Verno Mikawa is a Japanese manga artist and original creator, best known as the author of the long-running gag manga Strange+ and its subsequent anime adaptations. Mikawa is a female artist born on April 15, 1976, in Hokkaido, Japan. Her professional career is defined by a distinct comedic voice that relies heavily on surreal humor, parody, lowbrow jokes, and a deep integration of otaku culture and references.

Mikawa's most significant and enduring work is the manga Strange+, which began serialization in Ichijinsha's josei manga magazine Monthly Comic Zero Sum in March 2002. The series ran for over sixteen years, concluding in October 2018, and was compiled into twenty tankōbon volumes. The manga is a gag comedy centered on a quirky private detective firm and its eccentric employees, noted for its fast-paced, absurdist sketches.

The popularity of Strange+ led to its adaptation into an anime television series. The first season, simply titled Strange+, was produced by studio Seven and aired from January to March 2014. A second season, titled Sin Strange+, followed shortly after from July to September 2014. While the first season was directed by Takashi Nishikawa, Mikawa is credited as the original creator for both adaptations. For Sin Strange+, she also received a writing credit for the series. Both seasons consisted of short episodes, typically running just over three minutes each, a format that complemented the manga's rapid-fire comedic pacing.

Beyond Strange+, Mikawa has created a number of other manga series that showcase her signature style of mixing humor with genre tropes. These include Gakuen Tengoku Paradoxia, a gag manga about a high school overrun by peaceful spirits, which ran from 2006 to 2015 and was published in Ichijinsha's Monthly Comic Rex magazine. Other notable works include Residence Toshi 505, published in 2012, and Manga no Mori kara Joshikousei, a school comedy that was serialized from 2014 to 2018. Her body of work also includes titles such as Maha Maha, noted for its nonsensical and outlandish storylines.

Mikawa holds a specific place in the industry as a creator whose work translates effectively from page to screen due to its strong comedic voice. Her artistic identity is unmistakable; her manga and anime adaptations are characterized by a willingness to break conventions and a dedication to humor that often blends the ridiculous with the referential. The successful transition of Strange+ into two anime seasons, for which she served as the foundational creator, cemented her status as a notable figure in the production of short-form gag anime and comedy manga.