Fred Gallagher
Encyclopedia
Frederick Gallagher is an American
illustrator
and web cartoonist
. He is best known as the artist, co-creator, and now full owner of Megatokyo
. He also goes by the name of Piro, the main character of Megatokyo, whom he has stated is an idealized version of himself when he was in college. He took this name from the name of the cat
in the visual novel
Kanon
.
Gallagher lives with his wife and son in Ann Arbor, Michigan
.
, who owned the domain and wrote many of the scripts for the first year and a half, while Gallagher was responsible for the artwork. Due to creative differences, Caston agreed to sell his share in the venture to Gallagher in May 2002. (See Megatokyo
for further detail)
Megatokyo' s success has allowed Gallagher to pursue it as a full time occupation since October 2002, after being laid off from his job as an architect. Megatokyo in its entirety is available free of charge at the Megatokyo website, with strips being paired with comments from Gallagher. Gallagher's income from the strip comes solely from advertising, sales of Megatokyo books and merchandise sold through the Megagear store website which he owns.
Since Gallagher attained full control over the strip, it has now more reflected his vision, with an increasingly complex cast of characters, and a far slower pace than the original strips. The influence of Japanese manga
and computer dating sims can be seen in both the character design, plotline and storytelling. While this has earned praise from some critics, it has also alienated some fans of the earlier strips, which were more comical, relying more on humor, slapstick, gags, and simpler storylines.
None but the earliest of the Megatokyo strips are inked, but rather drawn in pencil, and scanned. Gallagher's attention to detail extends to the frames, which he hand-draws for each strip.
Fredart Studios LLC is the name of the company that officially owns the trademark to Megatokyo and Fred's other works. Megagear Inc. is the company owned and operated by Fred and his wife Sarah that runs the MegaGear store which sells Megatokyo related merchandise.
The main characters of Warmth are called Tom Moore, Tobari Saeko, and Shizuhara Eimi. Both Saeko and Eimi have cameos in recent Megatokyo strips.
started a coordinated attempt to discover the contents of this website. On June 8, 2006, Gallagher again allowed public access to the "blurred" site, and mentioned it in his newspost on Megatokyo, in order to end the controversy.
"We are looking forward to a great 2007. Megatokyo Volume 5 will be released in the Spring and we have lots of other new items planned including a skateboard deck, the first Megatokyo calendar, clocks, and a mini doujinshi for later in the year. "
It is possible that this is an endgames doujinshi.
"But maybe 2 regularly delivered comics with everything else you expect from these websites - rants, updates, etc - including some other projects like maybe 'warmth' getting off the ground (and that endgames doujin i want to do)... we'll see."
In 2009, he posted an endgames preview and called it a doujin.
, the mini doujinshi has yet to be released.
In May 2011, it was announced that Endgames were being revamped in a light novel format, with a story written by webfiction author Thomas Knapp, with four light novels planned. A short story "Behind the Masque" was also announced, and released on Amazon's Kindle Store on June 10, 2011.
anime
conventions, Fred Gallagher has appeared at Otakon
in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2005, and also has appeared frequently at A-Kon, Sakura-Con
, and Comic-Con International
. Anime Central
was the first anime convention where he sat for a panel discussion. He is also credited with being the first American manga artist to be a guest at Anime Expo Tokyo.
At conventions, Fred Gallagher hosts a panel based on the "Naze Nani Megatokyo" ("The Hows and Whys of Megatokyo") omake
comic strips, an idea borrowed from an anime series, Martian Successor Nadesico
. The panel contained Gallagher ("Piro") and Rodney Caston
("Largo") (before Caston left the project due to creative differences), and was also known to contain Dominic Nguyen ("Dom"). Gallagher has also attended anime conventions outside of the United States. He was Guest of Honour at Ayacon, an anime con located in Northampton
, UK
, at the start of November 2003. He was slated to appear at the 2006 German convention Connichi in Kassel
. However, due to errors in registering his wife's ticket, this was canceled.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
and web cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
. He is best known as the artist, co-creator, and now full owner of Megatokyo
Megatokyo
is an English-language webcomic created by Fred Gallagher and Rodney Caston, debuting on August 14, 2000, and then written and illustrated solely by Gallagher since July 17, 2002. Gallagher's style of writing and illustration is heavily influenced by Japanese manga. Megatokyo is freely available on...
