Drake Denada “Epic” joins Mathias Bartholomew Santiago “Omega” as the perfect anti-heroes, two broke ‘average Joes’ challenging themselves to become paid, professional heroes. If you have ever struggled to pay a bill in college, then you know the struggle of Broke Comic. Nossi College joins Antonio Flores II and Kenneth Brian Moore, the creators of Broke Comic. Thanks to the Memphis Comic Expo, Antonio and Kenneth were able to secure a publishing deal and Broke will be available for sale in the fall of 2018. Click here to stay up to date!
How did you come up with the idea?
Antonio Flores II: Playing a massively multiplayer online game with fellow Nossi grad, Kenneth Moore, I had comical misfortunes happening again and again and my character level was so low I shouldn’t have been able to continue. It was at that moment we laughed at other misfortunes we encountered in life.
Kenneth Moore: That idea concocted two broke superheroes trying to pay rent. I drew a single page of the comic at the time and laughed for a solid hour while doing it.
AFII: This concept didn’t happen overnight. There were several prospective ‘super’ suits, but it wasn’t until we both enrolled at Nossi College when we started to brainstorm more ideas and made progress in the overall world design, additional characters and events leading the storyline.
KM: I wrote a treatment for Comic Class when I was in school that was refined after I graduated after getting feedback from friends and associates. Tony would go to various conventions as a photographer and we would always get the same reaction “That is great” with a gut laugh. When we went to Memphis’ Comic Expo to pitch our comic and we got a publishing deal for March 2018!
Give me a rundown of your comic characters? Who are the two broke guys who want to become heroes?
KM: Drake Denada and Bart Santiago have dead-end jobs and bills that won’t stop coming, so they decide to earn their paychecks by being superheroes – ultimately changing their lives around.
AFII: Other heroes include The Champion, the progenitor hero in this world, and Vanguard. They are flanked by colorful villains including “The Do” a long island Mafioso who covers as a hair stylist during the day and helps out his main nemesis every day by maintaining his hair.
KM: The ultimate goal of the comic is, in a funny way, illustrate the journey of what it means to take a dream and turn it into an actionable goal and how labyrinthine this process is. We also wanted to make subversive jokes about how mainstream superhero tropes can be.
AFII: It also allows us to tell a fun superhero story focusing on characters not typically portrayed in comics while simultaneously raising ourselves above our current situations.
Why did you come to Nossi College of Art and study illustration?
AFII: I actually was a returning student of sorts because I previously attended college and was looking for a reason to return as life got in the way. In enrolled in Nossi in 2011. I had been drawing and studying human anatomy and concepting video game projects and characters to help me with depression. At the same time, Kenny and I came up with our comic Broke.
KM: When I was a kid I always wanted to capture those defining moments in a story that had a real impact on me. I went to the Navy for about three and a half years to Japan but got out early to earn my degree. I went to the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga and majored in Graphic Design and Painting, which wasn’t the best fit. After doing a bit more research and was pointed to Nossi College.
What are some of your other skillsets besides illustration?
KM: I develop character designs, advertising illustrations and graphic design work. I recently finished 24 illustrations and six character designs for Jones Agency in California for their “Advengers” Email Blast animations. I also finished a logo for PARDIYON, Turnipblood Entertainment’s ala cart Entertainment Acquisition and Planning Service. View more of my work here.
AFII: My primary work at the moment is freelance photography although I have had some graphic design jobs as well. I do some freelance illustrations including pinup illustrations and I am still working on my own video game concepts.
To learn more about BROKE comic including information when it is available for purchase, please click here.
To learn more and hire Kenneth in design and illustration, click here.
To learn more and hire Antonio in photography, design or illustration, click here. Instagram and Facebook.
Want to learn more about a degree in Illustration from Nossi College of Art? Click here to view degree information including classes and teachers.