Today we’d like to introduce you to Anton W. Blake.
Hi Anton, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been an artist all my life. Even when I was very young, I’ve had a drive to create things in whatever ways I could. Similarly, comics have been part of my life for as long as I can remember. My parents would buy me comics before I could even read, so it was always my first love and the primary thing I wanted to do growing up.
However, I set aside making comics in my 20s to work in film as a camera operator, but after about a decade of that I was burnt out from that work/life balance. Around the time I left the film industry, I was feeling the pull towards making comics again and I went all in. A year or so later, when the pandemic hit, I had all the time in the world to work on comics and fell in with a group of other cartoonists online and we collaborated on a book called Image Grand Design, and homage to the comic released by Image Comics in the 1990s. From there, I made a number of mini comics and art zines, and also began to experiment with creating content for tabletop roleplaying games.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Even though making comics and rpgs would qualify as my dream job, it’s still a job. I’m very privileged that I’ve been able to make it work, but so many aspects of getting a foothold in the industry require a lot of gambling on what will work and what won’t. Like a lot of artists, I battled imposter syndrome for a number of years. Its far too easy to get stuck questioning if your work is good enough or if you know what you’re doing, but I’ve learned to disentangle my worth from the work, and to stop judging my art based on the unspoken rules that the art world and society at large have placed on all of us.
On top of that, both industries have been in major states of flux these past few years. Comics, especially indie comics, have had to navigate distribution in new ways after Diamond, the primary distro in the country, filed for bankruptcy and has essentially fallen apart entirely this year. Multiple comics I’ve worked on lost national distribution because of this. That was pretty disheartening. I know that myself and the industry at large will rebound from that, it will just be a rocky road for the time being.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I wear a lot of hats, so to speak. I’m a multimedia cartoonist, and am best known for the ongoing comic mini series Zethia Space Witch, which I write, draw, paint, sculpt, etc. Zethia as a series has meant a lot to me, and I’m very glad to say that its connected with so many people who have read it. I love to experiment with just about every sort of traditional medium that I can, as well as melding genres and finding new ways to push and explore the storytelling capabilities of comics.
I’m also the editor for the new anthology comix magazine Lion Cosmique, which focuses on short form speculative fiction (sci-fi, fantasy, horror) by both industry veterans, rising stars, and newcomers a like.
On top of both of those duties, I also write and illustrate tabletop roleplaying games. I released my first full rpg, Eat the Lich, earlier this year and am deep into crafting a new game right now.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I’m a firm believer in the power of art and creative expression. I’ve been driven to create for my entire life, there was really never any option for me to not be an artist in some form.
On top of that, I want to encourage others to create as well. I find it incredibly sad that so many people think they aren’t creative, or who want to create but don’t think they’re talented enough. I really find the idea of talent to be a myth. I believe that everyone has the capabilities to do something creative, even if it they only ever do it for themselves. I often think of a quote from Kurt Vonnegut, “Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow,” and I truly believe that. I hope that more people will give themselves the grace to make some form of art just for that reason alone: creating is good for you.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.antonwblake.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mighty_peculiar/
- Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/antonwblake.bsky.social
- Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/AntonWBlake
Image Credits
all images credited to Anton W. Blake