. He also goes by the name of Piro, the main character of Megatokyo, whom he has stated is an idealized version of himself when he was in college. He took this name from the name of the cat
Cat
The cat , also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felids and felines, is a small, usually furry, domesticated, carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests...
in the visual novel
Visual novel
A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...
Kanon
Kanon
is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key and originally released as an adult game on June 4, 1999, playable on a Microsoft Windows PC. An all ages version for the PC was released in January 2000, and was later ported to the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation Portable...
.
Gallagher lives with his wife and son in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
.
The Fine Red Cat
The Fine Red Cat (1993) is a children's book by Jennifer Ann Gallagher, Fred Gallagher's sister. It is notable as the first published work Gallagher illustrated.Megatokyo
The webcomic Megatokyo started its run on August 14, 2000 in collaboration with Rodney CastonRodney Caston
Rodney Caston is an American systems engineer, freelance writer and author currently living in Dallas, Texas. He is the co-creator and original writer of the popular comic book series Megatokyo and an active member of the Libertarian Party. He is a former employee of Linden Lab, makers of the...
, who owned the domain and wrote many of the scripts for the first year and a half, while Gallagher was responsible for the artwork. Due to creative differences, Caston agreed to sell his share in the venture to Gallagher in May 2002. (See Megatokyo
Megatokyo
is an English-language webcomic created by Fred Gallagher and Rodney Caston, debuting on August 14, 2000, and then written and illustrated solely by Gallagher since July 17, 2002. Gallagher's style of writing and illustration is heavily influenced by Japanese manga. Megatokyo is freely available on...
for further detail)
Megatokyo
Since Gallagher attained full control over the strip, it has now more reflected his vision, with an increasingly complex cast of characters, and a far slower pace than the original strips. The influence of Japanese manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
and computer dating sims can be seen in both the character design, plotline and storytelling. While this has earned praise from some critics, it has also alienated some fans of the earlier strips, which were more comical, relying more on humor, slapstick, gags, and simpler storylines.
None but the earliest of the Megatokyo strips are inked, but rather drawn in pencil, and scanned. Gallagher's attention to detail extends to the frames, which he hand-draws for each strip.
Fredart
Fredart is a collection of Gallagher's works dating back several years. It includes development sketches from other projects, such as Warmth. Since Megatokyo began, most of the content has been focused on characters from that project.Fredart Studios LLC is the name of the company that officially owns the trademark to Megatokyo and Fred's other works. Megagear Inc. is the company owned and operated by Fred and his wife Sarah that runs the MegaGear store which sells Megatokyo related merchandise.
envelop(e)
A doujinshi work of Gallagher's from 1999. As he describes it:- Using the format of an illustrated story, 'envelop(e)' tells the story of how a misplaced envelope and love letter causes confusion between childhood friends who never really understood how much they meant to each other before.
Warmth
Warmth is a more serious love story on which Gallagher was working before Megatokyo, but it was pushed into the background when Megatokyo became popular. A few chapters of Warmth were released in the early issues of I.C. Entertainment's AmeriManga magazine. Gallagher has stated a number of times that he has not given up on the property, and will continue it in the future. Gallagher had released a sample (but this was later deleted), and many other drawings that include characters who will be featured in Warmth.The main characters of Warmth are called Tom Moore, Tobari Saeko, and Shizuhara Eimi. Both Saeko and Eimi have cameos in recent Megatokyo strips.
