UNMC Off the Clock – Eric White doubles as comic-book creator

By day, Eric White is an unassuming graphic artist in UNMC’s print shop.

But like Batman, Superman and Spiderman, White has a second identity that surfaces when he leaves the office.

In his free time, White — an unrepentant comic book geek — draws and writes his own comic stories, some of which have been published in anthology collections.

He also has done what is called “flatting” work for major comic titles including Superman.

Below White reflects on his passion for comics and some of the roads he has traversed as a result of this obsession.

Eric White shows off the cover of the comic anthology, CGS3: Comic Geek Speak Anthology 3, Issue No. 1, which the UNMC graphic designer helped create. (Photo by Andrew E. Nelson, UNMC public relations)

I first bought a comic book when I was 4. My grandma took me with her on Thursdays when she would get her hair done. Her salon was right next door to a drug store. Every week she would give me a couple dollars and tell me to go next door and stay out of trouble. The drug store had a spinner rack of comics so I would get two comics and a soda and sit there until my grandma was done. I couldn’t read at that time but I was so intrigued by the art and action. I’ve been hooked ever since.

I always wanted to draw comics but it wasn’t until about 5 years ago that I really started to take the idea of being involved in comics seriously. I still have a long way to go before I can say I’m any good at it but I’m enjoying the journey!

What do you like about comics?

First and foremost I love the stories. I love the medium of sequential art — seeing a well-crafted story and following it is just amazing to me. I’ve become a real student of comics over the last few years and am having fun with the whole process now. Now with Facebook, Twitter and forum sites, you can interact with the creators.

What’s your favorite comic book?

It would be really hard to narrow it down. My first loves in comics were Amazing Spiderman and the Incredible Hulk. But there are so many amazing books out. Titles like Mouse Guard, AtomicRobo, Umbrella Academy, Buffy, Mercury and the Murd, Avengers, Superman, Booster Gold, the Ultimate line and Batman. Then, of course, there’s all the amazing Web comics that I read. It’s hard to pick.

How many comic books do you own?

At last count, I had about 3,000. Serious collections don’t really start until you reach about 10,000 so I don’t feel too bad about having those 20 short boxes in my house.

How many have you written(drawn)?

I’ve drawn loads but I’ve had stories published now in four anthology books. I’m hoping that within a year or so I can have enough confidence in myself to produce my own book. There’s also a Web comic that’s in the works.

Aside from the drawing, at this point, the bulk of the comic work that I do now is flatting. Flatting is a step in the process of creating a comic between the inking and coloring where someone (like me!) goes in Photoshop and fills in solid flat colors in behind the line art.

It’s an uncredited job that is basically the tedious grunt work of the comic book industry but it allows me to get paid (a little bit) to work in comics. It kind of feels like I snuck into business but how many people do you know who can go to a comic book store and pull 10 books off the wall on any given day and say, in all honesty, “I worked on these books”? (See White’s flatting portfolio online.)

You recently were published in an anthology. What’s it called and what’s it about?

The anthology book I recently edited is called “CGS3: Comic Geek Speak Anthology 3, Issue No. 1.” It’s the first of a two-issue series. The story opens with the heroic and powerful Visionary as he battles his nemesis, Discord, all across the city.

What’s different about this book is that when that main story concludes, we move on to see what has happened in the city from other points of view during and after the battle.

We see the city from the point of view of a taxi driver, a photographer, a mouse and many others. There are more than 40 creators involved in the two books (each story is created by a different team) and both books turned out amazing! (EDITOR’S NOTE: White’s anthology is for sale online.)

What other activities do you do besides writing comic books?

My 4-year-old daughter, Willow, and 9-month-old daughter, London, keep my wife and I very busy at home. So between UNMC, kids, comics and a little bit of design on the side — that’s pretty much all I do. Lots of work, very little sleep.

By the way, my wife and I celebrated our 10-year wedding anniversary on July 10. Happy anniversary, honey! Thanks for putting up with all my geekiness for a decade now. I love you!

Who wins in a fight — Batman or Superman?

Any Batman/Superman fan knows that the Bat carries a chunk of kryptonite around in his utility belt “just in case” he has to do battle with Superman. So even though Superman has the powers, Batman comes prepared and pulls out the victory. That Batman — he’s hard core.

OK, then who wins between Batman and Spiderman?

Again, even though Spiderman is my all-time favorite superhero, I have to be honest to the characters and say that Batman wins again. Spiderman has the strength, flexibility, webs and even the spider senses but Batman is the ultimate warrior. There are very few characters in all of comics that could beat the Bat in a fight.