Mark Andrew Smith (born July 24th, 1979) is an American

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and graphic novelist.

Early life and education

Smith attended the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...

, where he studied film. He graduated in 2002. Smith received his Master's Degree in TESOL from

SIT Graduate Institute The School for International Training, widely known by its initials SIT, is a private non-profit regionally-accredited institution headquartered in Brattleboro, Vermont, United States. The institution has two main divisions. SIT Graduate Instit ...

in Brattleboro Vermont in 2017.

Career

Out of college, Smith's first job was as a production assistant on season one of

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

. His first entry into the comic book world came in 2004 when Smith and Dan Hipp were picked up by

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...

. Image Comics would go on to publish their work, ''

The Amazing Joy Buzzards ''The Amazing Joy Buzzards'' is a comic book series created by Mark Andrew Smith and Dan Hipp. Publishing History ''The Amazing Joy Buzzards'' was first published in January 2005 by Image Comics. It ran as two limited series, and the issues fr ...

''. Smith is also the co-creator and editor of the Popgun

Comics anthology A comics anthology collects works in the medium of comics, typically from multiple series, and compiles them into an anthology or magazine. The comics in these anthologies range from comic strips that are too short for standalone publication t ...

. Smith wrote the original graphic novel Aqua Leung, published in April 2008. Aqua Leung was nominated for a

Yalsa The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. YALSA is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand the capacity of l ...

award for best graphic novel for teens. Also in 2008 Smith wrote Kill All Parents, a 38 page one shot about superheroes whose parents are killed by a secret government program, drawn by Marcelo Di Chiara, also for Image Comics. In 2009 Smith released The New Brighton Archeological Society stemming from a series of short stories in Popgun with artist Matthew Weldon. The New Brighton Archeological Society follows a group of children whose parents are the greatest archeologists in the world. When their parents are lost on an expedition, the children must finish their parents' work, collect the books of magic, and defeat their parents' nemesis. The New Brighton Archeological Society was selected as "Best All-Ages Comic" of 2009 by

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

Splash Page. The New Brighton Archeological Society received two Harvey Award Nominations in 2010. Smith has been published in a number of anthologies such as the

Belle & Sebastian Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released eleven albums. They are often compared with acts such as The Smiths and Nick Drake. The name "Belle and Sebastian" comes ...

Anthology, 24Seven Vol. 1, Space Doubles, Paper Museum Vol. 3, and Popgun. 2011 saw the release of Smith's Gladstone's School for World Conquerors by Image Comics with artist and co-creator Armand Villavert which centers on a super-villain academy. Gladstone's School for World Conquerors won the 2013 American Library Association Award for 'Great Graphic Novels for Teens'. Smith released Sullivan's Sluggers, a baseball horror graphic novel drawn by James Stokoe, in 2012. Sullivan's Sluggers was published by

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

in 2018. Sullivan's Sluggers was published in Italian by SaldaPress in 2022. In 2015 New Brighton Archeological Society Volume 1 was published as a hardcover by 'Maneki Neko Books' along with volume 2 titled 'The Sword of Azure', both were drawn by Matthew Weldon. In 2016 Gladstone's School for World Conquerors Volume 1 was published as a hardcover by 'Maneki Neko Books' along with Gladstone's School for World Conquerors Volume 2 which is drawn by frequent collaborator Matthew Weldon who was filling in for co-creator Armand Villavert on art duties. In 2019 Smith released Gladstone's School for World Conquerors Book 3 with artist and co-creator Armand Villavert. 2019 also saw the release of a Kid Nefarious one-shot which was illustrated by Matthew Weldon and written by Ryan Schrodt with Smith editing. In 2020 Smith edited the Gladstone's School for World Conquerors Double-features which included 'The Skull Brothers & Martian Jones' and 'Mummy Girl & Ghost Girl'. The double-features are 72 page flip books. 'The Skull Brothers' was written by Erik Martinez and illustrated by Marcelo DiChiara.'Martian Jones' was written by Erick Taggart and illustrated by Armand Villavert.'Mummy Girl' was written by Justin Robinson and illustrated by Armand Villavert. 'Ghost Girl' was written by Erik Martinez and illustrated by Armand Villavert. Both of the double-features were lettered by Patrick Brosseau.

Honors and awards

Smith has received recognition for his work on '' Popgun''. Volume 1 won the 2008

Harvey Award The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards that were ...

for Best Anthology. This was followed by Volume 3 winning the 2010

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

for Best Anthology. Gladstone's School for World Conquerors won the 2013 ALA Awards for 'Great Graphic Novels for Teens'.

Bibliography

Comics writing work includes: * '' Gladstone's School for World Conquerors Book One'' (with Armand Villavert,

, 2011) * '' Gladstone's School for World Conquerors Book 1: 'Supervillainy 101' '', Hardcover (with Armand Villavert,

Maneki Neko Books Maneki is a Japanese restaurant in the Japantown area of the International District in Seattle, Washington that opened in 1904 as the first sushi bar in the city. Some claim it is the oldest Asian restaurant on the West Coast of the United Stat ...

