Big Things: Stan Yan

He's a stock broker who never wanted to draw comics, but just can't stop wanting to make people laugh. Stan Yan graduates from his college-kid superhero parody ON-CAMPUS CRUSADER to tell Ninth Art about the trials and tribulations of making comics.
11 August 2003

Stan Yan is based out of Denver, and is best known as a cover artist and contributor for POTLATCH: COMICS TO BENEFIT THE CBLDF, but has also worked on "enough self-published and small press projects that I ran out of fingers counting them." Like many small press creators he doesn't make a living from comics, but hopes to change all that with his upcoming project THE WANG.

BIG NEWS:

I'm working on a series called THE WANG that I hope to solicit to publishers in the not-too-distant future. The characters in this story were born and bred from a three book mini-series (a superhero parody) called THE ON-CAMPUS CRUSADER. The three books, 'The On-Campus Crusader,' 'OC2: Eugene The Queen,' and 'Only Chaos' were fairly well-received by the few who read them, but it was very clear from the first book why the stories worked - the hilarious interaction between protagonist Eugene Wang and his controlling mom and girlfriend (not the same person, mind you. However, they might as well be, as sick and twisted as things get in THE WANG).

I basically took Eugene off steroids, got rid of the tights, and worked on getting him out of college. That's where the story picks up - Eugene trying to graduate from college amid the distractions being thrown at him from his demanding girlfriend, Kristen DeRuggs (aka "Chief") and his mom, Selma Wang. I've got several entertaining and suprisingly shocking story threads weaved into the first three ashcans I have done, and I plan to start soliciting the series after I've finished issue #4.

BIG BUSINESS:

I've really never been inspired to create comic books per se. I was primarily interested in comic strips only when I was young, but as I started writing humorous stories they seemed to be best suited for longer formats and were highly visual in nature. It just seemed to be the best medium for what I wanted to communicate. Plus, at some point my parents needed me to start drawing on something besides the walls.

BIG TROUBLE:

The biggest challenge I face in making comics is money. My main goal is to continue having fun sharing my twisted comic styles with a growing audience of unsuspecting victims without bankrupting myself.

BIG SPENDER:

I can only afford to make comics because I have a full-time job (for now) in a totally unrelated industry - stock brokerage, which incidentally provides me with plenty of ammo for a thread in THE WANG. I've also got a very supporting wife, who doesn't mind that I don't really pull my weight with the household chores. Having no kids doesn't hurt either - we sold them all.

BIG AMBITION:

If money, time and opportunity were not factors, I would still make the comic I am today - just a lot faster!

BIG UP:

The list of comic artists whose work I look forward to changes over time. I always look at innovative small press work before I look anywhere else. Off the top of my head, I've really been inspired by the art and/or writing stylings of Peter Bagge, Bob Fingerman, Rich Moyer, Alex Robinson, Tony Consiglio, Andy Ristaino, and Jim Mahfood. More recently, I've really been touched by Joe Sacco's work in SAFE AREA GORAZDE and Karry Callen's HALO AND SPROCKET. What do I look forward to? More creations that have something new and interesting/fun to say.

BIG TIME:

My ambition is to place THE WANG with a publisher so I can focus on creating instead of marketing (and paying to print my work).

BIG FINISH:

I would like to be remembered as someone who brought a smile to people's faces time and time again - hopefully not as they added my books to their "banned books" bonfire.

BIG DEAL:

Currently, my books are distributed by Squid Works comics at www.squidworks.com or at your indy-friendly comic store who purchases from Squid Works. Don't be bashful! Ask them to visit the website and find out how they can save you the postage. You can also see a sneak preview of THE WANG's future direction in my 7-page story in POTLATCH.

Ninth Art is not responsible for the content of external websites.

The Ninth Art small press spotlight is designed to help small press creators reach a wider audience. If you'd like to be considered for inclusion, get in touch.

Ninth Art endorses the principle of Ideological Freeware. The author permits distribution of this article by private individuals, on condition that the author and source of the article are clearly shown, no charge is made, and the whole article is reproduced intact, including this notice.