The Four Color Media Monitor

Some news from the Sun This Week in Minnesota, about Matt Wendt, a local cartoonist who's partnering with an author named Chad Corrie to build a graphic novel:

As a kid, cartoonist Matt Wendt got into trouble for doodling and not paying attention in school.

Now the Eagan artist has carved out a life and livelihood in which he’s free to deploy his creative energy and illustrate in a superhero fashion that brings adventure to readers and fans of graphic novels and cartoons.

Wendt is living his dream, getting paid to doodle and bring to life all kinds of story lines in graphic novels and comic books.

Wendt, 47, illustrated the new graphic novel “Sons of Ashgard: III Met in Elmgard” that will be published May 9.

He illustrates at his home studio with a light-table desk that’s full of colorful toy superheroes. Happy to share the same creative office space with his wife, Becky Grutzik, Wendt said she is a talented painter, artist and illustrator.

Wendt admits perhaps he has never quite grown up but he is having fun in his chosen profession. Wendt can refer to his inner child when he visualizes cartoon characters and fantasy superheroes.

[...] Minnesota author Chad Corrie wrote the graphic novel “Sons of Ashgard.” He began developing his creative imagination as a boy who was writing by age 12.

Today a prolific author, Corrie has written comics, graphic novels, prose fiction of varying lengths, and an assortment of other odds and ends, he said. He is also the host of several podcasts. Corrie’s work has been published in other languages and produced in print, digital and audio formats.

Corrie, 45, said he is undoubtedly living out his dream since he has been able to write for a living for more than 33 years.

“When I was 12, I was looking for a career, and I was thinking, What can I do and not do any work and sit around and write stories?” Corrie said in amusement. He found the right niche and has made a career in being able to write about different genres, mostly in comic books and graphic novels.

“I have loved fantasy fiction and have gravitated toward that and stayed there,” he said.

Corrie has a new book, “The Shadow Regent,” coming out March 21, published by Dark Horse Books, a prose division of Dark Horse Comics with distribution through Penguin Random House. He’s planning a four-state book tour.

I think it's great they're conceiving an adventure together. But I sighed when I saw what Corrie's influence was, although they do hint at an important advantage their comic has:

After he saw the original Batman movie in 1989, he became fascinated with comic books.

Corrie’s books usually tell stories of different factions working with each other and God working among them, Corrie said.

“Everyone has an agenda and they are trying to take advantage of the situation, and missing because a god who disrupts the universe and then a goddess who gives birth to a god, and how this affects reality and dealing with aftermath of a wizard,” said the Spring Lake Park resident. “This is traditional fantasy with gods and powers like that, but not like the ‘Lord of Rings.’ It is more like ‘Game of Thrones’ except it is less political and dealing with the gods and not as bloody and violent.”

I just don't understand how it is the Michael Keaton movie is what inspires these creators to try out the medium, and not the Christopher Reeve Superman movies (well, the first 2, because the later 2, along with the original Supergirl movie, ruined everything). But if they respect religions like Judeo-Christianity, that's a good thing, considering how little respect there is in the wider entertainment industry today, and if they avoid divisive liberal politics and jarring mayhem, that too is another plus. If more creators would let this serve as an example, entertainment value would be a lot better.

Labels: indie publishers, politics, violence