Inio Asano, a bona fide earthling, was born in Ibaraki, Japan, in 1980. In 2001, his short story "Uchu kara Konnichiwa" (Hello from Outer Space) won the first Sunday GX Rookie Prize. Later, GX published his series Subarashii Sekai, available in English from VIZ Media as What a Wonderful World! His other works include Hikari no Machi (City of Light), Nijigahara Holograph, and Umibe no Onna no Ko (A Girl on the Shore), as well as solanin, Goodnight Punpun, Downfall, and Dead Dead Demon's Demon's Dedede Destruction also available from VIZ Media.
