Scholastic Books for the 21st Century
I just got home after both seeing and hearing Kazu Kibuishi speak at Chimacum High School about his graphic novel career.
Here's his impressive bio:
Kazu Kibuishi is the writer and artist of the New York Times Bestselling AMULET graphic novel series, published by Scholastic Graphix. He is also the editor/art director/cover artist of the EXPLORER and FLIGHT Comic Anthologies, and the creator of the webcomic Copper. His debut graphic novel, Daisy Kutter: The Last Train, won a YALSA Best Books for Young Adults Award in 2005. In 2012, he illustrated the covers for the Harry Potter 15th Anniversary Edition paperbacks.
Kazu is 4th-generation Japanese-American. His great grandfather opened the oldest Japanese grocery store in the US, called The Katagiri Store (open since 1907), and it is located in New York City. His mother grew up in Brooklyn, but moved to Tokyo to attend Keio University. Kazu was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1978, and his brother was born in 1979. The family moved back to the United States in 1981, and the boys grew up near Los Angeles, California. Kazu began drawing comics at the age of 5.
Despite spending much of his time drawing comics, Kazu decided not to attend art school and enrolled at the University of California Santa Barbara, where he graduated with a degree in Film Studies in 2000. After graduating, he pursued a career in the animation industry, but found his way back to making comics. He currently works as a full-time graphic novelist.
Kazu lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife, author Amy Kim Kibuishi, and their children.
Kibuishi walked the audience -- mostly kids and their parents ( I was so glad I attended.) through his biography showing slides of his work and his process.
What stood out for me was how he described his process. He said it was like a play performance. He will rehearse drawing a page eight to ten times until he is ready for opening night. He tries to draw quickly without worrying about the product in order to keep the process as organic and free as possible. He said that for some it sounds arduous but he enjoys the entire experience. He has the type of personality that prefers to put in the extra time and focus because there is always a break-thru and a satisfying escapism in the smallest details. All the kids and adults were enthralled.
While he answered questions - Will Emily be reunited with her father in Amulet 9? - he painted on a tablet using Adobe. Here's an photo of what he accomplished in a very short period of time.
Thank you Jefferson County Rural Library for bringing Kazu Kibuishi to Chimacum, WA.
This was a FREE event.
Thanks for reading!
It's raining today but the grass turned a gorgeous green over night.