This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Arts & Entertainment

Hero Complex: Tale of an Auxiliary Cop Turned Quirky Comic Book Writer

Janine Frederick is on the beat for a good comic book subject

Janine Frederick is unlike many other aspiring writers with friends, family and a full-time job. Besides dividing her time between her work and family and friends, she dedicates yet another portion of her life to being an auxiliary police officer for Middletown and creating comic books.

“(Being an auxilliary officer) really is one of my favorite things to do," she said. "I love being a part of an organization that is saving the taxpayers money and I am helping people. That is what it's all about.”

While she prays to find success in the world of the literary word, she has set her sights on the unique world of .

"I have always loved writing," said Frederick. "Ever since I was a little girl I would write about the fake adventures I would have with my friends. We would either be in outer space or being chased by some monster, but it was fun."

As she grew up, she continued nurturing her love of writing. As she got older and  married, she came to credit her husband Ken for getting her into the comic book genre.

"When I was growing up, I would watch Spider-Man cartoons and that was it," she said. "It wasn't until I was helping Ken move from his apartment that I stumbled upon his collection of graphic novels."

She started with Frank Miller’s Sin City and went from there.

"After I read it, I went back to Ken and said I wanted to read more," said Frederick. She soon found herself drawn to sequential art stories and graphic novels that did not steer toward to the typical "cape and mask" heroes that were prevalent in comic books.

"I tend to be more into DC’s ‘Vertigo’ titles," she said. "While I love Batman, to me the super heroes stories are formulaic. The heroes put on their costumes see the bad guy, beat him and save the save the day. That’s it."

She said finds herself more drawn to the twisted, weird and offbeat.

When asked how she went from being a comic book novice to becoming a comic book writer, she explained she did it to help her family at a difficult time. Frederick explained that her husband had lost his job and found himself with time on his hands.

"I asked him 'If you had a million dollars, what would you do with your day?' and he said, 'Draw comic books,'" she said.

She pulled out of part of a novella she had been writing called Aleksander Christov: Assassin and she turned it into a comic book story.

"Writing comic books are very different from writing short stories," she said. "I found myself taking a lot out of my (original) story for the comic. It turned out to be beneficial to the story structure of the comic. Like, I think people would have found Aleksander sitting in the bushes and talking page after page boring."

Frederick said with her husband drawing and she doing the writing the two were able to take part in a comic book competition Zuda Comics (a branch of DC Comics). She entered eight pages of the story and had her friends vote.

"I can promote the heck out of anything, so when we had the chance to be in this, I had cards, magnets and book marks printed up and I went around to every comic book store in New Jersey, New York City and wherever telling people about my comic," said Frederick.

Sadly, the two lost the competition, but it allowed for them to get their name out in the comic book world. She said her husband is making a name for himself as a letterer and continues to hone his artistic skills.

"I am busy shopping the idea of a comic book called Awaken to several publishers," she said.

Awaken is the story of a 17 year old girl who discovers she is the Antichrist. While she has most of the script written and has several pages of art, she continues to talk with publishers and get buoyed by the response she receives.

"I have had several well known publishers from the United States and Canada leave me with their cards saying to call them," she said. "Much of the credit for that goes to artist Ian Dorian for his work. His artwork is amazing and I want everyone to see it."

In the meantime, she is content to continue to be a wife, writer and  volunteer auxiliary officer.

"I got into being an auxiliary cop after seeing them at different functions I was working at," she said. “I inquired and was given an application. I graduated from the program and have been doing it since February 2010. I love it. Doing that job makes me a happy girl."

To keep up with Janine Frederick, visit her website here.  

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?