Former Wisconsin country radio DJ honors Loretta Lynn's 'huge life' with new comic book
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Ryan McCall has two major passions in life: comic books and country music.
McCall, 49, has more than 6,000 comics at his West Bend home, amassed over a lifetime of being a diehard DC and Marvel fan.
The Lancaster native grew up in Cassville, a tiny town in Grant County on the western edge of Wisconsin, listening to country music. By 16, he was a part-time DJ for country station WGLR-FM (97.9), rising to music director before leaving the station in 2019.
And now he's merged his two passions as the author of his first comic book.
"Female Force: Loretta Lynn," published by TidalWave Productions, hit retailers Oct. 5, a date planned to commemorate Country Music Month in October and the 52nd anniversary of the release of Lynn's signature song, "Coal Miner's Daughter."
But the day before that date, Lynn died at the age of 90. By a coincidence of timing, the new comic book joined a worldwide chorus of tributes to the country music legend.
"I loved the fact that Loretta knew about this project," said McCall, who got to meet her a few times in his country radio days, including backstage at the Grand Ole Opry. Recalling the time he received one of her signature "I love you honey" salutations "still makes me giddy," he said.
"It breaks my heart she didn't get to hold a copy and flip through the pages," McCall said. "I think she would have gotten a big kick looking at these moments of her life in comic book form."
More:Loretta Lynn, country music's iconic 'Coal Miner's Daughter,' dead at 90
Lynn may not have read the comic herself, but her estate has commended the project, McCall said. That's understandable. As the author McCall accomplished the daunting task of celebrating Lynn's "huge life" in 22 pages, touching on everything from her friendship with Patsy Cline near the start of her career (one of McCall's favorite passages in the book), to her signature collaborations with Conway Twitty, to her acclaimed, late-career album with rocker Jack White.
"She's had such a huge life and influenced so many people and so many people love her," McCall said. "It was hard to compress everything."
Beginning his writing on Lynn's 90th birthday in April, McCall made sure to also be meticulous about describing Lynn's wardrobe and hairstyles over the decades to ensure that the illustrations, by Martin Gimenez, were historically accurate.
And as if this wasn't daunting enough, the comic was the first book McCall had written of any kind. He got the gig on a cold call, emailing publisher and editor Darren G. Davis to commend a Dolly Parton comic TidalWave had published.
"I asked, 'Are you going to do any more country music-themed comic books? If you are, I'd love to be considered to write one,'" McCall said. Davis replied, "How do you feel about writing about Loretta Lynn?"
Being a novice, McCall offered to write a few pages of a Lynn comic, giving Davis the option to hire him to finish it. After sending his draft, he received just two words, via email: "Keep going."
"It's hard to believe, to be honest with you," the lifelong comic fan said about writing his own comic book. "TidalWave has been so encouraging. … I'm just trying to comprehend the fact that I wrote (a comic book) I am so proud of."
TidalWave was so impressed, in fact, that McCall has signed on to write two more comics, with details to be announced later.
"I never had any idea when I met her that someday I would write a comic book about her," McCall said of Lynn. "I'm heartbroken that she's not with us anymore but comforted by the memories. … In a world where everyone just pretends to be something else, trying to impress people, she was just herself, and that was good enough."
Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Former Wisconsin country radio DJ honors Loretta Lynn with new comic
