Toren V Smith was a Canadian manga translator and founder of Studio Proteus.
17 Facts About Toren Smith
2.
Toren Smith had already been drawing for years, mostly influenced by newspaper strips such as BC and Andy Capp, but now he began to look at the work of Jack Kirby and Walt Kelly.
3.
Toren Smith was active in the arts while at school, working with the drama club, writing plays, and drawing for pleasure and sale.
4.
In 1980 Toren Smith attended a local science fiction convention and met Lela Dowling, a noted SF and fantasy artist.
5.
Toren Smith was introduced to Japanese anime and manga by James Hudnall in 1982, and in 1986 he sold his possessions and moved to Japan in order to found Studio Proteus, a company that was for more than two decades one of the top two producers of translated manga for the English-speaking world.
6.
At the convention Masamune Shirow's Appleseed was given the Sei'un-sho award for best manga, and Toren Smith quickly chose it for his first publication in English.
7.
Toren Smith worked out of his closet on a small manual typewriter.
8.
Toren Smith spent three months working as manager of the apartment in return for free rent, a convenient arrangement that unfortunately came to an end when the yakuza found out.
9.
Toren Smith's name was Toren Smith, and his love of manga had brought him all the way across the ocean to Japan.
10.
Toren Smith traveled back and forth from Japan to the United States several times a year for nearly two decades.
11.
Toren Smith produced a copy of The Legend of Kamui from his carry-on bag.
12.
The officer turned out to be a big fan of the original manga, and Toren Smith was quickly cut loose.
13.
Toren Smith co-wrote the first three American Dirty Pair comics with Adam Warren, and the short series Terminator: Hunters and Killers for Dark Horse.
14.
Toren Smith has commented that out of the top ten manga he most wanted to work on when he moved to Japan, he ended up publishing or co-translating nine.
15.
Toren Smith has appeared at multiple anime conventions as a guest.
16.
Toren Smith retired in 2004, having sold most of his rights and materials for his entire output of manga to Dark Horse Comics.
17.
Toren Smith spent his last years diving his KISS Sport rebreather around the world, camping, reading while still enjoying manga and anime.