Growing up in Huntington Beach, Calif., a young Rick Hoberg sat captivated in front of the television, admiring the great Tarzan as he leapt from tree to tree.
As he grew older, Hoberg never lost his admiration for heroic characters like Tarzan, and he maintained a mixture of respect and fascination for superheroes and mythology in general.
In 1975, Hoberg broke into his professional career when he began doing assistant work for Tarzan Comics. He also worked for such renowned names as Marvel Comics and Hanna Barbera, creating comic-book covers, penciling and inking.
In 1977, Hoberg got his "big break" when he began working for Lucasfilm. As a freelance artist, he worked on the original first six issues of the "Star Wars" comics.
When he joined the staff in 1979, he produced various types of commercial art such as comic strips and coloring books.
"Even to this day, they still use a Yoda image I drew on the Lucasfilm corporate checks," Hoberg remembers.
Years later in the early 1990s, Lucasfilm requested that Hoberg come back and help update characters.
Following his work at Lucasfilm, Hoberg also had a hand in other film projects involving such characters as Green Arrow, Batman, Spiderman, X-men and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. His roles in these projects are largely within the storyboard stage of the production, where he would create the preliminary blueprint that ends up in film.
Having grown weary of the increasing population and pollution in California, Hoberg moved to Everett in 1989.
After living there for about 16 years, he moved to the Laurelhurst neighborhood, where he currently resides.
Hoberg's entire body of work received Cartoonists Northwest's 2005 Graphic Novel Toonie award, in which he was up against fellow Northwest cartoonist Mike Grell.
Hoberg also won the 2005 Golden Toonie Award, a prestigious award given to the best cartoonist throughout several categories such as Graphic Novel, Web Comics, Comic Book and Illustration.
Cartoonists Northwest
Cartoonists Northwest is a collective group of professional and amateur cartoonists, animators and illustrators. This association's roots run back to a classroom of cartoon students at the University of Washington Extension in 1979.
By the time the course had ended, the group of students had become quick friends, and they decided to start a club based on their mutual interest in cartoons.
Maureen VanderPas, one of the original members, recalls a time when meetings were held at restaurants until they could find a rental space for a reasonable price near Aurora Avenue North.
As the group gained momentum, an increasing number of dues-paying members were added to the roster, and a monthly newsletter began.
The club was initially named Pacific Northwest Cartoonists Society, but was renamed Cartoonists Northwest in February 1984. It held its first Toonie awards banquet in October 1991, and this year's banquet marked the 14th.
Peer recognition
To receiving the Graphic Novel Toonie and the Golden Toonie awards, Hoberg said that it was nice to get some recognition for his work, since much of what he does is behind the scenes.
"It's always nice when your peers give you some acknowledgment," Hoberg said.
Speaker John Lustig, coordinator of the Cartoonists Northwest and previous recipient of the Golden Toonie in 2000, painted Hoberg as a well-rounded artist.
"The amazing thing about Rick is not that he's incredibly talented. He's talented in so many ways and in so many different fields of entertainment art. Rick's done it all and done it well," Lustig explained.
Lustig and Hoberg met while they were both freelancing for Disney in 1989 and became familiar with one another's craft through years of working in the same industry.
"Rick is one of those rare artists who are constantly in demand...and you can't be jealous of the guy because he's so darn nice," Lustig commented.
An adventurist
In addition to being a "nice guy," Hoberg is adventurous as well. He recently returned from an African safari, and he also loves to scuba dive.
"I love a good adventure," Hoberg said. "One should take the opportunity, because if you think about it, it's a very short life."
His sense of adventure is part of the reason he is fascinated with superheroes and mythology. He also feels that the stories of these heroes can help convey moral messages to today's youths.
"It's not so much about the amount of super powers the heroes have. It's more about their endurance and courage that gets them by," Hoberg said.
Listing examples ranging from Homer's Ulysses to Spiderman, he said that these characters survive their confrontations with their brain power, in addition to their physical powers.
"These heroes, although empowered with extraordinary abilities, are quite often pitted against adversaries who physically outmatch them, and it is up to them as individuals of wit and courage to overcome the obstacles set before them and ensure that the right thing is accomplished," Hoberg explained.
"This is a black-and-white world that the young today especially understand - not the world of normal life where the difference between good and evil, right and wrong, is often muddied and unclear."
A repertoire of Hoberg's work can be viewed at www.rickhoberg.com.
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