Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Mar 17, 2016 23:38:53 GMT -6
www.tulsaworld.com/scene/features/whatareyou/underdog-story-glenpool-man-has-big-dreams-for-local-comic/article_0fd0499b-d132-5c2c-acc8-693c02df6f77.html
Underdog story: Glenpool man has big dreams for local comic company
His company, Equinox Comics, will be among Collector Con vendors.
Equinox Comics CEO Aaron Ballinger is doing all he can to get the word out about the local comic book company he co-founded with longtime pal Tim Lackey.
Promotional work included creating an Equinox Comics float for the 2015 Glenpool Christmas parade.
Ballinger, who lives in Glenpool, said it was a great experience. Folks dressed up like Equinox Comics characters to ride atop his float and throw candy to parade-watchers.
Parade floats were judged. Ballinger’s float did not win. He said the winning float — crafted by a veterinary clinic — featured dogs in Christmas apparel. Awwww.
Said Ballinger, “I want to put kittens in superhero costumes next time.”
Equinox Comics will have a presence Saturday at Collector Con, a smaller, throwback type of pop culture convention, which will take place 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at American Legion Post 1, 1120 E. Eighth St.
Ballinger and creators in his stable (one of the artists is named Kent Clark, really) have visited pop culture conventions in Oklahoma and surrounding states to drum up interest in Equinox Comics, also known as Ballinger’s Plan B.
Ballinger grew up in Kiefer and wanted to be a rock star (he’s got the hair for it) or a comic book guy. He was a drummer in a Christian rock band, Elijah’s Ride, for several years. When the lead singer called it quits, Ballinger decided it was time to pursue the other option.
In 2008, when he graduated from the University of Oklahoma, Ballinger went searching online and tracked down writers and artists who could bring characters to life. He knew some creators before the hunt began.
Two years later, Equinox Comics was born with the printing of Equinox No. 1. The company has produced additional titles while trying to build a fan base. The Equinox Comics Facebook page has more than 5,200 likes.
Asked why he chose to start his own company, Ballinger said, “We had a lot of characters built up that we had created. The last time I counted it was around 400 characters. Now, some of them are going to be cheesy. Some of them needed updating obviously and we have done that quite a bit recently. But we had a lot of characters, and we just felt like a bunch of them were as good as any of the others out there. We just need to find a way to get them out there.”
And Ballinger wanted to create books that were kid-accessible. Some comics by major publishers are not kid-friendly.
Said a blurb on the equinoxcomics.com home page: “Our mission is to create stories that will reach comic book readers of all ages and varieties. Without ‘toning down’ the content, Equinox Comics provides an opportunity for the younger generation to grow up with comics and avoid explicit material, while still keeping adults entertained as well.”
Ballinger, who recently spoke at an elementary school to help students with a create-your-own-comics class assignment, has resisted getting a business loan or seeking investors because he doesn’t want money people getting involved in the creative side or suggesting the books need to be more adult-themed.
Going to conventions to promote Equinox Comics isn’t cheap. Travel expenses. Hotels. Vendor tables. Ballinger said he hasn’t made a single dime because any money Equinox Comics generates goes right back into the company.
Creators for Equinox Comics are basically donating their time and talent because they believe in what they are doing, and they are willing to stick with it, according to Ballinger, who indicated convention exposure may lead to creators getting other opportunities.
Ballinger wants Collector Con attendees to stop by the Equinox Comics table to chat and check out the product. He suggested that readers who buy Equinox Comics have the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of something he hopes will be big someday. It’s difficult for a small publisher to compete with the big boys, but he wants to script a successful underdog story.
“Not that I’m trying to get rich or famous,” he said. “But I feel like we have a lot to offer to fans, and we have a new universe of characters, something brand new.”
A college recruiter until recently, Ballinger said he needed steadier hours because the job was affecting his Equinox endeavors. Now, in his secret identity, he’s the assistant manager of the book store at Tulsa Community College’s Southeast Campus.
Ballinger fielded additional questions:
Isn’t it hard for a little comics company to get noticed?
It is. But people have taken notice of us. We have hung around longer than most little companies that try to start a little publishing company. Little studios, they will start up and they will last a few years and then they will fall apart. They just kind of give up or have some kind of falling out. We haven’t. We have stuck with it.
What do you like about living in the Glenpool area and the Tulsa area?
