BAM! Graphic Artist from Casper Has Worked With Both Marvel and DC

Ben Bates is home for the holidays. Since graduating from Natrona County High School, he's bounced around from Portland to L.A. and most recently, a tiny town in Texas...all in the name of love. His passion lies with animation and graphic art.

Bates' dad John says that ever since his son was a little boy, he loved to draw. Bates always knew he wanted to make comic books, he just didn't know how in the beginning. It wasn't easy, but he started chipping away, and after about ten years, he's gotten to work on teams, including DC and Marvel. He's also worked for properties like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the Avengers, My Little Pony, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Mega Man.

"People ask me what I do for fun," says Bates. "My job. That's what I do for fun."

His favorite medium is, simply, a pencil, but a lot of his work is done with a digital drawing tablet because it's more efficient. He often lives in the worlds he creates. The process is usually "Wake up. Sit down. Start drawing. Go to sleep."

When Bates set out to create his very own graphic novel, he moved to Slaton,Texas. For one thing, it would be easier to live on his savings there, but it's also where his mother is from. It's quieter with less distractions. Both Texas and Wyoming have largely influenced the way he creates landscapes. It's more natural to Bates to create vast, open spaces opposed to big city structures.

Growing up, his favorite comics were mostly American superheros like X-Men and Spiderman, but when he discovered Manga—a Japanese style of cartoon—he knew he had found what he was searching for all along. We talked a lot about the traditional styles of comic books and graphic novels versus new schools of thought and even what he's trying to do to carve out a path of his own.

In pop culture, superheros were HUGE in the 40's and 50's, gaining a resurgence when he was a kid in the 80's. Since then, DC and Marvel movies like the  Avengers series have thrust superheros into the limelight once again. And despite the resurgence in their popularity, the comic books themselves haven't seen quite the same catapult sales-wise.

Today, Bates thinks most superhero comics cater to their original audience which has since grown into adults. Most of them aren't apropriate for kids anymore. They've gotten gritter, darker, and far more sexual.

"Nostalgia is awesome, and parents can share the things they love with their kids, but there should also be new stuff that's made specifically for the new generation of young kids" says Bates who fears the younger audience might be getting left out altogether. After all, parents are the ones with the money.

Bates set out to make something for kids aged around 8 to 12 that's appealing to both boys and girls. It steps away from the simple good vs. evil storyline and has characters that are complex. He hopes it can be a tool to help his audience think critically when characters don't always behave the way a reader might expect. It's a story that takes its reader on a wild ride with lots of gotcha! moments.

Wind City Books has a couple copies of the novel, titled "Power Stars" (and you can also find them online). They're hosting Bates for a book signing on Saturday, Dec. 23, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at 152 S. Center Street in Downtown Casper.