Derek Kirk Kim
Derek Kirk Kim is a heavy hitter in the comics and animation world. He’s managed to accomplish quite a lot with award-winning comics and a successful career in animation as a director, storyboard artist and character designer for numerous companies like Disney, Cartoon Network and Netflix. In this interview, I put my pop culture sleuthing skills to good use as we cover Kim’s creative process which has brought him back to his first love, comics, and his new comic book series, The Last Mermaid, published by Image Comics. Here is my review.
Volume 1 collects Issues 1-6.
The Last Mermaid #6!
Variant Cover for #6 by Joy Ang.
Variant Cover for #6 by Gene Luen Yang.
Variant Cover for #6 by Jacob Perez.
What is essential for any work of comics, or any form of art, to stand the test of time is structural integrity. If a work is built upon a firm and solid foundation of diligent care, then it surely stands a chance. We chat about the connections shared by Kim’s earlier work (notably, Same Difference and The Eternal Smile, with Gene Luen Yang) and Kim’s latest work. There’s a certain sensibility at play: a devotion to characters, a heart-felt narrative and a sly drive to push boundaries. The magic to all of this is carefully crafted writing. And then you add the wow factor of equally well-crafted artwork. So, at the end of the day, you have a work where everything is there for a reason. It’s sturdy. It will stand the test of time.
How about that silver trident?
This is an important time in the routines of comics fans as tomorrow is Wednesday, the day of the week that comics shops get in their latest titles. Each week has its own favorites. This Wednesday, the number one comic book title has got to be The Last Mermaid #6. This issue will round out what will be the first trade paperback collection of this title. And it is in this issue that our main character finally reveals her name. We chat about this at length along with the usual comics shop talk. I invite you to join us. Just click the video below.
And remember that it’s The Last Mermaid #6 that wraps up the first story arc. The first collected trade paperback comes out in October. Visit Image Comics.
Also, be on the lookout in April of next year for Royals, the new graphic novel written by Derek Kirk Kim and art by Jacob Perez, a crime caper involving telepathic twins, published by Image Comics.
