Evan Hayden

@electronvolcano

I'm Evan, and I letter manga for a living! 340+ vol so far. 2025 American Manga Awards Lettering winner. (Thank you!) I try to make art & music in my rare free time. I like cats, cars, cameras, & karaoke. linktr.ee/evanhayden

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Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· 19d

Apparently I built it back when I was a kid. Or perhaps my brother did?

Pages from ZARTAX The Invincible TransRobot, but the papercraft parts were cut out sometime in the distant past.

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· 19d

“ZARTAX The Invincible TransRobot” I’d like to think that if I were trans, this would be my spirit animal, er, spirit robot. 🤖 (Found while cleaning my garage)

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· 29d

I hadn't seen all that many Sam Neill movies (Jurassic Park, of course), but he did an awesome / terrifying job in one of my favorite movies, Event Horizon. He and Laurence Fishburne really played well off of each other. Rest in peace to a great talent.

Sam Neill as Dr. William G "Billy" Weir in the 1997 science-fiction horror film "Event Horizon". He is wearing a jumpsuit, and is crouched against the wall in a tight corridor made up entirely of green-tinged circuit boards. He looks a bit exasperated.

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· Jul 5

(I thought we could upload photos and videos in the same post? Anyway, here’s the dog I saw.)

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· Jul 5

PS: we ended up going downtown to see some fwerx. FWERX! + Bonus cute dog that was near us. *HEFF HEFF HEFF*

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· Jul 4

Found this shirt while cleaning. I made it as an edgy 20-yr-old, using glittery iron-on letters. Back then, I thought it was funny / ironic, but now not so much. I’d never thought I’d live through an era where it actually felt like the US was on such a quick, deep decline.

A shirt I made when I was young. Blue shirt. Says “R.I.P” in glittery American flag iron-on letters.

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· Jul 2

My son makes me nervous the way he waves his arms back and forth wildly while carrying along the 3DS XL I gave him, so I looked for a wrist strap around the house. I found an unopened Pokémon 10th anniversary one I picked up 20 yrs ago, & feel like I hit the jackpot 🙂

My son’s red Nintendo 3DS XL system sitting on my green & white Formica dining table. On the system is a black Nintendo-branded woven wrist strap with a cloisonné Pokémon 10th anniversary Pikachu charm. I have lots of little accessories like this from over the years and have been finding treasure while gradually cleaning out my garage. This strap was still in the packaging, and who knows, maybe it’s worth some money, but it’s more valuable while in use, protecting that 3DS from being accidentally flung who-knows-where by my very energetic son. Oh, and he loves Pokémon, so that fits too! Can’t believe Pokémon is already 30 years old now!

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· Jun 18

I’m a GREEN GUY now. ✅

A 46-yr-old bearded man with green hair l, wearing a “I ❤️ NY” shirt, against a grey painted brick wall.

First time I’ve been all-green since age 20. “Blond Ambition” era over and “Hulk Hair” era begins, haha. It’s been every color of the rainbow over the years but it’s been a little while since I did a color this unusual. Not sure yet if it suits me. Got very used to the blonde I had this past couple years, and I think that looked better, but I want to avoid bleaching my hair again for a while, since I’m still a few months post surgery and people lose hair a lot after gastric bypass and I don’t want to hasten that by putting anything too strong on my scalp. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· Jun 5

Here are my alarms, btw. I haven’t used the “naps on the bus” once since I had an hour-long bus ride each way between my Nagasaki apt and the schools I worked at, but I keep it for posterity!

Alarms I’ve set on my phone, staggered, and getting more frantic in their verbiage as time goes on.

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· Jun 2

It’s funny, just after seeing this post, I was sorting through some of my mom’s stuff out in my garage and ran across these pins so it must be a sign 🙂 (Well, not sure if I believe in *signs* but it’s a coincidence at least!)

A couple Canadian flag pins that belonged to my mom.

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· May 30

I'm not sure if the "Leopards Eating People's Faces Party" trope translates into Japanese well or not, & my kanji sucks so I needed Google's help, but read the ALT text to get the gist of this little meme I hacked together in photoshop.

