Chrysalis (excerpt)
Writer: Phillip Maira
Read the full comic in Crackle Vol. 3Phillip's Twitter // Phillip's Website
The samples on this page are for portfolio purposes only. Please do not distribute.
Lettering Experience
› Touch-up Artist and Letterer for Super Smartphone by Kentaro Hidano and Hiroki Tomisawa - Shonen Jump/Viz Media - Sci-fi/Mystery
› Lettering Assistant for Everything is Fine, by Mike Birchall - Webtoon Original - Horror
› Letterer for The Secret of the Ravens by Joanna Cacao - Middle Grade, Clarion/HarperCollins, 2023 - Fantasy
› Creator (writer, illustrator, letterer) of Foxlight - Middle Grade, Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan, 2024 - Fantasy
SUPER SMARTPHONE (weekly online simulpub)
by Kentaro Hidano and Hiroki Tomisawa
Touch-up Art and Lettering by Kyla Aiko
Translation by David Evelyn
Touch-up Art Highlights
› "Googugu" logo creation & replacement, Eye pattern recreation, Smartphone screen moire recreation, Hand-drawn SFX (in speech balloons), Handwritten journal entry, page layout
Vertical Storyboards
Chrysalis Thumbnails - Written by Phillip Maira
Suspense, Psychological
An Open Letter to Someone Who Hurt Me Thumbnails - Writen by Lucia Iannone
Memoir, Drama
Figure of Us Thumbnails
Slice of Life, RomCom
NIHAO Comic
Video Process
NIHAO Comic
Memoir
Color Design
Comics and Illustration
DESIGN
Experience:
› Letterer, Super Smartphone by Hiroki Tomisawa & Kentaro Hidano, Translated by David Evelyn, Shonen Jump Simulpub/Viz Media
› Letterer, Everything is Fine by Mike Birchall, Webtoon Original
› Letterer, The Secret of the Ravens by Joanna Cacao, Clarion/HarperCollins middle grade graphic novel
› Website Designer, Star Tales Magazine
› Society of Professional Journalists Intern, HAWAII Magazine
› Co-head/Designer, Scripps College Asian American Studen Union
› Editorial Intern, Character Media
› Senior Editor/Cartoonist, Imua 'Iolani Newspaper
› Co-Editor-in-Chief/Designer, Mane O Ke Ola Literary MagazinePrograms:
Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft Office Suite, Microsoft Teams, Google Suite, Figma
SUPER SMARTPHONE (weekly online simulpub)
by Kentaro Hidano and Hiroki Tomisawa
Touch-up Art and Lettering by Kyla Aiko
Translation by David Evelyn
Touch-up Art Highlights
› "Googugu" logo creation & replacement, Eye pattern recreation, Smartphone screen moire recreation, Hand-drawn SFX (in speech balloons), Handwritten journal entry, page layout
Inks and Ink Tests
This page is not public. Please do not share or distribute images on this page.
Deor by J.oori, unOrdinary by uru-chan
Color Tests
This page is not public. Please do not share or distribute images on this page.
The Kiss Bet by Ingrid Ochoa, Deor by J.oori
Foxlight
A middle grade fantasy graphic novel debut, coming Spring 2024 from Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan
Formerly known as Foxes, Fire, and Other Magic
Foxlight is set during the annual Obon Festival and follows a lost fox spirit and the nonbinary noodle maker who helps him find his way home.
Add it on GoodreadsAuthor/Illustrator: Kyla Aiko
Editor: Emily Settle
Freddie Mercury: Lover of Life, Singer of Songs
Coming 2022 from Z2 Comics // Rolling Stone Press ReleasePreorder here! http://z2comics.com/freddiemercury
Add it on GoodreadsFor the first time in comics format, Freddie Mercury: Lover of Life, Singer of Songs will be a journey through Freddie’s life; from his childhood in Zanzibar, through his formative years in England, to becoming the rock star known and loved by millions around the globe. The story is told in his own words, with each chapter giving a glimpse into the many facets of his life.
Artists: Kyla Aiko, Robin Richardson, Safiya Zerrougui, Tammy Wang, and Amy Liu
Writer: Tres Dean
Letterer: Troy Peteri
Editor: Camilla Zhang
Designers: Tyler Boss, Jason Ullmeyer
Cover Artist: David Mack
The Out Side
Fully funded on Kickstarter
More info here!I'm excited to be a part of The Out Side, a comic anthology of trans and nonbinary comic artists.
Artists: Apakilyspe, Ashi, Jam Aden, Kyla Aiko, Lae Schäfer, Liam Coballes, Maddie Tacobus, Man Time, Min Christensen, Nifty Fox, Sage Coffey, Tara Madison Avery, Toonie, Veronica Triumphant, Wey, and ZhenOrganizers: The Kao, Min Christensen, and David Daneman
Cover: The Kao and Min Christensen
Super Smartphone
Read it for free on Viz/Shonen Jump!I letter Super Smartphone, a weekly simulpub manga. Lettering entails laying out text and interior pages as well as doing touch-up art on a weekly basis.
A high schooler finds a phone that can search for anything on Earth and uses it to solve difficult crime cases!Art: Kentaro Hidano
Story: Hiroki TomisawaTranslation: David Evelyn
Lettering: Kyla Aiko
Everything is Fine
Read it for free on Webtoon!I'm a lettering assistant on Mike Birchall's Everything is Fine, a Webtoon Original series.
