Who I am, and Why You Should Care

Around age 12, I knew that I wanted to work in the comic book field. A friend of my family’s introduced me to the likes of Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight, and Marvel’s X-Men. Instantly, I was hooked. I began collecting comics profusely and started drawing superheroes day in and day out. I made it my mission in life to figure out how to either become a comic book artist, or get a job making them.

I attended Syracuse University’s School of Visual Arts, studying Illustration from 1996-2000. I contributed to a couple of various school-sponsored publications; most notably something called Comics Plus, a small anthology comic that I contributed my strip too. That was really the only comic book work I did in college, mainly because I was honing my skills as a fine artist, so I could get a “real job” out of college, as my father would say. Not that my family ever discouraged me from pursuing a career in comics, it’s just that they knew there were really only two companies that I was putting all my apples into, DC Comics, and Marvel. I did continue to collect comics on a regular basis in college and always doodled superheroes in my sketchbooks from time to time, but it wasn’t my focus.

When it came time to look for a valid internship the summer before my junior year, I was stumped. I wanted a job that I could follow my dream of becoming an artist, but at college we were being taught to be a freelance artist. There were no jobs for studio artists. But I was determined to find one. I fought my professors a lot over this.

My internship search ended when I found out (at a funeral no less) that my sister was a good friend with a girl whose father worked at “Archie Comics.” I was curious about this person, so I asked my sister more about this possible contact. I found out later that she didn’t mean Archie Comics at all, but DC Comics. With my sister’s help, I got in touch with her friend’s father and he invited me to get a tour of DC. After a tour, and portfolio showing, the employee then put me touch with the WB Human Resources Department, and I got an internship!

I was going to work at DC Comics! Could my dream job be this easy to achieve? I didn’t think so, so I showed up planning to work my butt off! I worked in the Production Department of DC Comics, handling everything from trafficking cover approvals, to actually doing lettering paste up on real, actual comic book art! I was in heaven! I was actually getting to work on, contribute and correct comics. Not bad for a 20 year old aspiring comic book artist. But I had to unfortunately finish college. I got my BFA in Illustration, and moved back home with my parents.

I kept in touch with DC Comics throughout my senior year, hoping to try and get back in when it came time to get a real job. My oldest brother used to always say that me wanting to be a comic book artist was akin to trying to be a rock star. I knew getting a job at DC Comics was not quite becoming a comic book artist, but I it was a step in the right direction. I applied for a job in the Production Department, and within a couple of months, was hired. I guess they liked me enough to bring me back after the internship!

I worked a year as a Production Coordinator and made a lateral move to being a Production Artist, where I wanted to be. The Production Artists worked right on the floor, in the DC Comics Bullpen, working directly on the comic books, I grew up loving and wanting to draw. I had made it into the industry, and I was not going to take it for granted.

In my next column, I will start to talk about what I started doing at DC Comics, specifically, and the changes my department went through to be what it is today. Throughout my column, a lot of what I talk about will be how to put a comic book together the RIGHT way, and how and why it is so important to follow certain rules when making comics. And when I mean making comics, I’m talking about the actual digital and physical steps it takes to make it into a book that you can buy in your comic stores.

I hope you enjoy my column, and if anything, it helps you understand the ins and outs of the aspects of being a comic book artist, a comic book maker, and a comic book fan! I’ll do my best to make it fun and interesting!

So, that’s who I am. Corey Breen, Senior Pre-Press Artist at DC Comics, going on ten years now. And that’s why you should care.

Stay tuned! Until next time,

Corey Breen