Derek Kirk Kim

Derek Kirk Kim
Kim, photographed at the 2004 Alternative Press Expo (APE) in San Francisco.
Born	1974 Gumi, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea
Nationality	American
Area(s)	Cartoonist, Penciller
Notable works	Same Difference, TUNE, Mythomania
Awards	Xeric Award, 2002 Ignatz Award, 2003 Eisner Award, 2004 Harvey Award, 2004
Official website

Derek Kirk Kim (born 1974) is an award-winning Korean-American writer, cartoonist, and filmmaker. He is the writer of TUNE and the writer and director of the spin-off webseries, Mythomania. He won both major comics industry awards in 2004, the Eisner and the Harvey, for his debut graphic novel Same Difference and Other Stories, which was originally serialized on his website Lowbright (formerly known as "Small Stories"). He also won the Ignatz Award for promising new talent, in 2003, for the same graphic novel (which was originally published with the help of a 2002 Xeric Award).

Early life

Kim was born in Gumi, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. He came to the United States when he was eight. He considers himself fortunate to have received formal training in the visual arts and in the craft of writing. He now lives in Los Angeles, California.

Career

All of his stories reflect, to a greater or lesser degree, his personal experiences. He offers poignant tales with an ever-present dash of humor. His drawing style is realistic and clean, based on the "clear line" school made famous by Tintin creator Hergé. His story lines range from the naturalistic to the fantastic.

Most of the hostility and criticism of Kim's work seems to be self-directed (either explicitly or by skewering protagonists who resemble their creator), perhaps reflecting the influence of Robert Crumb.

Kim had begun serializing Healing Hands, his follow-up to Same Difference, on his website Lowbright, until he decided to abort the project on July 16, 2006. Healing Hands was to be published as a print graphic novel by First Second Books.^{[citation needed]} Same Difference and Other Stories has been translated in French and is published in France and distributed in that country and Belgium, Switzerland and Canada by the publisher 6 pieds sous terre. It has also been translated into Korean, Spanish, German, and Italian.

Kim followed this with numerous anthology contributions and collaborations. He illustrated a story in the original Fables graphic novel 1001 Nights of Snowfall, and worked for Nickelodeon magazine. He also contributed the short story, "Maiden and the River Spirit" to the first volume of the Flight series. In 2007, Kim wrote a YA graphic novel for DC Comic's Minx imprint called "Good As Lily," illustrated by Jesse Hamm. In April 2009, he illustrated "The Eternal Smile: Three Stories" - a collaboration with Gene Luen Yang - which garnered Kim his second Eisner Award, this time for "Best Short Story."

He is currently writing his latest comics creation, TUNE, illustrated by Les McClaine. The first volume in this ongoing sci-fi/comedy series will be published by First Second Books and released in 2012.

In March of 2011, Kim debuted as a filmmaker with the release of "Raina Lee Vs. The Infinite Garage," a documentary short. In July 2011, he debuted the 1st episode of "Mythomania," which he wrote and directed. This comedy webseries about a group of aspiring cartoonists has recently wrapped it's first season. Much of the show is drawn from Kim's real life experiences early in his career as a fledgling cartoonist.

References

• Bengal, et alia. Flight: Volume One. Image Comics, 2004. (ISBN 1-58240-381-3)
• Brownstein, Charles. "Tape This to Your Cubicle Wall". The Comics Journal No. 240. January 2002 ("The year in review")
• Butcher, Chris. A little bit about Mainstream Publishing. Jan. 13, 2009. accessed Jan. 15, 2009.
• Garrity, Shaenon. "Two Skills in Tandem", The Webcomics Examiner, September 2004
• George, William, et al. "Derek Kirk Kim: A Critics Roundtable", The Webcomics Examiner, September 2004
• Kim, Derek Kirk. Same Difference & Other Stories. Top Shelf Productions, 2004 (ISBN 1-891830-57-0)
• Lyden, Jacki. "Graphic Novelist with a Comic Sensibility". National Public Radio.

External links

• Official website
• The Eternal Smile Wins Eisner Prize, from Hyphen Magazine

Persondata
Name	Kim, Derek Kirk
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1974
Place of birth	Gumi, South Korea
Date of death
Place of death