Tomer Hanuka ( he, תומר חנוכה; born 1974) is an
illustrator
An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...
and
cartoonist
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 ...
.
Biography
At age twenty-two, Hanuka moved to New York City. Following his graduation from the
School of Visual Arts
The School of Visual Arts New York City (SVA NYC) is a private for-profit art school in New York City. It was founded in 1947 and is a member of the Association of Independent Colleges of Art and Design.
History
This school was started by ...
in 2000, he quickly became a regular contributor to many national magazines. His clients include ''
Time Magazine
''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on Mar ...
'', ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'', ''
Spin'', ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'',
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 ...
, and
Saatchi & Saatchi
Saatchi & Saatchi is a British multinational communications and advertising agency network with 114 offices in 76 countries and over 6,500 staff. It was founded in 1970 and is currently headquartered in London. The parent company of the agency gr ...
. He is the winner of multiple medals from the Society of Illustrators and the Society of Publication Designers as well as ''American Illustration'' and ''Print'' magazine.
Tomer co-creates ''Bipolar'' with his identical twin brother
Asaf for
Alternative Comics
Alternative comics cover a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to mainstream superhero comics which ...
. ''Bipolar'' is an experimental comic book series for which Tomer was nominated for the
Eisner,
Harvey
Harvey, Harveys or Harvey's may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Harvey'' (play), a 1944 play by Mary Chase about a man befriended by an invisible anthropomorphic rabbit
* Harvey Awards ("Harveys"), one of the most important awards ...
and
Ignatz Ignatz is a masculine given name.
Notable people with the given name
* Ignatz Bubis (1927–1999), German Jewish leader and chairman of the Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland from 1992 to 1999
* Ignatz Leo Nascher (1863–1944), Austrian-born, ...
awards. In 2006, Tomer published ''The Placebo Man'' (Alternative Comics), which compiles much of his work from ''Bipolar''. He currently lives in New York City.
Published books
''The Divine'', 2015
''
The Divine
Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.[divine< ...](_blank)
'' is a graphic novel written by
Boaz Lavie
Boaz Lavie ( he, בועז לביא) is an Israeli writer, filmmaker and game designer, notable for writing the New York Times best-selling graphic novel and Hugo Award nominee ''The Divine'', a collaboration with the illustrators Asaf Hanuka a ...
and illustrated by Tomer and his brother Asaf. Mark, an explosives expert who, despite his better judgment, signs onto a freelance job with his old army friend, Jason. In Quanlom, a fictional Southeast Asian country, the pair are assisting the military when Mark is lured in by a group of child-soldiers, led by nine-year-old twins nicknamed "The Divine," who are intent on forcing a showdown between ancient magic and modern technology. ''The Divine'' is very loosely inspired by the real story of twins
Johnny and Luther Htoo, who jointly led the
God's Army guerrilla group—a splinter group of
Karen National Union
The Karen National Union ( my, ကရင် အမျိုးသား အစည်းအရုံး; abbreviated KNU) is a political organisation with an armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), that claims to represent the Ka ...
—in Myanmar (Burma) during the late 1990s, and who according to legends had magical powers.
''The Divine'' was released in French by
Dargaud
Société Dargaud, doing business as Les Éditions Dargaud, is a publisher of Franco-Belgian comics series, headquartered in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. It was founded in 1936 by Georges Dargaud (), publishing its first comics in 1943.
...
in January 2015 under the title ''Le Divin''. It was published in the U.S. by
First Second Books
First Second Books is an American publisher of graphic novels. An imprint of Roaring Brook Press, part of Holtzbrinck Publishers, First Second publishes fiction, biographies, personal memoirs, history, visual essays, and comics journalism. It als ...
, featuring a blurb by author Yann Martel. It was released in July 2015 and has hit the New York Times Best Sellers list.
Coinciding with the book's release, the gallery exhibit ''The Art of The Divine'' opened at White Walls Gallery in San Francisco, showing sketches, rough page layouts, script pages, and prints of art from the book by Tomer Hanuka and Asaf Hanuka. The exhibit was curated by Chris Jalufka.
''The Divine'' is to be published also in Italian, Spanish and German.
