Junko Mizuno

Junko Mizuno (水野純子) is a Japanese manga artist.

Mizuno's drawing style, which mixes childish sweetness and cuteness with blood and terror has been termed a Gothic kawaii or kawaii noir style. In addition to her comics, she designs T-shirts, calendars, postcards, and other collectibles. Some of Junko Mizuno's designs were used in the documentary series Japanorama, which aired on BBC.

Mizuno has participated in the Angoulême International Comics Festival.

Last Gasp and Viz Comics are the English-language publishers of her work.

Some of Mizuno's recent work was on display at the Merry Karnowsky Gallery in Los Angeles, in an exhibit titled Heart Throb (March 10 to April 7, 2007, with new work by Miss Van and Aiko Nakagawa), and at Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra, California in an exhibit titled Tender Succubus (October 6 to October 27 with work by Mizna Wada and Alayna Magnan).

Mizuno provides the art that accompanies the horoscopes in Shojo Beat magazine.

Art style
Mizuno has stated that her work is influenced by shōjo manga works; this influence is exhibited through her use of bright colorization and the large eyes she provides for her characters Her art has a decidedly pop-art and psychedelic flair, and a sizable proportion of her published work is colored, rather than the black and white format typical of most Japanese comics.

Works

 * Cinderalla, (Koushinsya, 1995); English ed. Viz, (2002).
 * "The Life of Momongo," story by Norimizu Ameya, Comic Cue, (East Press, 1998); reprinted in Chikao Shiratori, (ed.), Secret Comics Japan, (Viz, 2000).
 * Pure Trance, (East Press [Tokyo], 1998); English ed. Last Gasp, (2005).
 * Hansel & Gretel, (Koushinsya, 2000); English ed. Viz, (2003).
 * Junko Mizuno's Hell Babies, (Kenichi Kawai/Pan-Exotica, 2001).
 * Princess Mermaid, (Bunkasha, 2002); English ed. Viz, (2003).
 * Collector's File 002: Junko Mizuno's Illustration Book, (Viz, 2003).

Merchandise
A handful of objects have been produced from Junko Mizuno's designs. These include vinyl figurines (produced by Fewture Models/Art Storm USA), plush animals, stationery (produced by Dark Horse USA), and original artwork T-shirts (made by Fine Clothing). In early 2009 Mizuno Garden launched a line of erotic products such as condoms and lube. In addition, the Viz editions of her graphic novels include stickers and postcards. Hasbro recently announced a limited edition My Little Pony based on her design for a charity auction.