M. Alice LeGrow

Mary Alice "Marty" LeGrow (born 1981 in Kansas, United States), better known by her pen name M. Alice LeGrow, is an American alternative comics artist, best known for her gothic, dark fantasy graphic novel series Bizenghast.

Her 2003 short story "Nickolai", about a grieving only child and the ghost she befriends, won a runner-up place in publisher Tokyopop's Rising Stars of Manga competition. She successfully pitched Bizenghast to the Tokyopop editors, and worked on the eight-volume series from 2004 to 2011. Set in the eponymous New England town, it focuses on an orphan who finds herself tasked with returning each night to a mausoleum and appeasing the ghosts within it. Published from 2005 to 2012, Bizenghast has been translated into twelve languages and received praise and criticism from reviewers.

Early life Mary Alice LeGrow attended Savannah College of Art and Design, from which she graduated in 2003 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sequential Art in 2003. Her artistic style was influenced by Kenji Tsuruta, Gustave Doré,

At the 2003 Otakon, an anime convention in Baltimore, Maryland, LeGrow heard about Tokyopop's Rising Stars of Manga competition. She entered a short piece entitled "Nikolai" in the contest, won a runner-up place in the competition and appeared in the 2003 Rising Stars of Manga comic anthology. while reviewers have categorized it as global manga. she began work on the series in 2004 and completed the final, eighth volume in 2011. Set in the eponymous New England town, it centers on Dinah Wherever, a schizophrenic orphan, and her only friend Vincent Monroe. Dinah finds herself tasked with returning each night to a mausoleum and appeasing the ghosts within.

LeGrow described Bizenghast as "about life, death and fabulous outfits (not in that order)", and notes the presence of religious themes.

Tokyopop published the first seven volumes of Bizenghast from 2005 to 2010, Additionally, the series is distributed in New Zealand and Australia by Madman Entertainment, and has been translated into twelve languages, German, and Finnish. Bizenghast received praise and criticism from reviewers. The September 2005 issue of Teen People listed Bizenghast as the Hot Book of the Month. Sheena McNeil of Sequential Tart praised the first volume as "a highly enjoyable read". IGN's KJB praised it as "one of the most interesting manga to come alone in some time". David Welsh wrote: "It's got a handle on the cosmetics, but central elements of story and character are vague and underdeveloped."

In 2012, LeGrow announced a Kickstarter project for a self-published graphic novel series titled The Elephant Book, which she described as "about the power of human imagination and invention." According to LeGrow, her project has received a favorable response. In a review of the first volume of Bizenghast, another reviewer for Publishers Weekly wrote that LeGrow drew her backgrounds in the style of German expressionism. In her review of the Bizenghast artbook, Mania Entertainment's Danielle Van Gorder noted LeGrow's range of styles spanning "from a little bit gothic and a little bit grotesque to detailed work that pays homage to antique woodcuts."