Mikeo'

(Cover by Scot Eaton)

"Celebrating 50 years of the Marvel era of comics! In 1961, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby changed the face of comics forever - and Marvel's been doing the same ever since! This amazing overview covers the tumultuous history of the Marvel Universe, from the introduction of the Fantastic Four to FEAR ITSELF - and everything in between! An incredible walk down memory lane for longtime fans or the perfect primer for the uninitiated! Filled with hundreds of images from the superstars of five decades!" - marvel.wikia

A quick hurrah here for a former classmate from SCAD who has another project hitting the shelves as of today: "History of the Marvel Universe #1." Back in the day he professionally produced one of the best drawn strips for The District, SCAD's student newspaper, and his "Queer & Breeder" feature was one of my personal favorites to read. Mike's been a real inspiration to me personally to finish my own MFA degree, as he's one of the comparative few who continued on after graduating - not just in drawing but also teaching as a Professor of Media Arts at the Art Institute of Washington. Add to that a freelance business plus being a head writer and editor at Marvel's "Special Projects Department," and it's easy to see why he personifies the work ethic of a successful sequential artist. This is a case in point on a current topic of concern: that of the relatively long odds on a graduate continuing a career in the creative arts. Given grim anecdotal observations of the ratio of BFA graduates within my own class at UAF who still maintained an active presence in the arts community after completing their degrees, it is a significant challenge to not only produce artwork but to also actually earn a living at it. I recall reading the excellent and highly recommended (in fact the only textbook I ever assigned to art majors that I taught) book "Art & Fear" (2001 Ted Orland and David Bayles) which cites that 98% of art students will no longer be practicing within five years of graduating. I would look around the room of the 14 graduate students in the Sequential Art department (there are now approximately 40) and did the math... wondering who would still be standing drawing when the eraser dust settled. Not surprisingly Mike is proof it's possible.