M. Alice LeGrow
M. Alice LeGrow | |
---|---|
Born | Mary Alice LeGrow 1981 (age 42–43) Kansas, United States |
Education | Savannah College of Art and Design (BFA) |
Occupation(s) | alternative comics artist, costume designer[nb 1] |
Years active | 2003—present |
Notable work | Bizenghast |
Website | bizenghast |
Mary Alice "Marty" LeGrow (born 1981 in Kansas, United States), better known by her pen name M. Alice LeGrow, is an American alternative comics artist, best known for her gothic, dark fantasy graphic novel series Bizenghast.
Her 2003 short story "Nickolai", about a grieving only child and the ghost she befriends, won a runner-up place in publisher Tokyopop's Rising Stars of Manga competition. She successfully pitched Bizenghast to the Tokyopop editors, and worked on the eight-volume series from 2004 to 2011. Set in the eponymous New England town, it focuses on an orphan who finds herself tasked with returning each night to a mausoleum and appeasing the ghosts within it. Published from 2005 to 2012, Bizenghast has been translated into twelve languages and received praise and criticism from reviewers.
Early life
Mary Alice LeGrow attended
At the 2003
Career
Following the successful pitch of her gothic,
LeGrow described Bizenghast as "about life, death and fabulous outfits (not in that order)", and notes the presence of religious themes.[4]
Tokyopop published the first seven volumes of Bizenghast from 2005 to 2010,
In 2012, LeGrow announced a Kickstarter project for a self-published graphic novel series titled The Elephant Book,
In 2021, LeGrow published the horror comic Stagtown on the digital platform Webtoon, under the pen name Punko. Stagtown follows the story of Frankie, Jeremy and Felix as they discover something is terribly wrong in the town of Stagtown, and attempt to escape the horrors that the residents spend every day ignoring. The series proved very popular among the horror fanbase, spanning two seasons between 2021 and 2023.
In 2023, her online comic Cinderella Boy was optioned for publication and launched on Webtoon in November 2023 and is currently ongoing.
Artistic Reception
Reviewers have discussed her artistic style. Johanna Draper Carlson, a reviewer for Publishers Weekly, described LeGrow's art as reminiscent of those of "some classic fantasy indy comics, perhaps (for example) the work of
Bibliography
- Graphic novels & short stories
- "Nikolai"
(2003, short story, Rising Stars of Manga volume 2,ISBN 978-1-59182-536-4) - Bizenghast
(2005–2012, graphic novel series, Tokyopop, 8 volumes) - The Poison Apple Book of Stories
(2010, self-publishedmini-comic)[26] - Red Dart, silver-prize winner in the Line Webtoon BRAIN short-story contest.[27]
- Illustrations
- Bizenghast: Falling into Fear
(2007,ISBN 978-1-59816-748-1)[28] - Color Me Manga: Bizenghast
(2007, coloring book,ISBN 978-0762431311)[29] - Bizenghast: The Novel
(2008,ISBN 978-1-4278-1030-4)[30] - Stagtown a web comic, spiritual successor to Bizenghast.
- Cinderella Boy, a comedy web comic deconstructing classic fairytale tropes
Notes and references
- Notes
- ^ Her biography in Rising Stars of Manga lists her as an artist and a costume designer.[1] In 2009, she designed and sewed the costumes for a wedding-themed photoshoot for the spring 2009 issue of the English-language Gothic & Lolita Bible, with the exception of two pieces brought by the other two models.[2] She also modelled one of her costumes, and designed the set.[2] In 2011, she worked as an assistant costume designer at the haunted house event Terror Behind the Walls at Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia.[3]
- ^ LeGrow considers Bizenghast to be a graphic novel series,[9] while reviewers have categorized it as global manga.[10][11]
- References
- OCLC 54681433.
- ^ a b LeGrow, M. Alice (20 March 2009). "Gothic and Lolita Bible Shoot". DeviantArt. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
- ^ LeGrow, M. Alice (September 2011). "Save Coupons, Save Dosh, Be Scared". Eat Cake Frosting. Tumblr. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
- ^ a b c d Ong Pang Kean, Benjamin (6 June 2005). "Checking out Bizenghast With M. Alice LeGrow". Newsarama. Archived from the original on 14 February 2009. Retrieved 4 July 2009.
- ^ a b Goodman, David (13 April 2012). "A Q&A with Philly Writer/Artist M. Alice LeGrow". Geekadelphia. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
- ^ OCLC 318666872.
- ^ Douresseau, LJ (2 March 2004). "Interview with Marty LeGrow". Comic Book Bin. Coolstreak Cartoons. Archived from the original on 29 April 2007. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
- ^ a b "Rising Stars Winner to Have Series Published". Anime News Network. 25 February 2004. Archived from the original on 23 June 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
- ^ a b c "About the Author". M. Alice LeGrow. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
- ^ a b Welsh, David (3 February 2010). "Quick and the Dead". Comic World News. Archived from the original on 30 August 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
- ^ a b Bertschy, Zac (15 December 2005). "Bizenghast GN1 - Review -". Anime News Network. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
- ^ LeGrow, M. Alice (12 May 2011). "39 Envelopes". Eat Cake Frosting. Tumblr. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
- ^ a b KJB (11 August 2005). "IGN: Bizenghast Vol. 1 Review". IGN. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
- ^ "Right Stuf, Inc. Announces Exclusive Deal With Creator M. Alice LeGrow & Tokyopop to Publish Bizenghast, Vol. 8" (Press release). Anime News Network. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
- ^ "Bizenghast (Manga)". Madman Entertainment. Archived from the original on 4 October 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
- ^ "Mangattack" (in Hungarian). Mangattack. Archived from the original on 12 September 2008. Retrieved 3 September 2009.
- ^ "Bücher: Manga: Bizenghast" [Books: Manga: Bizenghast] (in German). Tokyopop. Archived from the original on 7 July 2009. Retrieved 23 June 2009.
- ^ "Vanhoja julkaisuja" (in Finnish). Pauna Media Group. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 8 February 2010.
- ^ "Tokyopop Gets More Coverage in Teen Mags". ICv2. 28 July 2005. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
- ^ McNeil, Sheena (1 October 2005). "Bizenghast#1". Sequential Tart. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
- ^ LeGrow, M. Alice (27 March 2012). "Kickstarter Campaign is now!". Eat Cake Frosting. Tumblr. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
- ^ a b "The Elephant Book". bizenghast.com. M. Alice LeGrow. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
- ^ Draper Carlson, Johanna (30 August 2009). "Bizenghast Wins! Last OEL Manga Standing". Comics Worth Reading. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2009.
- ^ "Bizenghast, Vol. 1.(Brief Article)(Book Review)". Publishers Weekly. Accessmylibrary. 15 August 2005.
- ^ Van Gorder, Danielle (1 February 2007). "Bizenghast: Falling into Fear Vol. #01". Mania Entertainment. Archived from the original on 2 June 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2010.
- ^ LeGrow, M. Alice. "Poison Apple Cover by *sadwonderland". DeviantArt. Archived from the original on 22 September 2010. Retrieved 18 September 2010.
- ^ "Webtoon Short Story Contest Results".
- ^ "Bizenghast: Falling into Fear Volume 1". Tokyopop. Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
- OCLC 148873665. Retrieved 8 September 2012.
- ^ "Bizenghast: The Novel". Tokyopop. Archived from the original on 24 June 2009. Retrieved 21 July 2009.