Brooklyn, Home to The Graphic Novel, Brings Us ‘Unmasked’

New York City can take credit for many famous comic book artists but I know only one from Brooklyn and that’s Will Eisner — often hailed “The Father of the Graphic Novel.” Right behind him, I have to mention Michael Sarrao, rising coming book artist, who’s zeal and passion matches our greats.

If you watch Gotham, Arrow, and The Flash, you’ll enjoy reading “Unmasked”,  a comic book series written by Sarrao and artist John Broglia. I met Sarrao at Brooklyn College a few years ago and this idea wasn’t fully unmasked to me (see what I did there?) until I saw him at New York Comic Con last year.

“Unmasked” begins with main character Paige Cruise, a rookie reporter for the Seastone Times newspaper. A year out of college and she has already made big waves at the paper for her work, about to expose Victor Vance as the greatest supervillian the world has never known, and who has a personal tie to her father.

At this past New York Comic Con, Sarrao showcased some new works he was working on including horror thriller, “Monster SMASH” and sci-fi actioner, “Armada X”. A few like-minded creators such as Rob Reilly, Caleb King, Bill Walko, Stan Chou and Tim Daniel have gathered alongside Sarrao and Broglia in their support.

Sarrao and Broglia remind me of when Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis joined forces for “Back to the Future”. It’s hard not to see a great product from these guys.  This year they partnered with a small press publisher Atlas Unleashed (thanks to Owner Mark Mazz) and shared the booth at New York Comic Con with creatives Matt Kelly and Ramon Gil.  Around the corner from them was Tyrese from The Walking Dead.  There was also a Dr. Who section with a Tardis!  You even know your table at the convention is getting popular when Captain America himself, also made in Brooklyn, comes to visit your table.So, levitra sale is the cheap solution of impotence.

Sarrao credits his inspiration to The X-Files, who had a panel this year at NYCC. “I’ve always credited the X-Files as one of the reasons why I became a writer,” he said. This year, he also loved seeing V Ken Marion and Bill Walko (who recently completed a successful Kickstarter), City of Walls writer/creator Shawn Noel (also a Bay Ridge Brooklynite) and Enormous writer, creator Tim Daniel (first time at NYCC trekking all the way from Missoula, Montana!).

His advice to other Brooklyn comic book aspirants?  “Do your research about the industry, learn about the publishers and become familiar with the different submission guidelines. Also, grow your network of contacts! Meet industry people…online, on the phone or in person at conventions like NYCC. Pick their brain about how they got into the business. Ask them what they feel are the pros and cons of the industry so you can make an informed decision. The larger your network, the more likely doors of opportunity will open! I can’t stress that point enough, it’s not only what you know…but it’s also who you know!”

Stay tuned for the “Unmasked” Volume 2 Kickstarter in 2016!