Svetlana Chmakova

Svetlana Chmakova (born October 7, 1979) is a Russian-Canadian cartoonist known for blending manga-influenced art with Western storytelling. Born in Russia, she moved to Canada as a teenager, where she began self-publishing comics before breaking into the industry. Her first major work was *Dramacon*, a three-volume original English-language manga published by Tokyopop, which established her as a key figure in the OEL manga movement of the 2000s. She later created *Nightschool: The Weirn Books* and the middle-grade graphic novel *Awkward* for Yen Press, the latter earning Eisner Award nominations. Chmakova also produced the webcomic *Chasing Rainbows* for Girlamatic and contributed *The Adventures of CG* to *CosmoGIRL!* magazine. Her signature style—clean, expressive linework with a focus on character-driven humor and emotion—is evident in her work as writer and artist on *Nightschool* and as a contributor to the manga adaptation of *Witch & Wizard*. She has been active in comics since the mid-2000s, with credits on 11 issues between 2009 and 2022. Chmakova continues to create graphic novels for young readers, and her work remains influential in the OEL manga and all-ages comics scenes.