By Casey Jarmes | The News-Review
NORTH ENGLISH – “I hope to work for Marvel or DC comics someday, the two best known comic book companies around, and when I become rich and famous, I will publish my own comic books, with the super heroes I have created,” Phil Hester told the North English Record in 1980.
45 years later, after spending decades working as an artist and writer in the superhero comic industry, Hester told his story during a presentation at the English Valleys History Center on Oct. 26. Hester explained that in eighth grade, after moving to North English from Oklahoma, he began drawing comics of a grumpy English Valleys teacher, recasting him as a parody superhero named Captain Squatty Body. His friends enjoyed it and Hester made more comics, casting other teachers as enemies for Captain Squatty Body. He stated that he was afraid he would get in trouble, but that teachers were actually offended if they didn’t get to appear as villains. Hester explained that he was the new kid and drawing superheroes became his identity.
Hester continued making comics with his friends throughout high school. He explained that, in 1984, when he was studying drawing at the University of Iowa, the publication of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles led to an indie comic boom, with many publishers springing up overnight and looking for young artists. Hester first began working on comics professionally between his sophomore and junior years at Iowa, slowly working his way up to work for the big two superhero comic publishers. Professionally, Hester is best known for being the artist for the acclaimed Green Arrow “Quiver” arc, which ran from 2001-2002. He also created the Image Comics character Firebreather, who was adapted to an animated film that premiered on Cartoon Network in 2010. Hester stated that he had worked on around 500 published comics and that characters he had created had appeared in Batman the Animated Series, the Suicide Squad, Arrow, and the MCU.
Hester talked about the challenges he had faced as a comic artist and writer, comparing the job to being a musician; a handful are millionaires, a lot can play theaters, but most play garage bands. He stated he could fill a theater, but not a stadium. He explained that how much he’s paid varies heavily, comparing his income to an EKG, and discussed publishers that owed him money going bankrupt and taking characters he created with them. Still, Hester made it clear how much he loves his job.
“This is all I’ve wanted to do, for as long as I can remember,” he said. “And to get to do it as an adult, I’ll never not be grateful for that. I can tell you, there’s probably days I don’t love doing it, working til 3 a.m. drawing, to meet a deadline, but that’s mostly my fault, but I’ll never lose sight of how lucky I am to not have to go to work.”
He stated that the best part of his job is that he can live in North English, spending ten weekends a year traveling to various cities for conventions. He noted that, when he first started out, he got to meet a lot of writers and artists whose work he loved as child, and that they had all been great. He also discussed work he had done as a storyboard artist.
Hester explained that, ten years ago, he began suffering from a cornea disease that was slowly leading him to becoming blind and thus unable to draw. His eyesight was saved by two cornea transplants. Hester explained that he was grateful and is currently working on an ad campaign promoting eye donations, taking real people who had given or received eye transplants and drawing them as superheroes.
