Ngozi Ukazu

Ngozi Ukazu grew up in Houston, Texas.^[1][2] She attended Bellaire High School, where she contributed to the school’s newspaper, The Three Penny Press, as the comics editor. She is the daughter of Nigerian parents.^[2] She studied computer science, obtaining a degree in Computing and The Arts from Yale University in 2013^[3] and earned a masters degree in Sequential Art from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2015.^[4]

Ukazu launched Check, Please! as a webcomic in 2013 after writing a screenplay about Eric "Bitty" Bittle, a gay college freshman and champion figure skater who joins a hockey team.^[5][6]

Ukazu created a Kickstarter campaign in 2015 to print the first volume of the comic; the campaign resulted in the highest-funded comics project in Kickstarter's history.^[7] In 2018, the first installment, Check, Please!: #Hockey, was published by First Second Books.^[1] The sequel, Check, Please!: Sticks & Scones, was a New York Times bestseller in May 2020.^[8]

In December 2025, Ukazu announced that a new volume of Check, Please! would be released in 2026.^[9] She also revealed that the series has been optioned for TV adaptation.^[10][11]

For DC Comics, she wrote and illustrated the young adult graphic novel Barda, based on the character Big Barda.^[12] The sequel, Orion, which follows the character of the same name, was published in 2026.^[13]

In September 2025, she published the graphic novel Flip.^[14]

• Ukazu, Ngozi (September 18, 2018). Check, Please!: #Hockey. First Second. ISBN 978-1250177957.
• Ukazu, Ngozi (April 7, 2020). Check, Please!: Sticks & Scones. First Second. ISBN 978-1250179500.
• Ukazu, Ngozi (February 13, 2024). Bunt! Striking Out on Financial Aid. Illustrated by Mad Rupert. First Second. ISBN 978-1250193513.
• Ukazu, Ngozi (June 4, 2024). Barda. DC Comics. ISBN 978-1779511133.
• Ukazu, Ngozi (September 23, 2025). Flip. First Second. ISBN 978-1250179517.
• Ukazu, Ngozi (July 7, 2026). Orion. DC Comics. ISBN 978-1799503422.