Ngozi Ukazu


Ngozi Ukazu is an American cartoonist and graphic novelist. In 2013, she created the webcomic Check, Please!, which later became a New York Times-bestselling graphic novel.

Early life and education

Ukazu grew up in Houston, Texas. She attended Bellaire High School, where she contributed to the school’s newspaper, The Three Penny Press, as the comics editor. She is the daughter of Nigerian parents. She studied computer science, obtaining a degree in Computing and The Arts from Yale University in 2013 and a masters degree in Sequential Art from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2015.

Career

Ukazu launched Check, Please! as a webcomic in 2013 after writing a screenplay about Eric "Bitty" Bittle, a gay college freshman and champion figure skater who joins a hockey team.
Ukazu created a Kickstarter campaign in 2015 to print the first volume of the comic; the campaign resulted in the highest-funded comics project in Kickstarter's history. In 2018, the first installment, Check, Please!: #Hockey, was published by First Second Books. The sequel, Check, Please!: Sticks & Stones, was a New York Times bestseller in May 2020.

Publications