by Gem M
Mariko Tamaki is an Eisner, Igantz, Printz, and GLAAD award winner and has now added one more award to her accomplishments this comic-con year! At the start of her spotlight panel, a comic-con representative arrived and presented her with an Inkpot award. Inkpots are an annual award given to recognize and celebrate the work of comic book ink artists in the United States only presented at San Diego Comic-Con.
She was honored and happy to receive this prestigious award, even before the award she mentioned how this panel had been “three years in the making” which makes this spotlight more special. Tamaki also joked that the physical award itself was “nicer” and “heavier” than her Eisner, earning a laugh from everyone.
The moderator, Kat Calamia, introduces herself and praises Mariko Tamaki for her current work with Zatanna: Bring the House Down. This leads right away to her asking questions about Tamaki’s work with Zatanna with DC’s Black Label. In response, Tamaki talks about how she got the opportunity to work on this story and how she made an already well-known character more unique compared to other works about Zatanna.
The Eisner-winning author then talked about working alongside her cousin Jillian Tamaki for their book, Roaming. She shared how they initially had a different story in mind but felt that it wasn’t working for them. That is, until her cousin came to her and said let’s write a story about three characters who are going to visit New York. From there, the duo got into it and made the fantastic story that is Roaming.
To go even deeper about the comic, she explains how the creative process went with her cousin and how they co-worked on it. She recalls about the time they were making the comic that her cousin wanted to visit an airport in New York for a scene she wanted to draw for the comic. Which she actually did and it’s part of the comic.
The panel ended with a Q and A with the audience where it was filled with people admiring her work, her inspirations and wanting to know more why she became a storywriter. It was wholesome to see the interaction between the audience and Tamaki.
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