Jim Toomey: Learning from Sherman the shark

譯者: Marie Wu 審譯者: Lin Su-Wei(林書暐)

Cartoons are basically short stories.

漫畫其實就是短篇故事，

I tried to find one that didn't have a whole lot of words.

我找到一篇沒有太多字的漫畫，

Not all of them have happy endings.

不是所有的漫畫都有快樂的結局。

So how did I get started cartooning?

那我倒底是怎麼開始畫漫畫的呢？

I doodled a lot as a kid,

我小時候很喜歡塗鴉，

and if you spend enough time doodling,

如果你花很多時間塗鴉，

sooner or later, something happens:

遲早有一天，你會發現：

all your career options run out.

你對未來沒有太多選擇，

So you have to make a living cartooning.

你只能靠畫漫畫過活。

Actually, I fell in love with the ocean when I was a little boy,

我從很小的時候就愛上海洋了，

when I was about eight or nine.

那時我大概才八、九歲，

And I was particularly fascinated with sharks.

我對鯊魚特別有興趣，

This is some of my early work.

這是我那時的畫作。

Eventually, my mom took the red crayon away,

後來，我媽把紅色蠟筆拿走了，

so it was [unclear].

所以我就...

But I'd like to relay to you a childhood experience of mine

但我想讓你們知道，在我小時候曾經歷過一件事，

that really made me see the ocean differently,

讓我對海洋的印象完全改觀，

and it's become the foundation of my work

也讓我奠定未來工作的基礎，

because, I feel like, if in a day,

因為我覺得，

I can see the ocean differently,

如果我能改變自己對海洋的印象，

then I can evoke that same kind of change in others,

我也一定能改變別人對海洋的印象，

especially kids.

尤其是改變小孩子的印象。

Before that day, this is how I saw the ocean.

在那件事發生之前，我對海洋的印象就像這樣，

It's just a big blue surface.

我覺得海洋只是一片藍海，

And this is how we've seen the ocean since the beginning of time.

這是我們所有人對海洋的最初印象，

It's a mystery.

很神祕。

There's been a lot of folklore

有很多關於海洋的

developed around the ocean,

民間故事，

mostly negative.

但都很負面，

And that prompted people to make maps like this,

所以人們畫出來的地圖會像這樣，

with all kinds of wonderful detail on the land,

對陸地描繪得巨細靡遺，

but when you get to the waters edge,

但一畫到陸地邊緣的海洋，

the ocean looks like one giant puddle of blue paint.

就只是用藍色的顏料描繪成一大潭水而已。

And this is the way I saw the ocean at school --

這是我在學校時對海洋的印象，

as if to say, "All geography and science lessons

就好像老師說：「所有的地理和科學

stop at water's edge.

都只教到陸地邊緣而已，

This part's not going to be on the test."

其他部分不會列入考試範圍。」

But that day I flew low over the islands --

但那天，我低空飛到那些小島上--

it was a family trip to the Caribbean,

我們全家一起去加勒比海玩，

and I flew in a small plane low over the islands.

我們搭乘一架小飛機低空飛過那些小島，

This is what I saw. I saw hills and valleys.

我看到這個，我看到丘陵和山谷，

I saw forests and meadows.

我看到森林和草地，

I saw grottoes and secret gardens

我看到石窟和隱密的花園，

and places I'd love to hide as a kid,

我還找到小孩最喜歡躲藏的地點，

if I could only breathe underwater.

就在海裡，真希望我能在海底呼吸。

And best of all, I saw the animals.

最棒的是，我還在海裡看到動物，

I saw a manta ray that looked as big as the plane I was flying in.

我看到一隻和我搭乘的小飛機一樣大的魟魚。

And I flew over a lagoon with a shark in it,

然後我到了一個有鯊魚的潟湖，

and that was the day that my comic strip about a shark was born.

我的鯊魚漫畫就從此誕生了。

So from that day on, I was an ordinary kid

從那一天起，我這個踩在陸地上的

walking around on dry land,

平凡小孩，

but my head was down there, underwater.

