After winning 2nd place in a manga competition, they were advised by the organizer of the contest that their art style didn't fit the Japanese market.
[4] The pair have worked on several Marvel Comics titles, such as Power Pack,[5] Fantastic Four,[6] Gus Beezer & Spider Man,[7] and The Unbelievable Gwenpool.
[8][9] They have also worked on the Avatar: The Last Airbender comic series with writer Gene Luen Yang, beginning in 2012 with The Promise and ending their run in 2017 with North and South.
[14][15] The New York Times review of the Superman Smashes the Klan trade paperback stated, "Gurihiru's rendering is a mash-up that pairs contemporary Japanese manga, with its conventional large eyes, and clean-lined, charmingly retro figuration reminiscent of the Fleischer Studios Superman cartoons of the early 1940s, full of striking, often dreamy swaths of uncluttered color.
Despite the hilarity of Superman's enormous, almost frame-breaking body, Gurihiru's cross-cultural artistic approach avoids the gimmicky".
[16] Superman Smashes the Klan was the 2020 Harvey Awards winner for Best Children or Young Adult Book.
Hannah Rose, for CBR, commented that "Gurihiru's sweet art style, with chalky, thin pencil-like lines, soft colors and papery textures, given depth by gentle lighting and subtle black placement, is allowed to speak for itself, making It's Jeff!
[32] Comic Watch highlighted, "staying true to their style, Gurihiru's art is wholly exaggerated and energetic, deceptively simple, and on the whole incredibly cute.
As with the previous Double Trouble title (and Superman Smashes the Klan), the art from Gurihiru is a terrific fit for a book aimed at younger readers.