San Diego Comic Fest Spotlight On Jack Habegger

If you were at San Diego Comic Fest last weekend and happened to journey upstairs into the artist alley you might have seen young Jack Habeggar. Some of you might have even thought he was just a teenager sitting in his father or mothers chair while they were away from the table and you couldn’t have been more wrong. Jack is a talented up and coming 14 year old comic creator with a very bright future ahead of him and all the right people in his corner. Such young talent is not unheard of in this industry, you just don’t see it all too often. We have seen it more recently with Malachai Nicolle (now 9 years old) who created the very popular wed strip Axe Cop, which has now become an animated television series on Fox. Jack is the same age now that comic legend Jim shooter was when he began in this industry, so don’t let age fool ya. Talent is talent…period. Jack and his father Mark have been customers of mine for many years so I was very excited to have the opportunity to do a quick interview with him, and help send some attention his way.

Speak Geeky To Me: What first made you decide that comic strip art was what you wanted to do? How old were you at the time?

Jack Habeggar: I think that it was always in my head that I was going to become a comic book/strip artist, but I think the pivotal moment was when I was about one or two and I first put a pencil to paper. I think it was then that I first knew that I was going to draw what was on my footie jammies.

SG2M: I know that you have been able to meet and interact with a lot of legends in this industry. Who are your most prominent influences, and if you can choose one, please share with us your favorite story from these interactions

Habeggar: My prominent influences are Jack Kirby, Will Eisner, Jack Cole, R. Crumb, and E.C. Segar. I have some industry professionals in my life that I have the pleasure of knowing personally. When I first started going to conventions, I would seek out people like Sergio Aragones and Scott Shaw, Jerry Robinson and Ernie Chan. From them I was introduced to Bobby London and Floyd Norman. At later conventions I would meet Mary Fleener, Batton Lash and Jackie Estrada, Phil Yeh, Jeff Keane, and Greg Evans. They all have encouraged me and taught me things that I could only get from personal interaction with pros. To answer the next part of your question, my favorite story is when Bobby London gave me a gag for my strip. I actually did write it into a strip in Peachy Clinker. I had been a fan of Bobby’s work for many years, I love Popeye, and to have him give me a gag, ME, being only 13 at the time, who had almost no experience in actually doing comics professionally, was really an amazing experience. Of course I would never have met Bobby if it wasn’t for Scott Shaw!

SG2M: That is totally awesome. Tell us a little bit about Peachy Clinker. Is it an idea that keeps growing and it is something you hope to be working with for a long time?

Habeggar: Peachy is an extension of me, like all good comics characters should be to their creators. He is a fun, helpful friend to his best buddy, Gaz. He has a timeless sensibility, and he is, of course, appropriate for all ages. Yeah, he’s an idea that keeps growing, and there are new characters I want him to meet. I think the first rumblings of him in my mind started to grow about two or three years ago. I wanted to have a single character that I could use in an ongoing strip, because before Peachy, I had a short-lived comic strip called Modern Times, with no continuing characters. It was just gags.

SG2M: Are there any ideas for other strips in the works? Or are you just totally focused on Peachy at the moment?

Habeggar: I am working on another strip in addition to Peachy Clinker, though it is not completely fleshed out yet. I won’t give away any details, other than it will have a slightly different slant than Peachy.

SG2M: I look forward to checking it out. What was it like being on panel (for your first time even) with a legend like Scott Shaw especially at a young age?

Habeggar: I was lucky enough to be on a panel with Scott Shaw! and Batton Lash at the second annual San Diego Comic Fest, in which I interviewed them for aspiring cartoonists. It was very laid back, and we really were able to have an honest, fun conversation. I’ll never forget that and I hope I’ll be able to do it again and finally for fun.

SG2M: Ok time for Favorites! Tell us your favorite comic strip, comic book, super hero, and super villain and why?

Habeggar: I tend to lean towards classics when it comes to comic strips, like Peanuts and Popeye, but of the newer ones I really appreciate what Greg Evans in doing with Luann. I am constantly inspired by Zippy the Pinhead, and I love Pearls Before Swine. My favorite comic books are Neal Adams and Dennis O’Neal era Batman books, pre 80‘s Fawcett and DC Captain Marvel comics (before they made Captain Marvel have the brain and emotional maturity of Billy Batson), and Jack Cole’s Plastic Man, but out of the newer stuff I absolutely love Roger Langridge’s Popeye comics and Batman ’66. I also love The Spirit, and when Darwin Cooke had his turn at it, it was great. My favorite superhero is probably Fawcett’s Captain Marvel, but Batman is an old classic that is hard to beat. My favorite super villain is Doctor Thaddeus Bodog Sivana from Captain Marvel. I also love the off beat stuff, and thanks to Scott Shaw! I discovered a lot of great comics. I have the Dark Horse collections of Herbie and Nemesis on my shelf and I love them!

My thanks to Jack for taking the time to answer some questions.

If you would like more info on Jack’s Peachy Clinker comic strip, or anything else Jack might be working on visit his Facebook page.