, 2016) * '' Gladstone's School for World Conquerors Book 2: 'In the Shadow of Shiran' '', Hardcover (with

Matthew Weldon Matthew may refer to: * Matthew (given name) * Matthew (surname) * ''Matthew'' (ship), the replica of the ship sailed by John Cabot in 1497 * ''Matthew'' (album), a 2000 album by rapper Kool Keith * Matthew (elm cultivar), a cultivar of the Chi ...

, 2016) * '' Gladstone's School for World Conquerors Book 3: 'Scorpio Kane' '', Hardcover (with Armand Villavert,

, 2019) * ''

Volume One "Here Come the Spiders"'' (with

Dan Hipp Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...

, 2006) * ''

Volume Two "Monster Love"'' (with

, 2009) * '' The New Brighton Archeological Society'' (with

, 2009) * '' The New Brighton Archeological Society Book 1: 'The Castle of Galomar' '' Hardcover (with

, by Maneki Neko Books, 2015) * '' The New Brighton Archeological Society Book 2: 'The Sword of Azure' '' Hardcover (with

, by Maneki Neko Books, 2015) * ''

Sullivan's Sluggers Mark Andrew Smith (born July 24th, 1979) is an American comic book author and graphic novelist. Early life and education Smith attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he studied film. He graduated in 2002. Smith received h ...

'' (with James Stokoe,

, 2012) * ''

'' (with James Stokoe,

, 2018) * ''

Aqua Leung Aqua is the Latin word for water. It is used in many words which relate to water, such as aquatic life. In English, it may also refer to: Arts * Aqua (color), a greenish-blue color Business * Aqua (skyscraper), an 82-story residential skysc ...

'' (with Paul Maybury,

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

, 208 pages, Image Comics, April 2008) * ''

Kill All Parents Kill often refers to: *Homicide, one human killing another *cause death, to kill a living organism, to cause its death Kill may also refer to: Media *'' Kill!'', a 1968 film directed by Kihachi Okamoto * ''Kill'' (Cannibal Corpse album), 2006 * ...

'' (with

Marcelo Dichiara Marcelo is a given name, the Spanish and Portuguese form of Marcellus. The Italian version of the name is Marcello, differing in having an additional "l". Marcelo may refer to: * Marcelo Costa de Andrade (born 1967), Brazilian serial killer, rapi ...

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'' (2 ...

, Image Comics, June 2008) * '' Popgun'': "The Amazing Joy Buzzards in the Fearless Vampire Hunters" (with

, 2007) * '' Popgun'': "The New Brighton Archeological Society: "Introduction", "The Bath", "Souls in a Jar" (with

, 2007) * '' Popgun'': "Rex Onazuka: The Sons of Liberty" (with

Johann Leroux Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

, 2007) * '' Popgun 3'': "Rex Onazuka: The Godfather of Monsters" (with

, 2009) * '' Popgun 4'': "Bullets for the Poor" (with David Collinson,

, 2010) * '' Low Orbit'': "Little Medusa's Big Day Out" (with Kevin Dalton,

, 2006) * '' Low Orbit'': "Bastion's 7" (with Sean Galloway,

, 2006) * '' Space Doubles'': "Escape Pod" (with Matthew Hyun, 3rd World Studios, 2008) * '' Image Comics Holiday Special 2005'': "The Amazing Joy Buzzards and the Christmas Troll" (with

, 2005) * ''

Paper Museum The Paper Museum is a museum about paper in Asukayama Park in Kita-ku, Tokyo, Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bor ...

Volume Three "The Devil in the Gears"'' (with Jim Pezzetti, Jungleboy Press, 2006) * '' Zowie! Volume Two "The Grenade Jumper"'' (with Ed Reynolds, Zowie Comics, 2006) * '' 24Seven'': "Things Run Amuck" (with Paul Maybury,

, 2006) * '' Popgun'': "Aqua Leung, Ambush" (with Paul Maybury,

, 2007) * ''

Put the Book Back on the Shelf ''Put the Book Back on the Shelf: A Belle & Sebastian Anthology'' is an anthology comic book published by Image Comics. The book features 24 comics by various writers and artists based on songs by the Scottish indie pop band Belle & Sebastian. It ...

: A Belle & Sebastian Anthology'': "Ninja No!" (with Paul Maybury,

, 2006)

Editor

* '' Gladstone's School for World Conquerors'' ** ''The Skull Brothers'' (written by Erik Martinez and illustrated by Marcelo DiChiara, Maneki Neko Books, September 2020) ** ''Martian Jones'' (written by Erick Taggart and illustrated by Armand Villavert, Maneki Neko Books, September 2020) ** ''Ghost Girl'' (written by Erik Martinez and illustrated by Armand Villavert, Maneki Neko Books, September 2020) ** ''Mummy Girl'' (written by Justin Robinson and illustrated by Armand Villavert, Maneki Neko Books, September 2020) ** ''Kid Nefarious'' (written by Ryan Schrodt and illustrated by Matthew Weldon, Maneki Neko Books, September 2019) * '' Popgun'': ** ''Volume One'' (with Joe Keatinge, Image Comics, November 2007) ** ''Volume Two'' (with Joe Keatinge, Image Comics, July 2008) ** ''Volume Three'' (with DJ Kirkbride, Image Comics, April 2009) ** ''Volume Four'' (Executive Editor, Image Comics, February 2010)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Mark Andrew 1979 births Living people University of California, Santa Barbara alumni American comics writers Comic book editors