<< Previous   of   Next >> Enterprise/CHRIS GOODENOW  (click to enlarge) Comic book artist Sean Patella-Buckley proudly displays a page in progress from his entry titled "Black River," for the Third Annual Comic Book Challenge 2008 by Platinum Studios, Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at his home in Shoreline.

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Local comic book artist draws his way to top 50

Shoreline man could get his big break at Comic Book Challenge

By Zach Wilson
Enterprise reporter

Meet Sean Patella-Buckley, a 28-year-old comic book artist who works at Milliman actuarial firm in Seattle. Crunching numbers by day and drawing sketches about saving the world by night, Patella-Buckley and his team earned a spot with the top 50 finalists in the 2008 Platinum Studios Comic Book Challenge.

"We wanted to go into comics for years," he said. "This could be a huge break for all of us."

In 2006, Platinum Studios, located in Los Angeles, Calif., designed the Comic Book Challenge contest to find new talent in the industry.

The winning comic's art is published by Platinum Studios for TV, film, and/or print. Last year's winner, Jorge Vega's "Gunplay," was turned into an 88-page full color graphic novel.

Besides comic books, Platinum Studios works with many motion picture productions, including DreamWorks and Imagine Entertainment. They were also involved in the recent "Iron Man" movie.

Patella-Buckley's interest in comic books began in the seventh grade when a friend bought him an edition of "X-Men." He still regards "X-Men" artist, Jim Lee, as one of his favorites because of his dynamic visuals and multiple angles.

"He's got a definite comic book style," he said.

In a lot of ways, Lee's "X-Men" series has rubbed off on Patella-Buckley. As a graduate from Gonzaga University with a bachelor's degree in art, Patella-Buckley said comic book artistry is very unique.

"It's a wonderful blend of art and literature," he said.

He describes his comic, "Black River," as a 1930s throwback crime noir that takes place in a gritty, crime-infested city.

But that's just the beginning.

"Then it starts to get weird," he said. "We want to slowly warp it into a horror movie."

The protagonist, Rick, a lonely drifter who rides from town to town on his motorcycle, all of a sudden is haunted by swarms of mummies and vampires.

"It's hometown America turned on its head," said judge Dave Collins, senior story editor at Platinum Studios. "It's always interesting to get something different that stands out in the crowd. It has its own little twist … a mystery element in a setting that seems familiar."

Patella-Buckley said that while many of his ideas are original, the concept was inspired by the movie "Sin City."

As a judge, Collins looks for two main components, writing concept and art design. The idea must also appeal to many different mediums, such as film, TV, novel, or even video games, he said.

As a top 50 finalist last year, Patella-Buckley entered by himself and had little time to prepare before the deadline.

This year, with a team of two writers, Gabe Denning and Ian Schempp, along with Jeff Clemens, in charge of ink and color separation, Patella-Buckley feels confident they could make it to the finals.

"We do like his stuff," said Collins. "He has good, clean penciling skills."

Despite the decrease in comic book popularity, Collins said they are getting more contestants each year. Last year there were entries from more than 22 countries worldwide.

"(Entrants) envision their ideas hitting the big screen," said Collins.

Due to the increase in numbers, all entries are submitted online in movie format. They are evaluated by a panel of celebrity judges and narrowed down to 10 semi-finalists. Anyone can vote for their favorite entry at the Platinum Studios Web site, www.comicbookchallenge.com, from Aug. 8-Aug. 22. The top three will be selected for a final round of online voting from Aug. 23- Sep. 5.