My name is Sam Salo, and I’m a comic book artist and creator, photographer, and amateur philosopher. In late 2004, I was suddenly struck with Lyme Disease which affected every system in my body. For the next several years, I either lived on my bed or on the doctor’s table, all in horrible pain and sickness. Everything in life was stripped away from me, and two primary avenues of hope, cheer, and energy were left: creating my comic book worlds and rooting for Jeff Gordon on Sunday. Being a Jeff Gordon fan for over half of my life, my fandom quickly leaked over into my comics. For example, I created my main robot character (Widget) to run on Pepsi, not gas; I named a major character “24″; the numbers 24, 2, 4, and multiples thereof were sprinkled heavily throughout my comics; auto racing sequences factor heavily into several plot lines (albeit in space); etc.
I set out to style Sam Squared and Widget in a certain manner after I asked myself the question, “What comics and stories do I and my friends read most?” Calvin and Hobbes (Watterson) and Tintin (Herge) were chief amongst the answers. Thus, I tailored my linework and such after Calvin and my story mannerisms after Tintin. Other key influences include C.S. Lewis and animation studio Pixar. Drawing from the strengths of my various influences, I base my story on dimensional characters, pleasing art, a depth of meaning, and a classic storyline. As history has indicated, people of many types are drawn to these qualities including children, teenagers and college students, and a wide range of adults who enjoy action and adventure in films, books, or comics. I firmly believe that these demographics are the ranges that Sam Squared and Widget would bring to your company as an on-going comic book series with a companion website.
Current additional projects include:
-A Sam Squared and Widget screenplay
-Musical themes for each character and the series as a whole