Sam and Maggie are a normal couple, in a normal house, in a normal neighborhood. There is nothing strange about their heads, their neighbors or their sweet little dog. Everything is Fine.Creator: Mike Birchall
Star Tales Mag
Crowdfunding campaign coming soon.
Check out the website here.I'm an editor, web designer, and oneshot creator for Star Tales, an upcoming magazine featuring serialized comics.
Project Big Hype Vol 2
Crowdfunding campaign coming soon.
Check out the Volume 1 campaign here.I'm an editor for a mecha comic in Project Big Hype Volume 2, a black and white action-oriented comic anthology.
Frequently Asked Questions
I am staunchly anti-NFT and crypto. Do not contact me about making NFTs.
What do you use to letter?
It depends on the project, but I usually use InDesign to lay out text and Clip Studio Paint or Illustrator to drawn speech balloons and sound effects. If you're looking for non-subscription model alternatives, Affinity Publisher is similar to InDesign and Affinity Designer is similar to Illustrator (and both go on sale frequently).
What digital brushes do you use?In Procreate I usually use brushes from these packs.
› Matt's Sketching Set
› Trisketched Ink BrushesI also usually use Procreate Pencil and Derwent (both are included with Procreate).In Clip Studio Paint, I usually use these brushes:
› Content ID: 1850295 文字ペン (second pen) from 主線と文字ペン pack by 塩分ウホウホ
› Content ID: 1730414 6pencil-soft by Rollermets
Resources (all links open in new tabs)
All About Literary Agents (comic creator specific)
› Danielle Chuatico and JesnCin's "Comic Creator's Guide to Literary Agents" (downloadable pdf, pay what you want)
› Wendy Xu's "Why You Should Get an Agent and How to Present Yourself to One: A Primer for Comic Artists"
› Victoria Ying's "Finding an Agent as a Graphic Novelist"
How to Put Together a Graphic Novel Pitch
› Go Komikimok!!'s "Comics Creator's Guide to Graphic Novel Pitch Packet" (Part 1)
› Go Komikimok!!'s FAQ About Pitch Packets (Part 2)
› Go Komikimok!!'s How to Submit Your Pitch to Publishers, Editors, and Agents (Part 3)
› Ethan M. Aldridge's GN Pitch Packet Twitter Thread
› Literary Agent Maria Vicente's "Creating a Graphic Novel Pitch Package"
› Victoria Ying's "Scripting a Graphic Novel"
› Victoria Ying's "What's in a Graphic Novel Proposal?"
Complete graphic novel pitch packets usually have these components (there's no standard order):
› Sample Cover Page
› About the Book (back cover copy, page count, b&w/color, genre, demographic, comp titles)
› About the Author (include relevant publishing credits)
› 5 to 20 Completed Sample Pages
› Sample Script
› Character Descriptions and Drawings
› Full Outline/Synopsis
› Extras (concept sketches, thumbnails)
Lettering Tips
› Sara Linsley's Manga Lettering Wiki
› Sara Linsley's Manga Lettering Scripts for Adobe InDesign
› Nate Piekos's "Lettering Tips"
› Nate Piekos's "Comic Book Grammar and Tradition"
› Phil Christie's "The Basics of Manga Punctuation"
› Phil Christie's "Manga Balloon Basics"

Twitter (@kyla_aiko)
Instagram (@kyla.aiko)Support me on Ko-Fi
Purchase art prints on Inprnt
PRESS
› Underblong Best of the Net 2021 Nomination
› Rolling Stone Freddie Mercury Graphic Novel Press Release
Kyla is an Asian American writer, artist, and editor who lives in a town with an ocean view.When not writing or drawing, you might find Kyla learning the zhonghu, making handmade noodles, or listening to Mitski and Mao Buyi.
CONTACT
Literary Agent: Jennifer Azantian of Azantian Literary Agency.
Please direct all professional inquiries to Jen (@) AzantianLitAgency (.) comOther inquiries: hello (@) aikosmith (.) com
WORK
› Foxlight - Author/Artist - Feiwel and Friends/Macmillan - Spring 2024
› Freddie Mercury: Lover of Life, Singer of Songs - Artist (select chapters) - Z2 Comics - 2022
› Super Smartphone by Kentaro Hidano & Hiroki Tomisawa - Letterer - Shonen Jump/Viz - Ongoing
› The Secret of the Ravens by Joanna Cacao - Letterer - Clarion/HarperCollins - 2023
› Everything is Fine by Mike Birchall - Lettering Assistant - Webtoon Original - Ongoing
(Webtoon Unscrolled Print Edition, Fall 2022)
› They're After Aster by Oliver Ono and Aaron Sullivan - Editor - Big Hype Vol 2 - 2022
› Battle Road by Darren Vogt - Editor - Star Tales Mag - 2022
› Here to Stay - Author/Artist - Star Tales Mag - 2022
I also maintain the Manga Font Directory, a small repository of fonts commonly used in North American English manga localization.

Kyla Aiko
hello@aikosmith.com
Literary Inquiries: Jen [at] AzantianLitAgency [dot] com