A photo of Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, with the political signs behind her photoshopped to more or less say

"Leopards Eating Faces Party 2026

We'll never come to regret this later.

Definitely!

Maybe.

Oops."

------------
豹顔食政党

きっと後になって後悔することはないよね？

後で後悔する
ことはないだろう。

絶対に！

たぶん。

おっと。

Please forgive any Japanese errors I made. I speak well enough to communicate with my wife fully in Japanese (which is my most important reason to keep studying), but I suck suck suuuuck at reading & writing it, mainly kanji. The beautiful bane of my existence. I'll leave it up, but if there are any really severe mistakes, please let me know!

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· May 28

That's awesome, I love They Live. Here are a couple photos I took when I saw Ladytron in 2003 in Detroit. One of the band on stage and one of 3/4 of the band when I met them briefly afterwards! Light & Magic is one of my favorite albums of that era. Gotta give some of their newer music a listen!

Ladytron on stage at St Andrew's Hall in Detroit MI, 2/25/2003

I briefly met Helen Marnie, Daniel Hunt, & Mira Aroyo of Ladytron in Detroit in 2003. That was pretty neat!

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· May 27

An early morning about-to-workout selfie because I’ve never posted one of those, so hey, why not? I usually exercise in the evening. Didn’t get a substantial enough breakfast today so I’m feeling a little woozy now post-workout. Time to devour something!

Me, standing outside in the gym parking lot, looking stern. Dark blue sky in the background with the sun just starting to come up. Neon yellow-green Adidas running shoes I got at a screaming bargain at the Adidas outlet store. When I wear these particular shoes with my purple Adidas track jacket, o look like the EVA-01, haha. Anyway, also in the photo, black & white Adidas jogger pants I also got on a screaming bargain at TJ Maxx. Black & blue track jacket (Hurley?) that I bought 20 years ago. Orange tote bag with one of my illustrations on it (hard to see from this angle.) Bleached hair that has thoroughly grown out and is showing brown & grey roots. Stern face. I’m not feeling especially stern or serious, but my face these days has some heavier laugh lines than the days when my face was more filled-out. That’s taken some getting used to, looking frowny in my neutral photos, but it’s ok. I feel good at least! Exercise has been helping me get through this pretty stressful life/world era. I like how ALT text allows me to be super wordy in the way that I usually am on social media. It’s probably not a good habit, but hey. Hello to anyone who is actually reading this!

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· May 22

Speaking of those energy drinks, here's an old pic (March 2024) of my "deadline juice". I thought I was being "responsible" by only drinking one per day, but I was deluding myself (and drinking lots of other caffeine too.)

A full recycling bin, overflowing with empty Rockstar Energy cans. My old "deadline juice". HOLY SHIT I was wired all the time.

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· May 20

I found (half of) a mixtape that I made when I was a kid! I'll have to give it a listen to see if I actually finished the B side or not. Ostensibly, it's a hip hop mix, but I wouldn't consider Technotronic hip hop (hey, I was only 8, and didn't know much yet about Belgian techno-pop!)

A mistape I made as an 8-yr-old boy, called "RAP MUSIC". Featuring DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Biz Markie, Public Enemy, Young M.C. and the not-exactly-hip-hop Technotronic. I seem to have only finished the first side, seeing as there are only six songs listed, and only on side A. The packaging is neon green paper, with photocopied logos and artwork from some of my hip hop cassettes taped on. The tape has yellowed significantly with age. I have also deteriorated with age.

R-R-R-R-RAP
A mistape I made as an 8-yr-old boy, called "RAP MUSIC". Featuring DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Biz Markie, Public Enemy, Young M.C. and the not-exactly-hip-hop Technotronic. I seem to have only finished the first side, seeing as there are only six songs listed, and only on side A. The packaging is neon green paper, with photocopied logos and artwork from some of my hip hop cassettes taped on. The tape has yellowed significantly with age. I have also deteriorated with age.

