Meet author Debbi Michiko Florence and artist Mark Nagata during an exclusive Members Only conversation and pre-event book signing of the new book, Monster Maker: The Strange Creatures of Mark Nagata.
Monster Maker: The Strange Creatures of Mark Nagata is a biographical account of toy designer, painter, illustrator, and collector Mark Nagata. From a young age, Nagata was a fan of many classic comic book series, movies, and toys. After being introduced to classic Japanese television shows that truly sparked his creativity, he embarked on a journey that ultimately led to his success as a kaiju toymaker. Kaiju translates to strange creature but has since come to mean large monster in Japanese. Nagata bases his toy design and artwork on this type of creature and his work has flourished into an important and well-recognized art form in the United States and around the world.
Monster Maker will be available at the JANM Store in-person at the event pop-up and online.
Stay for the JANM Book Club public program which will include a special reading of Monster Maker and moderated conversation with Debbi Michiko Florence and Mark Nagata at 2 p.m. Free for JANM Members! TICKETS
Bios
Debbi Michiko Florence
Debbi Michiko Florence is the author of more than twenty-five books for young readers, including the Jasmine Toguchi chapter book series. A third-generation Japanese American, Florence grew up in Los Angeles and loved watching TV shows and movies of Ultraman and Godzilla as a child. Today, she lives in Connecticut with her husband and two rescue dogs, and has a growing collection of Mark Nagata’s kaiju.
Mark Nagata
Mark Nagata is a world-renowned artist and Japanese toymaker. For over ten years, he was a freelance commercial illustrator. One of the highlights from this time was creating over forty cover paintings for various children’s horror books like, RL Stine’s Give Yourself Goosebumps series. In 2005 he founded Max Toy Company, which offers classic Japanese character toys and produces its own licensed and original exclusive toys. Many of the original toys are hand-painted by Nagata.