Christy Lijewski (born 1981 in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

comic book artist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...

and illustrator who specializes in

OEL manga An original English-language manga or OEL manga is a comic book or graphic novel drawn in the style of manga and originally published in English. The term "international manga", as used by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, encompasses all ...

Life and career

Christy Lijewski was born in 1981 in

, United States. As a young girl, she wanted to study

paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

, but decided to be a cartoonist after reading a comic during her middle-school years. A fan of

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

s, she enjoyed comics as an artistic medium, but did not feel a connection to the superhero stories. She watched a copy of the

magical girl is a subgenre of Japanese fantasy media (including anime, manga, light novels, and live-action media) centered around young girls who possess magical abilities, which they typically use through an ideal alter ego into which they can transfo ...

anime (Japanese animated cartoon) ''

Sailor Moon is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. It was originally serialized in Kodansha's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Nakayoshi'' from 1991 to 1997; the 52 individual chapters were published in 18 volumes. The seri ...

'', and became interested in anime and

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

(Japanese comics). She found manga appealing, because of the wide range of narrative genres. She graduated from

Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) is a private nonprofit art school with locations in Savannah, Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia; and Lacoste, France. Founded in 1978 to provide degrees in programs not yet offered in the southeast of the Unit ...

with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

Sequential Art In comics studies, sequential art is a term proposed by comics artist Will EisnerWill Eisner, '' Comics and Sequential Art'', Poorhouse Press, 1990 (1st ed.: 1985), p. 5. to describe art forms that use images deployed in a specific order for the pur ...

. Her short story "Doors" won a runner-up place in

Tokyopop Tokyopop (styled TOKYOPOP; formerly known as Mixx Entertainment) is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed J ...

's 2004

Rising Stars of Manga ''Rising Stars of Manga'' (RSoM) was an English-language comic anthology published by TOKYOPOP from 2002 to 2008, and a contest held by the same company. It was originally semi-annual, but switched to annual beginning with the 6th volume. Each vo ...

contest. Inspired by her "vivid dreams," "Doors" focuses on two people, twenty-two-year-old Retrab and twenty-year-old Markesh, as they search for a door in a fantasy world. They eventually find one, but it is meant only for Retrab. Upon going through the door, she awakens in a hospital from a coma while Markesh is still comatose. Although this meant that the Lijewski did not win the guaranteed contract with Tokyopop, it did bring her work into the public. "Doors" was also the genesis of Lijewski's series ''Next Exit'', which

Slave Labor Graphics Slave Labor Graphics (SLG) is an independent American comic book publisher, well known for publishing darkly humorous, offbeat comics. Creators associated with SLG over the years include Evan Dorkin, Roman Dirge, Sarah Dyer, Woodrow Phoenix, Jhon ...

began to publish in 2004. ''Next Exit'' is an expanded version of the story in "Doors", the two even sharing the main characters Retrab and Markesh. She was then one of a few runner up artists to enter a deal publishing with Tokyopop, and has written ''RE:Play'' as an entirely new series for release.

Bibliography

* ''Zombie King''
(2002–2003, 3 issues, in ''Amerimanga Anthology'',

Studio Ironcat Studio Ironcat was a small publishing company based in Fredericksburg, Virginia, dedicated to publication of manga and later, Amerimanga. The company is most known for its publication of the first volume of ''Megatokyo'', a prominent webcomic ...

) * "Doors"
(2004, short story, ''Rising Stars of Manga'' volume 3, Tokyopop) * ''

Next Exit ''Next Exit'' is an American manga-influenced comic series created by the comic artist Christy Lijewski. It is her first running series starring the two characters Millicent Retrab (the girl with the map) and Markesh (travelling companion and m ...

''
(2004–2006, manga series, ten periodicals,

) * '' RE:Play''
(2006–2010, graphic novel series, 3 volumes, Tokyopop) * ''Samurai Host Club''
(ongoing webcomic) * Dire Hearts (ongoing webcomic, Sparkler Monthly) source:

References

External links

*
Eyes.Everywhere
Updated Website
MediaViolence
at Deviant Art *
Samurai Host Club webcomic
at SmackJeeves * http://sparklermonthly.com/series/dire-hearts/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Lijewski, Christy 1981 births American female comics artists Living people Artists from Baltimore