Author Mark Crilley
Date, Location
Meet Mark Crilley
Meet Mark Crilley, the funny author/illustrator of a manga series, Miki Falls, and ten graphic novels featuring Akiko. Mark jokes, reads from his books in his characters’ voices, and draws during his high-energy presentations. He’ll talk about being a storyteller, writer, and illustrator and offer tips for aspiring writers and artists.
Miki Falls tells the story of Miki Yoshida, a high school senior in Japan who meets Hiro Sakurai, a young man with mysterious supernatural powers. The American Library Association included Miki Falls in their list of Great Graphic Novels for Teens in 2008. The Comics Buyers Guide called it “a brilliant new series by one of comicdom’s best storytellers.” Paramount Pictures and Brad Pitt’s Plan B have optioned Miki Falls for development as a feature film.
The Akiko series has become a mainstay in schools and libraries across the country and has been featured in
USA Today
, Nickelodeon Magazine, and on CNN Headline News. Akiko, the spunky, pig-tailed, fourth-grade heroine, rescues a kidnapped prince, competes in a rocket ship race across the universe, saves a planet from destruction, and more! Akiko has been nominated for the Will Eisner Award thirteen times since 1995.
Learn more about Crilley in this January 24, 2009,
Kalamazoo Gazette
article by Anne Holcomb. A Kalamazoo College graduate, Crilley says he was very fortunate to be among the last students taught by David Small during his years at K.