R. Kikuo Johnson

Reid Kikuo Johnson (born in 1981)[1] 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.[2] He studied illustration[3] at the Rhode Island School of Design under cartoonist David Mazzucchelli.[4]

Career

Johnson began working on his first graphic novel, Night Fisher, while studying at the Rhode Island School of Design.[5] Released in 2005, the semi-autobiographical[6] 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.[7]

Johnson regularly works in commercial illustration. His artwork first appeared in the pages of The New Yorker in 2006[8] and on the cover of the magazine in 2016.[9] Several of his illustrations and prints have been acquired by the Library of Congress.[10]

Johnson's all-ages graphic novel, The Shark King, was published in 2012 and is based on the Hawaiian legend of Nanaue, son of Kāmohoaliʻi.[11]

Johnson teaches a comics course at the Rhode Island School of Design[12] which he began teaching in 2009.[13]

Works

Graphic novels

Night Fisher (Fantagraphics books, 2005, ISBN 1683964705)

The Shark King (Toon Books, 2012, ISBN 1935179160)

No One Else (Fantagraphics books, 2021, ISBN 1683964799)

Selected short comics stories

"Thrustman" (in Project: Superior, 2005 ISBN 0-9721794-8-8)

"Cher Shimura" (in Mome Vol. 3, 2005 ISBN 1560976977 )

"John James Audubon in Pursuit of the Golden Eagle" (in The Believer, Feb 1, 2006)[14]

"Conditioning" (in The New York Times, August 3, 2007)[15]

"Anything But Retail" (in Strange Tales, December, 2009)[16]

"Body and Soul" (in The New Yorker, April 3, 2017)[17]

"Uncharted Maui" (in The New Yorker, July 26, 2021)[18]

Awards

2006 Harvey Award, Best New Talent, for Night Fisher[19]

2006 Russ Manning Award, for Night Fisher[20]

2013 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature, for The Shark King[21]

2018 Society of Illustrators gold medal in the Editorial category for The New Yorker cover, "Safe Travels"[22]

2021 Society of Illustrators gold medal in the Editorial category for The New Yorker cover, "Delayed"

References
  1. Foundation, Poetry (2021-08-01). "R. Kikuo Johnson". Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  2. "The Illustration Man". Hana Hou!. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  3. "AI-AP | Profiles » Illustrator Profile - R. Kikuo Johnson: "You'll never regret making the work you want to make"". www.ai-ap.com. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  4. PrintMag (2007-06-01). "R. Kikuo Johnson". PRINT. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  5. "The Illustration Man". Hana Hou!. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  6. "The Illustration Man". Hana Hou!. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  7. Kaplan, Avery (2021-07-30). "Syndicated Comics". The Beat. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  8. Nast, Condé (2006-01-15). "The Pursuit of Happiness". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  9. Nast, Condé (2016-04-17). "Cover Story: R. Kikuo Johnson's "Closing Set"". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  10. johnson, r kikuo. "Search results from Johnson, R. Kikuo". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2021-08-02.
  11. "The Illustration Man". Hana Hou!. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  12. "Kikuo Johnson | RISD". www.risd.edu. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  13. "The Illustration Man". Hana Hou!. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  14. "John James Audubon in Pursuit of the Golden Eagle". Believer Magazine. 2006-02-01. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  15. "The New York Times > Opinion > Slide Show > Op-Art: Conditioning > Slide 1 of 5". archive.nytimes.com. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  16. "GCD :: Issue :: Strange Tales #2". www.comics.org. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  17. "Body and Soul". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  18. Nast, Condé (2021-07-15). "Adventures in Uncharted Maui". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  19. "Previous Winners". www.harveyawards.com. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  20. "Russ Manning Award". Comic-Con International: San Diego. 2012-12-06. Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  21. "2013 Asian/Pacific American Award For Literature Winners – APALA". Retrieved 2021-08-01.
  22. "Illustrators 61 Exhibit: Part Two". Society of Illustrators. Retrieved 2021-08-01.


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