Young Springfield artist gaining fans in comic book circles

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Gary Bedell, a tattoo peeking through the neckline of his black T-shirt, hunches over two nearly identical layouts of his original action-comic book.

Behind him, sketches in various stages of completion are clipped to a large white art table that dominates the room -- home to Bedell's Gee-Bee Studios.

"I was trying to do too much on this panel," the 21-year-old says, scrutinizing the first layout.

The reworked piece is much better, he says, brushing his fingers across a character's face: "Look here. See how his face has more emotion?"

Bedell is his own worst critic, says friend and creative partner Bryan Ellis, the wordsmith for "Legend of Asteria," one of Bedell's original comic series. "He's very nitpicky about his stuff."

That kind of passionate diligence could be just what it takes to break into an industry that's tough to crack. Those who know Bedell's work -- including friends, comic enthusiasts and Ozarks industry insiders -- are convinced the young Springfield artist has the talent to make it.

"Gary's art is amazing, I think," says Josh Roberts, who manages Caveman Comics. "And it's perfectly suited for what people are looking for. It's got that wild, sort of Manga style (like Japanese anime) which is popular today."

The 2000 Central High School graduate has approached two independent comic book presses. And his illustrations have appeared in several role-playing game company books available nationally through an industry catalog. He's created posters for music events, illustrations for a local magazine and has taught at the Springfield Art Museum.

Last month, he was the honored guest artist at the 12th annual Visioncon science fiction and fantasy convention in Springfield. That led to an invitation to participate in Artists Alley at the Planet Comicon convention March 29 and 30 in Kansas City.

"It's incredible, the kind of interest people have taken in his work," says Keith Moncrief, Visioncon's convention coordinator.

Bedell will be in good company at Planet Comicon. The convention features astronauts, actors (including "The Hulk" Lou Ferrigno and Anne Ramsay from "Star Trek: The Next Generation") and veteran comic illustrators that include George Perez ("Avengers") and Mike Worley ("The Simpsons").

There, Bedell will create drawings on site and display his portfolio, including work from "Legend of Asteria," as he did at Visioncon.

The good-natured artist works on other original projects in addition to "Asteria."

"But that's my baby," he says with a ready smile.

Bedell hopes Antarctic Press and Radio Press publish his work.

"He has that Manga style that we're looking for," says Rod Espinosa, submissions editor for Antarctic, where Bedell sent samples. Espinosa says he looks forward to seeing the book Bedell is working on. If they like it, the book could be printed on its own, or be included in an anthology the company is preparing.

When Radio Press publishers saw Bedell's art at a convention in Texas last year, they seemed enthusiastic, recalls Ellis, who attended the convention with Bedell.

"They were both like: 'Do whatever you want and we'll print it. Anything you want to do, just let us know.' We were both pretty excited about that."

Ellis, who's known Bedell for five years, started working with the young illustrator after he'd completed two of the "Asteria" books. But Bedell wasn't happy with his own writing, so he asked Ellis to rework the books and write the third, based on Bedell's stories about three swordsmen who unite the kingdoms of their planet.

Ellis is cautiously excited about Planet Comicon, but doesn't think it's all that easy to get discovered by the big presses. He thinks independents are the way to proceed for now.

Espinosa says it's not as difficult as some people think to get published if artists are willing to work: "All you have to have is the will to follow your dreams. It takes discipline. You have that, and you're a winner."

He also says a good reason to stick with independents is that creators maintain the rights to their work, which doesn't often happen at Marvel or DC.

Books from Antarctic and Radio sell fairly well for independents, says Caveman's Roberts, especially among younger readers.

"But it has to be a good book. It has to have good art and have a good story or they won't pick it up," he says.

He's sure Caveman would carry anything Bedell gets printed. His work is better than 90 percent of independent press artists, Roberts says.

"He just has to show it to the right person," Roberts says. "I tell him all the time, if he would concentrate on his comic art and really get it to the big companies, he would get hired. I think his work is definitely good enough. The biggest problem with them is getting your foot in the door."

Bedell has drawn comics since he was very young.

"I knew it was for me as soon as I picked up my first issue of 'Marvel Universe,' the first comic I ever owned. I said, 'I want to do this,"' he recalls.

He's always loved everything about comics. He collects them, reads them and draws inspiration from them.

By eighth grade, Bedell's comics looked polished beyond his years. Now he chuckles at those early efforts from the perspective of a more experienced artist.

He was so sure of his talent as he entered high school, Bedell confesses, chagrined at the remembered vanity. He had no idea how much he had to learn.

"When you're in high school, you think you know everything. I was like: 'I'm the best artist in the school.' I had a really big head and everything," he says with a laugh. "But (my teachers) taught me things I didn't know. I picked up a lot of different techniques, learned how to do things different ways."

For instance, he discovered how important it is to understand anatomy -- to know how the muscles and bones are moving beneath a character's skin and clothes. That's key to creating characters who appear to move naturally, he says.

And he learned about mixing colors and about helpful graphic arts computer programs in a class at Ozarks Technical Community College.

His art teachers at Central -- Donald Henderson, who is retired, and Anne Marie Hughes -- remember Bedell for his talent and enthusiasm.

Hughes remembers Bedell was never still; he was always working on something.

"Some kids would sit there if they weren't busy. But if Gary wasn't painting, he was drawing something," she says.

Creating comics requires more than merely good illustration skills, Bedell says.

"Each illustration has to be sequential. And everything, every character, has to look the same, down to the last panel."

Most important, it's about telling a clean, consistent story through the art. That's what comic professionals look for, he says.

Bedell thinks he's got what it takes to make it in the business, but he knows there's lots of competition.

It's as they say, Bedell waxes philosophically: "There's always someone better. But I'm good at what I do and I feel like I am going to make it in this field."