If you're reading this, then you are interested in how I came up with the idea for America's newest (and, if I must say so, coolest) superhero. Well, it was the best of times; it was the worst of times... I really have to stop slipping into other stories.
Back sometime in the middle of the 1990's, I was fortunate enough to have my first child AND even cooler, it was a boy!! Now, as every parent knows, having a child changes EVERYTHING! When
When a dad looks into his son's eyes, he can't help but to want to pass on all the cool things from his childhood (Tonka trucks, Transformers, etc.). I was a HUGE comic book fan (read: geek) and I could hardly wait for when he was old enough to pass on my vast knowledge of all things DC and Marvel (not to mention some other obscure publishing houses). Then a thought occured to me. I remembered how when I was a kid, I thought that my dad was a superhero. Maybe my kid would think of me the same way. Those thoughts were the planting of the seeds for TOTEMAN!!
I decided that I didn't just want to leave my son my comic book collection (did I mention that it was vast?); I wanted to leave him a legacy! I had already graced him with my rugged good looks and devil-may-care charm (wink, nod, "hello, ladies"). I needed more.
Now if you're anything like me (and of course, by that, I mean supercool), you have an active imagination. This imagination has helped me out on many an occasion, especially when I am doing something that is very hum-drum and boring. That brings me to the job that I had at the time.
I was working at a local racetrack and I had the position of a..... (wait for it)... ToteMan. Now my job was pretty much running around "saving the day" by making sure that everything worked properly. It wasn't a far stretch of the imagination for me to see myself in a cape, arriving in the knick of time. It was even less of a stretch for me to come up with the villain in what was quickly shaping up to be my comic fantasy world.
Would those of you who work for an evil overlord please raise your hand (wow, that's a lot of hands!). Where there is management, there is evil. They sit up in their offices and think of new ways to make your life miserable. Now, unless you are the top guy or gal at your job and NO ONE (no CEO, no area manager, no regional manager, NOBODY) is over you, you can relate to what I'm saying. I'd been thumped by the management team at the track so much, I really started thinking that they were out to get me (no, I'm not paranoid; who said that?!).
My experience at the track gave me just about everything that I needed to create the hero that you know and love; my life's experiences gave me the rest. From all the people that I have known over the years (both friend and foe), I have been able to create the cast of characters that makes up the world of ToteMan. ToteMan is the Everyman hero that lives in us all. He fights against all that is wrong in his world to create a better tomorrow for the ones that he loves.
As my son has grown, he has grown to love and appreciate ToteMan; he even helped me come up with some of the characters. I was doubly blessed when in the mid 2000's, I had another son (I have a thing for the middle years; what can I say). I still had some charm and good looks to spare (wink, nod, "hello, ladies") so I have another handsome kid that ensures that the legacy will live on.
Rickman honed his craft at The Center for the Media Arts, Caldwell College, and The Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. He spent much of his youth drawing from magazines, learning the human form.
From there he was hired by the Kubert School in Dover, New Jersey and has taught some of the industry's upcoming giants. He was the Computer Graphics and Web Design Instructor at the Kubert School from 2001 to 2005. Rickman has worked as a Graphic Designer for the NFL, Warner
Among those he counts for inspiration are Frank Frazetta, Alphonse Mucha, Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird, Jim Silke, Luis Royo, John Romita Sr. and JR Jr., Vargas, his Grandmother and Dad.
Rickman is currently producing a Public Service Announcement comic book for The Epilepsy Foundation. He also volunteers each year at a local comic book shop for Free Comic Book Day. Rickman is all about getting kids involved in comic books so the tradition will live on.