滿腦子想的都是海底世界。

Up until that day,

在那之前，

these were the animals that were most common in my life.

最常出現在我生活裡的動物是這些，

These were the ones I'd like to draw --

我喜歡畫的也是這些動物，

all variations of four legs and fur.

全都有四隻腳，也都有毛。

But when you got to the ocean,

但我到了海底之後，

my imagination was no competition for nature.

我發現我的想像力根本比不上大自然，

Every time I'd come up with a crazy cartoon character on the drawing board,

每次我好不容易在畫板上畫出一個怪異的角色，

I'd find a critter in the ocean that was even crazier.

我就會在海裡發現一個比它更古怪的生物。

And the differences in scale between this tiny sea dragon

各式古怪的生物都有，小到像這隻小海龍，

and this enormous humpback whale

大到像這隻巨大的座頭鯨，

was like something out of a science-fiction movie.

全都像是從科幻電影裡走出來的生物。

Whenever I talk to kids, I always like to tell them,

每次我和孩子們說話，我都會告訴他們，

the biggest animal that ever lived is still alive.

世界上最大的生物到現在都還活著，

It's not a dinosaur; it's a whale,

不是恐龍，是鯨魚，

animals as big as office buildings

他們就像辦公大樓一樣大，

still swimming around out there in our ocean.

還在海洋裡游著。

Speaking of dinosaurs, sharks are basically

講到恐龍，在三億年以前，

the same fish they were 300 million years ago.

鯊魚其實是和恐龍同種的生物，

So if you ever fantasize about going back in time

所以如果你曾幻想回到過去，

and seeing what a dinosaur looked like,

想看看恐龍長什麼樣子，

that's what a dinosaur looks like.

你會看到像鯊魚這樣的生物。

So you have living dinosaurs

你在海裡會看到活的恐龍

and space aliens,

和太空生物，

animals that evolved in zero gravity in harsh conditions.

還有在零重力這樣嚴苛環境下演化出來的生物，

It's just incredible; no Hollywood designer

很不可思議，連好萊塢的設計師

could come up with something more interesting than that.

都沒有辦法想出比這些更有趣的生物了。

Or this fangtooth. The particles in the water

這是尖牙(食人魔魚)，水裡的一些雜質

make it look like it's floating in outer space.

讓它看起來像是飄浮在外太空，

Could you image if we looked through the Hubble Telescope

你能想像透過哈柏望遠鏡

and we saw that?

看到這隻尖牙嗎？

It would start a whole new space race.

你可能以為那是一個全新的太空物種。

But instead, we stick a camera in the deep ocean,

其實不是，那是我們放在深海的攝影機拍的，

and we see a fish, and it doesn't capture our imagination

我們看到的魚，幾乎都是我們以前

as a society.

沒有想像過的。

We say to ourselves,

我們心裡還想著：

"Maybe we can make fish sticks with it or something."

「或許我們可以用這種魚來做炸魚排或什麼的。」

So, what I'd like to do now

我現在要來

is try a little drawing.

畫一些圖，

So, I'm going to try to draw this fangtooth here.

我先來畫這隻尖牙。

I love to draw the deep sea fish,

我很喜歡畫深海魚類，

because they are so ugly,

因為他們很醜，

but beautiful in their own way.

但是醜到有一種他們自有的美感。

Maybe we can give him a little bioluminescence here --

或許我們可以幫它加上一點它自己發出的光，

give him a headlight,

像是幫它裝一盞頭燈，

maybe a brake light,

再裝一個煞車燈，

turn signals.

還有方向燈。

But it's easy to see why these animals

很明顯的，這些海洋生物

make such great cartoon characters,

很適合當卡通人物，

their shapes and sizes.

因為他們有特殊的形狀和大小。

So some of them actually seem to have powers

這些生物有的還具有某種力量，

like superheroes in a comic book.

像是漫畫書裡的超級英雄一樣，

For instance,

舉例來說，

take these sea turtles.

