Denver Stars: Stan Yan

Stan Yan is a renaissance man in the world of comics. He is a writer, an illustrator, a teacher, and one of the driving forces behind the collaborative Squidworks team. This Denver native has used all of his skills to make an impact on Denver's comic scene.

What is perhaps most surprising about Yan is the fact that he has had little formal art education, only taking a few elective art classes in college. It is said, however, that experience is the best teacher, and Yan has gotten plenty of that. Yan got his start with a class on comics his junior year of high school. He then built connections through attending various comic conventions, did a comic strip for his college paper,  and joined a local collaborative group called Acme comics. When that group fell apart, Yan helped in forming Squidworks and creating the mission statement as a supportive group for self published comic creators. Throughout all of this, he worked on his own comic, The Wang, and picked up more work as time went on.

Yan did all this with an accounting degree, which only made him more aware of the fact that the role of a self published comic creator is hardly lucrative. This fact actually pleases him, because it means that the people who choose to stay in the industry are truly passionate about what they do and will produce better quality comics. He admits that he keeps busy trying to pay the bills, taking teaching positions, doing commissioned caricatures, and of course producing comics, but it is clear that he is one of those who is truly passionate about what he does.

That passion extends to all aspects of Yan's work. He is very involved in the comic community, helping others better understand the industry. He frequently teaches after school workshops and will soon be helping with the  Community College of Aurora's Graphic Storytelling program. It is exactly this enthusiasm that drives him to work with other comic creators. Yan admits that he is something of a control freak, so it would be assumed that he would prefer to work on titles that he both writes and illustrates. While he does enjoy those projects, Yan says he also likes collaborations with others because they allow him to focus on a specific aspect of creation and refine his skills. He says the hardest part of working with someone else is simply finding the right person to work with, someone with similar interests as his. 

It cannot be denied that Yan's interests are somewhat nerdy. The comics he writes have characters playing role playing games similar to Dungeons and Dragons, which Yan freely admits to playing. One of the titles he works on with writer Kevin Freeman, Subculture, is entirely focused around the nerd lifestyle. It is all about how those people who love their comic books, video games, and role playing games interact. Being one of those people himself, Yan is able to make a real connection with the people who read his work and share similar passions. The characters of the socially bumbling but friendly nerd are created perfectly, along with other characters that show a better ability to socialize while maintaining decidedly nerdy interests. But as Yan frequently says, nerds rule. 

All of Yan's characters have some sort of flaw, whether it is the stereotypical social ineptitude of comic fans or overzealous personalities, and that is exactly what makes them interesting. He prefers his stories to be based on dysfunctions, and how people with problems interact with the world. During a time where many comics are simply smash and bash affairs between super-heroes that rely on numerous crossovers between titles to sell issues, it is refreshing to see comics that rely more on good storytelling where characters drive the series forward and each title is a self contained world where characters actually grow.

Denver is lucky to have a creator as talented as Yan. While Denver is not a hotspot in the comic industry, people like Yan are doing their part in building a reputation for the talent of Denver creators. His comics, along with information on classes he teaches and what conventions he will be attending, can be found at his website.