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www.insidehalton.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, August 10, 2017 | 1 2 Retired teacher appreciates a good comic book by Abigail Cukier Special to the Beaver Ron Kasman has a long history working as an artist in the comic book industry. And now he has written and drawn his own graphic novel, The Tower of the Comic Book Freaks. While it is getting excellent reviews, Kasman is proud just to have published it. "I drew 79 pages of it and then looked for a publisher," says the retired visual arts teacher. "I got 16 rejections before finding a leading publisher of alternative comics, Caliber Comics. I am proud. The story has to be good, but what takes the longest is the 200 pages of artwork. The first success I had was to finish it - 1,000 drawings. That is success to me. Finding a publisher, that is success to m e." Aside from being in comic book stores throughout North America, the book landed at 16th in its category, out of thousands, on Amazon. "The story is not about me, but reflects som e of my experiences at the time," says Kasman, adding he has a sequel in mind. The Tower of the Comic Book Freaks is set on the fourth of July, 1971 when five awkward, young men drive from Toronto to N ew York in search of love, sex, art, comic books and a glimpse at the city' s wicked underbelly. W hat they encounter changes their lives forever. W hen Kasman spoke to a group at the Toronto Reference Library about writing a novel, he told the audience, "Do it for your mother, your spouse, your friends, don't do it for your banker. I tried to make som ething I can be proud of in front of m y wife, children, brothers, sister, cousins and friends." But it seems Kasman' s book is gaining fans beyond Kasman' s own home and KASMAN Retired Oakville teacher Ron Kasman has a long history working as an artist in the comic book industry. Now he's published his own graphic novel. | submitted photo community. Mark Shainblum, co-creator of superheroes Northguard and Fleur de Lys reviewed the book saying, "Ron Kasman is an unsung genius of Canadian comics," and James Waley, publisher of Orb magazine and creator of superhero Northern Light, wrote "No one has a better insight into the angst, the innocence and the absurdity of young comic nerds during the embryonic days of fandom." And Kasman should know. He was one of the four coordinators of Cosmicon, Canada' s first major comic convention and the first major convention held at a university. W hen the words in the com ic book balloons were hand lettered, Kasman was the foremost letterer in Canada, working for D.C., Image, Eclipse and dozens of small press publishers. His comic lettering was also used in the made for TV movie The Real Superhumans and in the promotion of Comic Book Confidential. He created the first Canadian graphic novel on Canadian history. It was called William Lyon Mackenzie and the Rebellion of 1837 in Upper Canada and displayed at the Market Gallery of the City of Toronto Archives with then-mayor of Toronto Art Eggleton attending the opening. Kasman wrote and drew stories for Image Comics and many other publishers. In 1994, Kasman contributed to two characters that appeared on Canadian postage stamps. He penciled Captain Canuck as a daily comic strip and also inked and lettered the comic book. Kasman started teaching in 1977 at General Wolfe High School (now W hite Oaks Secondary School). He taught full-time for 31 years, finishing his career at Abbey Park High School, then was a substitute teacher for nine years. "" D e liv e rin g hom e c o m fo rt fr o m o u r fa m ily to yo u rs since 1967 " APPLEBY r SYSTEMS F IR E P L A C E , H E A T IN G & A IR C O N D IT IO N IN G C O N T R A C T O R S RA Y-BA NTR U N KS H O W Shop the entire 2017 eyewear collection (400 pieces) TU ESD AY AUG UST 15, 3PM-6PM G e t fitted b y a R a y -B a n re p re se ntative. E n jo y 15% off and g e t a fre e gift. OAKVILLE 905.825.1893 BURLINGTON 905.335.3203 2086 SPEERS RD., OAKVILLE Come See Our SHOWROOM Mon - Fri. 8am - 5pm; Saturday 11am - 4pm CrO w in k eyecare DR. TEDDY CHUNG OD & ASSOCIATES (905) 849 8897 2-27oHaysBlvd. Oakville, ON L6H 7P3 www.winkeyecare.ca info@winkeyecare.ca www.applebysystems.ca