Following my blog about my first comic gig ever, here's the first DC Comics I've ever worked on. JLA ANNUAL #2 which I inked over Mark Pajarillo's pencils. The art for this cover was done by Bernie Wrightson. Not bad to be covered by him on my first DC gig.
This project didn't just fall on my lap. When I started as an Inker, there was a lot of leg work. Going to conventions, creating inking samples, showing my portfolio, and sending submission samples via snail mail. All of this before the internet age... or at least I wasn't using the internet at the time. A few years before the gig, I would always attend the DC Portfolio Reviews at conventions. Throughout the year, DC Comics would be at a few conventions that I would go to. In order for your portfolio to be reviewed, DC Comics had these one hour Portfolio Review Classes that you had to attend. After attendance, you would get this gold flyer to be admitted for a portfolio review. And, if I'm not mistaken, each gold flyer had a time slot for your review. If you don't have a gold flyer, nobody at DC was allowed to look at your work at the convention floor (I believe that's still the case today). I did that for a couple of years and as luck have it, I got the same editor who would review my portfolio in those few conventions I went to. By that time, the editor had an idea who I was and gave me his contact info to send in new samples. Which I did. Right after each portfolio review, I would go home and ink up new samples. I took my time on the samples and when done, I sent them back and gave a follow up call to see if he got them. About a year into doing that (which was two or three times), I got a call from the editor asking me if I would be interested in inking this book. Which I did. From then on, the penciler, Mark Pajarillo, and I became the regular fill in art team on JLA under artists, Howard Porter and John Dell until our run ended. I even got to ink Howard Porter when the regular team was falling behind. But that, in a nutshell, is how I started and got work for DC Comics.
Great story of endurance!!
ReplyDeleteWas good to read it!!
JESUS ANTONIO
Thank you, Jesus.
ReplyDeleteHeh....I got a golden ticket at Chicago one year from DC and turned it over to my best fried so he could get in for pencilling. I knew that his dream was to pencil. He had a much better shot than I did for inking so it worked out. He did get work from DC for a bit. Still struggling to find consistant work but you know, that's the biz.
ReplyDeleteGreat story though Walden. Proves a lot.
Thanks Patrick. Looking for work in the early years was hard work. I remember one year, I went to SDCC with submission packets of my portfolio. All four days, the only thing I did was wait in lines for a portfolio review. Even when I was already working for Marvel or DC, I still did the portfolio reviews waiting in lines. Just waiting and talking to people standing in front and in back of me. In fact, another year at one of those conventions, one of the guys I bumped into who was standing in like behind me was Kaare Andrews. I looked at his portfolio and like what I saw. From then on, I asked for one of his submission packets and sent them to my editors who gave us work on a book called "Before the 4: Logan and Grimm".
ReplyDeleteGot that series. Love the Kaare art!!!
ReplyDelete