這隻海龜，

They kind of have a sixth sense

它似乎具有超強的第六感，

like Superman's x-ray vision.

可以像超人一樣具有X光的透視力，

They can sense the magnetic fields of the earth.

它可以感測到地球上的磁場，

And they can use that sense

並運用這種感知能力，

to navigate hundreds of miles of open ocean.

在無邊的大海裡遨遊數百哩。

I kind of give my turtle hands

我習慣幫海龜加上手，

just to make them an easier cartoon character to work with.

好讓它更具有卡通人物的親和力。

Or take this sea cucumber.

再來看看這隻海參，

It's not an animal we draw cartoons of

平常我們完全不會畫海參，

or draw at all.

或是把它畫成卡通人物，

He's like an underwater Spiderman.

但它卻像是海底的蜘蛛人，

He shoots out these sticky webs

它會發射黏人的網子，

to entangle his enemy.

把敵人包纏起來。

Of course, sea cucumbers shoot them out their rears,

其實，海參是把它的屁股發射出去攻擊敵人，

which, in my opinion, makes them much more interesting a superhero.

在我看來，它更像搞笑的超級英雄。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

He can't spin a web anytime; he's got to pull his pants down first.

它不能隨時隨地發射網子，它得先把褲子脫下來才行。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

Or the blowfish.

再來是河豚，

The blowfish is like the Incredible Hulk.

河豚就像綠巨人浩克，

It can change its body

它會改變身體的形狀，

into a big, intimidating fish

變成體型很大、嚇人的魚，

in a matter of seconds.

只要幾秒就變身完成。

I'm going to draw this blowfish uninflated.

我先畫變身前的河豚，

And then I'm going to attempt

然後我要在這裡

onscreen animation here.

現場幫它製作動畫，

Let's see.

來了，

Try and inflate it.

變大了！

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

"You talkin' to me?" See, he can inflate himself

「你在跟我說話嗎？」看，它變大了，

when he wants to be intimidating.

只要它想要嚇別人，就會變大。

Or take this swordfish.

接下來是劍魚，

Could you imagine being born with a tool for a nose?

你能想像自己天生就有一個長鼻子嗎？

Do you think he wakes up in the morning, looks in the mirror and says,

你以為它早晨醒來，會看著鏡子說：

"Somebody's getting stabbed today."

「今天有人要被捅了。」

Or this lionfish for instance.

或是獅子魚，

Imagine trying to make friends

想像這隻獅子魚想要交朋友，

covered with razor-sharp poisonous barbs.

但自己身上卻佈滿了像刀片一樣鋒利的有毒螫刺，

It's not something you want to put on your Facebook page, right?

你不會想要把這東西放上你的Facebook吧？

My characters are --

我的卡通人物...

my lead character's a shark named Sherman.

我的漫畫主角是一隻叫做謝門的鯊魚，

He's a great white shark.

它是一隻大白鯊，

And I kind of broke the mold with Sherman.

是我創造了謝門。

I didn't want to go with this ruthless

我不想讓謝門保有殘暴的

predator image.

掠食者形象，

He's kind of just out there making a living.

我讓它成為像我們一樣討生活的人，

He's sort of a Homer Simpson with fins.

就有點像是有鰭辛普森家族的人。

And then his sidekick

這個漫畫的配角

is a sea turtle, as I mentioned before, named Filmore.

是一隻海龜，就像我之前提過的，它叫做費爾摩，

He uses his wonderful skills at navigation

它具有高超的方向感，

to wander the oceans, looking for a mate.

可以在海裡遨遊，它最希望能找到伴侶，

And he does manage to find them,

而它也盡力去找了，

but great navigation skills, lousy pick-up lines.

但是它高超的方向感並沒有幫上什麼忙，

He never seems

它似乎

to settle on

永遠不能

any particular girl.

和哪一個女孩子定下來。

I have a hermit crab named Hawthorne,

還有一隻叫做哈松的寄居蟹，

who doesn't get a lot of respect as a hermit crab,

因為老是得不到別人的尊重，

so he kind of wishes

所以它還滿希望

he were a great white shark.