There is a lot of talent in this state, in the Tulsa area and even Glenpool and the Sapulpa area. Four of my guys are from Sapulpa. One is from Kellyville. My friend Tim and I grew up in Kiefer. So there is a lot of talent here. I like that you can find a lot of talent. What I like about Glenpool, it’s the kind of town that’s not too big but not too small that you can go outside and walk your dog and you can see kids riding bikes. It’s a very pleasant, comfortable area. And I’m just a homer, man. Equinox Comics, I don’t want to move Equinox out onto the coast or anywhere else. It’s going to be an Oklahoma company. If we get as big as Marvel or DC, it’s going to be in Oklahoma. It’s going to be in Tulsa, in the general area at least.
As a drummer, who is your drumming hero?
Phil Collins. He was the first guy that I saw on TV that had a bunch of lights and things like that, laser lights and cool things going on while he played. If I want to go way back, there was a guy at my church. ... He had long hair and he rocked the drums. And then I had a cousin who was a drummer also. But, (Collins) and the drummer from Ratt, Bobby Blotzer. Phil Collins and Bobby Blotzer, when I saw them on stage doing the things they did, I wanted to do that too.”
Equinox Comics
Equinox Comics is a local comic book company which arrived on the scene in 2010. Who's in the Equinox Comics stable?
Aaron Ballinger: CEO, writer, creator, founder.
Tim Lackey: writer, creator, founder.
Johnnie Johnson: artist, creator.
Tommy Brownell: writer, creator.
Sean “Munky Wrench” Eddingfield: artist, graphics, colors.
Kent Clark: artist, colors, graphics, letterer.
Ben Soto: artist, writer, colors.
Eric Factor: writer, creator.
Jason Coody: artist.
Mario Williams: artist.
Marty King: writer, letterer, colors.
Frank Bielowicz: writer.
Justin Soto: artist.
Michael Crutchfield: artist, graphics, colors.
Zach Smith: writer.
Trey Bishop: artist, writer, graphics, colors.
Trevor Thomas: artist.
Austin L. Brooks: artist.
Hilary Padgett: social media.
Fred Radloff: IT.
Collector Con
Costumed folks will be in the builiding and comics, collectibles and toys will be among items for sale at a Collector Con show in Tulsa.
When: 9 a.m.-6 p.m, Saturday, March 19.
Where: American Legion Post 1, 1120 E. 8th St.
Cost: $5, 12-under free.
Underdog story: Glenpool man has big dreams for local comic company
His company, Equinox Comics, will be among Collector Con vendors.
Equinox Comics CEO Aaron Ballinger is doing all he can to get the word out about the local comic book company he co-founded with longtime pal Tim Lackey.
Promotional work included creating an Equinox Comics float for the 2015 Glenpool Christmas parade.
Ballinger, who lives in Glenpool, said it was a great experience. Folks dressed up like Equinox Comics characters to ride atop his float and throw candy to parade-watchers.
Parade floats were judged. Ballinger’s float did not win. He said the winning float — crafted by a veterinary clinic — featured dogs in Christmas apparel. Awwww.
Said Ballinger, “I want to put kittens in superhero costumes next time.”
Equinox Comics will have a presence Saturday at Collector Con, a smaller, throwback type of pop culture convention, which will take place 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at American Legion Post 1, 1120 E. Eighth St.
Ballinger and creators in his stable (one of the artists is named Kent Clark, really) have visited pop culture conventions in Oklahoma and surrounding states to drum up interest in Equinox Comics, also known as Ballinger’s Plan B.
Ballinger grew up in Kiefer and wanted to be a rock star (he’s got the hair for it) or a comic book guy. He was a drummer in a Christian rock band, Elijah’s Ride, for several years. When the lead singer called it quits, Ballinger decided it was time to pursue the other option.
In 2008, when he graduated from the University of Oklahoma, Ballinger went searching online and tracked down writers and artists who could bring characters to life. He knew some creators before the hunt began.
Two years later, Equinox Comics was born with the printing of Equinox No. 1. The company has produced additional titles while trying to build a fan base. The Equinox Comics Facebook page has more than 5,200 likes.
Asked why he chose to start his own company, Ballinger said, “We had a lot of characters built up that we had created. The last time I counted it was around 400 characters. Now, some of them are going to be cheesy. Some of them needed updating obviously and we have done that quite a bit recently. But we had a lot of characters, and we just felt like a bunch of them were as good as any of the others out there. We just need to find a way to get them out there.”
