This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
Matt Strackbein likes putting people (and creatures) in a box. Well, sketching, inking, and coloring them also, but he does put them in a box, and then another box and then over again until dialogue and action tell a story. Comics, he makes comics. Boinggg! Whaam! Pow!
Strackbein's a mild-mannered, freelance art director by day, superhero comic artist by night. Actually, he does both by day; I don't know what he does at night. (I genuinely hope he's a superhero by night, although that has yet to be confirmed.) But, I can promise you two things: One, he'll always look this good, and two he'll never give up on you. Longmont, you are Longmont.
Strackbein got his start in comics as an obsessed Hellboy fan from back in the day. He became so obsessed he would write letters to Dark Horse Comics ranting about this and that, and that and this, and these and those things that happened in the Hellboy comic. His obsession turned into four two-page contributions to Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. Oh, that is not all folks, he's also the fourth host on the Hellboy Book Club Podcast.
Strackbein was an art director for and contributed to a series about the history of Colorado called Colorful History and most recently Connection Through Comics, a comic anthology adapting real-life accounts of refugees who've settled in Colorado. He also did a four-page story for another comic anthology from Image Comics called Where We Live that was nominated for a Will Eisner Award.
Lately, Strackbein started making a series of one-page comic book stories about Longmont using a character he calls, The Longmont Kid. The comic spotlights the city and businesses around town, giving him an outlet to show his appreciation for the place he's called home since 2003. He enjoys working on The Longmont Kid in his spare time, but the ultimate goal is to get a sponsor to eventually print a book.
He found this old Longmont jacket, in a Boulder thrift store of all places, and gave The Longmont Kid the name inspired by the movie, The Cincinnati Kid. You throw in a bunch of Longmont jokes with local places like the Sugar Mill or Sunset Golf Course and voilà, you have The Longmont Kid.
In this video above, you'll see Matt giving us a comic drawing demonstration featuring a never before seen comic of The Longmont Kid. Below is the same finished comic of The Longmont Kid in Stout Mouth featuring Longs Peak Pub by Matt Strackbein.
