Hope Raue Larson (born 1982) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

and

cartoonist A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comics illustrators/artists in that they produce both the litera ...

. Her main field is

comic books A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

Personal life and education

Larson grew up in

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

, and attended Carolina Day School.Anne Fitten Glenn
"Graphic Insight"
''Mountain Xpress''. Retrieved on December 24, 2008. Upon graduation from high school, she matriculated at

Rochester Institute of Technology The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in Henrietta, New York, a suburb of Rochester, New York, Rochester. It was founded in 1829. It is one of only two institute of technology, institut ...

and then transferred to the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a Private university, private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which gr ...

, where she graduated with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

in 2004. She then moved to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

with her husband, Canadian cartoonist

Bryan Lee O'Malley Bryan Lee O'Malley (born February 21, 1979) is a Canadians, Canadian cartoonist, best known for the ''Scott Pilgrim'' series. He also performs as a musician under the alias Kupek. Career Bryan Lee O'Malley attended St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Se ...

. In 2005, they moved to

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

. From 2008 until 2010, Larson and O'Malley lived in

, later moving to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, California. She and O'Malley divorced in 2014. She returned to Asheville, where she currently lives.

Career

While Larson was in college,

Scott McCloud Scott McCloud (born Scott McLeod; June 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist and comics theorist. His non-fiction books about comics, ''Understanding Comics'' (1993), '' Reinventing Comics'' (2000), and '' Making Comics'' (2006), are made in comic ...

took an interest in her illustrations, encouraging her to create

comics a Media (communication), medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of Panel (comics), panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, Glo ...

. Soon after, she was invited to the

webcomics Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on the internet, such as on a website or a mobile app. While many webcomics are published exclusively online, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or ...

anthology site

Girlamatic Girlamatic (sometimes stylized as GirlAMatic or Girl-A-Matic) was a webcomic subscription service launched by Joey Manley and Lea Hernandez in March 2003. It was the third online magazine Manley established as part of his Modern Tales family of w ...

and produced her first professional comic, a web serial entitled ''I Was There & Just Returned''. Afterwards, Larson concentrated on a number of small, hand-made

minicomics A minicomic is a creator-published comic book, often photocopied and stapled or with a handmade binding. In the United Kingdom and Europe the term small press comic is equivalent with minicomic, reserved for those publications measuring A6 (105& ...

, combining her interests in comics, screenprinting, and bookmaking. She contributed to

comics anthologies A comics anthology collects works in the medium of comics, typically from multiple series, and compiles them into an anthology or magazine. The comics in these anthologies range from comic strips that are too short for standalone publication to co ...

Flight Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...

'', ''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 AdHouse Books was an independent comic book publisher in the United States. Based in Richmond, Virginia, it was founded in 2002 by graphic designer Chris Pitzer. AdHouse was known primarily as a publisher of graphic novels, beginning with 2002 ...

in September 2005; she moved to

Oni Press Oni Press is an American independent comic book and graphic novel publisher based in Portland, Oregon, best known for publishing such series as '' Scott Pilgrim'' and ''Rick and Morty''. In 2019, it became an imprint label following the company's ...

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 Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

. The first book under this deal, ''Chiggers'' (released June 18, 2008, under the

Atheneum Books Atheneum Books was a New York City publishing house established in 1959 by Alfred A. Knopf, Jr., Simon Michael Bessie and Hiram Haydn. Simon & Schuster has owned Atheneum properties since it acquired Macmillan in 1994, and it created Atheneum ...

Ginee Seo imprint), is a graphic novel about "nerdy teenaged girls" who meet at summer camp. ''Chiggers'' is intended for a 9- to 12-year-old audience. In 2012, Larson adapted

Madeleine L'Engle Madeleine L'Engle (; November 29, 1918 – September 6, 2007) was an American writer of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and young adult fiction, including ''A Wrinkle in Time'' and its sequels: '' A Wind in the Door'', '' A Swiftly Tilting Planet'' ...

's work as ''A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel'', published by Margaret Ferguson Books (a Farrar Straus Giroux imprint). In 2016, Larson became the new writer for

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

Batgirl Batgirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, depicted as female counterparts and allies to the superhero Batman. The character Bette Kane, Betty Kane was introduced into publica ...

, a run that saw the character go on back-packing trip through Asia on a voyage of self-discovery. In addition to comics, Larson has worked as a freelance illustrator for various clients, including the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. She has worked as a

letterer A letterer is a member of a team of comic book creators responsible for drawing the comic book's text. The letterer's use of typefaces, calligraphy, letter size, and layout all contribute to the impact of the comic-book-reading experience. The l ...

on such books as Brian Wood and Ryan Kelly's ''

Local Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

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

Publishing

In 2006, Larson launched her own publishing imprint, Tulip Tree Press. She has released several minicomics and prints through the Tulip Tree website; 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.

Acclaim

Larson was nominated for the 2006 Kim Yale Award for Best New Female Talent, and won the 2006

Ignatz Award The Ignatz Awards recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year at the Small Press Expo since 1997, only skipping a ...

in the category Promising New Talent. In 2007, Larson won the

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are awards for creative achievement in American comic books. They are regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards in the comic industry and often referred ...

for Special Recognition (formerly known as "Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition"). She won the Eisner Award again in 2012 for her ''A Wrinkle in Time'' adaptation. Rebecca Kraatz's House of Sugar, Larson's first publishing venture, won the 2007

Doug Wright Award The Doug Wright Awards for Canadian Cartooning (established in December 2004) are literary awards handed out annually since 2005 during the Toronto Comic Arts Festival to Canadian cartoonists honouring excellence in comics (including webcomics) ...

for Best Emerging Talent. ''All Summer Long'' was a ''Kirkus Reviews'' Best Book of 2018.

Works

Mainstream comic book work

*''

'',

, 2016–2018, with

Rafael Albuquerque Rafael Albuquerque (born April 12, 1981) is a Brazilian comic book creator primarily for his artwork on titles such as DC Comics' '' Blue Beetle'' and as illustrator and co-creator of ''American Vampire''. Though primarily a penciler and inker o ...

Graphic novels

*'' Salamander Dream''.

, 2005 *''Gray Horses''.

, 2006 *''Chiggers''.

, 2008 *''Mercury''. Atheneum Books, 2010 *''A Wrinkle in Time''. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012 *''Who is AC'' with Tintin Pantoja. thenum Books 2013 *Four Points series **''Compass South'', Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2016 **''Knife's Edge'', Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2017 * '' Goldie Vance'' with Brittney Williams.

Boom! Studios Boom! Studios (stylized as BOOM! Studios), is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher. They are headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. The company is a subsidiary of Random House division of Penguin Random House sin ...

, 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 ''

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

) * "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'')

References

External links

Hope Larson's websiteTulip Tree Press
, Larson's publishing imprint
Hope Larson
on hinah exhibitions
"Thinking in Comics: A Roundtable on the Present and Future of the Graphic Novel featuring Matt Kindt, Hope Larson, Nate Powell, Dash Shaw, James Sturm, Jillian Tamaki, and Will Wilkinson" in ''Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts'' (26.1)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larson, Hope Alternative cartoonists American webcomic creators American female comics artists American female comics writers American graphic novelists American people of German descent American people of Swedish descent American expatriates in Canada Living people Artists from Asheville, North Carolina DC Comics people Eisner Award winners for Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition 1982 births School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni