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Hope Larson

Hope Raue Larson (b. September 17, 1982, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina)[1] is an American illustrator and cartoonist. Her main field is comic books.

Early life

Larson grew up in Asheville, North Carolina,[1] and attended Carolina Day School.[2] Upon graduation from high school, she matriculated at Rochester Institute of Technology and then transferred to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2004.[2]

Career

While Larson was in college, Scott McCloud took an interest in her illustrations, encouraging her to create comics. Soon after, she was invited to the webcomics anthology site Girlamatic and produced her first professional comic, a web serial entitled I Was There & Just Returned.[3] Afterwards, Larson concentrated on a number of small, hand-made minicomics, combining her interests in comics, screenprinting, and bookmaking.

She contributed to comics anthologies Flight, True Porn 2, and You Ain't No Dancer, while working on a web-serialized graphic novel, Salamander Dream. This eventually became her first full-length book, published by AdHouse Books in September 2005; she moved to Oni Press for her second graphic novel, Gray Horses (released March 2006).

In 2006, Larson signed a two-book contract with New York publishing house Simon & Schuster. The first book under this deal, Chiggers (released June 18, 2008, under the Atheneum Books Ginee Seo imprint),[4] is a graphic novel about "nerdy teenaged girls" who meet at summer camp. Chiggers is intended for a 9- to 12-year-old audience.[5]

In 2012, Larson adapted Madeleine L'Engle's work as A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel, published by Margaret Ferguson Books (a Farrar Straus Giroux imprint).[6] The book was given the 2013 Eisner Award for Best Publication for Teens.[7] In 2016, Larson became the new writer for DC Comics Batgirl,[8] a run that saw the character go on back-packing trip through Asia on a voyage of self-discovery.[9]

In addition to comics, Larson has worked as a freelance illustrator for various clients, including the New York Times.

She has worked as a letterer on such books as Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly's Local.

Larson's book All Summer Long was released by Farrar Straus Giroux in the spring of 2018.[10]

Publishing

In 2006, Larson launched her own publishing imprint, Tulip Tree Press. She released several minicomics and prints through the Tulip Tree website;[11] the only book released under the Tulip Tree name was House of Sugar, an award-winning collection of Rebecca Kraatz's comic strip, released 15 November 2006.[12] Tulip Tree Press shut down in 2008.[13]

Acclaim

Larson was nominated for the 2006 Kimberly Yale Award for Best New Female Talent, and won the 2006 Ignatz Award in the category Promising New Talent.[14] In 2007, Larson won the Eisner Award for Special Recognition (formerly known as "Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition").[15] She won the Eisner Award again in 2013 for her A Wrinkle in Time adaptation.[16]

Rebecca Kraatz's House of Sugar, Larson's first publishing venture, won the 2007 Doug Wright Award for Best Emerging Talent.[17]

All Summer Long was a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2018.[18]

Personal life

In 2004, Larson moved to Toronto with her husband, Canadian cartoonist Bryan Lee O'Malley. In 2005, they moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia. From 2008 until 2010, Larson and O'Malley lived in Asheville, North Carolina, later moving to Los Angeles, California.[19] She and O'Malley divorced in 2014.[20]

Works

Mainstream comic book work

  • Batgirl, DC Comics, 2016–2018 (writer, with artist Rafael Albuquerque)

Graphic novels

  • Salamander Dream. AdHouse Books, 2005
  • Gray Horses. Oni Press, 2006
  • Chiggers. Atheneum Books, 2008
  • Mercury. Atheneum Books, 2010
  • A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012
  • Who is AC (writer, with artist Tintin Pantoja). Atheneum Books, 2013
  • Four Points series (writer, with artist Rebecca Mock)
  • Compass South, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2016
  • Knife's Edge, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2017
  • Salt Magic (writer, with artist Rebecca Mock), Holiday House (Margaret Ferguson Books), 2021
  • Be That Way, Holiday House (Margaret Ferguson Books), 2023
  • Very Bad at Math, HarperAlley, 2025
  • Goldie Vance (writer, with artist Brittney Williams). Boom! Studios, 2016
  • Eagle Rock series
  • All Summer Long, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018
  • All Together Now, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2020
  • All My Friends, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021

Selected short stories and minicomics

  • "Sex Rainbow," March 2004 (originally printed as a deck of cards)
  • "Compound Eye," April 2004
  • "Weather Vain," August 2004 (originally printed in Flight Vol. 2)
  • "Mud," February 2005 (originally printed in You Ain't No Dancer #1)
  • "Little House in the Big Woods," August 2006 (originally printed in the New York Times)
  • "When I Was A Slut," March 2006 (published in Project: Romantic)
  • "Henry and Elizabeth," July 2007 (printed in the New York Times, and later expanded to a minicomic)
  • "Cosplay," February 2018 (published by Dark Horse Books in Secret Loves of Geeks)

See also

  • Women in comics

External links

References

  1. Today in Asheville history, Sept. 17 Citizen-Times, Sep 17, 2015^
  2. Anne Fitten Glenn. Graphic Insight Mountain Xpress, retrieved December 24, 2008^
  3. Gordon McAlpin. The Hope Larson Interview Comic Book Galaxy, retrieved September 20, 2006^
  4. CHIGGERS by Hope Larson & illustrated by Hope Larson Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2008^
  5. Heidi MacDonald. Hope Larson Signs Two-book Deal with S&S Publishers Weekly, retrieved September 20, 2006^
  6. Noelene Clark. 'A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel': Hope Larson inks a classic Los Angeles Times, 2012-10-03, retrieved 2017-11-13^
  7. Joseph Hughes. ‘Building Stories,’ ‘Saga’ Dominate 2013 Eisner Awards [SDCC 2013] Comics Alliance, July 20, 2013^
  8. George Johnston. New 'Batgirl' Writer Reveals Why She Moved the Superhero Out of Gotham The Hollywood Reporter, July 27, 2016, retrieved 2017-11-13^
  9. Charlotte Ahlin. Hope Larson Talks About The Challenges Of 'Batgirl #1' And Reveals Her Favorite Comic Book Heroines Bustle, August 1, 2016, retrieved 2017-11-13^
  10. Noelene Clark. First Look at First Second's Spring 2018 Graphic Novels Entertainment Weekly, 2017-08-09, retrieved 2017-11-13^
  11. Welcome to Tulip Tree Press! retrieved Apr 12, 2026^
  12. Douglas Wolk. Fans Look for Books at MoCCA 2006 Publishers Weekly, retrieved September 21, 2006^
  13. Hope. Due to a complicated (and expensive!) international move, this is the end of the road for Tulip Tree Press. Tulip Tree Press, 2007^
  14. Heidi MacDonald. 2006 Ignatz Award Winners The Beat, retrieved November 10, 2006^
  15. Heidi MacDonald. 2007 Eisner Award Winners The Beat, retrieved August 29, 2007^
  16. Gina McIntyre. Hope Larson on 'Bitter Orange' film, 'Four Points' with Rebecca Mock Los Angeles Times, 2013-08-21, retrieved 2017-11-13^
  17. Artists honoured for comics hailing nostalgia, everyday life CBC.ca, August 18, 2007, retrieved August 29, 2007^
  18. Hope Larson US Macmillan, retrieved 2019-03-14^
  19. Zack Smith. Hope Larson on Chiggers and More Newsarama, retrieved April 18, 2008^
  20. Adrian Lee. Scott Pilgrim grows up July 18, 2014, retrieved August 28, 2014^