Today we’d like to introduce you to Onrie Kompan.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
From the moment I first laid eyes on the cover of WEB OF SPIDER-MAN #32 at the age of four, I knew that I was going to be involved in comics for the rest of my life. The cover was gripping, dark, almost illusive and yet triumphant at the same time. From that moment onward, I knew that I wanted to tell stories and I wanted to captivate my audience the same way Mike Zeck’s image of a black suited Spider-Man rising from his own grave captivated me.
I had spent most of my school years doodling in classes and was diagnosed with ADD even though years later, I discovered that I was perfectly fine. I just wasn’t interested in what teachers had to say. I was far more captivated by the worlds I was building in my own head. I was inspired by all the video games I was playing, shows I was watching, and of course, the comics I was reading.
My parents recognized my passion and signed me up for art classes but I just didn’t fit in. I wasn’t really good at drawing and the ideas that I had were much bigger than what I could draw. My teachers weren’t really receptive to this. They determined that I wasn’t applying myself because I wasn’t capable of paying attention in their classes. They were right to a degree. It’s not my fault that what they were teaching was boring.
Everyone was concerned that something was wrong with me.
Years later, during my college days, I got a laptop and realized that writing was my strong suit and decided to pursue a degree in Fiction Writing at Columbia College Chicago. Of course, back then there was no love for comic book writing and so once again I felt left out and secluded.
I was surrounded by students who saw writing as a hobby and had no ambition of using their degree to work in the field. Only a select ambitious few were determined but I didn’t want to do what they were doing. I had my own vision.
So once again, I felt left out and secluded.
Eventually, I met some people in the animation department, which led to me building a small independent publishing company where I made my first comic–and it was awful. Not long after, it went defunct. However, the experience taught me a lot.
Once I graduated from college, I had no leads for finding work in comics. No one wanted to hire me because I had no experience. I decided to continue working my day job, which I hated, so that I could save money and make my own comics. While I was working and reserving funds, I was also doing research on comics and essentially learning how to make them the right way by reading and dissecting all the comics that had an impact on me.
Then one fateful day, I discovered the story of Admiral Yi Soon Shin through a K-drama TV series and that was it. I figured out the story I wanted to tell and that story set me apart from all of my contemporaries! I would do my own take on this real-life hero. So, I kept on saving up money and doing research on the subject matter of my comic book series.
Before I knew it, I was in Korea working with their military to gather more research. When I finally had the money to build out my team, I hired the best people I could find. People who shared my vision. Together, we created a comic that is undisputed and despite the fact that it has no publisher or distributor in the US, YI SOON SHIN has now sold nearly 85,000 books worldwide and even has an endorsement from comics kingpin Stan ‘The Man’ Lee himself!
“BUY THIS BOOK! IT’S MAGNIFICENT!” His words. Not mine.
Please tell us about your art.
YI SOON SHIN is the ultimate underdog story. It’s based on a true story set in the late 1500’s, about a warrior of real and epic proportions who is sworn by duty and honor to protect his people at all costs from the devastating and brutal Japanese regime that threatens to conquer his country. All that stood against an invading army of samurai was one man who could not be defeated in battle!
See, I can relate to that. I’ve always been the outcast. I never quite fit in anywhere growing up. In fact, I still don’t fit in. When people ask me what I do for a living, my first inclination is to say–EVERYTHING!
I handle the marketing, production, publishing, and distribution of my comic. I am a one-man army. It’s a lot of work and more than most people are willing to take on. Many of my contemporaries ask me if I have an IT department or someone to manage my social media. I do it all myself. Why spend the money when I’m perfectly capable of doing everything?
Of course, wearing all these hats means I have less time to create, which is a good thing because when I create, I can actually do good work and not just rush to meet a deadline. YI SOON SHIN is not a monthly comic book series. It comes out when it’s ready and it can sometimes take a long time and not because I’m not focused on it.
Did I say I do everything myself? That’s not true! Behind every production there is a team of people who are working and deserve equal credit. Allow me to introduce you all to my co-writer and editor, David Anthony Kraft, who helped me form a very deliberate production process modeled after the classic Marvel Method.
DAK (as he prefers to be called) and I connected years ago through our good friend Jim Salicrup. I realized early on that in order to make good comics, I needed a second-in-command to watch my back. Someone to catch any and all errors that I couldn’t catch. It’s always better to be critiqued by an editor than by your audience. He taught me everything I know about production and this business.