And Ballinger wanted to create books that were kid-accessible. Some comics by major publishers are not kid-friendly.
Said a blurb on the equinoxcomics.com home page: “Our mission is to create stories that will reach comic book readers of all ages and varieties. Without ‘toning down’ the content, Equinox Comics provides an opportunity for the younger generation to grow up with comics and avoid explicit material, while still keeping adults entertained as well.”
Ballinger, who recently spoke at an elementary school to help students with a create-your-own-comics class assignment, has resisted getting a business loan or seeking investors because he doesn’t want money people getting involved in the creative side or suggesting the books need to be more adult-themed.
Going to conventions to promote Equinox Comics isn’t cheap. Travel expenses. Hotels. Vendor tables. Ballinger said he hasn’t made a single dime because any money Equinox Comics generates goes right back into the company.
Creators for Equinox Comics are basically donating their time and talent because they believe in what they are doing, and they are willing to stick with it, according to Ballinger, who indicated convention exposure may lead to creators getting other opportunities.
Ballinger wants Collector Con attendees to stop by the Equinox Comics table to chat and check out the product. He suggested that readers who buy Equinox Comics have the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of something he hopes will be big someday. It’s difficult for a small publisher to compete with the big boys, but he wants to script a successful underdog story.
“Not that I’m trying to get rich or famous,” he said. “But I feel like we have a lot to offer to fans, and we have a new universe of characters, something brand new.”
A college recruiter until recently, Ballinger said he needed steadier hours because the job was affecting his Equinox endeavors. Now, in his secret identity, he’s the assistant manager of the book store at Tulsa Community College’s Southeast Campus.
Ballinger fielded additional questions:
Isn’t it hard for a little comics company to get noticed?
It is. But people have taken notice of us. We have hung around longer than most little companies that try to start a little publishing company. Little studios, they will start up and they will last a few years and then they will fall apart. They just kind of give up or have some kind of falling out. We haven’t. We have stuck with it.
What do you like about living in the Glenpool area and the Tulsa area?
There is a lot of talent in this state, in the Tulsa area and even Glenpool and the Sapulpa area. Four of my guys are from Sapulpa. One is from Kellyville. My friend Tim and I grew up in Kiefer. So there is a lot of talent here. I like that you can find a lot of talent. What I like about Glenpool, it’s the kind of town that’s not too big but not too small that you can go outside and walk your dog and you can see kids riding bikes. It’s a very pleasant, comfortable area. And I’m just a homer, man. Equinox Comics, I don’t want to move Equinox out onto the coast or anywhere else. It’s going to be an Oklahoma company. If we get as big as Marvel or DC, it’s going to be in Oklahoma. It’s going to be in Tulsa, in the general area at least.
As a drummer, who is your drumming hero?
Phil Collins. He was the first guy that I saw on TV that had a bunch of lights and things like that, laser lights and cool things going on while he played. If I want to go way back, there was a guy at my church. ... He had long hair and he rocked the drums. And then I had a cousin who was a drummer also. But, (Collins) and the drummer from Ratt, Bobby Blotzer. Phil Collins and Bobby Blotzer, when I saw them on stage doing the things they did, I wanted to do that too.”
Equinox Comics
Equinox Comics is a local comic book company which arrived on the scene in 2010. Who's in the Equinox Comics stable?
Aaron Ballinger: CEO, writer, creator, founder.
Tim Lackey: writer, creator, founder.
Johnnie Johnson: artist, creator.
Tommy Brownell: writer, creator.
Sean “Munky Wrench” Eddingfield: artist, graphics, colors.
Kent Clark: artist, colors, graphics, letterer.
Ben Soto: artist, writer, colors.
Eric Factor: writer, creator.
Jason Coody: artist.
Mario Williams: artist.
Marty King: writer, letterer, colors.
Frank Bielowicz: writer.
Justin Soto: artist.
Michael Crutchfield: artist, graphics, colors.
Zach Smith: writer.
Trey Bishop: artist, writer, graphics, colors.
Trevor Thomas: artist.
Austin L. Brooks: artist.
Hilary Padgett: social media.
Fred Radloff: IT.
Collector Con
Costumed folks will be in the builiding and comics, collectibles and toys will be among items for sale at a Collector Con show in Tulsa.
When: 9 a.m.-6 p.m, Saturday, March 19.
Where: American Legion Post 1, 1120 E. 8th St.
Cost: $5, 12-under free.