I admit I don’t know much about comics outside of lusting after Betty and Veronica and Storm when I was a budding teenage lesbian. But I keep seeing articles about different comic characters coming out of the closet. Apparently Batwoman now has a fiancé, Maggie Sawyer; the Young Avengers feature several gay teens; Marvel’s leading gay hero, Northstar, celebrated the first same-sex superhero wedding in Marvel history; and there’s even a gay power couple, Apollo and Midnighter.
If you want to find out who’s out or just want to get your geek on, Wizard World Comic Con is the place to be. This week we spoke to out artist and special convention guest Jeff Balke, who has colored interiors and covers for more than 150 comics with companies such as Zenescope, Image, After Hours Press and Antarctic Press. He won the 2011 Shel Dorf Award for “Coloring of the Year” and has been nominated a few times for the Eagle Award for “Favorite Colorist.”
Balke and his husband, Brandon, have their own company and comic-book series called Urban Legends. He’s also come up with something called “Sketch Coloring” that has made him a hit at conventions across the country.
PGN: So what do you do and what does it mean?
JB: First and foremost I’m a colorist, which means that I’m the guy that puts the color into the comics. I bring out all the colors so that you know who is who. You know it’s Spiderman when you see the red and blue, that kind of stuff. That’s basically the guy that I am. To me, this is probably one of the best businesses in the world to get into because you work for yourself for the most part. You have editors, you have bosses, but they pretty much leave you alone. They just say, “OK, you’re working on so and so, make sure you use these colors for this costume.” You just make it look good and if not, it gets returned to you and they just don’t pay you. [Laughing] It’s that simple! So yeah, it’s an awesome industry. And I just fell into it … Oh my God, when the hell did I fall into it? Well, my first book came out in 2007 and it was an all-ages book and oh, we couldn’t get rid of that book, couldn’t even give it away. It was called “Foxwood Falcons” and it was the wrong time for that particular kind of book to come out. I think I still have a few copies and [laughs] … Oh my God, I’m in Wisconsin and it’s snowing out! What the hell is that all about? It’s April! I’m pissed.
PGN: Oh my, Mother Nature is not happy.
JB: I know! So, I started out on MySpace many years ago, when MySpace was very popular. I put up some black and white pictures that I drew myself. People seemed to like them but they wanted to see more colored stuff. But I hated coloring, hated it with a passion! And I was like, Guys, I don’t want to do this blah, blah, blah, but I did one picture, Spiderman, because it was only two-three colors and everyone went crazy over it. They apparently loved the style I did, so I tried a couple more and then a few professionals who found me on MySpace liked my style and gave me some prints to work on. I quickly built up a portfolio and the ripple effect began. Two years later I started working with a company called Zenescope and was there for five years, actually up until this year. I’m about to hit the 200 mark for comic books that I’ve worked on.
PGN: For a novice like me, I look at a comic book and don’t really notice a difference from one to another, but when I was with my nephew and former portrait Jacob Glickman and they started geeking out on me, one, I could barely tell what language they were speaking and, two, they were going on about the different artists and lettering and colorists, etc. By the way, Jacob was the one who suggested I speak to you; thanks, Jacob! But tell me what makes you stand out and makes people appreciate your work.
JB: People tell me all the time that what I do is important because you really need a colorist make the book come to life. Some books are black and white but when a colorist is involved, it makes it even more special because you can see the depth; every single panel becomes something you could print off and be like, Wow, this could be a framed piece of art. Depending on the book of course.
PGN: Ah, but what makes your particular work different?
JB: At the last convention that I was at a week and a half ago, people said that I have an old-school feel with but with a 2014 or ’15 bright twist. Which means that I don’t like all that 3D kind of imaging, that painted style; I’m more nostalgic, I guess. I like the comic-book feel of a book: Comic books are supposed to be what they are, they’re supposed to take you out of reality. I don’t want to color a book or even paint a book that reminds you of everyday life. [Laughing] I go through life on a daily basis — I want to escape it!
PGN: According to my trusted news source, “Law and Order: SVU,” the gaming world is supposed to be very misogynistic and homophobic, but it seems the comic world is a little more gay-friendly.
