Ken Kristensen ’92 describes himself as a lifelong comic book fan. He has a collection of around 15,000 comic books to prove it. He has just added another four-volume set to his collection—this one written by him. He is the co-creator of Todd, the Ugliest Kid on Earth. Image Comics (publisher of The Walking Dead) released the first volume of the graphic novel in January, which sold out at the distributor level the first week and was then reprinted. It is described as “a collision of comedy, sex and violence” that follows “the misadventures of America’s most dysfunctional family.” In a December interview with GeektheNews.com, the award-winning writer was asked whether he sees himself in the title character, Todd. He responded: “Everyone who has ever felt like an outsider will see themselves in Todd. One of the fascinating things about working with a character who you never see without a bag over his head is that you imagine that when and if that bag comes off, he could be any of us. I think that helps connect the audience with the character. Unconsciously you say to yourself, ‘When that bag comes off, will the face I see be my own?’” Kristensen majored in creative writing and created his own independent study in documentary film while at Wheaton. In addition to being a graphic novelist, he is also a screenwriter and a TV director-producer. He recently sold his show “Prison Bus” to A&E. In 2008, he won one of the coveted Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences—the folks who give out the Oscars. The Academy grants fellowships to only five or six screenwriters each year. Kristensen was chosen over 5,000 screenwriters who entered the competition. He is currently writing a feature film for producers Jeff Judah and Gabe Sachs (Diary of a Wimpy Kid).

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