By Joe Jarosz
Northeast News
August 12, 2015

KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Comic book conventions are a time for everyone’s inner nerd to be free and amongst similar nerdy souls.

But it’s not all costumes and games. Without the vendors, there wouldn’t be a convention to attend. And that’s where Hector Casanova plays a role.

Casanova, a Northeast resident, spent his weekend at Bartle Hall at the inaugural Kansas City Comic Con, selling illustrations, his comic books —Screamland,The Lurkers— and conversing with fans of the comic world.

“I remember attending these as a kid and was just amazed,” Casanova said, adding he now sets-up shop probably twice a year at conventions to sell his work.

Casanova, who’s been working on and off as an illustrator for the Kansas City Star for about 15 years, said he’s been drawing since he was a child. More so, he added, he always wanted to work with comic books. His first opportunity came in 2004 when established comic book author Steven Niles approached him to provide art for the book The Lurkers, about a Los Angeles detective who has to deal with more than the ordinary detective.

“I left the Star for about three years to work on these comics,” Casanova said. “It was stressful, but rewarding.”

As much as he loves the medium of comic books, he said the industry is incredibly hard to break into, not to mention how difficult it is to earn a living if you’re not working for one of the major brands, Marvel or D.C.

“The amount of labor was insane,” Casanova said. “It takes a great amount of fortune and luck to make it. Each page is exponentially more strenuous than the last. If I do more, it’ll be out of a labor of love.”

Now, Casanova still works as an illustrator at the Kansas City Star, however, only part-time. He’s more focused on his teaching career at the Kansas City Art Institute, where last school year, he led students as they beautified the Scarritt Renaissance Neighborhood with a mural project at the former Scarritt Elementary School. With the start of the semester right around the corner, he’s preparing to return to the school with a new batch of students.

“I’ve always loved murals because of their collaborative nature,” Casanova said. “With 30 students, we can tackle something massive while implementing a tangible change in the community with positive social messages.”

To learn more about Casanova’s work, visit his website at www.hectorcasanova.com.