自己變成一隻大白鯊呢！

And then I'll introduce you to one more character,

再介紹另一個角色，

this guy, Ernest,

恩尼斯這傢伙，

who is basically a juvenile delinquent

其實是披著魚皮的

in a fish body.

少年犯。

So with characters, you can make stories.

有了這些角色，就可以開始說故事了。

Sometimes making a story is as easy

說故事有時候很簡單，

as putting two characters in a room

就只要把二個角色放進同一個房間裡，

and seeing what happens.

看看會發生什麼事就行了。

So, imagine a great white shark and a giant squid in the same bathroom.

好，現在想像一下，一隻大白鯊和一隻大烏賊一起待在洗手間裡。

(Laughter)

(笑聲)

Or, sometimes I take them to places

因為他們海底生物，所以有時

that people have never heard of because they're underwater.

我會把他們帶到大家沒聽過的地方，

For instance, I took them skiing in the Mid-Atlantic Range,

像是我會把他們帶到大西洋中部滑雪，

which is this range of mountains in the middle of the Atlantic.

就在大西洋中部附近的山區；

I've taken them to the Sea of Japan,

我也曾經把他們帶到日本海域，

where they met giant jellyfish.

他們在那裡遇到了大水母；

I've taken them camping in the kelp forests of California.

我還曾把他們帶到加州的海帶森林裡露營。

This next one here,

接下來，

I did a story on the census of marine life.

我畫了有關海洋生物戶口普查的故事，

And that was a lot of fun because, as most of you know,

這真的很好玩，因為大家都知道

it's a real project we've heard about.

戶口普查這項計畫。

But it was a chance for me to introduce readers

對我來說，這是為讀者介紹

to a lot of crazy undersea characters.

古怪海洋生物的大好機會。

So we start off the story with Ernest,

一開始是讓恩尼斯當主角，

who volunteers as a census taker.

它自願當戶口普查員，

He goes down and he meets this famous anglerfish.

它去到深海看到那隻有名的鮟鱇魚，

Then he meets the yeti crab,

還看到雪蟹、

the famous vampire squid -- elusive, hard to find --

著名的吸血鬼烏賊(傘蛸)--它很會躲，很不容易找到--

and the Dumbo octopus, which looks so much like a cartoon in real life

還有小飛象章魚(煙灰蛸)，它真的很像卡通人物，

that really didn't have to change a thing when I drew it.

我在畫的時候，一點也不必修改它的樣子。

I did another story on marine debris.

我還畫了另一個關於海洋廢棄物的故事。

I was speaking to a lot of my friends

那時我和許多保育界的朋友

in the conservation business,

在一起談話，

and they --

他們...

I asked them, "So what's one issue you would like everyone to know more about?"

我問他們：「哪一個議題是你們想讓大家多瞭解一點的？」

And they said -- this one friend of mine said,

他們說...我的一個朋友說：

"I've got one word for you: plastic."

「只有二個字：塑膠。」

And I told him, "Well, I need something a little sexier than that.

我說：「嗯，我需要更吸引人的東西，

Plastic just is not going to do it."

光是塑膠二個字，提不起別人的興趣。」

We sort of worked things out.

於是我們一起想辦法解決，

He wanted me to use words like polyvinyl chloride,

他要我用聚氯乙稀這種字眼，

which doesn't really work in voice balloons very well.

但我覺得一點都不響亮，

I couldn't fit them in.

也放不進我的漫畫裡。

So what I did was I made an adventure strip.

我後來把這個主題畫成一段冒險旅程，

Basically, this bottle travels a long way.

我讓一個瓶子漂流到很遠的地方，

What I'm trying to tell readers

我想告訴讀者，

is that plastic doesn't really go away;

塑膠不會消失，

it just continues to wash downstream.

只是不斷地在我們的河裡漂流，

And a lot of it ends up washing into the ocean,

最後他們會漂流到海裡。

which is a great story if you attach a couple characters to it,

我把幾個角色放進故事裡，尤其是這二個

especially if they can't stand each other, like these two.

