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Arts & Entertainment

Comic Artist James Mason Prefers Martial Arts to Bullets

Berkeley Lake resident likes teaching lessons of non-violence.

Cartoonist and caricature artist James Mason, nom de plume "Mase" is unique in the cartoon industry; there are not many black cartoonists.

You would never think this handsome, 6’6” cool customer would have an ounce of violence in his bones; he looks more like a gentleman who was once a well-behaved altar boy.  But his cartoon magazine Urban Shogun depicts fierce insectoid and animal theme street warriors with bulging muscles and of course lots of EYAS, THACKs, THUNKS and BOOM’S to emphasize the strength and impact of his heroes. What’s not typical of Mason’s comic book is that he prefers utilizing martial arts to bullets. To make his point, he intersperses his comic adventures with sayings from ancient Chinese philosophers like “To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders” by Lao Tzu.

As opposed to the predictable methods of deadly street violence, in the case of Urban Shogun, Volume 1, Mase's heroes hand the misguided thugs they have just overpowered with skill and focused energy, a scheduled of classes to learn martial arts saying, It’s time to choose which side you’re fighting for.  Choose wisely.”

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 Mason epitomizes the subtle mystery of martial arts. Those who are disciplined in these refined arts that utilize the more subtle aspects of energy are often men who have a calming, spiritual presence. The power of the man is a perfectly contained tool that only surfaces when under attack.  They understand the power of their strength and contain it when applicable to the situation.  The only time they use violence is to keep the peace or when it is necessary to fight against evil.

An Industrial Design graduate of Georgia Tech; James spent a year studying in Cartona, Italy and is also a student of martial arts. He is currently an interface designer of applications for Outlier, a company specializing in mobile device applications. He has been married for 11 years and has two daughters ages one and three.

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 “I’ve always been a comic fan. I decided to create some myself and have been drawing cartoon characters as a hobby for the last 10 years.”  He also does highly skilled and refined caricatures, which he did during summers at Six Flags amusement park and Universal Studios. He still does caricatures for events and private parties.

“Mase” recently began producing his Urban Shogun comic book that promotes martial arts and hopes to eventually produce a full comic series.  His video game called, Street Team will be finished in June and he will be attending Hero’s Con, a comic convention in North Carolina.  At the present time, his comic books can be purchased at Oxford Bookstore, Criminal Records in Little Five Points and Medu Books at Greenbriar Mall.

James has dedicated his first volume to his cousin Julius Mitchell who lost his life in a car accident at the age of 19.  A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the series will be donated to the Julius L. Mitchell foundation, a non-profit organization whose sole purpose is to inspire all children to seek knowledge and education.

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