By Paul Jordan Jr.
Dragons Keep, a local comic shop, will host comic artists and creators this Saturday from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
The artists will be available to sign comics and answer questions about the comic industry or their jobs in general.
'It''s a great opportunity to meet some legendary artists,' said John Ortiz, the events coordinator for Dragons Keep,
Ortiz said the primary purpose of the event is to give back to the fans who have allowed the comic store to stay in business for the last 20 years.
Bill Galvan, an artist for Archie Comics, is one of three artists who will be participating in the event.
Galvan has been hooked on comic books from the time he was seven years old, he said. He started his artistic career by copying pictures out of his comic books.
Eventually, copying the characters and their stories was not enough to quench his creative thirst and Galvan began to create and design his own characters. By fifth grade, he was selling comic books to his friends and classmates for 10 cents a copy.
Galvan said that he was glad to be able to express his creativity through an outlet that required such low start-up costs.
'You just need a pencil and paper,' he said.
Prior to the event at Dragons Keep, Galvan will be at the Provo Library from 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. teaching how to put together a simple comic book.
Although Galvan''s fan base has expanded and the price has raised from 10 cents a copy from his elementary school days, his motivation and love of what he does have not changed.
'It''s a lot of fun to work with something that kids can enjoy,' he said. 'That''s the most gratifying part.'
Galvan will also be providing free sketches to fans when he arrives at the Dragons Keep event around 11:30 a.m.
Two of the other artists who will attend the event have done work for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Ric Estrada designed the illustrations in the 'Children''s New Testament' manual for the church. Sal Velluto currently illustrates the Life of the Prophets sections in both the Friend and Liahona magazines.
JJ Harrison, a designer for Bam Pop, will also be at the event to show what kinds of avenues are available to young artists.
The store is located in Provo on 260 N. University Ave.