I don't remember the first comic book I ever read.
I think it might have been an issue of Spider-man from the late seventies, but regardless of what it was, I fell in love with the genre and that love hasn't diminished since. It was through comic books that I discovered my artistic abilities.
I always loved to draw. Ever since I could hold a pencil I was mesmerized by the ability I was gifted with. I loved the freedom that I had. The way I could create these images out of nothing. Most of all I loved to just doodle. To sit there for hours sketching out mindless pictures, characters that made no sense and fantastical places I'd never get to visit. My only limit was my imagination, and I loved it.
And I still do.
I has been my dream since Kindergarten to break into the comic book industry. Most people laughed when I told them my dream, and to be quite honest, I started to believe it was just some adolescent fantasy that I would eventually grow out of. But here we are, nearly 20 years later, and the dream is more alive than ever. Somehow I just knew that this was the field I was destined for. |
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While my love for comics and visual storytelling in general started at a very young age, my own little universe did not begin to take shape until my teenage years. In June 1989, Tim Burton's Batman film was released. While 1978's Superman was and still is what I feel to be the best comic book film ever made, Batman was the trigger that opened the floodgates of my imagination.
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I left the theater after seeing the movie with a vision. The vision of a man without the resources of Bruce Wayne, without the glamour. A brutally realistic and frightening look at the psychosis that must plague an individual to pursue his personal war on crime. A man consumed with hatred and revenge, that the only thing keeping him sane is the faint spark of hope that burns in his heart, a dying ember that threatens to be snuffed out forever. That man was The Claw, and my universe was born.
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I'm not going to lie here, but The Claw was nothing more than a merging of Batman and The Punisher. However, his origin would evolve as time passed, and as I grew up so did he. I wrote and illustrated the first story featuring The Claw in 1990. The crude art and poorly written script left much to be desired, but the basic elements were all there. As I continued to expand the saga of The Claw, I did so more in plot outline format, only occasionally fleshing out my ideas into full scripts or stories. I preferred this method simply because of the number of ideas that were popping into my head, as well as the fact that I knew I wouldn't be publishing these stories anytime soon.
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Anyway, it wasn't long before the supporting characters began to blossom, and those characters quickly gained lives of their own. It soon grew to the point where The Claw was simply another face in the crowd, taking the back seat to individuals completely unrelated to him. But he would always be my 'firstborn'.
As the years went by the ideas I had began to form a fairly well-rounded storyline. Due to the scope and sheer number of characters and events, I've divided the epic into three acts, spanning three generations of characters. Calling them the 'Golden Age', 'Modern Age' and 'Future Age', they tell the basic story of good versus evil, family and friendship, and most importantly, hope. I know it all sounds cheesy, but it's special to me. If you're interested in learning more about this story, click here.
Well, I believe I've rambled on for long enough. I want to thank you again for visiting my site, and as I mentioned before, don't hesitate to email me.
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Marc
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