FIU alum describes his role at independent comic book company

Gabriella Pinos/Assistant Entertainment Director

FIU alum Christopher Necuze lives a double life.

By day, he is the senior multimedia producer at FIU’s Division of External Relations, working with interns and other producers to promote FIU’s values.

On the side, however, he’s the creative director for an independent comic book company based in New York.

Founded in 2016, Odd Light Comics works with comic book creators to put their ideas to life, from connecting them with artists to publishing their work in print.

“We put all the pieces together. That’s what makes us different from other independent publishers,” said Necuze.

In his position, Necuze helps with the creative process for these comics, working with pencilers, inkers, colorists and writers to fulfill the writer’s vision.

“With Odd Light, I’m making sure that everything looks its best,” said Necuze. “Does the website look good? [Do] the issues look good? Does the art look good? All these things, do they look good?”

The idea for Odd Light came from Necuze’s former coworker, Joel Marino, who he met when they were both working at FIU Student Media, back when it was called The Beacon.. In 2016, Marino invited Necuze to be the creative director for Odd Light.

“I’ve always loved visual storytelling, so it was a real natural fit to join up and to work together,” said Necuze.

Their current project, Panacean, follows the citizens of a technological city called Panacea who try to make sense of their world. The first issue, which is digitally available on Amazon, introduces the reader to the world of Panacea – and the technology that runs it – through the eyes of the protagonist.

“For these people in this world, technology is ubiquitous,” said Necuze. “It’s just a thing that exists.”

Before it had a name, the idea for Panacean was influenced by films and books such as Blade Runner and 1984 that depict a dystopian future. The comic also has parallelisms to Black Mirror, in that both are anthology series that focus on different characters and different societal problems.

“Ultimately, Panacean is a cautionary tale,” said Necuze. “It makes you rethink technology’s role in society and the hold it has on us.”

Themes such as spiritualism, humanity, identity are the backbone to each issue. The second issue of Panacean, for instance, relates to the immigrant experience in America, which Marino and Necuze are familiar with.

“We’re both Hispanic, our parents both immigrated to the United States, so we definitely wanted to bring an alternative perspective to this world,” said Necuze.

It’s these experiences that influenced the creative process behind stories like Panacean. Even the “odd” in Odd Light Comics refers to the alternative view on the world each story creates.

“We don’t just want to tell stories through a lens of standard superhero tropes. We want to really kind of tell alternative stories, stories that talk about subcultures, immigrants, the forgotten people, people who are not in power,” said Necuze.

In the future, Odd Light hopes to print Panacean as a trade paperback, which will include the first three issues in one volume. The company is also exploring three other ideas for comics and are eager to enter production soon.

As for Necuze, he hopes to turn his side gig at Odd Light Comics into his full-time job, possibly making the move to New York. In the meantime, however, he will continue to guide his team of artists both in and out of FIU.

“I’ve always considered myself a leader, so I try [my] best to lead whenever I can, whether it’s an intern or it’s an artist or it’s another multimedia producer,” said Necuze.

You can learn more about Odd Light and Panacean at oddlight.com.