Juniper Kim '20 Nominated for Top Indie Comics Award

Department of Music alum Juniper Kim '20, a comics artist, writer, and musician, has been nominated for an Ignatz Award, the highest honor in small-press comics. For Kim's latest work, "Koreans Sing in English," the Ignatz panel dubbed Kim worthy of nomination in the "Promising New Talent" category, one of ten that, per the awards committee, "recognize exceptional work that challenges popular notions of what comics can achieve, both as an art form and as a means of personal expression." Winners will be announced at the Ignatz Awards ceremony on September 17, the culmination of the Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland.

A 16-page graphic narrative, "Koreans Sing in English" weaves contemplations of American popular music, diaspora, colonialism, and Korean history into a vibrant visual polyphony. The comic, in the author's words, takes the form of a "triptych juxtaposing personal, intergenerational, and historical narratives" to discuss race, postcoloniality, queerness, and substance use.

Voting for Ignatz Award winners is open until the Small Press Expo begins on September 16. Electronic ballots are available here.