Wisut Ponnimit
Wisut Ponnimit began drawing since he was in grade 7. As a child, he was influenced by manga such Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama and Captain Tsubasa by Yōichi Takahashi and later by manga artist such as Takehiko Inoue, Mitsura Adachi, Osamu Tezuka and Rumiko Takahashi.He also mentions the animated cartoons Mickey Mouse, Pink Panther and Doraemon as being important encounters influencing the foundation of his art with little dialogue. While in college in 1998, he sent some of his comic stories to the newly founded alternative manga magazine BeboydCg which started publishing his comics series hesheit. He obtained a degree in interior design from the Faculty of Decorative Arts, Silpakorn University.After graduating, he kept working as a cartoonist in Thailand but, due to a lack of inspiration, he decided to go to Japan. He left Thailand in 2004 and headed to Japan where he studied Japanese language and lived in a new environment to find ideas and writing inspiration. Earning a place in the 2005 Yokohama Triennale, he caught the attention of Japanese manga publishers and signed contracts with Shinchosha and Shogakukan. Most of his works have been first published in Japan then translated in Thai for the Thai market. His manga Everybodyeverything, serialized in the Japanese Magazine 5 in 2005, was the first comic book of a Thai cartoonist published initially in Japan (in Magazine 5) and introduced the famous character Mamuang whose marchandise is substantial. He has also been named by Elle magazine Japan as one of the worlds’ 250 most interesting people to watch and was awarded the Encouragement Prize/New Face Award, Manga Division, at the 13th Japan Media Arts Festival in 2009 for his manga hesheit aqua (Japanese: ヒーシーイット―アクア). His manga series Blanco (Japanese: ブランコ) was published in the Japanese magazine Ikki Comics (Shogakukan) between 2007 and 2010. He has also contributed regularly to the alternative Thai comics anthology MUD published by Typhoon Books from 2008 to 2011. A collection of hesheit short stories were translated into English by Awai Books under the title Him Her That. Wisut Ponnimit currently shares his life between Thailand and Japan.