Mariko Tamaki (born 1975) is a Canadian artist and writer. She is known for her graphic novels '' Skim'', ''Emiko Superstar,'' and ''

This One Summer ''This One Summer'' is a graphic novel written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki published by First Second Books in 2014. It is a coming of age story about two teenage friends, Rose and Windy, during a summer in Awago, a small ...

'', and for several prose works of fiction and non-fiction."Mariko Tamaki".

CBC Radio CBC Radio is the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which (regardless of language) are outlined below ...

, '' The Next Chapter'', 12 November 2012. In 2016 she began writing for both

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics * ...

and

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

. She has twice been named a runner-up for the

Michael L. Printz Award The Michael L. Printz Award is an American Library Association literary award that annually recognizes the "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit". It is sponsored by ''Booklist'' magazine; administered by the ALA's y ...

Early life

Mariko Tamaki was born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. She is of

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

descent. Mariko attended

Havergal College Havergal College is an independent day and boarding school for girls from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school was established in 1894 and named for Frances Ridley Havergal, a composer, author and humanitaria ...

, an all girls' secondary school. She studied English literature at

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

, graduating in 1994.

Career

Tamaki has worked as a writer and

performance artist Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

in Toronto, including with Keith Cole's Cheap Queers and in the performance group Pretty Porky & Pissed Off with Joanne Huffa,

Allyson Mitchell Allyson Mitchell is a Toronto-based maximalist artist, working predominantly in sculpture, installation and film. Her practice melds feminism and pop culture to trouble contemporary representations of women, sexuality and the body largely through ...

, Abi Slone, Tracy Tidgwell and

Zoe Whittall Zoe Whittall (born February 16, 1976) is a Canadian poet, novelist and TV writer.Zoe Whittall ...

. Tamaki published the novel ''Cover Me'' in 2000. It is a "poignant story about an adolescent coping with depression". Told in a series of flashbacks, it is about a teenager dealing with cutting and feeling like an outsider in school. ''Skim'', a collaboration with her cousin

Jillian Tamaki Jillian Tamaki (born April 17, 1980) is a Canadian American illustrator and comic artist known for her work in ''The New York Times'' and ''The New Yorker'' in addition to the graphic novels ''Boundless'', as well as '' Skim'' and ''This One Summ ...

, published in 2008 by

Groundwood Books House of Anansi Press is a Canadian publishing company, founded in 1967 by writers Dennis Lee and Dave Godfrey. The company specializes in finding and developing new Canadian writers of literary fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. History Anans ...

, is a

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 ...

about a teenage girl and her romantic feelings towards her female teacher; the reciprocity of those feelings remains unclear in the text. The other central story is about the suicide of a classmate's ex-boyfriend who may have been gay. The text is fundamentally "about living in the moments of wrenching transition ... ndthe conflicting need to belong and desire to resist". Tamaki says she did not set out to "make a statement about queerness and youth": "Skim's in love, and kisses a woman, but heck, she's just a kid. She could go on to kiss many people in her future - some of them might be dudes, who knows? I think Skim is more a statement about youth, and the variety of strange experiences that can encapsulate." According to one reviewer, "the expressionistic fluidity of the black and white illustrations serves the purpose of pages of prose"; there is little plot and spare dialogue. Tamaki writes that artists such as

Hergé Georges Prosper Remi (; 22 May 1907 – 3 March 1983), known by the pen name Hergé (; ), from the French pronunciation of his reversed initials ''RG'', was a Belgian cartoonist. He is best known for creating ''The Adventures of Tintin'', ...

Igort Igort (born Igor Tuveri; September 26, 1958) is an Italian comics artist, illustrator, script writer, and film director. Biography He began his career in Bologna at the end of the seventies, collaborating with numerous magazines: including ...

and

Vittorio Giardino Vittorio Giardino (born December 24, 1946) is an Italian comic artist. Biography Giardino was born in Bologna, where he graduated in electrical engineering in 1969. At the age of 30, he decided to leave his job and devote himself to comics. Two ...

as well as Asian art had an influence on her style but her storytelling was rooted in American comics like

Daniel Clowes Daniel Gillespie Clowes (; born April 14, 1961) is an American cartoonist, graphic novelist, illustrator, and screenwriter. Most of Clowes's work first appeared in '' Eightball'', a solo anthology comic book series. An ''Eightball'' issue typi ...

