It may be, as Neil Kendricks insists, the golden age of comics. And Kendricks himself is their documentarian.
Four years ago Southwestern College adjunct instructor Kendricks began production on his first full-length documentary, “Comics Are Everywhere,” a candid look into the world of comics as seen through the eyes of artists who make them. Kendricks’ film poses an elusive question: What does it take to create?
After years in production, Kendricks is now asking himself that same question. His film has wavered, warping gradually from passion project to ferocious beast, savagely hindered, tinkering on the brink of completion.
“It’s like trying to skin a bear with a small knife, and the bear’s still alive,” he said. “I have to wrestle the bear on a constant basis.”
Despite on-going battles, Kendricks continues the film’s production with superhero bravado, expecting to move into post-production by spring of 2015. A year after that, he said, the film should be finished.
“At the end of the day, it’s still something that I’m in love with,” he said. “No matter how hard it gets, I’m not willing to give up.”
Kendricks, who has shot footage at Comic-Con, said his film shoots are not traditional by any means.
“It’s me, a backpack and a camera,” he said. “A lot of times I’m filming by myself.”
Last year Kendricks received a much-needed boost when he was awarded a $20,000 grant from the San Diego Foundation’s 2013-14 Creative Catalyst Fund.
“I was overjoyed to get it,” he said. “I had gotten scholarships in film school and stuff like that, but this had particular significance because I had struggled so hard and with so little money, just money out of my pocket.”
Kendricks was selected from a pool of about 100 applicants. He is sponsored by Pacific Arts Movement (PAM), a non-profit responsible for organizing the San Diego Asian Film Festival.
Executive Director Lee Ann Kim said PAM staff was excited to support Kendricks and acknowledged the difficulties that San Diego filmmakers face.
“There aren’t a lot of resources here,” she said. “It’s an uphill battle being a filmmaker in San Diego. Neil was very, very lucky to have gotten this kind of funding and we were very lucky to be a part of it.”
Kendricks used his grant to buy a Canon C100 high-definition video camera to achieve the quality he wanted for his film. He also hired film editor Cheryl Kanekar. She said it has been a smooth collaboration and expects the final product to be a pleasant surprise.
“It’s not as academic or dry as one might think,” she said. “It’s enjoyable.”
Subjects in “Comics Are Everywhere” include Jaime Hernandez, co-creator of the acclaimed comic book series “Love and Rockets,” and Daniel Clowes, whose graphic novel “Ghost World” inspired a film adaptation.
Artists JJ Villard and Danni Shinya Luo are the film’s stars. Villard is a former DreamWorks storyboard artist whose animated web series “King Star King” debuted on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim Video in June. Luo, a gallery artist, worked for Marvel Comics on the first three issues of “X-23.”
Kendricks said the filmmaking process has taught him the importance of sticking to it.
“School is never out when it comes to learning how to persevere,” he said. “If you’re in the arts, you almost have to be obsessed with it. You wake in the morning and that’s what you want to do, every day.”
Kendricks teaches the History of Film as Art class at SWC on Wednesdays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays he teaches the techniques in screenwriting, as well as comics and graphic narrative classes at SDSU.
Former student Alex Dandino said Kendricks was nurturing and encouraged students to find their own voices.
“He’s a professor that doesn’t tell you just one way to do it, (so) it kind of inspires you to do it your own way,” he said.
Decades after dipping in the mainstream, comics – as Kendricks’ film suggests – are almost everywhere.
“The language of comics is universal, everyone knows it even if you don’t collect comics,” he said. “Anyone can pick up a book off the street and know how to read it. Comics are our mythology. We don’t often think of ourselves being in the middle of something extraordinary, it’s only in retrospect that you realize. This is the new golden age of comics.”