We originally intended to mash the near dozen comics creators who call the Triangle home into a single article, but the scope of the task was too great for one issue. Stay tuned to future issues of SF! for more stuff on comics. In this issue, we start things off with a look at the work of . . . (Bob Boster)

JOHN VAN FLEET

John Van Fleet is a 32-year-old comic artist from New Jersey who has lived in Chapel Hill for the last three years. John's very distinctive work has been published in Hellraiser #4 and Ray Bradbury Comics #5, as well as in a one-shot adaptation of Clive Barker's work called Primal. In this case the word "distinctive" is not being bandied about lightly; Van Fleet's work process goes something like this: a copy of the script arrives and he breaks down the text into panels, hires actors to model in poses that fit the script, and photographs them. Next he find suitable background pictures and fits the subjects into them. Then, he xeroxes the arranged photos onto the painting surface and paints over top of it.

This complex visual style developed in an interesting manner: "It's hard to make a place for yourself in the business without stepping on anyone's toes," said Van Fleet. As a student at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, Van Fleet lived with Kent Williams, George Pratt (no relation), and Mark Chiarello. Finding a niche that distances his work from others was important for Van Fleet. His process is without a name; although "mixed media" or "painted" comics are sometimes used to describe the work, John seems more comfortable not pigeonholing it. Unlike the other Pratt grads, Van Fleet did not start out working in the comics industry after (or during) school, instead working within the administration at Pratt and teaching. An aborted stint as a commercial artist brought him to the comics industry, although getting in the door was not difficult since he already knew many people through his Pratt friends.

When the DC/Vertigo limited series Shadows Fall arrives later this year, things should take off for Van Fleet. Shadows Fall is written by John Ney Rieber (also a CH resident) and, with Van Fleet's amazing art, promises to turn some heads. Van Fleet has been working on this project for some time, but also finds time to do short pieces (like the one for Topp's Bradbury Comics) as well as art for collectable card sets. Like many of the other local professionals, Van Fleet is able to subsist on his work, but having to look for freelance work is taxing.