互相看不順眼角色，就成了很棒的漫畫。

So, I sent them to Boise, Idaho,

我把場景設定在愛達荷州的首府波伊斯，

where they dropped a plastic bottle

有人在那裡丟了一個塑膠瓶，

into the Boise sewer system.

掉進波伊斯的下水道系統，

And it ended up in the Boise River

來到波伊斯河裡，

and then on to the Columbia River

接下來漂到了哥倫比亞河，

and then to the mouth of the Columbia

來到哥倫比亞河口，

and to the Pacific Ocean

漂進太平洋，

and then on to this place called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch --

來到太平洋垃圾處理場這裡，

which is this giant Pacific gyre in the North Pacific,

而北太平洋的洋流

where a lot of this plastic ends up floating around --

會把聚集在這裡的塑膠瓶，

and then back onto the lagoon.

全都沖回到謝門的潟湖裡。

So that was basically a buddy story

這其實是一般的朋友情義故事，

with a plastic bottle following along.

只是多了個塑膠瓶而已，

So a lot of people remember the plastic bottle anyway,

但是大部分的人都會記得那個塑膠瓶，

but we really talked about marine debris and plastic

而我們要透過故事傳達的，也只是海洋廢棄物

in the course of that one.

和塑膠的概念而已。

The third storyline I did about a year and a half ago

一年半前，我製作了第三個故事，

was probably my most difficult.

那是三個故事裡最難的一個。

It was on shark finning, and I felt really strongly

這個故事是在講鯊魚鰭(魚翅)，

about this issue.

我很重視這個議題，

And I felt like, since my main character was a shark,

我認為，既然我的主角是鯊魚，

the comic strip was a perfect vehicle for telling the public about this.

我的漫畫就最適合拿來宣導這個議題。

Now, finning is the act

魚翅是把鯊魚捉上來後，

of taking a shark, cutting the valuable fins off

把貴重的魚鰭切割下來製作而成，

and throwing the live animal back in the water.

至於沒有鰭的鯊魚，則又被丟回海裡。

It's cruel, it's wasteful.

很殘忍，也很浪費，

There's nothing funny or entertaining about it,

一點也不好玩，也沒有好笑的笑點，

but I really wanted to take this issue on.

但我就是想談這個議題。

I had to kill my main character, who is a shark.

要畫出這個議題，就得讓我的鯊魚主角死去。

We start with Sherman in a Chinese restaurant,

一開始，我們讓謝門坐在中國餐館裡，

who gets a fortune that he's about to get caught by a trawler,

它從幸運餅的籤詩上得知，它會被拖網漁船抓走，

which he does.

然後它真的被抓走了，

And then he dies.

然後它就死了。

He gets finned, and then he gets thrown overboard.

它被割走雙鰭，然後被丟回海裡。

Ostensibly, he's dead now.

表面上看來，它是死了，

And so I killed a character that's been in the newspaper for 15 years.

我讓一個在報上連載了十五年的主角死掉，

So I got a lot of reader feedback on that one.

很多讀者都投書來討論這件事。

Meanwhile, the other characters are talking about shark fin soup.

在此同時，其他的角色則在討論魚翅湯，

I do three or four strips after that

我用三到四幅連環漫畫

where we explore the finning issue

來討論割鯊魚鰭

and the shark fin soup issue.

以及魚翅湯這件事，

Sherman's up in shark heaven.

謝門則上到鯊魚天堂。

This is what I love about comic strips, you know.

這就是我喜歡連環漫畫的原因，

You really don't have to worry about the audience suspending its sense of disbelief

你不用擔心讀者不會相信你畫的東西，

because, if you start with a talking shark,

畢竟我畫的是一隻會說話的鯊魚，

readers pretty much check their disbelief at the door.

讀者一直都很捧場，

You can kind of do anything.

你可以在漫畫上為所欲為。

It becomes a near-death experience for Sherman.

