Jason Shiga
Encyclopedia
Jason Shiga is an Asian American
cartoonist
who incorporates puzzles, mysteries and unconventional narrative techniques into his work.
. His father, Seiji Shiga, was an animator who worked on the 1964 Rankin-Bass production Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
. Shiga was a pure mathematics
major at the University of California at Berkeley, from which he graduated in 1998.
, which features a solved maze on the front cover and a (slightly different) unsolved maze on the back. The title page of each story in the journal is headed by a maze segment labeled with numbers leading to the first pages of other stories.
Shiga has also drawn and written several comics and illustrated features for Nickelodeon Magazine, some of which feature his original creations, and some starring Nickelodeon characters such as SpongeBob SquarePants
and the Fairly OddParents.
Shiga makes a cameo appearance in the Derek Kirk Kim comic, Ungrateful Appreciation as a Rubik's Cube
-solving nerd.
and a 222 size Winsor & Newton
brush, and lettered it with a Micron 08 felt-tip pen. The colors were applied digitally by John Pham.
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
who incorporates puzzles, mysteries and unconventional narrative techniques into his work.
Early life
Jason Shiga is from Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. His father, Seiji Shiga, was an animator who worked on the 1964 Rankin-Bass production Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (TV special)
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a Christmas television special produced in stop motion animation by Rankin/Bass. It first aired Sunday, December 6, 1964, on the NBC television network in the USA, and was sponsored by General Electric under the umbrella title of The General Electric Fantasy Hour...
. Shiga was a pure mathematics
Pure mathematics
Broadly speaking, pure mathematics is mathematics which studies entirely abstract concepts. From the eighteenth century onwards, this was a recognized category of mathematical activity, sometimes characterized as speculative mathematics, and at variance with the trend towards meeting the needs of...
major at the University of California at Berkeley, from which he graduated in 1998.
Career
Shiga is credited as the "Maze Specialist" for Issue #18 (Winter 2005/2006) of the literary journal McSweeney's QuarterlyTimothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern
Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern is a literary journal, first published in 1998, edited by Dave Eggers. The first issue featured only works rejected by other magazines, but thereafter the journal began to include pieces written with McSweeney's in mind. McSweeney’s has since published works by...
, which features a solved maze on the front cover and a (slightly different) unsolved maze on the back. The title page of each story in the journal is headed by a maze segment labeled with numbers leading to the first pages of other stories.
Shiga has also drawn and written several comics and illustrated features for Nickelodeon Magazine, some of which feature his original creations, and some starring Nickelodeon characters such as SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants (character)
SpongeBob SquarePants is a main fictional character in the animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants. He is voiced by Tom Kenny and first appeared on television in the series' pilot episode "Help Wanted" on May 1, 1999. SpongeBob was created and designed by cartoonist Stephen Hillenburg...
and the Fairly OddParents.
Shiga makes a cameo appearance in the Derek Kirk Kim comic, Ungrateful Appreciation as a Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik.Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that...
-solving nerd.
Techniques and materials
According to the rear credits page of Empire State: A Love Story, Shiga, who was inspired by an actual Greyhound Bus trip from Oakland to New York to create that story, pencilled it with a yellow No. 2 pencil on copy paper. He then inked it with a lightboxLightbox
Lightbox may refer to:* Various backlit viewing devices:** A container with several lightbulbs and a pane of frosted glass on the top. It is used by photography professionals viewing translucent films, such as slides. This device was originally used to sort photographic plates with ease. It is also...
and a 222 size Winsor & Newton
Winsor & Newton
Winsor & Newton manufactures a wide variety of fine art products including: oils, alkyds, watercolours, acrylics, pastels, brushes, canvases, papers, portfolios, and distributes the Derwent pencil sets.-History:...
brush, and lettered it with a Micron 08 felt-tip pen. The colors were applied digitally by John Pham.
Awards
- 2007 Eisner Comic Industry Award nominee: Best Graphic Album, Bookhunter.
- 2007 Ignatz Award nominee: Outstanding Graphic Novel, Bookhunter.
- 2007 Stumptown Comics Award winner: Best Writing, Bookhunter.
- 2004 Eisner Comic Industry Award nominee: Best Single Issue or One-Shot, Fleep.
- 2004 Ignatz Award winner: Outstanding Story, Fleep.
- 2003 Eisner Comic Industry AwardEisner AwardThe Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
winner: Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition. - 1999 Xeric Award winner: Double Happiness.
Books
- Double Happiness, 2000 Shigabooks
- Fleep, 2002 Sparkplug Comics
- Bookhunter, 2007 Sparkplug Comics (French translation, éditions Cambourakis, 2008)
- MeanwhileMeanwhileMeanwhile may refer to:*"Meanwhile" , a 1999 song by George Strait* Meanwhile , 1991* ...Meanwhile, a 1992 album by British pop band 10cc...
, 2010 Amulet Books - Empire State - A Love Story (or Not), 2011 Abrams
Self-published minicomics
- Phillip's Head, 1997
- The Adventures of Doorknob Bob, 1997
- Mortimer Mouse, 1997
- The Family Circus (parody), 1997
- The Last Supper, 1997
- Grave of the Crickets, 1998
- The Bum's Rush, 1998
- The Date, 1999
- Meanwhile..., 2001
- Hello World, 2003
- Bus Stop, 2004