DETAILS
The Price A Hero Pays
by JD DeGrazia, Hunter Murray, and Drew Denis
$19.99
A Hero Story Comics
Available at Thunderground (31 Fairview Blvd. in the Shell strip mall) and via Comixology.com
Hunter Murray has been going to Thunderground Comics and Collectibles for 15 years, not that he's that old now. He's been collecting comics, doodling and dreaming since he was a kid too.
It's fitting then that the St. Albert institution of cartooned fantasy and marvelous imagination is now the site where Murray's face and name is prominently featured on promotional posters on the windows, leading patrons to a special display right inside the front doors.
That display shelf is where you'll find copies of The Price a Hero Pays, a crisp new comic book that he illustrated... with an electronic pen.
"Just about a year and a half ago was when I decided to try out digital art, which is very different from just traditional art on paper. I got a tablet and a pen," he explained, offering a behind-the-scenes look into his creative process.
"I've been interested in comics my whole life so I was always trying characters like Spider Man and Batman and all those kind of characters. The fact that for digital art, you can zoom in, helped a lot. It made me a bit more passionate, because I felt like I could do more with it. It became more of a hobby that I did every day rather than when I was just drawing on paper once a month here and there just to doodle."
Comics and superheroes have been a lifelong passion for the 22-year-old who just graduated from the Radio and Television Arts program at NAIT. He and online friend JD DeGrazia started up a comic book podcast in 2017 but last year's pandemic provided the incentive and free time for them to finally take that big leap into making their own comic book. They joined up with Drew Denis who coloured and lettered the pages to make their first one for free, just to test the waters and see how it went. That was Aerial, which proved to be a decent enough entrée into the world when it came out in August. The three got a sweet taste of producing their own comic and it was so good that they didn't waste time getting to work on something new.
The Price a Hero Pays is basically two stories in one, DeGrazia explained, starting with a father whose son is in the hospital receiving cancer treatment. He tries to get his son's mind off of things by telling him the compelling story of Aspire, a hero from the past.
"We get to see the stories of Aspire, the hero from the past, and how those stories intermingle... one is such a bright story, and one is such a dark story, and then how they're able to shift at the end," he offered, noting that the collaborative process definitely played a huge part in fleshing the three-part series out to be richer and more full.
"I got to give a lot of credit to Hunter and Drew. When I first had the story premise, it was more so just the kid in the hospital and the old hero's story, and I didn't really know how I wanted to blend them just yet. When we went on calls about discussing the book and taking notes and stuff, we all put in ideas. Drew definitely helped a lot with plugging the holes in what my story was, and helping me figure out how I wanted the story to be told. I had the beginning in mind, and I had the end in mind, and they definitely helped fill in the middle."
Denis and Murray confirmed that it was a work-intensive project, one they were both eager for since COVID-19 offered them so much free time. It was a project that kept him busy every day on some detail or other for six solid months. Denis and DeGrazia both live in New York - Murray has never even met them in person - but they sure have had a lot of video meetings.
"I was asking Hunter questions like, 'Hey, what do you think about this colour choice?' And then when it came to the lettering side, it was like, 'Okay, JD, we got a hole with too much text here. Can we simplify this?' I was the man behind the scenes putting this together. From that first meeting, this was definitely a special collaboration between the three of us. We all threw something into the story," he said.
Murray said that his collaborators also had notes on how characters should look and other visual details in the panels.
They're all now living the dream but far from resting on their laurels. Even while The Price A Hero Pays is still a fresh release, the three are back to the drawing board – umm... drawing tablet? – with another title. Considering their work ethic and enthusiasm for all things comic, one imagines that it will be colourful and as fast to the market as the Flash.
This is a thrilling adventure for Hunter Murray, who even managed to sign on his required four-month RTA internship with none other than Marvel Comics. Those ads that you saw for the Marvel Universe of Superheroes exhibit at the Telus World of Science had his digital fingerprints all over them. You can certainly expect that he has taken his Hero experience and intends to keep coming back bigger and better.
"It was really fun and passionate. That's the reason why we want to continue doing more," exclaimed the obviously satisfied and now published artist.
Even Thunderground owner Roy Kim is thrilled both for Murray and for the fact that his store is the only Canadian retailer with The Price A Hero Pays on its shelves.
"I think he's great. I think the book is great. I like the idea of him working really hard and putting this project together. It's incredible. And to do it over the Internet with people... it's pretty hard. Very impressive job," he remarked.
