Cool Hunting

Writer Daniel H. Pink took a cue from the East in creating his Johnny Bunko character. While the Japanese comic format, manga, is generally left for children and a fringe group of aficionados in America, it's omnipresent in Japan. In fact, a full 22 percent of all printed material is manga. With this in mind, Pink decided to target American adults with his manga creation, "The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need." (Click the image for more detail.)

Far from childish fluff, Johnny Bunko is a fully-formed a career advice manual played out through an illustrated narrative. Bunko himself is a nine-to-five everyman who falls into an existential crisis when he realizes his post-collegiate office job is entirely unfulfilling. He meets an unconventional career advisor, wields magical chopsticks and eventually succeeds in finding some meaning in his existence. Interspersed throughout are useful—and rather zen-like—career tips, such as "There is no Plan," and "Make Excellent Mistakes."

The book features 160 pages illustrated by manga artist Rob Ten Pas. You can buy it from the Penguin store or Amazon.