Super stoked
Lodi’s Mitchell Martinez to publish first comic in June
Like many 15-year-old boys, Mitchell Martinez was obsessed with superheroes and comic books growing up.
His love of Batman, SpiderMan, the Justice League and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, among other titles, let his imagination soar and would eventually inspire him to create his own superheroes, although he didn’t think they’d ever be put to page.
Now, at the age of 30, one of his teenage creations is finally coming to life.
Florida-based Scout Comics will be releasing his “Wannabes” comic on June 8 in stores across the country.
“It definitely feels amazing,” he said. “Although I got the original idea when I was 15, I didn’t really entertain the idea of publishing anything until I was in college.”
His creation is the story of two teenage friends, Jordan and Walter, who live in a universe in which superheroes are real and live among the public.
The two boys love following the adventures of their idols, and one day decide to become crime fighters themselves by donning ski masks and patrolling their neighborhood.
That’s easier said than done, as the pair get in over their heads as they are beaten up by a mugger and almost end up becoming the victims of a stabbing.
Then one day, they witness a robbery at a local warehouse involving containers full of chemical gas. The boys try to thwart the robbery, end up coming into contact with the chemicals in question, and ultimately gain super powers of their own.
“Every once in a while, I would let my imagination come up with some of the most random ideas,” Martinez said. “I thought ‘if I could come up with a superhero of my own, what would it be like?’ Most of the ideas I had were half-baked, but one day I was walking home from school my sophomore year, and this idea hit me like a bolt of lightning. I came up with characters, their costumes and logos, went home and wrote up a draft.”
Martinez said that’s about as far as his idea got, as he admitted his ability to draw was not up to comic book standards.
However, his mother told him about an art course in Stockton where he could potentially develop his artistic vision for the comic, he said.
He attended some classes, but the desire to draw wasn’t as strong as his ambition to be an actor.
Becoming an actor didn’t pan out. But after high school, Martinez attended Sacramento State, and while there, he enrolled in a writing class.
There, he wrote a short story, which would eventually become the first issue of “Wannabes,” he said. It was at that point he thought he could make his comic book become a reality.
Unfortunately, you can’t submit a comic book idea without an artist, so Martinez found
Scattered Comics in Elk Grove, a publishing company which provides writers and artists a way to meet and collaborate on ideas.
“At first I wound up with a guy who worked on 17 pages with me,” Martinez said. “Then, for whatever reason, he just up and quit. I never did get the full story. That was frustrating because I couldn’t finish the story with a new artist. I had to start over.”
Eventually, Martinez ended up with Samir Sinao, an artist from Sacramento, and the pair fleshed out the first two issues of “Wannabes.”
They shopped it around to several independent publishers, including Image and Dark Horse, but only a few responded. Those responses were rejections, and all of them said it wasn’t something they’d be interested in publishing.
Jason Dube, the creator of Scattered Comics, referred Martinez to an editor he knew at Scout Comics.
Another submission, and Martinez was told the book was “too wordy.” He was also told that not only do the editors have to approve the comic, but so did Scout’s editorial and publishing board.
In addition, Martinez learned he couldn’t use the main hero’s name because it was already being used by another independent comic book creator.
“Not only did I have to rewrite the story and make it less wordy, I had to change the hero,” he said. “That meant a new name, which meant a new logo, new powers. I felt like I was jumping through hoops all these years.”
About a year after submitting his idea to Scout Comics, editor Andrea Molinari contacted Martinez to tell him the board approved the book, and they were offering him a contract.
He and Sinao have completed three issues of the title, and Martinez said that when the fourth is ready for publication, Scout will release all the stories as a trade paperback.
The first issue will be available at the Launch Pad and Comic Grapevine, and Martinez said there will be two different covers which will create one piece of art when placed next to each other.
Two more exclusive covers will be available online at www.scoutcomics.com.
An analyst with the State of California, Martinez said he has no plans to quit his day job and take on “Wannabes” full-time.
“This has been a dream of mine for half my life,’ he said. “I’m serious about continuing on with the book, and I just hope people will want to read it.”
For more information, visit www.scoutcomics.com, www.facebook.com/Wannab escomic, or www.instagram.com/wannabescomiccreator.