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When I was a school kid, I used to read lots of comics. This started me on drawing. I would make my own comics about my teddy bear, whose name happened to be Ted.

My mother wanted us to understand that the tragedies of your life one day have the potential to be comic stories the next.

I vividly remember my first 'Superman' comic, which my granddad bought me when I was about 7. From that point on, all I wanted to do is draw comics. And specifically, superhero and science fiction comics. Basically I used to copy comic books, and draw my own comics on scrap paper.

In my own case, my folks didn't actually object to comics, as many parents did, but they pretty much felt the things were a waste of time.

It wasn't until I discovered comics that I actually began to approach drawing as a possible career.

What made me want to go into doing comics was I was working as a laborer with my father, a gardener.

I'd been familiar with comics, and I'd collected 'em when I was a kid, but after I got into junior high school, there wasn't much I was interested in.

You learn just by trying and experimenting. By the time I was 14, I had my own comic strip in the Kansas City paper.

My dream was to draw for 'The Beano.' When I was 10 years old, I started drawing cartoon strips with 'The Beano' in mind. I lived in that world. You own a comic, it's yours and adults don't understand it. You could pile them up under the bed, and if you were off school ill, you'd go through them all.

I'm in a comic book now. That was cool. That's something that I'm still sorta reeling about, 'cause I read comics as a kid. Someone drew me, and actually did a pretty good job!