Creator Spotlight: G.M.B Chomichuk

I first met G.M.B Chomichuk at the C4 comic con in Winnipeg in 2014. He was wandering around before the show started, checking out some of the other tables and talking with folks he knew and those he didn't. I'm not sure what brought him to my table but he introduced himself and we chatted briefly about my books. Behind me and to one side was a local comics podcast (The Last Panel Podcast, as a matter of fact) who started talking with him just as we were wrapping up our conversation, asking if he'd be interested in taking part in one of their shows. 

It was then that I got the first taste of what Mr. Chomichuk is like, or Greg as I've come to know him. The thing that drives him is creating art/comics. He lives and breathes it. Not only that, he loves to see others create and wants them to embrace that passion and for it to be acknowledged. At this point I had spoken to him for a total of MAYBE three minutes and he pauses his conversation with the podcaster and says "who you SHOULD be talking to is Andrew here, a local guy making some pretty cool-looking comic books."

Here was this guy I literally JUST MET promoting my books to someone else. He's being asked to take part in something and immediately he changes it into making it inclusive for a complete stranger. I will literally never forget that. They ended up buying every book I had out at the time and are always one of my supporters at C4, even having gone and reviewed the LEGACY trade paperback on one of their episodes. The odds are very good that they would never have picked up any of my books had Greg not thought to mention me. 

See at this time I was still really getting out there with my books and had no idea what the creative community was like. You hear stories of people cutting each others throats just to get that step up to expose their work and such. I had some creator friends who I'd met mainly online that were supportive but of the local community I knew very little. It was encouraging. 

Since then I've gone to a number of Greg's launches for his own work, including the stellar graphic novel, Infinitum and have found him to be a hell of an artist and writer. How this guy isn't on everyone's Must Read list, I have no idea. The art is all a style of its own, heavy on the black with a feel reminiscent of comic book greats like Tim Bradstreet but still very much its own thing. His writing is equally impressive; as layered and deep as his art, while still being entertaining. 

The thing about him that continues to impress though is his attitude and personality. His "day job" as a teacher shines through in his speaking (you must see him live at one of his launches- he's VERY good) and in his on-going pursuit of encouraging others to create and to get their creations out there for others to see. Gregory believes that the creative process is something to be embraced, enjoyed and that sharing in the love and excitement of it is essential above all else. 

Passion is what drives a creator to do what they do, both the fuel and the fire, and G.M.B Chomichuk has that in spades. To quote his website: Join the Fight! Make Comics! At the very least go grab a couple of HIS comics; they're as awesome and inspiring as the man who created them.

GMB Chomichuk on: Instagram, Twitter and his website.