Chester Brown Chester William David Brown (born 16 May 1960) is a Canadian cartoonist. Brown has gone through several stylistic and thematic periods. He gained notice in alternative comics circles in the 1980s for the surreal, scatological '' Ed the Happy Cl ...

, and

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series ''The Spirit'' (1940–1952) was no ...

. ''Skim'' was originally developed as a short play for

Nightwood Theatre Nightwood Theatre is Canada's oldest professional women's theatre and is based in Toronto. It was founded in 1979 by Cynthia Grant, Kim Renders, Mary Vingoe, and Maureen White and was originally a collective. Though it was not the founders' ori ...

."Skim, a beautiful graphic novel"
. ''

Xtra! ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former ...

'', 13 March 2008. ''Emiko Superstar'', Tamaki's second graphic novel and first with illustrator Steve Rolston, is about a young woman who feels trapped in her suburban life. It was inspired by performance art and Girlspit, an open mic night event in Montreal. The protagonist is inspired to try performance art after visiting such a space. As one review says, "this is a story about finding oneself, one's voice, and one's true character amidst the trappings of counter-culture fame". Tamaki performed at experimental feminist performance art festival Edgy Women in Montreal twice in 2006 and 2010. In 2014 Tamaki again collaborated with Jillian Tamaki, on the graphic novel ''

'', published by

. In 2016 it was announced that Tamaki would be writing a new ''Hulk'' series starring She-Hulk for Marvel Comics, and the mini-series '' Supergirl: Being Super'' for DC Comics. In 2017 she began writing novel adaptations of the

Lumberjanes ''Lumberjanes'' is a comic book series created by Shannon Watters, Grace Ellis, Gus Allen, and ND Stevenson and published via the ''Boom Box!'' imprint of Boom! Studios. The story follows a group of girls named Mal, Ripley, Molly, April, and Jo s ...

comic series. Tamaki's graphic novel collaboration with artist

Rosemary Valero-O'Connell Rosemary Valero-O'Connell is an American illustrator and cartoonist. She is known for her work with DC Comics and BOOM! Studios. Early life Rosemary Valero-O'Connell was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and raised in Zaragoza, Spain. She graduat ...

, ''

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me ''Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me'' is a graphic novel written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O'Connell. It follows Frederica "Freddy" Riley throughout her struggles with her on-again, off-again relationship with the ...

'' was released in May 2019 by First Second Books. Freddy's rocky relationship with Laura leaves her heartbroken and neglectful of her true friends. In this queer coming-of-age story, Freddy learns to let go of a toxic relationship and value the people in her life who make her a better person. In November 2019, Tamaki came back to Marvel for a four-part mini-series called "Spider-Man & Venom: Double Trouble". Tamaki's graphic novel ''I Am Not Starfire'' was released on 10 August 2021 as part of the YA original graphic novel series from DC Comics. Yoshi Yoshitani provided art for the standalone story, which centers Teen Titans legend Starfire's daughter Mandy Koriand'r, who plans on "moving to France to escape the family spotlight and not go to college" despite her famous mother's protestations. In January 2021, as part of DC's Future State event, Tamaki and artist Dan Mora collaborated on Dark Detective with colors by Jordie Bellaire. The series ran for four issues from January to February. In March, Tamaki, Mora, and Bellaire became the new creative team for ''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman i ...

'' beginning with #1034. According to Comic Book Resources (CBR), Tamaki's appointment as the writer of ''Detective Comics'' makes her the first female lead-writer of the title's publication history.

Awards

''Skim'' won an

Ignatz Award The Ignatz Awards recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year at the Small Press Expo since 1997, only skipping ...

, a

Joe Shuster Award The Joe Shuster Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards (or Joe Shuster Awards) are given out annually for outstanding achievements in the creation of comic books, graphic novels, webcomics, and comics retailers and publishers by Canadians. The awards, ...

and a

Doug Wright Award The Doug Wright Awards for Canadian Cartooning (established in December 2004) are literary awards handed out annually since 2005 during the Toronto Comic Arts Festival to Canadian cartoonists honouring excellence in comics (including webcomics) ...

in 2009, and was a nominee for the "Children's literature (text)" category at the

2008 Governor General's Awards The 2008 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit: Finalists in 14 categories (73 books) were announced October 21, winners announced November 18. The prize for writers and illustrators was $25,000 and "a specially bound copy of the winning bo ...

