YOUNG CARTOONIST—Dante King with some of his comic strip characters. (Photos by Erin Perry)
by Genea L. Webb
While most 14-year-old boys are enamored with video games and girls, Dante King loves drawing comic books and cartoons.
“I’ve been drawing since I could hold a pen or pencil,” said King, an eighth grade Shadyside Academy student, who resides in Plum. “I like creating the story, the characters and the places.”
To date, King has created approximately 80 comic book characters.
One of his comic book characters, Jet, appeared in a “Sonic” comic book last year.
“I reached out to the editor of the ‘Sonic’ comic book and told him about my son and his drawings,” said King’s father, Steven King. “He told me to send him some of Dante’s drawings and I did and one of them was chosen and appeared in the fan section of the comic book. I just wanted people to know that something good was going on here. I’m a proud parent and he’s really a special kid.”
King has created his own comic book series, “Amazing 8’s Amazing Adventures,” tells the tale of super heroes defending the world against evil.
“The characters are super heroes and super villains. I really enjoy drawing and creating the characters and the story,” King said. “I especially like the characters because they’re unique and I can make them who I want. It takes me a little while to think about how I want the good guys and the bad guys to do. Sometimes the bad guys fight among themselves because they are not always on the same team but eventually the good guys will always win.”
King gets inspiration from a lot of different places including his classmates.
“Some of my characters are based on the personalities of my classmates and some are made up out of my head. My classmates know that some of the characters are based on them and they are excited about it. Some of them ask me to do it,” he said.
The talented young artist has no formal art training.
King’s mother, Cheryl King, knew her son had something special when she saw the unique way he held his pens and pencils—his thumb and the top of the writing utensil and the rest of his fingers at the bottom.
“We just let him draw but after a while we’d have to stop him because he just kept on drawing,” explained Cheryl King, a stay-at-home mom. “I tried to get him to hold his pencil the right way but when I saw what he was doing I let it go.”
The peculiar way King holds his pencil has become his signature and is called “the grip.”
“Ever since I’ve been writing or drawing, I’ve held it that way,” he said. “This feels comfortable to me. Teachers have tried to change it, but I had good penmanship so they left me alone.”
King has created baseballs, T-shirts, mugs and notebooks with “the grip” logo on them. The notebook is for sale on King’s website.
In addition, he enjoys reading, playing video games, the high honor roll student is currently practicing for the school’s version of “The King and I.” He will play the lead role in the musical. He has had parts in other school musicals including “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Annie.”
Ultimately King would like to get his comic book published and into stores.
“We’re looking for some help to get an agent and get his comic book published because he wants to share his book with other kids,” Steven King said.
(For more information on Dante King’s comic book or characters, visit www.dantethecartoonist.com.)