Blurred
Blurred was a semi-erotic experimental art website, created by Gallagher in 1998 using the pen name "blurri." Gallagher later took it offline for personal reasons, but a discussion on February 2, 2006 on 4chan4chan
4chan is an English-language imageboard website. Launched on October 1, 2003, its boards were originally used for the posting of pictures and discussion of manga and anime...
started a coordinated attempt to discover the contents of this website. On June 8, 2006, Gallagher again allowed public access to the "blurred" site, and mentioned it in his newspost on Megatokyo, in order to end the controversy.
Title TBA
Fred Gallagher announced that, some time in 2007, megagear (the Megatokyo store) would release a mini doujinshi. Little to nothing was known about this project, but it was expected later in the year."We are looking forward to a great 2007. Megatokyo Volume 5 will be released in the Spring and we have lots of other new items planned including a skateboard deck, the first Megatokyo calendar, clocks, and a mini doujinshi for later in the year. "
It is possible that this is an endgames doujinshi.
"But maybe 2 regularly delivered comics with everything else you expect from these websites - rants, updates, etc - including some other projects like maybe 'warmth' getting off the ground (and that endgames doujin i want to do)... we'll see."
In 2009, he posted an endgames preview and called it a doujin.
, the mini doujinshi has yet to be released.
In May 2011, it was announced that Endgames were being revamped in a light novel format, with a story written by webfiction author Thomas Knapp, with four light novels planned. A short story "Behind the Masque" was also announced, and released on Amazon's Kindle Store on June 10, 2011.
Achievements
One of the most popular artists at United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
conventions, Fred Gallagher has appeared at Otakon
Otakon
Otakon is a fan convention in the United States focusing on East Asian popular culture and its fandom. The name is a portmanteau derived from convention and the Japanese word otaku...
in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2005, and also has appeared frequently at A-Kon, Sakura-Con
Sakura-Con
Sakura-Con is an annual three-day anime convention held during March or April at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center in Seattle, Washington.- Programming :...
, and Comic-Con International
Comic-Con International
San Diego Comic-Con International, also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego , and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans...
. Anime Central
Anime Central
Anime Central is an anime convention that is held yearly in Rosemont, Illinois, United States. It is one of the fastest growing anime conventions in the U.S. and has ranked as the 3rd largest North American anime convention since 2010. The convention is like many other anime conventions; it runs...
was the first anime convention where he sat for a panel discussion. He is also credited with being the first American manga artist to be a guest at Anime Expo Tokyo.
At conventions, Fred Gallagher hosts a panel based on the "Naze Nani Megatokyo" ("The Hows and Whys of Megatokyo") omake
Omake
means extra in Japanese. Its primary meaning is general and widespread. It is used as an anime and manga fandom term to mean "extra or bonus". In USA, the term is most often used in a narrow sense by anime fans to describe special features on DVD releases: deleted scenes, interviews with the...
comic strips, an idea borrowed from an anime series, Martian Successor Nadesico
Martian Successor Nadesico
, is a science fiction comedy anime TV series, and a later manga series created by Kia Asamiya. The manga, published in English by CPM Manga, is significantly different from the anime....
. The panel contained Gallagher ("Piro") and Rodney Caston
Rodney Caston
Rodney Caston is an American systems engineer, freelance writer and author currently living in Dallas, Texas. He is the co-creator and original writer of the popular comic book series Megatokyo and an active member of the Libertarian Party. He is a former employee of Linden Lab, makers of the...
("Largo") (before Caston left the project due to creative differences), and was also known to contain Dominic Nguyen ("Dom"). Gallagher has also attended anime conventions outside of the United States. He was Guest of Honour at Ayacon, an anime con located in Northampton
Northampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, at the start of November 2003. He was slated to appear at the 2006 German convention Connichi in Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
. However, due to errors in registering his wife's ticket, this was canceled.
External links
- Fredart (Gallagher's personal art website)
- Megatokyo (online comicComicsComics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
) - Gallagher profiled at Anime Convention Personality of the Week (March 9, 2003)