NCQ cover by Michael Neno

CCAD alumni are contributing to the comic scene in Columbus with Nix Comics Quarterly (NCQ).

NCQ is an open submission comic book/magazine with a focus on horror, humor, and garage-punk theme.

The series is on its fourth issue and three CCAD alumni are involved. They include Ryan Brinkerhoff (2008 Advertising & Graphic Design), Michael Neno (1984 Illustration), and Andy Bennett (1994 Illustration).

The magazine has become a creative outlet for those who enjoy illustration and the comic book scene. Interested people will submit pitches to the creator, Ken Eppstein. He then selects artists to contribute their work.

The alumni all work on outside projects, but will combine their skills in this magazine, which contains four feature stories and four recurring shorts.

“I always enjoy working with a new writer, especially someone as talented as Ken,” Bennett said. “Every creator has a unique approach to storytelling and cool things happen when you start to combine those aesthetics into a brand new thing.”

This is Bennett’s first contribution to the magazine and he illustrated a story called Eddie & the Squid Contemplate the Great Beyond. Bennett is currently working as Art Director at Brighter Minds Media, a book and software publisher.

The cover of this issue was illustrated by Michael Neno. His favorite part of working on this magazine was being able to paint again, since he has recently worked with digital tools and pencils. Neno’s cover features The Vicar, a vampire-killing rock’n’roll priest. In previous issues, Neno had illustrated The Vicar in various stories and shorts. He is currently working toward publishing his own comic book.

Brinkerhoff, much to his excitement, is working on a Bus Stop Ned story. This reoccurring short personifies a man at a public transit bus stop and his antics. Brinkeroff has been worked on all four issues of the magazine and is also working on creating a promo poster for Nix. He is the art director at Origo Branding Company and also runs Bandito Design Company.

NCQ is currently on Kickstarter.com, an online funding platform for creative projects. You can donate and view the project here.