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· May 6

beware the savage jaw of 1984

An image made with the Burger King text generator, featuring a quote from George Orwell's "1984":
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—for ever."

and a delicious burger

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· Apr 24

Always fun when I get to bust out the 書道 / calligraphy brush set & sumi ink for a manga project. ✍️

A few sheets of paper where I wrote the name “Joe Yabuki” (the main character of Ashita no Joe) in stylized script, using a Japanese sumo brush and ink. Also pictured are my various shodō / calligraphy accessories I bought in Japan. A variety of brushes. Two types of ink (bottled India ink and a sumi stick.) A couple of suzuri (ink wells), one plastic and one stone/ceramic (inside the box.) I use these tools once in a while if I want to get a brush script effect on some manga lettering. This will be for a sign in Ashita No Joe 6. I’ve also used this technique a lot in Tank Chair, for Yuuri’s “spectral ninjutsu” techniques.

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· Apr 21

A few more (I took a ton, but I don't want to overdo it here.) Sadly we didn't do the full tour since it was pricey, but there was still cool stuff to see. Hope to return some day. Rest in peace Prince (and Bowie!) The world doesn't seem quite right since those two left it.

A pedestrian tunnel under a road that is full of dedications and testimonials from Prince fans (you might even call it a "Graffiti Bridge"!) I wrote a little something in there too. My son is in the foreground, checking stuff out.

"Prince Rogers Nelson Memorial Highway" sign, on the side of the road.

Me, smiling, standing in front of some of the Prince-themed mural art. I'm wearing a Purple Rain shirt.

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· Apr 21

Ten years now since Prince died. Losing him and Bowie in the same year was pretty tough on me, since they are two of my all-time favorite musicians. In September 2024 we visited family in Minnesota. On the way back, we stopped by Paisley Park. Here are a few pics, in this & the next post...

L to R: me, Felix, Miwa, in September 2024, outside of Paisley Park. (Prince's home and recording studio, now a museum.) We are standing in front of a variety of plants, and a big purple Prince "Love Symbol".

The exterior of Prince's home & recording studio, Paisley Park. A, angular white building with grid patterns on it. Purple details here and there.

Just one small section of a very long fence of Prince tributes left by fans. Handwritten letters. Original art. Music instruments. Photos. Hearts. Messages of gratitude and inspiration. People loved him. I did too.

Some purple flowers, and some bees! Purple is the color most associated with Prince, but I've read that his actual favorite color was yellow. These flowers have both of those important colors.

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· Apr 14

CNN dot com trying to get our minds and palates ready for the post-societal-collapse cannibal lifestyle. 😨

A screenshot of the CNN homepage from April 14th, 2026. A black & white x-ray (MRI?) photo of the cross-section of some human thighs. The headline reads "Ultraprocessed foods are turning human thighs into well-marbled steaks". Above the pic is a call-to-action blurb that says "CHECK THESE OUT".

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· Apr 8

🎵 Keep on rollin’ Keep on rollin’ Keep on rollin’ Roll with the roooollll caaake 🎶 Not fancy, but yummy. Used to eat this stuff all the time back in Japan and it’s been too long. I like uzumaki cake.

My wife cutting some chocolate roll cake while our son watches intently. (Clearance bakery section at Meijer since we are penny pinchers!) She is wearing a bright red cardigan and the walls are a warm reddish tone. The table has a white & aqua geometric diamond pattern.

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· Apr 8

Spoiler alert: after I read Mujina 1, I immediately ordered the next two volumes!

Two manga books. volumes 2 & 3 of “Mujina: Into the Deep”, by Inio Asano.

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· Apr 8

Got my first two Inio Asano manga books & read them. Guess I’m gonna have to buy this dude’s whole body of work, huh?

Two manga books. “Downfall” and volume 1 of “Mujina: Into the Deep”, both by Inio Asano.

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· Apr 2

True journalism still exists, just not in the old places. I just watched a video mostly about the effects of the US's blockade on one specific young boy in Cuba and I felt like my heart was being torn out. 😢 It's not an easy watch, but I think it's really important to watch. I'll link it in a sec...

