Comic Book Artist Spotlight: Steven Christian

Steven Christian is an up and coming artist, who is the grandson of a Veteran that served in the Army and retired as a Marine Machinist in the Navy after 36 years of service. 

Steven hopes his comic books will help him pay for medical school and is currently interviewing at different schools. To support his work, visit: stuckonaneyeland.com or pick up his main title, “Eyelnd Feevr” on Amazon.

Read on for our interview with Steven Christian about his work and what motivates him, as well his connection to Veterans and Veteran Comic Con.

VeteranComicCon: How did you get your start in making comic books?

StevenChristian: “I started making comics after I had my second hip surgery when I was playing football at the University of Hawaii. My Xbox was stolen and I didn’t have anything to do while I was recovering.

I had the idea of making a cartoon because I was such a big fan of the Boondocks and Dragon Ball Z. After doing a bit of research, I realized making comics was a good starting point towards that goal.

After practicing for months, I saw an ad in the school paper looking for cartoonists, and I applied and got the gig. I really liked the idea of getting paid to tell quirky jokes and stories. Especially as a student-athlete because the NCAA really frown upon paying athletes for creative work, but tends to back off when you do creative stuff for the school.

More importantly, making comics allows me to reach people in a new way that I couldn’t do on the field.” 

StevenChristian: “I am a big fan of humor. With my work I like to interject humor into everything I do. I feel like life can be serious all the time and a simple laugh can go a long way.

For the longest time, I didn’t think that my artistic skills were good enough to garner attention, so I started incorporating a lot of saturated colors and extreme designs. It was to mask my flaws as an artist, but ended up being defining aspects of my work.

For me, I like to tell stories of characters overcoming obstacles. I use art as a medium to make the stories more relatable.

VeteranComicCon: At Veteran Comic Con, we believe that art therapy can help veterans, their families, and just people in general – do you agree with that?

StevenChristian: “Comic books have a long history of helping active military personnel learning new information and entertainment. They are great allowing people to escape to worlds they have never been.

For me, art was therapy when I was in a wheelchair after my second hip surgery. I found myself in an unhealthy space. It was often hard to find anything positive to latch on during my recovery process. Being able to work on my art for hours on end allowed me to check out of my current situation and channel my frustration into images and stories. As I got better, sharing my work helped me get positive attention from others. When I felt that my body was broken, my art was the glimmer of hope that kept me connected to the world.

As a goal oriented person, I think that art is great for people to feel accomplished with mini victories each day. 

VeteranComicCon: Can you talk about your future work?

StevenChristian: “The best part about making comics is the connections you make regardless of demographics. I really enjoy non superhero comics as I become more immersed in the industry. The variety of stories being told through the medium is often mind blowing. As I progress, I have tried to find ways to incorporate technology into my work.

I will be releasing an Augmented reality app for my graphic novels that makes the experience of my work to the next level. As I try to be a doctor, I hope to incorporate what I do into my practice to increase access to health education and empower people to make healthier choices.”

Learn more and support Steven Christian’s work at www.iltopia.com!

You can also find his work at: @stuckonaneyelnd @iltopia  stuckonaneyeland.com, and blacksuperheroesmatter.com