. Tamaki was also awarded an Honour of Distinction by the

Dayne Ogilvie Prize The Dayne Ogilvie Prize for LGBTQ Emerging Writers is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by the Writers' Trust of Canada to an emerging Canadian writer who is part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer community. Origina ...

, a literary award for lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender writers in Canada, in 2012. ''This One Summer'', illustrated by Jillian Tamaki, was nominated for a 2014 Ignatz Award, and won the 2015

and a

Caldecott Honor The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Service ...

from the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

. In 2016 she won the German Rudolph-Dirks-Award in the category Youth Drama / Coming of Age (for ''This One Summer'')."Die Gewinner des Rudolph-Dirks-Award 2016"
3 December 2016. In 2019, ''Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me'' won the Ignatz Award for Outstanding Graphic Novel as well as the Best Children's or Young Adult Book Award from the

Harvey Awards 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 we ...

. ''Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me'' was also awarded the 2020 Walter Award in the Teen Category, and received the Eisner Award for Best Publication for Teens for ''Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me'' and Eisner Award for Best Writer, by ''Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass'' (DC); ''Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me'' (First Second/Macmillan) e ''Archie'' (Archie).

Works

*''Cover Me'' (2000, ) *''True Lies: The Book of Bad Advice'' (2002, ) *''Fake ID'' (2005, ) *'' Skim'', with Jillian Tamaki (2008, ) *''Emiko Superstar'', with Steve Rolston (2008, ) *''(You) Set Me on Fire'' (2012, ) *''

'', with Jillian Tamaki (2014, ) *''

Tomb Raider ''Tomb Raider'', also known as ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' from 2001 to 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series created by British gaming company Core Design. Formerly owned by Eidos Interactive, ...

'' (2016) *''Saving Montgomery Sole'' (2016, ) *'' Supergirl: Being Super'' (2016-2017) *''

X-23 Laura Kinney (born X-23; Pseudonym, codename Wolverine (character), Wolverine) is a fictional superhero appearing in media (communication), media published by Marvel Entertainment, most commonly in association with the X-Men. The character was cr ...

'' (2018) *''

'', illustrated by

(2019, ) *''

Harley Quinn Harley Quinn is a character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm as a comic relief henchwoman for the supervillain Joker in '' Batman: The Animated Series'', and debuted in i ...

: Breaking Glass'', illustrated by Steve Pugh (2019, ) *'' Spider-Man & Venom: Double Trouble'' (2020, ) *''Thor & Loki: Double Trouble'' (2021) *''Dark Detective'', #1-4, illustrated by Dan Mora (2021) *''I am Not Starfire'', illustrated by Yoshi Yoshitani (2021, ) *''Anne of Greenville'' (2022, ) ''

'' novels, all illustrated by Brooklyn Allen * ''Unicorn Power!'' (2017, ) * ''The Moon is Up'' (2018, ) * ''The Good Egg'' (2018, ) * ''Ghost Cabin'' (2019, ) She-Hulk * ''Volume 1: Deconstructed'' (2017) * ''Volume 2: Let Them Eat Cake'' (2018) * ''Volume 3: Jen Walters Must Die'' (2018)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tamaki, Mariko 1975 births 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian short story writers 21st-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian essayists Artists from Toronto Canadian graphic novelists Canadian people of Japanese descent Canadian performance artists Women performance artists Canadian women artists Canadian women dramatists and playwrights Canadian women essayists Canadian women novelists Canadian women short story writers Canadian writers of Asian descent Canadian writers of young adult literature Female comics writers Havergal College alumni Jewish Canadian writers LGBT comics creators Canadian LGBT dramatists and playwrights Canadian LGBT novelists Marvel Comics people Marvel Comics writers DC Comics people Living people McGill University alumni Michael L. Printz Award winners Women writers of young adult literature Writers from Toronto Eisner Award winners for Best Writer Queer dramatists and playwrights Queer novelists 21st-century Canadian LGBT people