

Taking into account this is my Spanish written, literature blog, this post is a little bit off topic.
I met James O'Barr a few days ago.
James O'Barr, for those of you who don't know his name, is the author of the comic The Crow. Probably all of you have seen at least the first movie based on the book, featuring Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee.
James is a middle-aged man who wears army boots, jeans, average T-shirts and a cap that he never takes off, even if there's a camera recording. James looks just like anybody else looks. When James is not talking to someone, he just sits and draws.
I interviewed James. He is someone who does not only answer politely to your questions, he stays afterwards for some small talk. This is what I knew about him.
James O'Barr was an orphan in Detroit, and he was raised on the foster care system. He was adopted. He started drawing when he was 3-4 years old, and hasn't stopped ever since. When he was 18, his fiancée was killed by a drunk driver and he joined the military. He came up with the story for The Crow after reading an article about a couple who was killed over a 20 dollar engagement ring. He needed to vent his pain an anger over Beverly's death, so he started to draw the comic book. It was useless. Page after page he was sadder and angrier.
The Crow was made into a movie. Brandon Lee, who James appreciated greatly, was killed. The nightmare started all over.
So far, you can read that in Wikipedia.
It was only a few years ago when he finally reached something called closure. This, you can find it on Youtube.
All of this, you might think, is not something you admire someone for. You are right. This is what I learnt from James O'Barr.
James is someone you can talk to. He will talk to you if you talk to him. He will make jokes, he will give his opinion, and it doesn't matter if you're probably not going to see him ever again, he will be nice to you. He does not talk to you like he's on some sort of pedestal. He is humble, and polite, and thankful if you give him some conversation.
James is someone you can talk to. He will talk to you if you talk to him. He will make jokes, he will give his opinion, and it doesn't matter if you're probably not going to see him ever again, he will be nice to you. He does not talk to you like he's on some sort of pedestal. He is humble, and polite, and thankful if you give him some conversation.
James is hardworking. For over 20 years, he has spent 16 hours a day working, drawing, painting. He only sleeps four hours a day. He is persevering too. He thinks that you will only achieve the desired results if you don't stop trying.
James is curious. Even though his works —full of romance and violence— are dark, he does Monet-inspired oil paintings so full of colour. He will experiment with new techniques (with a 10 dollar oil paint beginner set), he will try to learn as much as he can from something. He is also not afraid to make mistakes, to fail, like some other artist are. Did this go wrong? Then let's start over!
James is old-fashioned. James does not use any kind of digital techniques because, at the end of the day, it is your own skill that counts. He likes doing all the boring work that Photoshop might do for an artist. James does not believe in computers, either. He is totally against what some people call 'free culture'.
James is charitable. He has donated the money from the royalties of The Crow movies to orphanages, just because he did not know what to do with so much money.
James has many projects that will come up soon. One is Sundown, a full colour Western that he has been working on for ten years now. It will be soon released in print and digital format.
James is charitable. He has donated the money from the royalties of The Crow movies to orphanages, just because he did not know what to do with so much money.
James has many projects that will come up soon. One is Sundown, a full colour Western that he has been working on for ten years now. It will be soon released in print and digital format.
He is also working on a dark story set in the 40's. I have seen some of the artwork and it's really amazing.
There is some new stories based on The Crow that will be published soon.
He wants to make some WWII short stories, because his dad participated in it. He also wants to draw a children's book someday, no kidding.
I hardly ever say this, but I admire James O'Barr. And I admire him because I met him.
Guys, buy his work. He is worth it.



