Growing up, I wanted nothing more than to be a professional writer. I loved the little biographies of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard that would be included with some of the pulp reprints that I bought… and I dreamed of someday being just like them. I submitted stories to comic book companies and other publishers for years, got a stack of rejection slips, and finally decided that as I moved into my Thirties that it was time to realize that it wasn’t going to happen. I told myself that I was okay with it – that’s I’d tried my best.
Then I got an email that changed all that. A friend that I’d made on the Internet while writing fanfiction had gotten a gig at Marvel Comics and when they asked him if he knew anybody that would work – cheap – on some Ghost Rider-related material, he thought of me. He emailed me to ask if it was okay for him to give my name to Marvel and I, of course, said HELL YEAH! Less than 24 hours later, I was sending a writing sample to editor Jeff Youngquist and they hired me the same day.
Since then, I’ve written multiple projects for Marvel Comics, gone on to write classic characters like the Avenger and the Green Hornet, and been published dozens of times. I’ve been a guest at Dragon*Con, Pulp Ark, and numerous other conventions. I’ve seen my books on the shelves next to my idols.
Despite all the stress and disappointments of life, I accomplished one of my dreams – and I want to celebrate that success. This year marks 20 years as a professional author – and that’s partially thanks to all of you that’s bought one of my books, supported my works, and posted a review somewhere. Even if the review wasn’t positive, it still helped – it made me better as a writer and helped me develop a thicker skin, which is actually a useful trait.
This image was done for me by Gilbert Monsanto and features a whole host of my characters surrounding the Reese Unlimited logo. There are big plans to make 2023 a year to remember. Stay tuned!
Barry Reese - Writer of Badass heroes 