- "The Harry Potter covers by Mary GrandPré are so fantastic and iconic. When I was asked to submit samples, I initially hesitated because I didn't want to see them reinterpreted! However, I felt that if I were to handle the project, I could bring something to it that many other designers and illustrators probably couldn't, and that was that I was also a writer of my own series of middle grade fiction. As an author myself, I tried to answer the question, ‘If I were the author of the books - and they were like my own children - how would I want them to be seen years from now?' When illustrating the covers, I tried to think of classic perennial paperback editions of famous novels and how those illustrations tend to feel. In a way, the project became a tribute to both Harry Potter and the literary classics."
- — Kazu Kibuishi on being asked to illustrate the Harry Potter series[2]
Kazu Kibuishi, a 4th-generation Japanese-American, is an author and illustrator. Best known for his graphic novel Amulet, Kibuishi was commissioned by Scholastic to illustrate special edition cover art for the fifteenth anniversary of the Harry Potter series. These special editions were released on 27 August 2013.[3] The cover art all of the titles was released in advance online, with that for the final title, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows released on 31 July (Harry Potter's birthday), 2013. These special editions retain the original interior illustrations by Mary GrandPré.[4]
Biography[]
Kazu was born in Tokyo, Japan on 8 April 1978. He and his family moved to the United States in 1981 and grew up near Los Angeles, California. He began drawing comics at the age of 5. Despite his passion for drawing, Kazu decided not to attend art school and enrolled at the University of California Santa Barbara, where he graduated with a degree in Film Studies in 2000. He pursued a career in the animation industry but found his way back to drawing comics. He currently works as a full-time graphic novelist, living in the Pacific Northwest with his wife, Amy Kim Kibuishi, and their children. He works alongside her and Jason Caffoe.[5]
Gallery[]
External links[]
- Kazu Kibuishi's official site
- Kazu Kibuishi's official Twitter account
- Kazu Kibuishi's official Goodreads account
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wikipedia
- ↑ Scholastic Unveils First of Seven New Covers for the Harry Potter Books in Celebration of the 15th Anniversary of Harry Potter - Scholastic.com
- ↑ Amazon.com - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows reissue
- ↑ Amazon.com - Sorcerer's Stone - "Inside is the full text of the original novel, with decorations by Mary GrandPré."
- ↑ https://www.boltcityproductions.com/