Felipe Smith
Felipe Smith got into comic book creation via the indie route. Having developed his own series with a bit of an adult twist, the Argentinian-Jamaican writer-artist had trouble at first selling such a mature series to American publishing houses. After discovering manga, which were more open to adult content at the time, Smith knew what he had to do. He ceased trying to sell his ideas to U.S.-based companies and set his sights on Japan. Teaching himself the language over the years from his part-time gig at a Japanese restaurant and picking up the rest on his own, Smith produced a short series, catching the eye of a book agent in Japan. With this agent’s help, Smith became one of the first American-based writer-artists to ever sign a deal with Japan-based publishing company, Kodansha. Smith went on to produce the highly-popular, three-volume series Peepo Choo. More recently, Smith was approached by Marvel to help create the All-New Ghost Rider series, which introduced a new character—a young Chicano from L.A. named Robbie Reyes—taking on the popular possessed rider’s mantle. Today, Smith does character design work on Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles TV series. He will also be voicing the character Philly The Kid in the upcoming anime series Canon Busters.
Photo Courtesy of Felipe Smith