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Who said comics are just for kids?

Award-winning comic book artist Cameron Stewart on making a vocation of the strip

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Superheroes, detectives, demons and vampires may seem suited best for the pre-teen phase of life, but look around and you'll find a lot many adults with their heads stuffed in comics that they grew up reading. If you belong to this herd, you'd agree that writing and illustrating comics needs a lot of hard work, talent and artistry. Cameron Stewart, an award-winning comic book artist, was at the recently-concluded Mumbai Comic Con.

Comic books have gone through a transformation as technology has changed, from book and pencil to the digital world. Stewart has been one of the earliest artists to make the change “The way to move is digital. Lots of people have a fear of technology, and want things to remain the same, but I am very much about moving forward,” he says.

But has moving to the digital format made animation gain popularity, and brought down the readership of comic books? “I don’t think there is a competition between the two. Digital comics are trying to incorporate motion in them and call it motion comics. But comics are essentially a series of still pictures so incorporating motion in them makes it lose its purpose. It’s no longer a comic. Animation and comics have a lot of similarity so they can actually feed into each other and help each other” says Stewart.

As a child, Stewart would often find himself hooked to comics. Having grown up in Canada as well as Britain, he was exposed to different styles and types of comics. As a 13-year-old, he started following the works of artists he loved rather than focusing on particular characters, which inspired him to get into the field and become an artist.

Stewart has written superhero comics, detective comics, as well as his own stories. His favourite? “I will always prefer stories that I create because it's more fulfilling, but there is something great about working with established icons. You get to share the 75-year-old history of characters and there are so many people who have contributed in shaping the character and the story. So, it’s very exciting. But it’s a borrowed idea, and so now I want to focus more on creating stories which will contribute to and impact cultures,” he says.

Stewart's advice to budding comic artists and illustrators is simple but profound: “Have patience and work hard for at least five years, so the work gets recognised. The best artists are those who put their heart and soul in their work.” Years of practice may result in burnout and absolute loss of creativity, but Stewart suggests, “At that moment when you realise you have no ideas, it can feel terrifying and you feel everything is over. But it passes. You can unwind by watching a movie, or reading something, which excites you and that will re-energise you. If you have a problem with no solution, sometimes going away and coming back will give you solutions.”

Cameron's picks

Favourite comic: Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, Akira

DC or Marvel: At the moment, I am a Marvel guy, particularly with the movies.

Favourite superhero film: The Dark Knight, Avengers, Iron man 3

Favourite Superhero: Batman

Cameron Stewart is the writer/illustrator of Batgirl, Fight Club 2, Batman and Robin, BPRD, Seaguy, Seven Soldiers: The Manhattan Guardian, The Other Side, Catwoman, The Apocalipstix, Assassin’s Creed, Suicide Girls, and many more. He has been nominated for Shuster, Eagle, Harvey and Eisner Awards, and his original web series Sin Titulo won the 2010 Eisner and Shuster Awards for Best Digital Comic.

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