By Olivia Walker
CCC Journalism Program
Ernesto Olmedo is a Camden County College sophomore majoring in fine arts. He continues his passion for the arts outside of the classroom by engaging in his creative projects. Olmedo replicates comic panels in his free time and is consumed by the comic book scene as his career goal is to become a comic book artist.
CCC art project
He is enrolled in 2D and 3D design as well as color theory classes, which he states gives him “a well-rounded education” on his major as well as providing him with “the basics of drawing and understanding art.” Currently his 3D design class is working on a sculpture project. Although Olmedo is used to traditional drawing, he is intrigued by the amount of time and effort that it takes to create a work of art.
Love for comic books
Olmedo’s love for comic books began when he was a young child. His father collected comics throughout his life and it sparked a passion in Olmedo. He began his personal collection in 2024 with the releases of the DC Comics Absolute runs. Olmedo’s favorite run of the Absolute series is Absolute Batman by Scott Snyder. He explains that this twist on the traditional Batman is very refreshing and continues to keep people engaged when they announce new issues on Wednesdays. Olmedo states he has “three long boxes full of comics” for his personal collection and he is working on getting a majority of his favorite covers signed by his favorite writers, artists and colorists.
Favorite comic book artist
Olmedo’s favorite writer and artist is Daniel Warren Johnson. He met Johnson twice in 2026 at Heroes Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, and at the New York Comic Convention. During his visits he states he “waited in line for hours” to meet his artists icon and had the opportunity to get about “60 comics” signed between the two conventions. This is a huge achievement for him because Johnson is an up-and-coming artist. Olmedo says some of his favorite works of Johnson are “Do a Power Bomb, The Moon is Following Us, Extremity and many others.” Johnson is releasing a comic named “Chainkata” which Olmedo is extremely excited about because the story and the art are done by Johnson.
New beginnings with painting
Olmedo has been trying to expans his talents and recently began painting in his spare time. He was inspired to begin painting after taking a color theory course at Camden County College this semester. He found it very interesting how well colors work together and how different colors envoke different emotions. Durinig this class, he was introduced to Liquitex paint, which gives him the ability to mix colors and try shadows and different techniques that he was taught in the course. Ernesto just completed his first painting on a mini canvas, which was an image of the Lego version of DC Clayface. He was very excited to show the final product as this is very different from his traditional drawings.
Future plans
Olmedo has been working as an associate at Dollar Tree since 2024 and was promoted to manager this month. Many of his coworkers enjoy his presence at work and are watching to see what he can draw throughout the day. Victoria Henderson, a store manager, said Olmedo is a “very hard worker and always draws when he has breaks at work.”
Although he is unsure about where he would like to continue his education after Camden County College, he knows that he would like to continue his art career. He admires the work of Johnson and “studies his linework” so that he can form his own style and hopes to continue to be inspired as his educational journey continues.
