Introducing… Brant Fowler!
Hey, everyone, here’s a video from our YouTube page introducing myself:
Each of we founders (John, Lisa and myself), and our only other current writer, Chris, will all be doing these introduction videos and posts. We just want to let you know who we are if you don’t already, so you can get a little more familiar with just who is putting out these books.
Sorry for the lighting in mine, our camera may be on the fritz. haha
To expound a little bit on my background, I started drawing when I was about 5 or 6 years old. I began tracing school folders, then broke out to full drawing. I even drew Transformers during school and hid them in my schoolbox! So I guess you could say I was always the creative type.
As I got older, I discovered comic shops, and that changed my whole world. I knew what I wanted to do for a profession – I wanted to be a comic book artist! So I began drawing every day. I would buy these 9″ x 12″ sketch pads and draw full comic issues in them featuring either characters I created or spinoff stories from other properties, like G.I. Joe. I would draw for hours on end and I loved it.
When I was about 18-19, for various reasons, I got out of comics completely for several years. I would keep up with the news from time to time, picking up a copy of Wizard (I didn’t have a computer or internet at the time), or looking at Digital Webbing in the college library. In 2000-2001 I was pulled back in by the two things I mentioned in the video: the new G.I. Joe series from Devil’s Due, and Crossgen. I’ve told those stories and my love for Crossgen books many times on podcasts and in columns, so I won’t bore you here with all that.
Long story short, I found myself collecting and reading comics again. And working with an indie studio first as a managing editor and eventually as Editor-In-Chief. The company had over 200 people working on projects, but never produced a single book. So many of us left. A very long story, but I met good people then that I have kept up with.
In 2002, I came up with a concept for a comic that I had to explore. Marvel had reopened their EPIC line for creator-owned material, and so I put together a few scripts and the whole pitch and sent it off. I got very positive feedback, but they thought it needed work. That same idea I eventually got pretty far with in a competition that saw my story get published. After that, I did a full issue and self-published it. It was called WANNABEZ. And it will be returning here at LEP at some point!
Along the way, I also managed news and press content for several websites, even made a living on one for a while. I eventually landed at Comic Related, where I would go on to become a co-owner and meet two brothers from other mothers, LEP’s own John Wilson and CR founder Chuck Moore.
Somewhere in there, I worked for Haven Distributors, which has since closed shop. They had bought Cold Cut and grown the business, but Diamond is a beast.
In recent years, I became a member of a YouTube review group that started as Dark Avenger, INC. In February 2014, we launched a new channel and accompanying blog, Comic Frontline. I don’t review much anymore, but I’m still heavily involved with the group and appear on the weekly live show as much as I can.
I started lettering way back in 2001-2002 thinking I could save money on my own books. I picked up the trade pretty fast, at least the basics, and started getting contacted for work. So it kind of grew from there, and I found myself lettering other people’s stuff for nearly a decade and a half! I worked on two Image Comics titles through the Shadowline imprint, Descendant and Zombie Cop. I’ve worked on Jack Hammer and Fight Like a Girl in different capacities fro Action Lab Entertainment. I have lettered everything Assailant Comics has ever published I believe. And many, many others.
Flatting wise, I fell into that as well, thanks to Lisa, who was mainly flatting at the time. She has since gone full-blown coloring and just does flatting on the side. I also just dabble, but may be doing more in the near future. I flatted the first five issues of the New 52 Legion of Super-Heroes series, and I’ve worked on titles from the Hulk, to Sonic the Hedgehog, to Spider-Man, to the Justice League, to Green Lantern, to Invincible, and more.
Bottom line is that I love comics, and one way or another, I’ve found myself involved with or working on comics for the past decade and a half. And my love for the medium, as detailed, goes way back, long before that. I love what comics can be and can do for a reader. I love creating worlds and characters, and telling fascinating stories with them. In many ways, I feel like this progression was always supposed to happen, and now here we are!
You’ll be hearing from all the founders and Chris in these types of posts. The four of us, and all the contributors working on our titles, are very much invested in this company, studio, whatever you want to call it. We each have a passion for the comics medium and for telling our own stories in that format. We hope that you will join us for this brand new journey.
We will all be doing more blog posts along the way about the various titles we’re working on too, with updates and behind the scenes stuff, and much more. So stay tuned, and visit this site and our various social media sites frequently!
Please leave a comment or question below if you have any.
-B