AGSM celebrates Free Comic Book Day

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This article was published 04/05/2024 (865 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Many people know that DC Comics is home to Batman, Superman, and Hawkman, but one thing that may not be as well known is that Brandon’s Curt Shoultz has had a hand in drawing each of those superheroes, along with several others.

“I worked for DC Comics for nearly 10 years,” said Shoultz. “I worked on ‘Hawkman,’ ‘Deathstroke,’ a little ‘Batman’ and a little bit of ‘Man of Steel.’

“And then when ‘The Tick’ was a comic book, I got to draw a few of those for New England comics. So, that’s 10 years. It was dream come true,” he said.

His career was anything but an overnight success, Shoultz added.

“I submitted artwork to DC — one of North America’s top comic book companies — every six months for five years. So, after 10 submissions I realized I’m either patient or persistent. But in the early 1990s, they finally called me and said, ‘Hey, we think you could do this.’”

The reason Shoultz is thinking about his past is because of the present. Today, Free Comic Book Day is being observed in Canada and the United States.

The day was created in 2002 by California man named Joe Field, who owned a comic book store and wanted to drum up business by introducing a new generation of readers to the world of comics. He convinced other comic book sellers, publishers and distributors to join him in giving a free comic book to every person on the first Saturday of May.

Today in Brandon from 1 to 4 p.m., the Art Gallery of Southwestern Manitoba (AGSM) is celebrating Free Comic Book Day in their Moon Lounge, said gallery services co-ordinator Aly Wowchuk.

“We are going to have an area set up at the art gallery with art supplies, pens, crayons, and we’ll have some four-panel templates so people can draw their own comics and just hang out with us,” said Wowchuk.

As a bonus, Shoultz accepted Wowchuk’s invitation to set up his own drawing station and said he’ll offer any advice or feedback anyone might request.

“I have to thank comic books for teaching me an awful lot about drawing,” said Shoultz. “So, if there’s ever a chance to promote comic books the way they promoted me, I’ll happily do it.

“And I love and appreciate seeing what people are up to and what they’ve drawn, so if they want to bring something along, I’m happy to look at it.”

Back in 2018, AGSM partnered with Shoultz when he came up with the idea of creating a local comic book and recruited five Brandon-area illustrators, who pooled their talents.

The artists — Tim Brown, Merissa Mayhew, Grace Buitenhuis, Dakota Bicklmeier and Jeremy Carter — contributed their stories and through the comic book sales helped to raise money for educational programs at the gallery.

Shoultz said since the launch was in the month of December, he named the book “Wintergreen” because “it seemed like a terrific name summoning up good associations for the darkest time of the year. And it’s an upbeat comic, so it should have an upbeat name.”

The overall theme of “Wintergreen” is the gift of giving, said Wowchuk, with each artist’s drawings based on what they perceive as the idea of giving.

“We still have some issues of ‘Wintergreen’ to give out, and that’s why I thought it was perfect — kismet — that we celebrate Free Comic Book Day for the first time at the gallery, and we’re following the theme of the comic book,” said Wowchuk. “We will be giving this comic book away while welcoming people into the art gallery.”

The characters and superheroes in many of today’s blockbuster movies, said Shoultz, had humble beginnings in comic books.

“Comics don’t get anywhere near as much attention as the movies that borrow heavily from them, but there was a time in the 1940s when millions and millions of almost any comic book were sold,” he said.

“Back in the day, if you were doing a commercial comic book, it was a collaboration. A script would be given to a penciller, who would interpret the script. They would then pass it on to the inker and then the letterer.

“Nowadays, there’s a lot more room for people who have their own ideas and do the entire thing. They can write it, draw it, ink it and that’s the playground that I’m in. Just figuring out what the next story is going to be about, that kind of thing,” he said.

Even though he has no projects on the go right now, Shoultz added, he still uses the comic book visual thinking every day in his day job as director of the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology at Brandon University.

“I’ve enjoyed art since I was in kindergarten,” Shoultz said. “There was a lot of good fellowship with other people who liked comic books when I was young, too. Before the internet, finding other people who liked comics at the comic shop was a good way to talk about things you cared about.”

When asked if Free Comic Day was a good day for nerds to unite, and if it’s acceptable to be a nerd with any kind of comic book, Shoultz said, “Absolutely. Speaking as a nerd, if you need permission from a fellow nerd, sure. But if you need permission from a cool person, we’ll have to go find a cool person,” he said as he laughed.

For more information on Free Comic Book Day at AGSM, call 204-727-1036.

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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