Graphic Novel Showcase: The Works of Nate Powell

Graphic novelist, musician, and past East Lansing resident Nate Powell has been creating and publishing comics since he was a teenager in the early 1990s. He recently celebrated 20 years of comic publishing in September 2012.

Powell's most notable work, Swallow Me Whole, tells the story of two teenage siblings trying to gain control over their developmental disorders and cope with the terminal illness of a loved one. It is the winner of the 2009 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Novel.

Any Empire is another popular work by Powell. It follows three kids from the American south into adulthood, examining the effects of childhood glorification of violence and warfare. It was mentioned in this year's volume of The Best American Graphic Novels.

Powell has also collaborated with a variety of other storytellers, ranging from fellow authors, graphic novelists, producers, and even video game designers. Published earlier this year, New York Times Bestseller The Silence of Our Friends is a semi-autobiographical account that extracts from the experiences of co-author Mark Long's childhood during the peak of the civil rights struggle in Houston, Texas.

Nate Powell currently lives in Bloomington, Indiana with his wife and baby daughter. You can find out more about his upcoming works at his blog, See My Brother Dance.