A 2017 graduate of Columbus College of Art and Design, Gabby Metzler, is making waves in the area comics scene. In the last two years, she has won both the S.P.A.C.E. prize and the CXC Emerging Artist Award for her comic series, The Fat Girl Love Club. Years in the making, The Fat Girl Love Club tells the tale of Becky, an awkward girl from small-town Ohio who has an unhealthy attraction to Jesus. The Fat Girl Love Club is now a graphic novel available through most local book stores and online. Gabby is also the organizer and founder of Peztilence: A Comics Reading Series where she hosts Ohio comic artists who present their work in front of a live audience. Furthermore, she recently colored Whistle, a YA graphic novel published by DC Comics in the spring of 2021.
Continue reading “10 Questions with Gabby Metzler”Top Five with Ken Eppstein
What are your top 5 comics EVER?
Ken Eppstein is a comic artist, writer, publisher, and researcher. He runs the Nix Comics micropress, runs the annual Indie Comics Fair, and is a regular contributor to SOLRAD magazine.
Continue reading “Top Five with Ken Eppstein”JLA/Avengers
Superheroes love crossovers. So much so that it’s almost as if the entire industry was built on them. To complete a story arc, customers are often required to purchase several different titles to see if their hero ever defeats that giant evil robot or if they ever buy that puppy from the window.
Continue reading “JLA/Avengers”Comic Store Profile: Krazzy Comics
Allen Harrington opened Krazzy Comics in 2018. Together, with the help of his wife, Nia, he has turned his shop into a fun hangout for geeks of all kinds, with functional arcade games, a comfy couch, and even a kid’s corner with activities. Find out a bit about what Allen loves about comics and what it’s like owning a comic shop.
Continue reading “Comic Store Profile: Krazzy Comics”10 Questions with Darryl Banks
Darryl Banks is an artist that has been working professionally in comics since the late 1980’s. Born in Columbus, he is best known for his work on Green Lantern, but has completed work for series such as Wild Wild West and Doc Savage. Besides his professional work, he’s helped to shape many artists in our community by teaching Illustration and Comic Book Design at our famed Columbus College of Art & Design.
Continue reading “10 Questions with Darryl Banks”Columbus’ Very Own Superhero
Michael Watson began his career in comics by creating one character, Hotshot. His superhero could fly, had super strength, and, living up to his namesake, was able to shoot heat blasts from his hands. Watson knew that his character would have to have a secret identity, so Michael made Mike, a normal college student. His character not only needed to get his schoolwork done and navigate his relationship with his girlfriend, but learn how to use his new found power to defend Columbus from the evil Void.
Continue reading “Columbus’ Very Own Superhero”Men of Steel
A brief history of Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, and Superman
June 2nd, 1932, was a typical evening in Cleveland, Ohio. Jerry Siegel was hard at work on the next issue of his science fiction fanzine. Across town, his father, Mitchell, was busy closing up his men’s clothing store when the front bell rang.
Later that evening, a neighboring shop owner noticed the door to Mitchell’s shop was ajar. The light was still on long after closing time, but no sign of the store owner. He poked his head in only to find Mitchell’s lifeless body lying in a pool of blood from two bullet holes and an empty cash register on the counter. This is the catalyst that would make young Jerry Siegel dream of a hero that bullets would bounce off of. With the help of his friend, Joe Shuster, and a lot of science fiction stories, their creation would change the face of modern entertainment forever.
Continue reading “Men of Steel”Top Five with Steve Steiner
What are your top 5 comics EVER?
Steve Steiner lives in Groveport, Ohio and self-publishes his own comics and zines under the mantle of Mullet Turtle Comics. Check out his work at mulletturtle.com
Continue reading “Top Five with Steve Steiner”Finding an Artist
Do you have an idea that’s been living in your head, but requires some help bringing to life? Perhaps it’s a cartoony children’s book with an all-ages appeal. Maybe you need a sprawling futuristic world rendered in an epic graphic novel. Perhaps even the creation of a fledgling superhero universe with a full cast of characters. Whatever your plan, here are a few tips to help you find and hire an artist that fits your project.
Continue reading “Finding an Artist”The Mirth of a Nation
A brief history of MLJ Magazines and Archie
It was just another summer day at the beach for the Goldwater and Silberkleit families. The only thing that set it apart was that today John Goldwater, forever the salesman and creative, would convince Louis Silberkleit to go into the comic book business with him. Both men were already in the “pulp” business, dealing in cheap, fiction magazines who got their name from the low quality wood pulp paper they were printed on. Their jump to comics didn’t seem that tremendous, yet it was impossible for either of them to know that what they were discussing would eventually end up changing the face of pop culture and birth characters that would charm readers for the next 80 years.
Continue reading “The Mirth of a Nation”