Date of Birth
30 October 1990
Place of Birth:
Profession
Nationality:
United States, Nigeria
Zodiac Sign:
Age:
ABOUT
Ngozi Ukazu was born on October 30 1990. Ukazu’s parents immigrated to the United States from Nigeria in the late 80s, eventually settling in Houston, Texas where Ukazu was born. She grew up in Houston Tx, and also lived in Austin Tx, Savannah Tx, GA, New Haven, CT Payson, UT. She is a DC Comics artist, New York Times-bestselling graphic novelist, and the creator of comics like Check, Please!, BUNT!, and the forthcoming graphic novel FLIP. For B.Sc, she studied computer science, obtaining a degree in Computing and The Arts and graduated from Yale University. Ngozi earned a masters degree in Sequential Art from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Since 2020 her cartoons have appeared in The New Yorker.
BEFORE FAME
Ukazu’s interest in ice hockey began during her senior year at Yale, sparked by the extensive research she conducted for a screenplay about the sport. She was inspired to write about ice hockey after a Yale hockey player in her freshman German class made an off-hand, interesting comment about his team’s sexuality. Realizing that computer science was not her true calling, Ukazu decided to pursue art more seriously. She eventually enrolled in a sequential arts MFA program to learn how to create comics.
She made Check, Please! by (a) writing and thumb-nailing (sketching) out pages in a notebook, then (b) drawing the line work and coloring the pages in Photoshop, and finally (c) lettering the comic in “InDesign”. Before she wrote her book “Check Please” she was a webcomic, and she ran a very successful Kickstarter campaign to self-publish collections of the strips. The Morris-nominated volume is published by First Second, and collects two years’ worth of strips.
CAREER
In 2013, Ukazu launched Check, Please! as a webcomic, inspired by a screenplay she wrote about Eric “Bitty” Bittle, a gay college freshman and champion figure skater who joins a hockey team.
In 2015, Ukazu initiated a Kickstarter campaign to print the first volume of the comic, which became the highest-funded comics project in Kickstarter’s history. The first installment, Check, Please!: #Hockey, was published by First Second Books in 2018. Its sequel, Check, Please!: Sticks & Scones, became a New York Times bestseller in May 2020.
In 2024, she both wrote and illustrated the graphic novel Barda for DC Comics.
FAMILY LIFE
Ukazu’s parents immigrated to the United States from Nigeria in the late 80s, eventually settling in Houston, Texas where Ukazu was born. She is a first-generation Nigerian woman–a black woman–and a Texan. Obviously, she is related to Joel Ukazu, Ogechi Ukazu, Patience Ukazu, Patience Jehova, Ikechi Ukazu, Joel Ukazu and Ogechi Ukazu. She can neither ice skate or bake as depicted in one of her books! (She has no pie-knowledge to back-up Bitty’s savant skills). Her Favourite writing/drawing beverage is black coffee with a splash of almond milk. Ngozi Ukazu birthday date is 30th October.
ASSOCIATED WITH
Ngozi Ukazu has several publications in 2018: Check, Please!: #Hockey as well as 2020: Check, Please!: Sticks & Scones. She also has numerous Awards and honors to her name including;
- Commencement Speaker | Center for Cartoon Studies 2024
- Honorary MFA | Center for Cartoon Studies 2024
- Ignatz Award – Winner, Outstanding Comic
- Harvey Award – Winner, Digital Book of the Year
- YALSA – Finalist | William C. Morris Award
- The Boston Globe – Best YA of 2018
- Kirkus Reviews – Best Young Adult Books of 2018 That Explore Family and Self
- New York Public Library’s Best Books – Top Ten Books For Teens
- Best of Austin – Arts & Entertainment Critics Pick
- Harvey Awards – Nominee, Digital Book of the Year
- National Cartoonists Society – Winner, Best Online Comic: Long Form
- NPR – 100 Favorite Comics And Graphic Novels
Ngozi Ukazu Net Worth
Ngozi Ukazu lives a simple and private life in the US making her networth not available to the public eye. Nevertheless, she has been in writing different comic books for few years now, earning her some life expectations. To this fact, she’s living happily with her family, and owns a private car. There’s no record of her buying an apartment in United States.