Derek Kirk Kim
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Derek Kirk Kim is a cartoonist who use to live in the San Francisco Bay area of California. He now lives in Portland OR. He won both major industry awards in 2004, the Eisner and the Harvey, for his debut graphic novel Same Difference and Other Stories, which was originally serialized on his website Lowbright (formerly known as "Small Stories"). He also won the Ignatz award for promising new talent, in 2003, for the same graphic novel.
Derek Kirk Kim was born in 1974 in Kumi, South Korea, and came to the United States when he was 8. He considers himself fortunate to have received formal training in the visual arts and in the craft of writing. Much of his early highly acclaimed work was done while living with his parents in Pacifica, California.
All of his stories reflect, to a greater or lesser degree, his personal experiences. He offers poignant tales with an ever present dash of humor. His drawing style is realistic and clean, based on the "clear line" school made famous by Tintin creator Hergé. His story lines range from the naturalistic to the fantastic. Most of the hostility and criticism of Kim's work seems to be self-directed (either explicitly or by skewering protagonists who resemble their creator), perhaps reflecting the influence of Robert Crumb.
Recently, Kim had begun serializing his latest work, Healing Hands on his website Lowbright, until he decided to abort the project on July 16, 2006. Healing Hands was to be published as a print graphic novel by First Second Books. Same Difference and Other Stories has been translated in French and is published in France and distributed in that country and Belgium, Switzerland and Canada by the publisher 6 pieds sous terre.
Kim illustrated a story in the original Fables graphic novel 1001 Nights of Snowfall.
Kim has worked for Nickelodeon magazine, contributing during the Christmas season.
His latest graphic novel Good as Lily, drawn by Jesse Hamm, was published by Minx in 2007. He is currently working on several new projects.
[edit] References
- Bengal, et alia. Flight: Volume One. Image Comics, 2004. (ISBN 1-58240-381-3)
- Brownstein, Charles. "Tape This to Your Cubicle Wall". The Comics Journal No. 240. January 2002 ("The year in review")
- Garrity, Shaenon. "Two Skills in Tandem", The Webcomics Examiner, September 2004
- George, William, et al. "Derek Kirk Kim: A Critics Roundtable", The Webcomics Examiner, September 2004
- Kim, Derek Kirk. Same Difference & Other Stories. Top Shelf Productions, 2004 (ISBN 1-891830-57-0)
- Lyden, Jacki. Graphic Novelist with a Comic Sensibility. National Public Radio. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4271874