Reception
Frédéric Potet from
Le Monde
''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
labeled it "A combination of
Bob Morane
''Bob Morane'' is a series of adventure books in French, featuring an eponymous protagonist, created by French-speaking Belgian novelist Henri Vernes, the pseudonym of Charles-Henri Dewisme. More than 200 novels have been written since his in ...
popular French adventure hero David Lynch
David Keith Lynch (born January 20, 1946) is an American filmmaker, visual artist and actor. A recipient of an Academy Honorary Award in 2019, Lynch has received three Academy Award nominations for Best Director, and the César Award for Be ...
, and
Katsuhiro Otomo
is a Japanese manga artist, screenwriter, animator and film director. He is best known as the creator of '' Akira'', in terms of both the original 1982 manga series and the 1988 animated film adaptation. He was decorated a ''Chevalier'' of th ...
(
Akira)". Eric Libiot from
L'express
''L'Express'' () is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''Réussir''.
History ...
compared the coloring in the book (By Tomer Hanuka) to that of
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'', ...
, creator of
Tintin
Tintin or Tin Tin may refer to:
''The Adventures of Tintin''
* ''The Adventures of Tintin'', a comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé
** Tintin (character), a fictional character in the series
** ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (film), 2011, ...
. Lysiane Ganousse from
L'Est Républicain
''L'Est Républicain'' is a daily regional French newspaper based in Nancy, France.
''L'Est Républicain'' was established in 1889 by Léon Goulette, a French Republican. The newspaper was founded on the grounds of ''anti- Boulangisme''. It wa ...
wrote: "The authors have turned a chilling true story into a stunning tale", and the comics critique website, ''9emeArt'', gave it a rating of 10 out 10, declaring that "Even though it's only January, we can already say it's going to be one of the best releases of the year".
''
Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
'' had chosen ''The Divine'' for "top ten graphic novel for spring 2015", describing it later on as: "Heady, hellacious, and phantasmagoric". Jesse Karp on his
Booklist
''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...
review wrote: "Stunning artwork and creeping dread weave together in this satisfying and moving page-turner". Michael Mechanic from
Mother Jones
Mary G. Harris Jones (1837 (baptized) – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She h ...
called it "beautifully rendered", while
io9
''io9'' is part of Gizmodo media since 2015, and it began as blog launched in 2008 by Gawker Media. The site initially focused on the subjects of science fiction, fantasy, futurism, science, technology and related areas but over the years has ...
defined it as "Your next comics obsession". Rich Barrett from
Mental Floss
''Mental Floss'' (stylized as ''mental_floss'') is an online magazine and its related American digital, print, and e-commerce media company focused on millennials. It is owned by Minute Media and based in New York City, United States. mentalflos ...
chose it for "The most interesting comics of the week" and praised it for being "stunning, cohesive combination
f elements. Terry Hong, from The
Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
The Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center (APAC) is a migratory museum that shares Asian Pacific American history, art, and culture through innovative museum experiences online and throughout the U.S through the Smithsonian Institution's work. ...
blog, wrote: "can’t-turn-away riveting
..Unrelenting and uninterruptible", and the Eisner nominated comics blog
Comics & Cola
Comics & Cola was a comics website focusing on small-press, independent, and self-published comics. It featuring previews, interviews, reviews and news. Owned and written by Zainab Akhtar, the site was nominated in 2014 for an Eisner Award.
His ...
dubbed it "superb" and chose it for its pick of the month.
''Overkill'', 2011
A monograph collecting Hanuka's illustration work between 2000 and 2010, published by Gingko Press. Designed and edited by Anton Ioukhnovets, ''Overkill''; a second edition was published in May 2012.
''Meathaus S.O.S,'' 2008
A comics anthology published by Nerdcore, including the work of Hanuka and his brother Asaf,
James Jean
James Jean is a Taiwanese-American visual artist working primarily in painting and drawing. He lives and works in Los Angeles, where he moved from New York in 2003.
Early life
Jean was born in Taiwan and raised in New Jersey. During his early e ...
,
Farel Dalrymple
Farel Dalrymple is an American artist and alternative comics creator. He is best known for his award-winning comics series '' Pop Gun War''.
Career
Originally from Oklahoma "by way of California",Ellis, Jonathan"Interview: Farel Dalrymple, Pop Gu ...
,
Brandon Graham
Brandon Lee Graham (born April 3, 1988) is an American football defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Eagles in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft with the thirteenth selection ...
,
Thomas Herpich
Thomas Herpich (born October 4, 1979) is an American artist who is best known for being a writer and storyboard artist on the animated television series ''Adventure Time''.
