Art has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. I was inspired to start drawing by my love for comic books. When I was about four years old, I read my first comic (I don't remember exactly what it was, but let's be honest here, it was probably Batman), and I instantly fell in love with the whole medium. Ever since then, I have dedicated my life to practicing drawing, with the goal of one day becoming a professional comic artist. I will not stop practicing and putting my work out into the world until I achieve that goal, and even then I won't stop. Comics have become my whole life, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

If you're like me, people are often asking you why you like comic books so much, or saying, "I thought comic books were just for kids," and you're never quite able to explain it. Well I've got you covered. Next time that happens, feel free to say this:

• Unlike a movie, comics are not constrained by budget or the limits of CGI. Anyone can make a comic, and if you can dream it, you can draw it. If an artist want's Galactus to blow up a planet they can do it with just a pencil and a piece of paper, as opposed to blowing 5 million dollars on special effects.

• Comics combine art and writing. Having a wide variety of writers producing comics at any given moment gives you plenty of different options for stories and characters, and enables you to read titles that speak to you personally once you find a writer you connect with. A movie director only produces 1-3 movies a year at best, but a comic writer can write over 20 books in that same amount of time. In addition to the large number of writers, having thousands of artists working in comics not only allows you to pick and choose what artists you like, but it also lets you see your favorite characters drawn in multiple different styles. Combining these two elements doesn't just make for the greatest storytelling on earth, it also ensures that there is a comic book that you will love reading at any given moment.

• Comics make you work for it. What I mean is, reading a comic book is an activity that you have to dedicate both your time and your brain to. It's easy enough to pull out your phone during a movie and start texting, but but reading a comic engages your brain, and forces you to commit to a singular activity. Reading a comic is healthy because you are dedicating your whole being to one thing. Reading is also a far more productive use of your time than binging a TV show or scrolling on instagram. This one may sound snobby, but let's be honest, it's true. Modern people just don't read.

Like I said, feel free to quote me on that any time, I, for one, can't overstate how often I am questioned about my love for comics.

I largely credit this book for sealing the deal in terms of making me sure that I wanted to become a comic artist. Mythology, if somehow you don't know, is a collection of the unmatched artwork of Alex Ross for the DC Comics universe. I got my first copy of this beautiful book (yes, I have multiple) when I was about 8, and I poured over it constantly. This book became my bible, and even today I could stare at a Ross painting endlessly (you don't even want to know how long it took me to read Kingdom Come).