by Gary Scott Beatty

Anthony Cacioppo's first venture as a creator/publisher appeared at New York City comic book conventions in 1997, when his Kaso comic line released The Indestructible Man. Previous to that he inked for other independents like Brainstorm and Blackout. "I got tired of working for them and really wanted to work on my own creations," said Anthony. "I had a lot of stories and characters running around in my head so I gave it a shot."

Not that inking was left behind - Anthony inks the whole Kaso line in whole or part. His experience in the printing business shows in the quality details of the books. The typography and layout on text pages and covers, the quality paper and attention to printing separates the Kaso line from a hoard of independents that look, well, independent. And this quality look is achieved using classic production techniques that have stood the test of time.

"Kaso Comics' focus is to make great comic books without all the gimmicks that have been used in the industry in recent years," said Anthony.

Like many inkers, Anthony fell into that role to meet the demand. "I was always good at drawing but I didn't have time to actually pencil pages so in the early '90s I started inking comics. I sent out submissions and started to get work from small press companies, some of which aren't even in existence anymore."

The New York artist, like so many comic fans today, credits Jack Kirby as a major influence. "I love John Byrne and people that have a little bit of Kirby running through them," he said. Anthony has fond memories of the classic Kirby characters in the Fantastic Four, New Gods, Silver Surfer and the Inhumans.

Anthony was also influenced by the same movies that sparked the imaginations of the EC horror artists of the '50s - Universal monster movies. "The classic monsters and creatures really got to me and lead me to find comics. It was a natural progression from the movies to monster magazines to collecting comics."

Learning to draw by observing the natural world, Anthony refined his talents by working where ever he could. "I'm mostly self-taught, although I have taken a few comic book art classes in Manhattan. But there was no formal art education in college or anything like that."

Years of inking over other artists helped Anthony develop a style all his own. "Working over people's pencils helps you to see other forms of storytelling," he explained. "You might see a panel set up in a way you never thought of and mentally store it away for yourself to use in one of your own books."

Any major penciller will say how important a good inker is for the final project. Anthony says he discovers something new about style and storytelling with every penciller he inks. "I think it's a continual learning process. In this field you never stop learning and getting better. If you do it's probably time to get out!"

Anthony soon found that producing comic products was much more demanding than only inking. "The hardest part of marketing (Kaso comics) is dealing with one distributor, which doesn't give you a chance to branch out," he said. "If your comic doesn't fall into that distributor's market than you probably aren't going to sell a lot of copies."

Being close to full time on the books is also a strain. "As far as production goes, the toughest thing is scheduling. At this level nobody is doing it full time, so it's tough to get the writers, artists and so on together at the same pace. Consequently you are often just making a deadline or having to extend it."

With The Risen and the Dead miniseries recently released as an oversized, collected comic and the new Matt Burton: Agent Zero series scheduled for 2000, Anthony doesn't seem to be extending too many deadlines. He continues to be available for inking work from other companies and has the friendship and respect of many talented people in the business.

A simple, yet profound statement from a comic book creator: "My goal is to produce comic books that are well written and drawn."