We draw layouts together now, which our artist, El Arnakleus, then redraws in finer detail. The finished art goes to our colorist, Adriana De Los Santos, who then paints it in Frazetta-like detail, and then off it goes to Joel Saavedra for scripting.
Yes, you heard that right.
Since we work using the Marvel Method, we plot our scenes and then write captions after the art is completed. Therefore, the letterer has to refine everything until the page reads correctly. Joel isn’t just lettering this book–he is designing it while DAK and I oversee the entire process. It begins and ends with us.
The production process is grueling but the results are worth the added effort. YI SOON SHIN is a masterpiece. It is a raw example of what focus and determination can accomplish. Like the hero of our story, everyone on this production team is up against overwhelming odds and together we cannot be defeated in battle!
We often hear from artists that being an artist can be lonely. Any advice for those looking to connect with other artists?
Loneliness isn’t the only problem that artists have to contend with. Sometimes many of us are made to feel inferior because we aren’t instantly making as much money as people in high level positions and are not involved in something that is already in high demand. It is in our nature as humans to covet and desire greater things. I see nothing wrong with that. For me, it is a motivating factor. One day, I want my art to pay for my kids to go to college and for a bigger house. How cool would that be?
Of course, the more you try to stand out, the more people will resent you. I sort of got over that. There are always people in the game who like to eyeball fuck me and wonder how the hell I do what I do. There is no secret to it. As Mas Oyama, the creator of Kyokushin Karate once said–“The only secret is sweat.”
If you don’t put the work in, forget about the results. And stop eyeball fucking me and focus on what your goals are because I can promise you that they are very different than mine! As artists, everything we manufacture lives and dies with our ability to get behind and push the hell out of it! You can’t make excuses for why something isn’t working. If it doesn’t work, figure out why, and fix it. Every problem has a solution.
I used to be lonely and secluded but I am blessed with a wonderful family and they help build me up. I have two sons who occupy plenty of my time. Great friends who I’ve known since my youth. My parents, my sister, and my 91-year old grandmother, and of course my beautiful wife! My life is full.
As long as you have just one person who loves you unconditionally, you’re already ahead of the game! Chicago has a great community for local comic book artists called Drink and Draw. Once a week, all the local talent gets together at a bar and they all commiserate together. It’s more engaging than I make it sound. I don’t get to go very often but when I do, it’s great fun! Check it out!
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
Definitely not at your local comic book shop! Wait! Let me explain!
Years ago, we solicited our book to Diamond Distributors, who are the only distributor for the entire comics industry worldwide. They did everything they could to help us stand out because they saw potential in our series, but retailers just couldn’t understand what we were doing. Once again, I was secluded and didn’t fit in.
While this initially upset everyone on the YI SOON SHIN Team very much, our book got very little praise and attention from retailers because of the foreign subject matter. The title itself wards away all retailers who feel much more at home selling mainstream titles that they don’t need to pitch to their customers. It’s not for a lack of trying on our end by any means. DAK, of course being the all-knowing DAK that he is, warned me about this. And yet, I pressed onward until Diamond dropped us like a bad habit! Now only a select few stores in Chicago and New York go out of their way to carry our book (Graham Crackers, Jim Hanley’s Universe, Forbidden Planet, Challengers, Chicago Comics, Past Times, and Northshore Comics). Thank you, guys,
You can also purchase our books on Amazon, Ebay, and our website (www.yisoonshin.com). But that isn’t how we really move our books. So how do we get them out there? You guessed it–COMIC BOOK CONVENTIONS! I travel the world going from comic-con to comic-con and hand sell my books directly to my customers. Most of the time, I go it alone but from time-to-time, I have friends and family help me out. To date, YI SOON SHIN has sold nearly 85,000 books and has sold out at almost 70 comic book conventions worldwide. On average we sell anywhere from 1000-1500 comics per show and sell about 15,000 comics and graphic novels per year! The saying is indeed true–if you build it, they will come!
Contact Info:
- Address: 3045 MacArthur Blvd, Northbrook, IL 60062
- Website: www.yisoonshin.com
- Phone: 8473235524
- Email: olkompan@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Yi-Soon-Shin-Comic-Book-139636395551/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/OKompan
Image Credit:
All images owned by Onrie Kompan Productions (C) 2018.
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