History
Herpich graduated from the School of Visual Arts (SVA), and was k ...
,
Jim Rugg, and
Corey Lewis
Corey Sutherland Lewis (also known as Rey or The Rey) is an American comic book creator. He is primarily known as the creator of '' Sharknife'', published by Oni Press. Other works include ''PENG'' for Oni, and providing back-up comic strips fo ...
. Edited by Brandon Graham, Chris McD, and Matt Gagnon. Called "one of the best comics of the year" by ''
New York'' magazine.
''The Placebo Man'', 2005
Publisher by
Alternative Comics
Alternative comics cover a range of American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to mainstream superhero comics which ...
, ''The Placebo Man'' collects comics created from 2000 to 2005, including stories previously published in ''Bipolar'' and ''New Thing.'' 130 pages, black and white with color covers. It was translated into French by
Actes Sud
Actes Sud is a French publishing house based in Arles. It was founded in 1978 by author Hubert Nyssen. By 2013, the company, then headed by Nyssen's daughter, Françoise Nyssen, had an annual turnover of 60 million euros and 60 staff members.
H ...
in 2006.
''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' wrote, "Hanuka's raw, illustrative style underscores the tension and awkward fumblings toward meaning and connection that lie seething beneath the stories' surfaces."
''Bipolar'' 1–5, 2000–2004
A five-issue comics mini series published by Alternative Comics. Co-created by Asaf and Tomer Hanuka, it's a comic book which has two parts. Asaf's side features the serializes the story "Pizzeria Kamikaze" (now collected), adapted from a book by
Etgar Keret
Etgar Keret ( he, אתגר קרת, born August 20, 1967) is an Israeli writer known for his short stories, graphic novels, and scriptwriting for film and television.
Personal life
Keret was born in Ramat Gan, Israel in 1967. He is a third child ...
. Tomer's side is short fiction.
''
The Comics Journal
''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing re ...
'' wrote, "Each edition has conducted readers on an excursion through curious environments, full of sights that conjoin the common and the disorienting and of situations that are at once ordinary and unaccountable."
Cover illustrations
Books
* ''The Gigolo Murder'' (Penguin)
* ''The Kiss Murder'' (Penguin)
* ''Hammer'' (W.W Norton)
* ''Philosophy in the Boudoir'' (Penguin)
* ''Alive in Necropolis'' (Riverhead Books)
* ''Butterfield 8'' (Random House)
* ''Appointment is Samara'' (Random House)
* ''The Diving Pool'' (Random House)
* ''Darker Mask'' (Tor Books)
* ''The Possession of Mr. Cave'' (Random House)
* ''Fat White Vampire Blues'' (Ballantine Books)
* ''Work Book'' (2007)
* ''Everyone's Burning'' (Villard )
* ''Crime Files: Shadow Of Doubt'' (Scholastic)
* ''Crime Files: Body of Evidence'' (Scholastic)
* ''Fallen Angels'' (Scholastic)
* ''Glory Field'' (Scholastic)
* ''The Beast'' (Scholastic)
* ''Somewhere in the Darkness'' (Scholastic)
* ''The Cubicle Survival Guide'' (Villard)
* ''Kiss Kiss / Switch Bitch / My Uncle Oswald'' (Quality Paperback Book Club)
* ''Persephone Station'' (Saga Press)
* ''The Lunar Chronicles (2020 edition)''
Magazines
* "Wage Wars," ''
BusinessWeek
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...
''
* "Recruiting on Spring Break," ''
The Progressive
''The Progressive'' is a left-leaning American magazine and website covering politics and culture. Founded in 1909 by U.S. senator Robert M. La Follette Sr. and co-edited with his wife Belle Case La Follette, it was originally called ''La Follett ...
''
* "The Man Behind the Curtain," ''The Progressive''
* "Planet Earth is Dying," ''Stanford Medical''
* "Summer Movies," ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''
* "Nuclear Iraq," ''
Mother Jones
Mary G. Harris Jones (1837 (baptized) – November 30, 1930), known as Mother Jones from 1897 onwards, was an Irish-born American schoolteacher and dressmaker who became a prominent union organizer, community organizer, and activist. She h ...
''
* "Terrorist?", ''
New York Times Sunday Magazine
''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. ...
