get Started with the Cloverfield Viral Marketing

If you're new to the Cloverfield viral world than let's get started. First off, for the beginners let's look at what we're talking about.

What does viral marketing mean? Click here.

1-18-08.com Updates with pictures randomly. Each picture is layered onto of the previous update and all can be dragged and moved around the screen. Click and hold the mouse to 'grab' an image and move it around. While holding the image, shake it back and forth quickly and it will flip over. Some images have writing on the back.

Slusho This is the Japanese frozen drink made from a secret ingredient gathered from the bottom of the ocean. Slusho gives you a kick and makes you extremely happy. Prior to 1-18-08 Slusho was not sold in the US. However, recent FDA approval gave Slusho clearance to come to the states. Rob Hawkins, the lead character, was recently promoted to vice-president of Slusho and was on his way to Japan the night of the attack. Slusho is owned by the Tagruato Corp. of Japan. Slusho also first made an appearance on J.J. Abrams Alias during a scene where characters buy the drink at a store.

Tagruato This ficticious Japanese company is the parent company of Slusho as well as the Yoshida Medical Research, Bold Futura, and ParafFUN! Wax Distributors. Besides drilling the oceans for Slusho ingredients, Tagruato builds everything from space satellites to medical gear.

T.I.D.O wave An activist group set out to bring to light all the damage Tagruato has done to the envirnoment.

Jamie and Teddy A minor character from the movie, Jamie popped up on a 1-18-08.com picture and the MySpace profiles for the movies characters before getting famous for her "Jamie and Teddy" website. The site is comprised of video journals from Jamie. The site is password protected but can be accessed by the password "jllovesth"

1-18-08 Project Cloverfield - Warning! Spoilers