Interview: Jim Ottaviani

On Sunday, May 8th, while attending the Toronto Comic Arts Festival, I ran around to as many of my favorite kids comics creators as I could and asked them all the exact same questions.  Keep in mind, conventions are crazy loud and crazy busy, so there is a lot of background noise.  Let me know in the comments if you have trouble hearing anything and I’ll translate for you.

I like that Jim Ottaviani has a secret origin.  I like that Jim Ottaviani is enthusiastic about being a librarian.  I like that Jim Ottaviani uses the graphic novel format to write amazingly readable non-fiction for kids, teens, and adults (and as someone who doesn’t naturally gravitate to non-fiction, that’s saying something).  I like that Jim Ottaviani works with some amazing artists, including Leland Myrick, Zander and Kevin Cannon, Dylan Meconis, and Janine Johnston.  I guess what I’m trying to say is that I like Jim Ottaviani.

Books mentioned in this video:

• Prime Baby, by Gene Luen Yang
• American Born Chinese, by Gene Luen Yang
• Bone series, by Jeff Smith
• Anya’s Ghost, by Vera Brosgol
• Mercury, by Hope Larson
• Smile, by Raina Telgemeier
• Zero Gravity: Astronaut Academy vol 1, by Dave Roman
• Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss

Filed under: Interviews, Uncategorized