Young members at the Royal Oak Public Library were treated to a comic book workshop presented by local artist Lee Gaddies this past Thursday night.

Gaddies offered instruction and advice to the basics in creating a comic book character, story, setting and illustration. He also focused on the role of superheroes in modern culture.

A graduate of the College of Creative Studies in Detroit, Gaddies has taught several classes in his past and is currently art director of Detroit based Urban Style Comics.

Guiding young artists

According to Gaddies, children, which he describes as the “fertile ground” for art, have huge potential and it is important for them to nurture their creativity.

“You want to get as many creative ideas out of them as they can, before the world beats (them) down,” he said.

However, he said they need guidance to bridle their ideas and creative expressions.

“The trick is to have them focus (their art) into something that is usable,” Gaddies said. “So in the end, there is something that is tangible and has a conclusion.”

Gaddies said he has always loved art, and that he was a natural, driven by more of a compulsion than a vocation.

Since his early years in first grade, Gaddies has been drawing. He remembered drawing Winnie the Pooh on the back of his schoolwork in first grade, something that started a habit of finishing his schoolwork early so he would have more time to draw.

Graphic novel culture today

The success of the comic book and graphic novel genre in today’s culture, according to Gaddies, is because that it can be translated into so many different types of media. He noted the success of AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” which was originally a graphic novel that was translated into an extremely successful TV series.

He also noted that part of the overall success of the genre is due to the fact of major changes in the 80s, such as darker themes.

“Before the 80s, when you met your first girlfriend you stopped (reading

comics,)” he said. “In the 80s they started writing the graphic novel, which was at an adult level to be consumed by adults.”

Gaddies believes comics books also fill a void that mythology used to occupy.

“It is our modern mythology.

Superheros today fill the role of gods in ancient mythology,” he said. “They are the embodiments of our ideals.”

His favorite artists include Jack Kirby, Neal Adams, John Byrne and Alex Ross, who he describes as having changed the comic book genre.

“They have really allowed people to take the genre and do something positive with it,” Gaddies said. “They are being treated in a fair and respectful manner.”

Urban Style Comics is a Detroit-based comic book company, created by Andre L. Batts, and is focused on its central

superhero Dreadlocks.

Dreadlocks was created by Batts to be a hero for urban cultures, reaching out to the ghettos bringing truth, justice and righteousness.

For more info on Urban Style Comics visit their website at www.urbanstylecomics.com

Contact senior reporter Jordan Gonzalez via e-mail at [email protected]