Kazu Kibuishi
| Kazu Kibuishi | |
|---|---|
 Kazu Kibuishi (centre) with his wife, Amy Kim Ganter (right) | |
| Born |
1978 Tokyo |
| Area(s) | Writer, Artist |
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Official website | |
Kazu Kibuishi is an American graphic novel author and illustrator. He is best known for being the creator and editor of the comic anthology Flight and for creating the webcomic Copper. He is also the author and illustrator of the ongoing Amulet series.
Early life
Kibuishi was born 1978 in Tokyo, Japan, but moved to the United States at an early age. He has said in interview that on moving to the United States he missed 'cool robot TV shows like Ultraman' and that some of his early drawings were inspired by memories of Japan and its culture.[1]
Career
While pursuing a degree in film studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Kibuishi drew the comic strip Clive and Cabbage for the student newspaper The Daily Nexus.[citation needed] After graduation, he worked as an animator for Shaded Box, the Los Angeles-based commercials and video game studio. He decided to leave animation to focus on comics, where he could spend more time writing and drawing stories.[2] He started producing the monthly comic Copper at his website.
Flight was conceived by Kazu as a way of showcasing his and his friends' best work. They pitched the idea at the Alternative Press Expo, and it attracted the attention of Erik Larsen, then-new publisher of Image Comics. This in turn caused the project to explode, attracting talent from all over the industry.[3] The first two volumes were published by Image, but the third one is published by Ballantine Books.
While editing Flight Volume 1, he also created the 4-issue steampunk graphic novel Daisy Kutter: The Last Train, published by Viper Comics and selected by the American Library Association as one of the best books for young adults for 2006.
Kazu is also the creator of an ongoing series of graphic novels called Amulet, which includes The Stonekeeper, The Stonekeeper's Curse, The Cloud Searchers, The Last Council, and Prince of the Elves.[4][5] The Amulet graphic novels are published by Scholastic and are targeted at children in grades 3–7.[5]
In 2013 it was announced that he would design the covers of the re-released Harry Potter novels for Scholastic.[6]
Personal life
Kibuishi lives in Alhambra, California, and is married to fellow illustrator and collaborator Amy Kim Ganter, and has two children, Juni[1] and Sophie.[citation needed]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Creative Spotlight: Episode #9 – Kazu Kibuishi". Japan Cinema blog. Japan Cinema. December 30, 2010.
- ↑ Hunter, T. Animator to Return for Career Panel. Daily Nexus, April 30, 2004
- ↑ Weiland, J. Kazu Kibuishi and Friends Take "Flight" at Image, Comic Book Resources
- ↑ Scholastic Gets Kazu Kibuishi's 'Amulet', ICV2 News, August 10, 2005.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Kazu Kibuishi". Scholastic Inc. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
- ↑ Jonathan H. Liu (February 13, 2013). "New Harry Potter Covers by Kazu Kibuishi". Wired Magazine. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
External links
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