Today, Ed "Big Daddy" Roth's creation, "Rat Fink," is an icon of early '60s counter-culture art. For many of us men running the rapids of puberty in 1963, the image of the creepy, sleazeball rat became a visual anthem to our illusory coolness.
I myself drew the hip rodent — much to my parents' chagrin — on every grocery bag schoolbook cover I produced in the eighth grade. But this was the extent of my comic-book art career.
And so it is with many young people who trace and copy comic books but never take it any further.
Not so with Ryan Ottley, a young illustrator who truly brings to life the muscular mutants and misfits, and the sleek and sinewy superheroes in the "Invincible" comic books.
"This is what I always dreamed of," Ottley told the Deseret Morning News. "I wanted to draw comics, and here I am."
Born in Portland, Ore., in 1975, Ottley was raised in the Taylorsville/Bennion area and has drawn for as long as he can remember.
"I didn't have many social things to attend to," he said, "so I sat in my room and filled up sketchbooks."
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Deciding he wanted a career in art, Ottley began to study anatomy, perspective and portraiture books on his own. At age 15, his cousin introduced him to comic books.
"They seriously impressed me," Ottley said. "There was so much movement in them, the flow from panel to panel. They blew my mind."
His favorite comics were "Spider-Man," "X-Men" and the "Hulk." Today his preferred reading is "Shaolin Cowboy," "Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.," "Hellboy," "The Walking Dead" and "Supermarket."
"I especially love creator-owned books, where they have total freedom to create whatever they'd like instead of using those same old characters from Marvel over and over."
Arthur Adams, Dave Johnson and Geoff Darrow are Ottley's favorite comic-book artists; they mix "the realistic with the cartoony," he said, "and I also strive for that in my art."
Before breaking into the comic-book illustration business, Ottley worked at several part-time jobs. "I used to work at a place painting Ben Franklin busts," he said. He also worked in the Beneficial Life tower, pulling staples and microfilming insurance papers.
"My last job was at a medical surgical warehouse where I worked for six years." During this time, he wasn't drawing much, so Ottley took an art class at Salt Lake Community College.
"I wanted to draw more, so I thought a class at the college would be fun." This was in 2001. "It's the only college class I've ever had."
At the end of 2003 he began drawing "Invincible."
Now married with a son and living in Tooele, Ottley works out of a home studio.
"Starting out was almost impossible," he said. "It's a very difficult business to get into." For the first two years he barely survived. "My parents and my mother-in-law helped us out quite a bit, but then I finally got some good gigs, like 'Invincible,' and now it's great."
But the comic-book market isn't what it used to be. "Comic books used to be everywhere, on spinner racks in every gas station, on the shelves in supermarkets. But now they're only in comic-book stores."
According to Ottley, millions per issue used to be sold, but today the top-selling book hits around 200,000. "Kids just don't read comics anymore. The people that read comics are the guys that make video games. But I don't think video games hurt comics as much as taking the comics out of the stores."
It takes Ottley nearly a month to complete his part of the "Invincible" comic. "I get the script, grab my Bristol board and start drawing pages." He can complete two to three penciled pages in one day, and two to three inked pages on the following day.
"Comic-book colors are done all digitally today," said Ottley, "and for the life of me, I can't understand how to do it. Maybe one day the info will stick, so I'll keep trying."
Recently, Paramount optioned "Invincible," but Ottley will not be doing any work on it. "All the designs are already done. I do have part ownership of the property, however, so I hope they make the movie. That would be nice."
Certain comic books today can be quite violent and risque, and a casual perusal of their contents would shock some parents. "The comic medium is an odd one to some people. Some think comics are for kids, so any kind of scene that is above a G rating can be looked at a little harshly. 'Invincible' is basically a PG-13 book; there are some violent situations, but they're superheroes; there's going to be an occasional action scene."
Ottley adopts the same thinking on comic books as he does on movies: "Some are for kids, and some aren't."
His family members, who Ottley says are not comic-book people, began to "actually read my book, 'Invincible,' because I drew it — and now they're hooked."
Hmmm. . . . How come my drawings of "Rat Fink" never did that for my parents?
E-mail: gag@desnews.com