Just up the road from my town lives cartoonist Paul Ryan. His steady gig is drawing The Phantom comic strip. The Phantom is considered by many cartooning buffs to be the first super hero character. The Boston Globe had a feature article about Ryan this past Sunday. [Link] Ryan’s Web site is Second Star Graphics. [Link]
I see some striking parallels between Ryan’s childhood and my own, but our lives now are quite different, with Ryan living a life that I once coveted. What kept me from it is revealed in this paragraph.
A few years later, Ryan learned that a company in Connecticut was offering opportunities to amateur comic artists. By then, he was pushing 30 and had a low-paying job.
The company in Connecticut was undoubtedly the now-defunct Charlton Comics. At 30 I just didn’t have the stomach to live with such uncertainty. I’d already had my gigs in radio announcing and newspaper graphics, and both were low-paying jobs. I admire Ryan for having the talent and determination to make a living drawing pictures.
I’ve stopped at Ryan’s table at local conventions, but I’ve never actually sat down and talked to him. But now that I know he lives so close, maybe I’ll try to do that sometime.
Owning a character is the only way to go. Steve Ditko co-created Spider-Man, but I doubt he’s seeing any of the hundreds of millions of dollars being generated by the movies.
Yes, I can certainly see the parallels! Fascinating! But he does not have a low-paying job now, EXCEPT that he he is NOT drawing his own creations, that is the key. You must have met him, and if so, we would love to hear your conversations with the guy.