Kevin Betou: A Fresh New Illustrator Puts Out His First Comic

On a Wednesday a few weeks ago, I went to my local comic shop to grab my pick list. There’s a young Black fella setting up a table in one corner. Me: Whacha doin?Him: Setting up to sell my comic.Me: *new comics senses tinglin* OH REEEAAAALLLYYYY? Tell me all about it?!? And that’s how I met Kevin Betou and bought his self-published comic Blackman. He’d printed 150 copies and he sold them all out *that day*. Kevin is a senior at the arts high school and is ready to step out in the comics world and make his mark. I wanted to share his enthusiasm and love of the craft with all of you. We talk about his influences and his future goals. Look out for his next piece, he’s only going up from here. Black Nerd Problems: What/who would you call your primary artistic influence? Kevin Betou: I wouldn’t say I have one primary artistic influence, I just kind of soak it all in like an oversized sponge, haha. If I did have to choose a few though, they would probably be Sean Gordon Murphy, he works on Tokyo Ghost and his inking skills are insane! Also Ryan Ottley and Greg Capullo! All those guys are awesome! Oh and Jimmie Robinson! I met him at a signing and he gave me tons of tips and support, he works on a comic called Power Lines. If you like Blackman then you’ll definitely like Power Lines, haha. (Interviewer’s note: I have read Power Lines and it is goooooood.) BNP: What comics inspire you to create? KB: Definitely the current Spider-Man — Miles Morales. Seeing a Black character that I …