後來，謝門沒死，它只是在鬼門關前走了一遭，

Meanwhile, Ernest finds his fins on the internet.

而恩尼斯則在網路上找到了謝門的魚鰭，

There was a real website based in China

中國真的有這樣的一個網站，

that actually sold shark fins,

他們在網站上銷售魚翅，

so I kind of exposed that.

我只是把事實說出來而已。

And he clicks the "buy now" button.

恩尼斯按下了「購買」鍵，

And voila, next-day air, they show up,

接著第二天，他們就收到了魚鰭，

and they surgically reattach them.

還用外科手術幫謝門把魚鰭給重新裝了回去。

I ended that series with a kind of a mail-in petition

在漫畫的最後，我發起一人一信的請願行動，

that encouraged our National Marine Fishery Service,

要我們的國家海洋漁業部門

to force other countries

去約束其他國家，

to have a stronger stance with shark management.

對鯊魚管理採取更強硬的態度。

(Applause)

(掌聲)

Thanks.

謝謝！

I'd like to end with a little metaphor here.

最後，我想要用一個隱喻來做結尾。

I've been trying to think of a metaphor to represent Mission Blue,

我一直都在想要用什麼樣的隱喻來傳達Mission Blue的概念，

and this is what I came up with.

最後我想到了這個：

Imagine you're in an enormous room,

想像你待在一個很大的房間，

and it's as dark as a cave.

裡面暗得像個洞穴，

And you can have anything in that room, anything you want,

你可以拿走房間裡的任何東西，任何你想要的東西，

but you can't see anything.

只是你看不到房間裡面有什麼；

You've been given one tool, a hammer.

你只有一個工具，就是一把鎚子。

So you wander around in the darkness, and you bump into something,

所以你就在黑暗的房間裡走來走去，接著你撞到了一個東西，

and it feels like it's made of stone.

你感覺那是石頭做的，

It's big, it's heavy. You can't carry it away,

很大又很重，你根本搬不動，

so you bang it with your hammer, and you break off a piece.

所以你用你的鎚子敲下了一個碎片，

And you take the piece out into the daylight.

把碎片帶出房間，來到有陽光的地方，

And you see you have a beautiful piece of white alabaster.

你發現那是一塊很美的白雪花石，

So you say to yourself, "Well, that's worth something."

你說：「嗯，這還滿值錢的。」

So you go back into the room,

所以你又回到那個房間，

and you break this thing to pieces, and you haul it away.

把那整個東西敲成碎片，再把碎片搬出來。

And you find other things, and you break that up, and you haul those away.

接下來，你又發現了其他東西，你一樣把它敲碎後帶出來，

And you're getting all kinds of cool stuff.

最後你拿到了許多很棒的東西。

And you hear other people doing the same thing.

然後，你聽說也有其他人在做相同的事情，

So you get this sense of urgency,

所以你就加快速度，

like you need to find as much stuff as possible as soon as possible.

希望在最短的時間內找到最多東西。

And then some yells, "Stop!"

突然有人大叫：「住手！」

And they turn up the lights.

接著燈被打開了，

And you realize where you are; you're in the Louvre.

你終於知道這是什麼地方了：你竟然在羅浮宮裡！

And you've taken all this complexity and beauty,

你把那些價值連城的美術品，

and you've turned it into a cheap commodity.

全都當成了廉價商品。

And that's what we're doing with the ocean.

這就是我們現在對待海洋的方式。

And part of what Mission Blue is about

Mission Blue的其中一個目的，

is yelling, "Stop!"

就是要喊出：「住手！」

so that each of us --

所以我們每一個人，

explorer, scientist, cartoonist, singer, chef --

包含探險家、科學家、漫畫家、歌手和廚師等，

can turn up the lights in their own way.

都可以為我們開啟照亮海洋的燈。

And that's what I hope my comic strip does in a small way.

我希望我的連環漫畫能為大家開啟一盞小燈，

That's why I like what I do.

這就是我喜歡畫漫畫的原因。

Thanks for listening.

謝謝各位！

(Applause)

(掌聲)