What kind of modern comics does this fan get his image illustrated into?
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat interviewed a local fan whose image likeness has been drawn into nearly 3 dozen comics over the past years:
On the surface, the whole idea does sound awesome, I'll admit, but when overrated writers are involved, it becomes a sad joke, and if there's a lesson here, it's that serious fans shouldn't be desperate to have their likeness drawn into modern botch jobs by writers and artists who're so mediocre, that a cameo alone isn't going to guarantee the comics in question will have any lasting values.
Christian Howard, 42, of Rohnert Park, has had a lot of cameo roles, but don’t look for him on the screen. You’ll find him in comic books.But what's the use of having this done in mainstream DC/Marvel in modern times, long after their artistic quality collapsed? And then as this article makes clear, the guy's a Batman fan, and while Superman is mentioned here, the Masked Manhunter still seems to get bigger emphasis. Here's how Mr. Howard got this rather outlandish career getting himself illustrated into comics, whether in foreground or background:
On Christmas Day, the scheduled release date for Detective Comics #1092, one of Batman’s home titles, he’ll appear as a waiter serving wine to Bruce Wayne, the crime fighter’s alter ego.
“He approached me, and I included a background character with his features on a couple panels on a book I'm drawing,” said Detective Comics artist Mikel Janin via X. “It's not something I do often, but he was really excited, so I did.”
For years Howard, a former house painter now recovering from cancer surgery last year, has connected via Facebook, X and Instagram with comic book artists who have agreed to slip his likeness into the background of the some of the comic book panels they draw. He estimates he has been included in more than 35 comic books over the past few years.
Q: How and why did you initially reach comic book artists to include your cameo in their stories?Honestly, considering how bad IDW became, along with DC/Marvel to boot, what's the use auditioning for illustrated roles in their comics? And look whom the writer is who penned one of the comics Mr. Howard's illustrated variation appears in:
A: I figured with social media, it would be easy to get in a comic but I started off by going to Kickstarter, a funding website for indie comics, and I emailed creators and asked if they could add me. Most of them charged me and most of the comics that charged me for never really made it to comic stores. So I figured I would just look up bigger artists for bigger companies, like IDW, DC and Marvel. Slowly, I was getting somewhere. I never really got huge parts. It was mostly just in the background of the panels, but that’s what i was looking for. Then I got some bigger parts.
Q: How are the appearances managed?
A: Each artist is given some leeway on what they can draw, so when there’s random people on the page, they can use my image as a character, normally just in the background. Sometimes I get a speaking role. Sometimes I get killed. It’s just so random and I never know what it is until it’s done. Sometimes I get a sneak peek at the art before print.
Q: What are some of the other cameo appearances you’ve gotten?Oh for heaven's sake. Sounds like some people are much too desperate for what Andy Warhol called 15 minutes of fame, they'll even persuade overrated writers like Aaron to put figures based on their likeness into their pretentious comics. For me, it would be an embarrassment to have my likeness illustrated into the comics of such wretched scribes, and what's so "cool" about being cast as a villain? I'm not surprised these overrated "creators" would take up on the idea, however; it almost perfectly reflects how full they are of themselves, thinking they're the greatest writers and artists of all time, when in fact they're just part of a whole generation that's failing upwards, courtesy of bad editors and other managers who sadly run the asylum today.
A: I would say the ones in indie comics that aren’t really known started in 2021. One was titled ‘White Ash.“ I played a decent part in that comic, so I’m in plenty of pages. That’s published through Scott comics. Then I got to meet a fantastic artist named Reno Maniquis, who works for ”Shudder” magazine, and he put me in at least 15 issues of that and he’s still adding me to more. I talk to him daily.
Then I got some big cameos in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Meets Stranger Things” issue #4. That was a huge deal for me. I’ve been in about 6 Ninja Turtles issues, one by superstar artist Chris Burnham in TMNT issue 4. And a few others, like Cobra Commander issue #4 as a Drednok that gets killed by a huge villain. That was cool and then I got bigger roles in the new “Absolute Superman” issue #1 by writer Jason Aaron came out this year. I was drawn as a miner who Superman comes and saves.
On the surface, the whole idea does sound awesome, I'll admit, but when overrated writers are involved, it becomes a sad joke, and if there's a lesson here, it's that serious fans shouldn't be desperate to have their likeness drawn into modern botch jobs by writers and artists who're so mediocre, that a cameo alone isn't going to guarantee the comics in question will have any lasting values.
Labels: Batman, dc comics, history, indie publishers, licensed products, marvel comics, moonbat writers, msm propaganda, Superman, technology
