Background Information about Authors and Illustrators
Scott McCloud was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Scott McCloud read his first comic book at the age of fourteen and on that very day he decided he wanted to make comics. He is best known for his books on making comics, Understanding Comics The Invisible Art and Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga, and Graphic Novels. He ascribes his success in comic books from his dad who became blind at a young age due to a bacterial infection.2
He was the author of The Creators Bill of Right in 1981which helped to protect the authors and illustrators from being exploited. Steve McCloud also does teaching and consulting at Universities on turning their ideas into art, graphics, or comics. He even created a comic to explain how Google Chrome™ works. He has also consulted with MIT, Pixar, Microsoft, and the list goes on.3
Colleen Af Venable, who wrote Hamster and Cheese, grew up in Brooklyn, New York and was voted "biggest dork", or first in class, in her Studio Art class, for a play she wrote that was produced Off Broadway.4 She grew up reading Calvin and Hobbes, The Far Side and Muppets: Short, Green, and Handsome and fell in love with web comics. She writes a variety of graphic novels for all ages including Fairy Tale Comics and Nursery Rhyme Comics, that might be a great addition to this unit.
Stephanie Yue illustrated Hamster and Cheese. She grew up in China, Hong Kong, and the United States.5 She loved to marathon read Calvin and Hobbes. She studied Illustration in New York and is also a martial artist. She has won many awards including an Eisner award for Best Publication for Kids (8-12) for The Ferret's Foot in 2012 6and a Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College Best Book of the Year.7
Eve Tharlet is the illustrator of over one hundred and fifty children's books including the Mr. Badger and Mrs. Fox series. She has won a Books Top 10 Graphics Novels for Youth award.8
Brigitte Luciani who is the writer of the Mr. Badger and Mrs. Fox series was born in Hanover, Germany to a German mom and Hungarian father. As an adult she moved to India where she became an assistant at a small publishing company. In 1994 she moved to Paris where she begin writing graphic novels for children.9
James Kochalka the author of Johnny Boo: The Best little Ghost is not only a comic book writer but all a musician.10 I will be using his book to help students learn to use their imagination with their characters.
Comments: