Mariko Tamaki

Canadian writer and artist (born 1975)

Mariko Tamaki

Tamaki in 2018

Born| 1975 (age 49–50)
Toronto, Canada
Occupation| Graphic novel writer, performance artist
Period| 2000s–present
Notable works| Skim, This One Summer
Website
www.marikotamaki.com

Mariko Tamaki (born 1975) is a Canadian artist and writer. She is known for her graphic novels Skim, Emiko Superstar, and This One Summer.[1] In 2016 she began writing for both Marvel and DC Comics. She has twice been named a runner-up for the Michael L. Printz Award.

## Early life

[edit]

Mariko Tamaki was born in Toronto, Ontario. She is of Japanese and Jewish descent.[2]

Mariko attended Havergal College, an all girls' secondary school.[3] She studied English literature at McGill University, graduating in 1994.[4]

## Career

[edit]

Tamaki has worked as a writer and performance artist in Toronto, including with Keith Cole's Cheap Queers and in the performance group Pretty Porky & Pissed Off with Joanne Huffa, Allyson Mitchell, Abi Slone, Tracy Tidgwell, and Zoe Whittall.[5]

Tamaki published the novel Cover Me in 2000. Told in a series of flashbacks, it is about a depressed teenager dealing with self-harm and feeling like an outsider in school.[6]

Skim, a collaboration with her cousin Jillian Tamaki, was published in 2008 by Groundwood Books. It is a graphic novel about a teenage girl who develops romantic feelings towards her female teacher; the secondary storyline is about the suicide of a classmate's ex-boyfriend who may have been gay. The text is about transitional life moments and "the conflicting need to belong and desire to resist."[7] Tamaki says she did not set out to "make a statement about queerness and youth:" "I think Skim is more a statement about youth, and the variety of strange experiences that can encapsulate."[8] 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.[7] Tamaki writes that artists such as Hergé, Igort, and Vittorio Giardino, as well as Asian art, had an influence on her style, but her storytelling is rooted in American comics influences like Daniel Clowes, Chester Brown, and Will Eisner.[9] Skim was originally developed as a short play for Nightwood Theatre.[10]

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.[8] The protagonist is inspired to try performance art after visiting a similar 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."[11]

Tamaki performed at experimental feminist performance art festival Edgy Women in Montreal in 2006 and 2010.[12]

In 2014, she again collaborated with Jillian Tamaki on the graphic novel This One Summer, published by Groundwood Books.

In 2016 it was announced that Tamaki would be writing a new series called Hulk starring She-Hulk for Marvel Comics,[13] as well as the mini-series Supergirl: Being Super for DC Comics.[14]

In 2017, she began writing novel adaptations of the Lumberjanes comic series.[15]

Tamaki's graphic novel collaboration with artist Rosemary Valero-O'Connell, Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, is a queer coming-of-age story about a toxic relationship. It was released in May 2019 by First Second Books.[16]

In November 2019, Tamaki wrote a four-part mini-series for Marvel called Spider-Man & Venom: Double Trouble.[17]

Tamaki began writing for the Wonder Woman series with #759.[18] Her run concluded with #769, and was collected in its entirety in a trade paperback titled Lords and Liars.[19]

Tamaki's graphic novel I Am Not Starfire was released on 10 August 2021 as part of the young adult original graphic novel series from DC Comics.[20] Yoshi Yoshitani provided art for the story, which centers Starfire's daughter Mandy Koriand'r, who plans on "moving to France to escape the family spotlight and not go to college" despite her 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, beginning with #1034. Tamaki is the first female lead writer of the title's publication history. Her run concluded with #1061.[21][22]

## Awards

[edit]

Skim won an Ignatz Award, a Joe Shuster Award, and a Doug Wright Award in 2009, and was a nominee for the Children's Literature category at the 2008 Governor General's Awards. Tamaki was also awarded an Honour of Distinction by the Dayne Ogilvie Prize, a literary award for LGBTQ writers in Canada, in 2012.[23]

This One Summer won a 2014 Ignatz Award, a 2015 Eisner Award, the 2015 Michael L. Printz Award, a Caldecott Honor, and a 2016 Rudolph Dirks Award in the category Youth Drama / Coming of Age.[24]

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.[25][26] 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.[27][28] That same year, she also received the Eisner Award for Best Writer, for Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass, and Archie.[29]

Her 2023 graphic novel Roaming, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki, was shortlisted for the 2024 Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ+ Comics.[30] Roaming won the 2024 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album—New, with Tamaki winning the 2024 Eisner for Best Writer.[31]

## Works

[edit]

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2025)

|

* Cover Me (2000, ISBN 9780969806493)
* True Lies: The Book of Bad Advice (2002, ISBN 9780889614024)
* Fake ID (2005, ISBN 9780889614499)
* Skim, with Jillian Tamaki (2008, ISBN 9788861238282)
* Emiko Superstar, with Steve Rolston (2008, ISBN 9781401215361)
* (You) Set Me on Fire (2012, ISBN 9780143180937)
* This One Summer, with Jillian Tamaki (2014, ISBN 159643774X)
* Tomb Raider II (2016-2017)[32]
* Saving Montgomery Sole (2016, ISBN 9781626722712)
* Supergirl: Being Super (2016-2017)
* X-23 (2018)
* Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, illustrated by Rosemary Valero-O'Connell (2019, ISBN 9781250312846)
* Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass, illustrated by Steve Pugh (2019, ISBN 9781401283292)
* Spider-Man & Venom: Double Trouble (2020, ISBN 9781302920395)
* Wonder Woman, #759-769 (2020, ISBN 978-1779510228)
* Overwatch: Tracer – London Calling (2020)
* Thor & Loki: Double Trouble (2021)
* Dark Detective, #1-4, illustrated by Dan Mora (2021)
* I Am Not Starfire, illustrated by Yoshi Yoshitani (2021, ISBN 9781779501264)
* Detective Comics, #1034-1061 (2021-2022)
* Anne of Greenville (2022, ISBN 9781368078405)
* Roaming, with Jillian Tamaki (2023, ISBN 9781770464339)

Lumberjanes novels, all illustrated by Brooklyn Allen

* Unicorn Power! (2017, ISBN 9781419727252)
* The Moon Is Up (2018, ISBN 9781419728686)
* The Good Egg (2018, ISBN 9781419740923)
* Ghost Cabin (2019, ISBN 9781419733611)

She-Hulk

* Volume 1: Deconstructed, illustrated by Nico Leon and Dalibor Talajic (2017, ISBN 9781302905675)
* Volume 2: Let Them Eat Cake, illustrated by Georges Duarte, Bachan, Julian Lopez, and Francesco Gaston (2018, ISBN 9781302905682)
* Volume 3: Jen Walters Must Die, illustrated by Jahnoy Lindsay and Diego Olortegui (2018, ISBN 9781302905699)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Mariko Tamaki". CBC Radio, The Next Chapter, 12 November 2012.
2. ^ Cole, Susan G. (30 June 2005). "Tamaki no fake". NOW. Archived from the original on 12 January 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2024. "She's half Jewish and half Japanese, which translates as "Asian" to ignorant people."
3. ^ Cole, Susan G. (11 January 2001). "Mariko Tamaki". NOW. "'It was a high school revenge piece,' says Tamaki, 'a message to the students of Havergal (Tamaki's alma mater) that the freaks were gonna be famous and the popular people were gonna be nowhere.'"
4. ^ Mackay, Brad; Armstrong, KC (17 June 2009). "As comics become a cultural force, McGill graduates are making their mark". McGill News. Archived from the original on 7 January 2014. "It's a safe bet that no one was more surprised by MARIKO TAMAKI's sudden, overnight success in the comics realm than Tamaki, BA'94, herself."
5. ^ Kaplan, Jon (16 June 2005). "Quirky Queers". NOW Toronto. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
6. ^ Muser, Ilyse (2001). "Review of Cover Me". Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. 45 (2): 171. ISSN 1081-3004. JSTOR 40014726.
7. ^ a b Baxter, Gisele M. (2009). "The School of Life". Canadian Literature (203): 133–134.
8. ^ a b Whittal, Zoe (22 September 2008). "Graphic scenes in conversation with Mariko Tamaki". Herizons. 22 (2): 37–39 – via The Free Library.
9. ^ "Skim: Book Review". Kirkus Reviews. 76 (23): 18. 1 December 2008.
10. ^ Taylor, Jessica (12 March 2008). "Skim, a beautiful graphic novel". Xtra Magazine. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
11. ^ Gorman, Michele (2009). "Getting Graphic: Comic Chick Lit". Library Media Connection. 27 (5): 42.
12. ^ "Archives / Edgy Women". Studio 303. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
13. ^ White, Brett (19 September 2016). "Marvel Announces New Jennifer Walters Hulk Series". CBR.
14. ^ McMillan, Graeme (8 September 2016). "DC to Launch New 'Supergirl' Origin Comic Book in December (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
15. ^ Serrao, Nivea (1 March 2017). "See an Exclusive Look at the Cover for the First 'Lumberjanes' Novel". Entertainment Weekly.
16. ^ "Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
17. ^ Terror, Jude (3 November 2019). "Venom Finally Gets His Own Theme Song in Spider-Man & Venom: Double Trouble [Preview]". Bleeding Cool.
18. ^ Ore, Jonathan (27 March 2020). "Mariko Tamaki is the new mind behind Wonder Woman comic book". CBC Radio. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
19. ^ "WONDER WOMAN: LORDS & LIARS". DC. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
20. ^ Johnson, Rich (30 November 2020). "Meet Starfire's Gay Goth Daughter Mandy, in I Am Not Starfire YA OGN". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
21. ^ Clarke, Cassandra (7 December 2020). "Mariko Tamaki Is Detective Comics' First Long-Term Female Writer". CBR. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
22. ^ "RAM V AND RAFAEL ALBUQUERQUE TAKE THE STAGE IN DETECTIVE COMICS". DC. 13 April 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
23. ^ "Mariko Tamaki". CBC Books. 27 June 2018.
24. ^ Penkert-Hennig, Matthias (3 December 2016). "Die Gewinner des Rudolph-Dirks-Award 2016". Comic.de (in German). Retrieved 19 November 2024.
25. ^ MacDonald, Heidi (16 September 2019). "'Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me' leads 2019 Ignatz Award winners". comicsbeat.com. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
26. ^ Arrant, Chris (5 October 2019). "And the Winners of the 2019 HARVEY AWARDS are..." Newsarama. Archived from the original on 2 January 2020.
27. ^ "The Walter Awards > Past Winners and Honorees". We Need Diverse Books. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
28. ^ Balser, Erin (27 July 2020). "Mariko Tamaki named best writer at Eisner Awards". CBC Books.
29. ^ "And the winners of the 2020 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards are..." Newsarama. 25 July 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
30. ^ "Announcing the Finalists for the 36th Annual Lambda Literary Awards". them. 27 March 2024. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
31. ^ "Eisner Award Winners 2024". Comic-Con International. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
32. ^ Damore, Meagan (8 October 2015). "NYCC: Tamaki Sends Lara Croft on New Adventures in "Tomb Raider II" Series". CBR. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 19 November 2024.

## External links,

[edit]

* Children and Young Adult Literature portal

Wikiquote has quotations related to Mariko Tamaki.

* Official website
* Mariko Tamaki at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
* Mariko Tamaki at IMDbC
* Mariko Tamaki at Library of Congress, with 3 library catalog records

* v
* t
* e

Mariko Tamaki

Graphic novels|

* Skim (2008)
* This One Summer (2014)
* Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me (2019)

Comic titles|

* X-23 (2018)

* v
* t
* e

Recipients of the Dayne Ogilvie Prize

Winners|

* Michael V. Smith (2007)
* Zoe Whittall (2008)
* Debra Anderson (2009)
* Nancy Jo Cullen (2010)
* Farzana Doctor (2011)
* Amber Dawn (2012)
* C. E. Gatchalian (2013)
* Tamai Kobayashi (2014)
* Alex Leslie (2015)
* Leah Horlick (2016)
* Kai Cheng Thom (2017)
* Ben Ladouceur (2018)
* Jas M. Morgan (2019)
* Arielle Twist (2020)
* Jillian Christmas (2021)
* Francesca Ekwuyasi (2022)
* Anuja Varghese (2023)
* Anthony Oliveira (2024)

Honour of Distinction|

* Brian Francis, John Miller (2008)
* Greg Kearney (2009)
* Lisa Foad, George K. Ilsley (2010)
* Dani Couture, Matthew J. Trafford (2011)
* Mariko Tamaki (2012)
* Anand Mahadevan, Barry Webster (2013)
* Rae Spoon, Proma Tagore (2014)
* Casey Plett, Vivek Shraya (2015)
* Gwen Benaway, Jia Qing Wilson-Yang (2016)
* Ali Blythe, Eva Crocker (2017)
* Trish Salah, Joshua Whitehead (2018)
* Joelle Barron, Casey Plett (2019)
* Robyn Maynard, Smokii Sumac (2020)
* Kama La Mackerel, jaye simpson (2021)
* Bilal Baig, Matthew James Weigel (2022)
* Gabriel Cholette, Amanda Cordner and David Di Giovanni (2023)
* Vincent Anioke, Éric Chacour (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Eisner Award for Best Writer

* Alan Moore (1988)
* Alan Moore (1989)
* Neil Gaiman (1991)
* Neil Gaiman (1992)
* Neil Gaiman (1993)
* Neil Gaiman (1994)
* Alan Moore (1995)
* Alan Moore (1996)
* Alan Moore (1997)
* Garth Ennis (1998)
* Kurt Busiek (1999)
* Alan Moore (2000)
* Alan Moore (2001)
* Brian Michael Bendis (2002)
* Brian Michael Bendis (2003)
* Alan Moore (2004)
* Brian K. Vaughan (2005)
* Alan Moore (2006)
* Ed Brubaker (2007)
* Ed Brubaker (2008)
* Bill Willingham (2009)
* Ed Brubaker (2010)
* Joe Hill (2011)
* Mark Waid (2012)
* Brian K. Vaughan (2013)
* Brian K. Vaughan (2014)
* Gene Luen Yang (2015)
* Jason Aaron (2016)
* Brian K. Vaughan (2017)
* Tom King / Marjorie Liu (2018)
* Tom King (2019)
* Mariko Tamaki (2020)
* James Tynion IV (2021)
* James Tynion IV (2022)
* James Tynion IV (2023)

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Italy
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People|

* DDB

Other|

* IdRef

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