Join author Debbi Michiko Florence and artist Mark Nagata for a special reading of Debbi’s new book Monster Maker: The Strange Creatures of Mark Nagata. Then stick around for a conversation with them moderated by Maria Kwong, JANM’s Director of Retail Enterprise and curator of Kaiji vs Heroes, the exhibition that first connected Debbi to Mark!
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.
The JANM Book Club is a series of Public Programs that highlights new publications by Japanese Americans or related to Japanese American history and culture.
Monster Makers is available at the JANM Store. BUY NOW
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.
Photo: Brenda De Los Santos
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.
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Learn how their mutual love of Ultraman and JANM’s 2019 Kaiju vs Heroes exhibition led to their collaboration on Debbi Michiko Florence’s newest book, Monster Maker: The Strange Creatures of Mark Nagata.