JB: It’s gotten a lot better in recent years, it really has. There were a couple of people in the business who came out three-four years ago who’d been around for years, though I can’t remember their names. And now that things are finally changing in the world at large, more and more people are coming out. As for me, I never really came out. If someone asked me if I was gay, I’d tell them straight up, “Yes, I am.” I’ve never been ashamed of it. And in fact, the person who is always with me at the shows is my husband. Our one-year wedding anniversary is tomorrow! And right after that we’re going to a big convention in Chicago. Last year at that show we’d just gotten married, and so many people came up to us to congratulate us. People bought us flowers and gifts; it was so cool. Things have changed so much and people are respecting the gay lifestyle. They’re recognizing that we’re not looking for something special, we just want equality. My straight friends tell me, “You should be able to get married and be just as miserable as us!” Ha! I’m not miserable, but OK!
PGN: Did you face any homophobia when you started out?
JB: There was one company, but they went away a long time ago. They were asking me about my wife or girlfriend and I told them that I didn’t have one. They responded that my MySpace page said that I was engaged and I said, “Yes, but it’s to a man.” And they immediately said, “Oh no, we can’t have that here, you can’t work with us.” I got so ticked that I put them on blast on MySpace and got a ton of supportive messages from everyone.
PGN: That’s great. So how did you get started with comic books?
JB: I was born in Chicago and grew up in the suburbs. I was a pretty solitary kid, kind of a loner, and all of my friends were the same way. We’d play every so often but mostly we kept to ourselves after school was out. One time a couple of my friends were talking about different Marvel and DC characters — this was in sixth grade — and all I knew were Spiderman and Superman and the main characters. They were going on and on about this one with this super power and that one who could do that and I was like, “Oh my God, you guys are geeks!” But it actually sounded pretty cool, so I went to my very first comic store and bought my first comic book — The Fantastic Four #188 — and I was hooked. From that moment on, I knew what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and started doing artwork. All throughout high school, my work was published in magazines, businesses, banners, brochures, fliers and schools.
PGN: Were you artistic at all before that?
JB: Kind of; like most kids at a young age, I doodled with pretty much anything you put in my hand — crayons, markers, pens, pencils, chalk, rock on pavement. Nothing could have made me happier. And my dad was an artist, not professionally or anything but whenever I had to do a school project, he’d always help out with artwork; he and my mom were very creative. He worked as an elevator repairman and she worked as a secretary or legal assistant.
PGN: When did you realize that you were gay?
JB: I was very young, in the single digits. I didn’t know what it was, but I always remember finding guys attractive. I probably officially came out about 1996, and I was with my husband for 13 years before we got married.
PGN: Back to the comics: How do you do what you do?
JB: It’s all on computers now. There are images drawn by hand and then they’re scanned in and sent over; I do all the coloring in PhotoShop and send them in. Now I also do something called Sketch coloring and that’s done by hand.
PGN: I read about that.
JB: Yeah, that got started in 2008 and it’s really taken off. It got started with a gentleman who was at one of the shows; he’d been a fan of mine and he came up to me and asked if I had any markers. I told him just for signing autographs. He showed me a black and white cover and asked if I could color it in for him. I didn’t have any markers but I liked the idea, so at the next show I brought some markers and prints and started coloring them for people on the spot. Holy cow! There was a huge line all weekend. I did 109 by hand at that show. It was incredible and I’ve been doing it ever since.
PGN: And now you also have your own comic-book line.
JB: Yeah, we have one called Urban Legends and it’s exactly what it sounds like: urban legends as we all know them, but with our own little twist. And they all take place in one town. One screwed-up little town.
PGN: Yikes! Let me know where it is so I never visit. Even if it is only fictional!
JB: You’re safe! And we have another series coming out, hopefully later this year. It’s going to be the complete opposite of our horror stuff: It’ll be pure fantasy.
PGN: Someone nonfictional who is your superhero?
JB: It’s going to sound dorky, but my mother. She was always supportive and she was the one who nudged me to go into this industry. She took me to my first comic shows when I was a kid and she still likes to go to shows with us to this day! n
For more information about Comic Con, see http://www.wizardworld.com/home-philadelphia.html. Find more on Jeff Balke at www.JBalkesart.com.
To suggest a community member for Family Portrait, email [email protected].