He has etched his way into history, having drawn some of America’s most iconic superheroes, such as the X-Men, Green Lantern, and The Flash.
His artwork is shelved in comic book stores all across the U.S. and on April 3, he came to Orlando.
Ethan Van Sciver, an illustrator for DC Comics, met and greeted fans at A Comic Shop.
Van Sciver, known for his work on New X-Men and Green Lantern: Rebirth, signed autographs for his latest work, The Flash: Rebirth.
Van Sciver said his interest in comic books peaked after he read Man of Steel, written and illustrated by John Byrne, but then he took a hiatus for a new interest.
“I sold all my comics when I discovered girls and didn’t come back to them until 19,” Van Sciver said.
He wrote his first comic book, about a half-robot, half-frog called Cyberfrog. It did not do as well as hoped, but it did manage to catch the eye of an independent publisher.
From there, Van Sciver was approached by DC Comics to illustrate Impulse, a fading comic book about the grandson of Barry Allen, the second Flash and the focus of The Flash: Rebirth.
Van Sciver managed to resurrect Impulse and ended up penciling another 50 issues.
He has since gone on to illustrate famous storylines with some of America’s most beloved superheroes.
In The Flash: Rebirth, Van Sciver is reintroducing Barry Allen, who was killed off in the mid ’80s, to the company’s cast of characters.
Van Sciver said that writing a comic book is a lot like writing a screenplay for a movie.
“It’s a chance to tell stories on an extremely small budget,” Van Sciver said. “You’re in control of the stories you tell. It’s a unique American art form from where you can do anything.”
Fans would agree.
“I’m drawn to the art,” said Cameron Collins, a local comic book fan and future UCF student. “It’s a different medium to express oneself. Books have words, movies have pictures and this is a way to combine them both.”
Fans did not mind waiting around for Van Sciver to finish because he not only signed autographs, he also drew sketches.
This gave him and his fans plenty of time to discuss what they thought about the latest issue of The Flash and what direction the character is heading.
Aaron Haaland and Jason Blanchard, owners of A Comic Shop, were pleased Van Sciver was able to stop by the shop and sign.
“He’s an amazing artist working on DC Comics’ biggest book right now,” Blanchard said. “We’re very fortunate to have him here at the shop.”
Blanchard said there are many comic book stores in America alone, and A Comic Shop set up the autograph signing a year in advance.
A Comic Shop was the only comic book store in North America that Van Sciver visited before he left for a two-week book-signing tour in South Africa.
“It was an honor to have him here because of all the comic book stores he could have gone to, he chose our store,” Blanchard said.
A Comic Shop will be hosting more signings during the next month. On April 15, Olivier Coipel, illustrator of Thor, will be signing autographs.
Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Connor, writer and illustrator for Power Girl, will be at A Comic Shop on May 6.
Be the first to comment on this article!