Koren Shadmi

Koren Shadmi, born in 1981, is an American-Israeli illustrator and cartoonist whose work bridges personal memoir, historical biography, and gritty realism. He is best known for his graphic novels *Lugosi: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood's Dracula*, a nuanced portrait of the iconic actor, and *Mike's Place: A True Story of Love, Blues, and Terror in Tel Aviv*, a collaborative account of a 2003 suicide bombing. Shadmi’s style combines expressive, often moody linework with a restrained palette, lending emotional weight to both intimate stories and larger historical events. He has also written and drawn the series *Sierra* and *Love Addict*, and contributed to *In the Flesh*. His career, active from 2009 to 2023, has seen him credited as artist, colorist, inker, letterer, and writer on over forty issues. Shadmi’s work frequently explores identity, trauma, and the blurred lines between truth and myth. He has not received major mainstream awards, but his books have earned critical respect for their literary approach to comics. Later projects continue to reflect his interest in complex, real-world figures and the human cost of history.