R. Kikuo Johnson
Reid Kikuo Johnson (born in 1981) is an American illustrator and cartoonist. He is known for illustrating several covers of "The New Yorker" in addition to the graphic novels "Night Fisher, The Shark King," and "No One Else." Early life. Johnson was born and raised on the island of Maui. He studied illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design under cartoonist David Mazzucchelli. Career. Johnson began working on his first graphic novel, "Night Fisher", while studying at the Rhode Island School of Design. Released in 2005, the semi-autobiographical coming of age story set on Maui  won the 2006 Harvey Award for Best New Talent as well as the Russ Manning Award at the 2006 Eisner Awards. Johnson regularly works in commercial illustration. His artwork first appeared in the pages of "The New Yorker" in 2006 and on the cover of the magazine in 2016. Several of his illustrations and prints have been acquired by the Library of Congress. Johnson's all-ages graphic novel, "The Shark King," was published in 2012 by Toon Books, and is based on the Hawaiian legend of Nanaue, son of Kāmohoaliʻi. "No One Else", a graphic novella, was published in  2021 by Fantagraphics. It won the 2021 LA Times Book Prize for Graphic Novel/Comics. It was called "note-perfect" by the New York Times and was included on multiple "best of 2021" lists from major publications. Teaching. Johnson teaches a comics creation class at the Rhode Island School of Design which he began teaching in 2009. Works. Graphic novels. "Night Fisher" (Fantagraphics books, 2005, ISBN 1683964705) "The Shark King" (Toon Books, 2012, ISBN ) "No One Else" (Fantagraphics books, 2021, ISBN ) Selected short comics stories. "Thrustman" (in "Project: Superior," 2005 ISBN ) "Cher Shimura" (in "Mome Vol. 3", 2005 ISBN ) "John  James Audubon in Pursuit of the Golden Eagle" (in "The Believer", Feb 1, 2006) "Conditioning" (in "The New York Times," August 3, 2007) "Anything But Retail" (in "Strange Tales", Marvel Comics, December, 2009) "Body and Soul" (in "The New Yorker," April 3, 2017) "Uncharted Maui" (in "The New Yorker," July 26, 2021) "Hawaiian Snow" (in "The New York Times," Jan 7, 2022) Awards. 2021 LA Times Book Prize Winner Graphic Novel/Comics for "No One Else" 2021 Society of Illustrators gold medal in the Editorial category for "The New Yorker" cover, "Delayed" 2018 Society of Illustrators gold medal in the  Editorial category for "The New Yorker" cover, "Safe Travels" 2013 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature, for "The Shark King" 2006 Harvey Award, Best New Talent, for "Night Fisher" 2006 Russ Manning Award, for "Night Fisher"