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R. Kikuo Johnson

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American illustrator and cartoonist

Reid Kikuo Johnson (born in 1981) is an American illustrator and cartoonist. He is known for illustrating several covers of The New Yorker in addition to the graphic novels Night Fisher, The Shark King, and No One Else. In 2023 he became the first graphic novelist to receive the Whiting Award for fiction.

Early life

Johnson was born and raised on the island of Maui. He studied illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design under cartoonist David Mazzucchelli.

Career

Johnson began working on his first graphic novel, Night Fisher, while studying at the Rhode Island School of Design. Released in 2005, the semi-autobiographical coming of age story set on Maui won the 2006 Harvey Award for Best New Talent as well as the Russ Manning Award at the 2006 Eisner Awards.

Johnson regularly works in commercial illustration. His artwork first appeared in the pages of The New Yorker in 2006 and on the cover of the magazine in 2016. Several of his illustrations and prints have been acquired by the Library of Congress.

Johnson's all-ages graphic novel, The Shark King, was published in 2012 by Toon Books, and is based on the Hawaiian legend of Nanaue, son of Kāmohoaliʻi.

No One Else, a graphic novella, was published in 2021 by Fantagraphics. It was called "note-perfect" by the New York Times and was included on multiple "best of 2021" lists from major publications. The book won multiple awards including the 2021 LA Times Book Prize, the Ignatz Award for outstanding graphic novel, the Lucca Comics Award for Best Script, and it was named a 2022 Lynd Ward Prize honor book.

Teaching

Johnson teaches a comics creation class at the Rhode Island School of Design which he began teaching in 2009.

Works

Graphic novels

Night Fisher (Fantagraphics books, 2005, ISBN 1683964705)

The Shark King (Toon Books, 2012, ISBN 1935179160}

No One Else (Fantagraphics books, 2021, ISBN 1683964799)

Selected short comics stories

"Thrustman" (in Project: Superior, 2005 ISBN 0-9721794-8-8)

"Cher Shimura" (in Mome Vol. 3, 2005 ISBN 1560976977)

"John James Audubon in Pursuit of the Golden Eagle" (in The Believer, Feb 1, 2006)

"Conditioning" (in The New York Times, August 3, 2007)

"Anything But Retail" (in Strange Tales, Marvel Comics, December, 2009)

"Body and Soul" (in The New Yorker, April 3, 2017)

"Uncharted Maui" (in The New Yorker, July 26, 2021)

"Hawaiian Snow" (in The New York Times, Jan 7, 2022)

"Lahaina Hallelujah" (The New Yorker, November 22, 2023)

"Birthday Blues" ( The New Yorker, April 8, 2024)

Awards

2023 Whiting Award for fiction.

2022 Ignatz Award Outstanding Graphic Novel for No One Else

2022 Lucca Comics Award Gran Giungi Miglior for Nessun Altro

2022 American Society of Magazine Editors Best Cover Winner in the "News and Politics" category for The New Yorker cover, "Delayed"

2022 Lynd Ward Prize Honor for No One Else

2021 LA Times Book Prize Winner Graphic Novel/Comics for No One Else

2021 Society of Illustrators gold medal in the Editorial category for The New Yorker cover, "Delayed"

2018 Society of Illustrators gold medal in the Editorial category for The New Yorker cover, "Safe Travels"

2017 American Society of Magazine Editors Best Cover Winner in the "Brainiest" category for The New Yorker cover, "Commencement"

2013 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature, for The Shark King

2006 Harvey Award, Best New Talent, for Night Fisher

2006 Russ Manning Award, for Night Fisher

References

  1. "R. Kikuo Johnson". Poetry Foundation. 2021-08-01. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  2. "Graphic novelist, 9 other writers win $50,000 Whiting Awards". AP NEWS. 2023-03-30. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  3. "The Illustration Man". Hana Hou!. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  4. "AI-AP | Profiles » Illustrator Profile - R. Kikuo Johnson: "You'll never regret making the work you want to make"". www.ai-ap.com. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  5. PrintMag (2007-06-01). "R. Kikuo Johnson". PRINT. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  6. "The Illustration Man". Hana Hou!. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  7. "The Illustration Man". Hana Hou!. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  8. Kaplan, Avery (2021-07-30). "Syndicated Comics". The Beat. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  9. "The Pursuit of Happiness". The New Yorker. 2006-01-15. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  10. "Cover Story: R. Kikuo Johnson's "Closing Set"". The New Yorker. 2016-04-17. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  11. johnson, r kikuo. "Search results from Johnson, R. Kikuo". Library of Congress. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  12. "The Illustration Man". Hana Hou!. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  13. Park, Ed (2021-12-02). "Shifting Styles and Blue Moods in the Pages of a Graphic Novel". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
  14. "Best Books 2021: Publishers Weekly Publishers Weekly". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
  15. Dutt, Aruna; Pereira, Judith (2021-11-29). "The Globe 100: The books we loved in 2021". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
  16. Fhernandez. "L.A Times Book Prizes 2022". Festival of Books. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  17. MacDonald, Heidi (2022-08-16). "Syndicated Comics". The Beat. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  18. "The winners of the Lucca Comics & Games Awards 2022". www.luccacomicsandgames.com. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  19. "Fantagraphics: Fantagraphics June Newsletter!". Milled. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
  20. "Kikuo Johnson | RISD". www.risd.edu. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  21. "The Illustration Man". Hana Hou!. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  22. "John James Audubon in Pursuit of the Golden Eagle". Believer Magazine. 2006-02-01. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  23. "The New York Times > Opinion > Slide Show > Op-Art: Conditioning > Slide 1 of 5". archive.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  24. "GCD :: Issue :: Strange Tales #2". www.comics.org. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  25. "Body and Soul". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  26. "Adventures in Uncharted Maui". The New Yorker. 2021-07-15. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  27. Johnson, R. Kikuo (2022-01-07). "Remembering When It Snowed … in Hawaii". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-01-27.
  28. Johnson, R. Kikuo (2023-11-22). "Lahaina Hallelujah". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  29. Johnson, R. Kikuo (2024-04-01). "Birthday Blues!". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2024-04-24.
  30. "ASME Best Cover Contest Winners and Finalists 2022". www.asme.media. Retrieved 2022-06-26.
  31. Fhernandez. "L.A Times Book Prizes 2022". Festival of Books. Retrieved 2022-04-25.
  32. "Illustrators 61 Exhibit: Part Two". Society of Illustrators. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  33. "2013 Asian/Pacific American Award For Literature Winners – APALA". 3 February 2013. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  34. "Previous Winners". www.harveyawards.com. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  35. "Russ Manning Award". Comic-Con International: San Diego. 2012-12-06. Retrieved 2021-08-01.

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