Felipe Smith (born 1978) is an American comic book writer and artist of Jamaican and Argentine descent.[1][2] He is the creator, co-designer, and writer of Robbie Reyes Ghost Rider,[3] and the author of Peepo Choo, a manga series debuting in 2009 in Kodansha's Morning 2 monthly magazine. It is the first manga created and serialized in Japan by a Western creator before being licensed for an English-language release.[4][5]
Felipe Smith | |
|---|---|
Smith at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2016 | |
| Born | 1978 (age 45–46) Akron, Ohio, U.S. |
| Occupation |
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| Language | English, Spanish, Japanese |
| Alma mater | School of the Art Institute of Chicago |
| Period | 2005–present |
| Notable works | |
| Website | |
| felipesmith.com | |
Early life
editWhen Smith was five years old, he moved with his family to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he studied at an international school.[1][2] Smith's artistic ambitions were sparked at an early age; as he grew up, he became known for his talent in art, and the attention surrounding his work motivated him to keep it up. As Smith completed high school in Buenos Aires, he decided to have art be the focus of his professional life, and he returned to the U.S. for college. After graduating from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), Smith moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in animation.[6][7]
Career
editSmith began his career in comics in 2005 and was living in Los Angeles when he wrote and drew his first three-volume graphic novel series, the semi-autobiographical MBQ.[4][8] As the buzz about his series reached Japan, he was contacted by a prominent book agent who was interested in representing him in that country. Together they organized a meeting at San Diego Comic-Con in 2007 with an editor in chief from Kodansha, the largest Japanese publishing company at the time.[1][6][9] As a result, in 2008 Smith moved to Tokyo to publish his second three-volume graphic novel series, Peepo Choo, one of the first manga titles created by a non-Japanese native and initially serialized by Kodansha for a Japanese audience before it was later released in English by Vertical Inc.[4][10] Smith worked four years in the Japanese market; when he returned to L.A. in 2012, he joined Nickelodeon's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated TV series, first in the storyboard department and then as a full-time character designer.[9][11] In 2014 Marvel Comics announced Smith as the writer of monthly All-New Ghost Rider and creator of its protagonist, Robbie Reyes.[12] From the start, Smith was given complete freedom to create the character's personality and background and the setting in which events in the series take place;[13] he also sketched the preliminary visual designs.[14] Smith's co-creation for Marvel crossed over from publishing to television in 2016, when Robbie Reyes made his first appearance in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..[9][15]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Felipe Smith – The Marvel Artist Putting Pen to Pulp". 'LLERO. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- ^ a b "Peepo Choo — Vertical, Inc". www.vertical-inc.com. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- ^ "Felipe Smith | Comics | Marvel.com". marvel.com. Retrieved October 9, 2017.; "Interview: Felipe Smith Talks Agents of SHIELD, Robbie Reyes' Past and Future – The Marvel Report". The Marvel Report. May 30, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- ^ a b c "MangaNEXT | Felipe Smith talks manga — and life". CBR. March 1, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- ^ "Making a Living in Manga: Part 4". ThoughtCo. Retrieved October 9, 2017.; Yegulalp, Serdar. "Peepo Choo Vol. 1 (Felipe Smith)". Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- ^ a b "The Gallery in Japan – Felipe Smith". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- ^ KJB (August 9, 2005). "MBQ Vol. 1 Review". IGN. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- ^ "Kodansha's Morning 2 to Serialize Felipe Smith Comic". Anime News Network. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- ^ a b c "'Peepo Choo' To 'Ghost Rider': An Interview With Felipe Smith". ComicsAlliance. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- ^ "SDCC '10 | Vertical to bring Felipe Smith and cute cat". CBR. July 15, 2010. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- ^ "Felipe Smith Promises Muscle Cars, Drag Racing & More in ALL-NEW GHOST RIDER". Newsarama. Retrieved October 9, 2017.; "Instagram post by Nickelodeon Animation • Sep 25, 2017 at 10:30pm UTC". Instagram. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- ^ "'ALL-NEW GHOST RIDER': Felipe Smith brings creative muscle to the reborn Spirit of Vengeance". Washington Post. Retrieved October 9, 2017.; Ananas, Nick. "Japan Expo USA to Host Akihiro Kanayama, Felipe Smith, Daigo Ikeno Anime News Manga". animenewsmanga.com. Retrieved October 9, 2017.; Schedeen, Jesse (March 25, 2014). "All-New Ghost Rider #1 Review". IGN. Retrieved October 9, 2017.; "14 for '14: Comic Book Creators To Watch In The New Year". ComicsAlliance. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- ^ "Smith & Moore Race Toward Vengeance in "All-New Ghost Rider"". CBR. March 10, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- ^ "Under The Hood of the All-New Ghost Rider Character Design". Newsarama. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- ^ Marvel Entertainment (November 21, 2016), The Creators of All-New Ghost Rider Visit Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., retrieved October 9, 2017; "Felipe Smith & Tradd Moore Join This Week in Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." News | Marvel.com. Archived from the original on July 1, 2018. Retrieved October 9, 2017.; "How Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Changes Robbie Reyes/Ghost Rider's Origin Story". Screen Rant. November 1, 2016. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
Bibliography
edit- Howard, Sheena C.; Jackson, Ronald L. (2013). Black Comics: Politics of Race and Representation. New York: Bloomsbury Academic. pp. 79, 83–84. ISBN 978-1-4411-3528-5.
- Babb, Valerie (2017). A History of the African American Novel. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 307–309, 404, 454. ISBN 978-1-107-06172-9.