''
* "Escaping North Korea," ''New York Times Sunday Magazine''
* "Transportation," ''New York Times''
* "Technology," ''New York Times''
* "George Clooney is Super Humane," ''Kulture Spiegel'' (Germany)
* "Future Eagle," ''Deliver''
* "Direct Mail," ''Deliver''
* "Wu Tang Clan," ''
URB''
* "Everything is Going Green," ''Promo''
Music
*
Aesop Rock
Ian Matthias Bavitz (born June 5, 1976), better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American rapper and producer from Long Island, New York. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emer ...
,
Bazooka Tooth album cover
*
Jack White
John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...
, alternative cover art for ''
Blunderbuss'' tour singles
* Father, You're Not Boring Anymore album cover
Comics
* ''Wolverine Chop Shop'' (Marvel Comics)
* ''
Un-Men
The Un-Men are a group of fictional characters in the DC Comics, DC/Vertigo Comics Fictional universe, universe. Created by the writer/artist team of Len Wein and Berni Wrightson, the Un-Men made their first appearance in 1972 in comics, 1972, in ...
'' (DC Comics) — 13 covers for the series
* ''Midnight Mass'' vol. I — 12 covers for the series
* ''Midnight Mass'' vol. II — 8 covers for the series
* ''Meathaus'' #3 (Meathaus Press)
* ''Bipolar'' #1, 2, 4 (Alternative Comics)
* ''The Big Question'' (Top Shelf Comics)
* ''New Thing: Identity'' (New Suit Focus)
Awards
* 2016 Society of Publication Designers — Gold Medal for "The Return of Han Solo," art-directed by Keir Novesky for ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
''
* 2016
International Manga Award
Tarō Asō, the 92nd Prime Minister of Japan
is an annual award established to encourage non-Japanese manga artists in 2007. This award was created by Japanese Foreign Minister Tarō Asō, who proposed this award in a policy speech he gave in ...
— Gold Medal for ''The Divine''
* 2015 Society of Publication Designers — Gold Medal for "The Man who Discovered Mars," art-directed by Keir Novesky for ''Entertainment Weekly''
* 2010
Society of Illustrators
The Society of Illustrators is a professional society based in New York City. It was founded in 1901 to promote the art of illustration and, since 1959, has held an annual exhibition.
History
Founding
The Society of Illustrators was founded on ...
— Silver Medal for
MGMT
MGMT () is an American indie rock band formed in 2002 in Middletown, Connecticut. It was founded by multi-instrumentalists Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser. Alongside VanWyngarden and Goldwasser, MGMT's live lineup currently consists of ...
album review, art-directed by Steven Charny for ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
''
* 2010 Society of Publication Designers — Silver Medal for ''Lost Boy," art-directed by Matthew Bates for ''
Backpacker Magazine
''Backpacker'' is an American lifestyle magazine publication that features information on wilderness hiking and adventure. It has been published since 1973. ''Backpacker'' magazine is currently published by '' Outside'' and is based in Boulder, C ...
''
* 2009
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
nomination for Best Foreign Movie — ''
Waltz with Bashir
''Waltz with Bashir'' ( he, ואלס עם באשיר, translit. ''Vals Im Bashir'') is a 2008 Israeli adult animated war documentary drama film written, produced, and directed by Ari Folman. It depicts Folman's search for lost memories o ...
'' (Hanuka was part of the art team)
* 2008 British Design Museum Award — Penguin Deluxe classic edition book covers (Hanuka's contribution to the series was the
Marquis De Sade
Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer famous for his literary depictions of a libertine sexuality as well as numerous accusat ...
cover)
* 2006 Society of Illustrators — Gold Medal
* 2004
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 ...
nomination for Best Cover Artist
* 2004 Society of Illustrators — Gold Medal
* 2004 Society of Publication Designers — Silver Medal
* 2003
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 ...
nomination for Best Short Story
* 2002
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 ...
nomination for Promising New Talent
* 2000 Society of Illustrators — Gold and Silver Medals
In addition, Hanuka's work has appeared in every ''American Illustration'' annual since 2000
References
External links
*
* Interview in ''Haaretz''
English, paywall,
Hebrew
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanuka, Tomer
1974 births
Living people
Israeli cartoonists
Israeli comics artists
Israeli comics writers
Israeli illustrators
School of Visual Arts alumni
The New Yorker people
Israeli twins