The Why

Many years ago, cutting school, I wandered into a dingy old magazine shop in the Chelsea Hotel in New York City. I walked through a long hallway, like a tunnel, filled with stacks of magazines, old newspapers, dusty books, and comics. At the very end I saw some guy with his head down over a board, not paying attention to the store or me.

I walked up and asked, "Whatcha doing, Mister?" He doesn't even look up. "I'm making comics." I say, "I draw, too." He slowly looks up. "I'd love to see some of your work sometime."

I left, went home, and drew all night. The next day I came back with my hands full of drawings. That was the moment. Somebody showed interest in my art.

There was a great sense of camaraderie hanging around that comic book store — feeding and inspiring each other, sharing ideas. But there was no real mission to nurture or mentor. It wasn't set up for that. After joining the military and going to several art schools, I knew what I wanted to build: something that combined the inspiration of those early days with the skill and discipline of learning from a real mentor.

The What

Dare2Draw. What started as a monthly community event for cartoonists to work together and share experiences quickly evolved — with contributions from Joe Kubert, Adam Kubert, Amy Reeder, Neal Adams, Steve Rude, Mark Chiarello, Jamal Igle, Ramona Fradon, Fred Harper, Mark Texeira, Simon Fraser, Riley Brown, and many more — into live art demos, panel discussions, drawing challenges, and a platform for raising funds for artists in need. A nonprofit built on one simple idea: no artist should have to figure it out alone.

The How

Through live events, mentorship, and collaboration. By bringing together aspiring and professional creators in the same room and letting the energy do its work. By connecting artists with legends willing to share what they know.

Then the pandemic hit. Like so much else, Dare2Draw paused. But that pause became a reality check — a chance to step back, reassess, and ask harder questions about what the next chapter should look like and who it should serve.

The answer was not to simply return to what we had been. The world had changed. The tools had changed. The opportunity for creators had changed. So we evolved.

Now we are building something new — Dare2Draw Studios and a Web3 platform — so the next generation of creators can own their work, navigate new tools with confidence, and define what comes next. Forty years in the making. Just getting started . . .