Svetlana Chmakova

Svetlana Chmakova (Russian: Светлана Шмакова) (b. October 7, 1979) is a Russian-Canadian comic book artist. She is best known for Dramacon, an original English-language (OEL) manga spanning three volumes and published in North America by Tokyopop. Her other original work includes Nightschool and Awkward for Yen Press. She has been nominated for an Eisner Award twice.[2][3] Previously, she created The Adventures of CG for CosmoGIRL! magazine and the webcomic Chasing Rainbows for Girlamatic.

Svetlana Chmakova
Born (1979-10-07) October 7, 1979
Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
NationalityRussian
Canadian
Area(s)Writer, Artist
Notable works
Dramacon, Nightschool, and Awkward
AwardsJoe Shuster Comics for Kids Award, Dwayne McDuffie Award for Kids' Comics[1]
https://svetlania.com/

Early life and education

Chmakova was born in Russia where she was first exposed to comics after she found ElfQuest at a Moscow book stand. After she emigrated to Canada at the age of 16, she graduated from the Sheridan College Classical Animation program in 2002. She then began to publish her manga on the Internet.[4] According to her website, she is married and has a toddler. Her husband manages her website.[5]

Career

Dramacon is Chmakova's first full-length comic, telling the story of Christie Leroux, an aspiring teenage comics writer, and her experiences at her first anime convention. She attends the convention with her artist boyfriend Derek Hollman, but soon finds herself attracted to a mysterious, sun-glassed cosplayer named Matt Green.

Other works by Chmakova include The Adventures of CG for CosmoGIRL! magazine and the Chasing Rainbows and Night Silver webcomics. Her art also appears in Mangaka America[6] and Flight.[7]

On February 24, 2007 at New York Comic Con, Yen Press announced that they would be publishing Nightschool, a new original manga by Chmakova.[8]

At New York Comic Con on October 10, 2014, Yen Press announced that they would be publishing Awkward, a new original comic by Chmakova.[9] Brave, a sequel to Awkward, was announced on April 25, 2016.[10] Crush, the third book in the series, was released in 2017, and received the 2019 Excellence in Graphic Literature Award in the Middle Grade Category.[11][12] On September 22, 2022, the next book in the series, Enemies, was released in the US and Canada

Critical reaction

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution described Dramacon as "surprisingly true-to-life (and occasionally harrowing) emotional drama and humor ... Creator Svetlana Chmakova doesn't skimp on character development or plot progression. Her art is top-notch as well, outstripping even many of her Japanese inspirations with clear storytelling and polished technique."[13]

Dramacon was nominated for an Eisner Award in 2007.[2]

Nightschool won the Dragon Award for Kids Comics at the Shuster Awards in 2010.[14]

Awkward was named as one of School Library Journal's Top 10 Graphic Novels of 2015.[15] It was also named by YALSA on their list of the 2016 Great Graphic Novels for Teens.[16] Amanda M. Vail of The Mary Sue said "it needs to be on the shelves of every school and public library."[17]

Awkward won the 2nd Annual Dwayne McDuffie Award for Kids' Comics,[1] Dragon Award for Kids Comics at the 2016 Shuster Awards,[18] and was nominated for an Eisner Award.[3]

Brave has received largely positive reviews by book critics. Good Comics for Kids, a blog hosted by School Library Journal called it "a surefire hit" with magnificent artwork.[19] Brave was later named as one of the School Library Journal's Top 10 Graphic Novels of 2017.[20] It was also nominated to the YALSA list of the Great Graphic Novels for Teens,[21] included on Amazon.com's list of Best Comics and Graphic Novels of 2017,[22] and ICv2's Top 10 Kids Graphic Novels of 2017.[23] Brigid Alverson named it one of her top 10 graphic novels for kids in 2017.[24]

The Weirn Books: Be Wary of the Silent Woods was nominated for the 2021 Joe Shuster Awards.[25]

Bibliography
Year Title Publisher ISBN Notes
2000 Yoriko, Maiden of the First Fire Kat And Neko Manga[26]
2003-2006 Chasing Rainbows Girlamatic[26][27][28]
2003 Night Silver Wirepop[26][29]
2005-2007 The Adventures of CG[26] CosmoGIRL!
2005 Dramacon volume 1 Tokyopop 978-1-59816-129-8
2006 Dramacon volume 2 Tokyopop 978-1-59816-130-4
2007 Dramacon volume 3 Tokyopop 978-1-59816-131-1
2008 Dramacon: Ultimate Edition Tokyopop 978-1-42781-340-4 Contains volumes 1-3 and an additional short story
2008 "On The Importance Of Space Travel" Ballantine Books[26] 978-0-345-50589-7 Appears as a short story in volume 5 of Flight
2009 Nightschool: The Weirn Books volume 1 Yen Press 978-0-7595-2859-8 Originally appeared in Yen Plus
2009 Nightschool: The Weirn Books volume 2 Yen Press 978-0-7595-2860-4 Originally appeared in Yen Plus
2010 "Red Maple Leaves" Penguin Books[26] 978-0-6700-6849-4 Appears as an illustrated chapter in Piece by Piece by Teresa Toten
2010 Nightschool: The Weirn Books volume 3 Yen Press 978-0-7595-2861-1 Originally appeared in Yen Plus
2010 Nightschool: The Weirn Books volume 4 Yen Press 978-0-316-09126-8 Originally appeared in Yen Plus
2011 Witch and Wizard Yen Press 978-0-316-11989-4 Manga adaptation of the novel by James Patterson
2012 Witch and Wizard: The Gift Yen Press 978-0-316-11991-7 Manga adaptation of the novel by James Patterson
2013 Witch and Wizard: The Fire Yen Press 978-0-316-11984-9 Manga adaptation of the novel by James Patterson
2016 Awkward Yen Press 978-0-316-38130-7 (paperback)