A screenshot of the news show Breaking Points. Reporter Ryan Grim and others went to Cuba to report on the effects of the blockade on Cuba. The video is titled and thumbnailed about the Russian oil tanker getting through the blockade, but the main story is about a young boy with cystic fibrosis who desperately needs medicine that his family can't access due to the Cuba's status and the blockade the US has put upon it. Here is that young boy being cared for in the hospital, with the subtitle of his mom saying "we're all human beings".

I'm tired of my country being more and more evil all the time. There are so many of us Americans who don't want this, and we don't want our tax dollars to fund evil like this, or war in Iran, or genocide in Gaza. Trump and his entire movement has to go, and they need to be brought up on war crimes and crimes against humanity. INTERNATIONAL LAW HAS TO MEAN SOMETHING.

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· Mar 30

I've always loved lots of manga, but back in my OG otaku days ('90s) I also watched a ton of anime. Since the mid-'00s, I don't watch much anime, but I have to say I'm more excited about the new Ghost in the Shell than I have been for an anime in literally decades. Can't wait!

Poster promo art for the new Ghost in the Shell anime by Science Saru, featuring the major sitting on top of a tachikoma. (A cyborg lady with blue hair, wearing a grey tactical suit, and a dark visor propped up above her eyes. The tachikoma is a red crab-like mech, with some cute eyes/lenses (pink, yellow, red, and green.) This new Ghost in the Shell anime looks like it's going to capture the feeling of the original manga, which I loved as a teenager. Pure nostalgia, pump it into my veins!

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· Mar 27

"Someone stile my PS4 Dreams. Can't have shit in Detroit."

A spin on the can't-have-shit-in-Detroit meme (which was originally about Cincinnati, actually, but I grew up sort of near Detroit, so I'll keep that version.)

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· Mar 10

My car & I match today 🚗

A photo of yours-truly, leaning against my car, smiling. I’m wearing my bright red Puma track jacket, which matches my bright red 2007 Mazda 3 hatchback. Nineteen years since I bought it and it still makes me smile when I drive it. I love a car with good handling, and that’s long been one of Mazda’s strengths.

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· Mar 7

I apologize to @dasharez0ne.bsky.social (one of my favorite accounts!) for reposting one of their old Twitter posts to Bluesky, but I can't find it on here and it really sums up how I'm feeling about .webp starting to infest this site, like it has Reddit, and so many other places online.

A classic and very accurate to my feelings da share z0ne post (couldn't find it on Bluesky so I grabbed the Twitter post image) that sums up how I feel about WebP, WebM, Heic, etc... new formats. Here's the original ALT text from this post, by DASHAREZONE ADMIN:

"I DONT KNOW WHAT THE FUCK A WEBP IS JUST GIVE ME A JPG MOTHER FUCKER - FUCK WEBP AND WEBM - DASHARE.ZONE ADMIN AND DA PIC IS A SKELTEON ANEGEL IN A CHURCH SCREAMEN BECAUSE A COMPUTER HAS DISRESPECTED THERE HOLY SOUL - DASHARE.ZONE ADMIN"

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· Mar 2

I wanted to post a fond memory from 2014, when I was still teaching English in Japan. Along with the full-size classes, I had some smaller special needs classes I taught One had a single student in it, named Yūma. He loved Pokemon, so I decorated the blackboard for his first day of school.

A blackboard I decorated with various Pokemon characters, colorful stars, and school supplies, at the now-closed (due to population decline) Shikimi Jr High in Nagasaki Japan, in 2014, when I was working as an ALT (Assistant Language Teacher) via the JET Program. This class was a special-needs class with one student, Yūma, who was a Pokemon fan, so I drew as many Pokemon as I knew at the time (not many) as a greeting for him. There is Pikachu, Charmander, Bulbasaur, and my favorite Pokemon, Caterpie.

Evan Hayden@electronvolcano· Feb 22

This whole "USA sending a medical ship to Greenland" thing in the old days would have had me thinking "Oh that's a nice humanitarian gesture. I hope folks get help if they need it." but the me of 2026 is very VERY suspicious...