Talk About Clyde: Art abilities gets Level into comic books
Brian Level, a 2000 Clyde High School graduate who got in trouble drawing unflattering cartoons of his teachers is now making a living with his art work.
"I had nothing against my teachers, I just wanted to entertain my friends," Level said. He has had his own tattoo studio Iluminaut, in Ludlow, Kentucky since 2003, often using his original drawings when a client explains what he or she wants.
In addition to being a tattoo artist, he is a writer and horror cartoonist — drawing covers and illustrations for comic books published by Marvel Comics, DC Comics and others. Some of his work has been in Star Wars, Batman, Spider-Man, Avengers, Flash, Lucifer, Deadpool and more. He said he got into comic book illustrating through the "back door."
In 2010 an Internet friend, associated with the TV show "Walking Dead," saw his drawings and thought they were of professional quality, which led to his first assignment as a "ghost" inker for a comic book project. That led to other things, attending comic book conventions and Comic-Con to display his artwork.
In 2016 an editor from Marvel Comics contacted him to do some illustrations, which has continued. When his drawing is completed and submitted it is given to another artist to color in the illustration. Level has also ghost-colored the drawings of other artists, he said.
Level now creates his own graphic novels
After drawing for others all these years and becoming the father of two boys, in 2020 he began carving out time to draw his own creations. His genre is horror and he has co-created and published two graphic novels, "Silk Hills", co-written with Ryan Terrier with art by Kate Sherron, available in hardcover or digital and "Chained to the Grave," co-written with Andy Eschenbach with art by Sherron. He is working on a third. The books can be found on Amazon.
Most of his school years were spent in Green Springs, where he frequently visited the video store to buy comic books. "I always imagined that little shop could be my studio. That's where it all started," Level said. Now he sometimes leaves his studio on the Ohio River to be around people, sitting in the local pancake house to draw where he is known by the customers as the comic book guy.
At CHS, he was in Doug McCauley's art classes and displayed his work in school art shows. One year he drew the winning design for the annual Clyde Halloween button contest. Level attended Bowling Green State University for a bit, studying computer animation, then married and moved to the Greater Cincinnati area. "The earnings from my drawings now put food in my boys' mouths," the CHS alumnus said.
Edward Jones holds official opening on Buckeye Street
A ribbon cutting ceremony and open house was held Feb. 15, at the new combined offices of Edward Jones Investments at 137 W. Buckeye St. This is the first time that more than one Edward Jones investment adviser anywhere has been under the same roof.
Adviers are Mike Neill, Aaron Wilson and Sarah Hunker. The building was originally built in the early 1960s by the Clyde Savings Bank and was recently renovated to accommodate individual offices with a long reception desk in the lobby. The vault was converted into a snack room where innovative stacked empty deposit boxes support a countertop.
Jeanette Liebold Ricker writes about Clyde and Green Springs. Contact her at 419-547-8177 or by email at jeanette.ricker@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Talk About Clyde: CHS alumnus finds his work into well known comic books
