Michael Manning
Michael Manning is the artist/writer/creator of several graphic novels. Born in Queens, NYC and raised on Massachusetts North Shore, Manning went on to study film and animation at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. He began self-publishing his black and white erotic comics in 1987 while working as an animator and director of short films, commercials and music videos.
Early exposure to Japanese animation, fairy tale book illustration, American and European comics, and mythology of many cultures has contributed to the formation of Manning's style. He is a great admirer of the Symbolist and Pre-Raphaelite art movements as well as the classical ukiyo-e prints of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi and Unagawa Kuniyoshi and modern manga artists such as Yukito Kishiro and Hiroyuki Utatane.
Manning currently lives in downtown Los Angeles, where he shares a loft space with his partner, photographer/filmmaker Lyn Gaza, and a large collection of art books and electronic/psychedelic music. He can often be seen locally riding his bicycle - usually to the book or hardware store.
Work
Manning is currently working in collaboration with comix artist/tattooist Patrick Conlon on Iron Gauge, the second installment of their Tranceptor series and on Arcana, his first full-colour graphic novel (both from NBM Publishing). His artwork has been exhibited in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Boston, Miami, Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Milan. The Spider Garden has been translated into French, German, and Italian. In 2002, mural-sized reproductions of panels from his In A Metal Web graphic novel were featured as part of a special installation at San Francisco's Yerba Buena Center For the Arts comix-themed exhibition "Fantastic! Comics and the Art of Illusion".
References
The Spider Garden (1995/NBM)
Hydrophidian (1996/NBM)
In A Metal Web (2003/NBM)
In A Metal Web II (2003/NBM)
Tranceptor (1998/NBM)
Lumenagerie (1996/NBM)
Cathexis (1997/NBM)
Inamorata: The Erotic Art of Michael Manning (2005/Last Gasp)