978-0-316-38132-1 (hardcover)
2016 The Art Adventures of Mr. Raccoon self-published[26] Coloring book
2017 Brave JY 978-0-316-36318-1 (paperback)

978-0-316-36317-4 (hardcover)
2018 Crush JY 978-0-316-36324-2 (paperback)

978-0-316-36323-5 (hardcover)
2019 Diary JY 978-1-975-33279-2 (paperback)
2019 Berrybrook Middle School Box Set JY 978-1-975-33280-8 Includes Awkward, Brave, Crush, and Diary
2020 Nightschool: The Weirn Books Collector's Edition volume 1 Yen Press 978-1-975-31289-3 Includes volumes 1 & 2 of Nightschool: The Weirn Books
2020 Nightschool: The Weirn Books Collector's Edition volume 2 Yen Press 978-1-975-31290-9 Includes volumes 3 & 4 of Nightschool: The Weirn Books
2020 The Weirn Books volume 1 Be Wary of the Silent Woods JY 978-1-975-31122-3 (paperback)

978-1-975-31121-6 (hardcover)
2022 Enemies JY

References
  1. Nadine (20 June 2016). "Awkward Wins the McDuffie Award for Kids' Comics!". Yen Press. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  2. "2007 Eisner Nominations announced". Comic Book Resources. 19 April 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  3. "2016 Eisner Award Nominees". Comic-Con International: San Diego. Archived from the original on 19 April 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  4. Alverson, Brigid (13 July 2017). "Svetlana Chmakova's Journey from Webcomics to Graphic Novels". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  5. "Svetlana Chmakova". Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  6. Mangaka America: Manga by America's Hottest Artists. HarperCollins. 2006. ISBN 978-0-06-113769-3.
  7. Flight Volume Five. Ballantine Books. 2008. ISBN 978-0345505897.
  8. Reid, Calvin (24 February 2007). "Yen Press to Launch with New Chmakova; Licensed Manga". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 5 March 2007. Retrieved 2 March 2007.
  9. Deb Aoki [@debaoki] (10 October 2014). ".@yenpress at #NYCC14 - "awkward" by @svetlania - a "sweet & cute" tale about a pair of middle school kids - 2015" (Tweet). Retrieved 12 February 2016 – via Twitter.
  10. "'Brave!' by Svetlana Chmakova". ICv2. 25 April 2016. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  11. "Yen Press to Launch JY, a Kids' Graphic Novel Imprint in Fall 2017". Publishers Weekly. 23 July 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  12. "2019 Winners".
  13. Sampson, Khari J. (26 November 2005). "Graffiti: WORDS AND PICTURES: U.S. creator dazzles". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. p. 2FE.
  14. Vu, Liem (7 June 2010). "Joe Shuster Award-winners announced". The National Post. Archived from the original on 29 January 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  15. "Top 10 Graphic Novels 2015". School Library Journal. 23 November 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  16. "YALSA names 2016 Great Graphic Novels for Teens". Young Adult Library Services Association. 15 January 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  17. Vail, Amanda M. (20 June 2015). "Svetlana Chmakova's Awkward is Anything But, and You Need to Read It". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  18. Boyd, Kevin A. (6 November 2016). "The Winners of the 2016 Joe Shuster Awards". The Joe Shuster Awards. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  19. Keller, Esther (13 November 2017). "Review: Brave". Good Comics for Kids [blog]. School Library Journal. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  20. "Top 10 Graphic Novels 2017". School Library Journal. 20 November 2017. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
  21. "Great Graphic Novels for Teens Nominations". Young Adult Library Services Association. 5 December 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  22. "Best comics and graphic novels of 2017". Amazon.com. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  23. Alverson, Brigid (22 December 2017). "Top 10 Kids Graphic Novels of 2017". ICv2. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  24. Alverson, Brigid (22 December 2017). "Top 10 Kids Graphic Novels of 2017". ICv2. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
  25. Boyd, Kevin A. (1 January 2022). "Dragon Prize Nominees". The Joe Shuster Awards. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  26. "Comics". Svetlana Chmakova. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  27. "Chasing Rainbows page 1". Girlamatic. Archived from the original on 2 June 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  28. "Chasing Rainbows page 98". Girlamatic. Archived from the original on 5 May 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  29. "Night Silver". Wirepop. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  • Memmott, Carol (July 6, 2005). "Japanese manga takes humongous step". USA TODAY, Pg. 4D.
  • (in Russian) Article about Chmakova
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