The Amazing Journey of Indie Creator Dennis Valencia and “The Celestial Knight”

I met indie creator Dennis Valencia at Awesome Con in Washington, D.C. in June of 2022 — yes, the same time when I met other indie creators, like Jack Harris, Jr., Ryan Dunlavey, and Scott Cox. Dennis has been working on his comic for over 30 years. First as an idea and art, and later as a full-fledged story. To me, “The Celestial Knight” feels like it was influenced by ROM, Batman, and Silver Surfer, and at the same time, completely new. I spoke with Dennis while he was at his booth.

INDIE COMICS ZONE:
Tell us about your comic book!

DENNIS VALENCIA:
Sure! This is the character, Jeremy Vasquez. It’s about his journey, and how he discovers his powers. His best friend is a dog named Norman, who was actually my actual dog. And he’s actually my best friend. So, he’s the costar, the story.

“The Celestial Knight” is about he gets his powers, how he deals with it. His whole gig is that he’s a protector. As a father, as a husband, it’s all about protection. He gets his powers and he fights a Kaiju in Times Square in New York City. It’s 36 pages long of just getting to know the character.

INDIE COMICS ZONE:
How many issues will be part of the “The Celestial Knight” series?

DENNIS VALENCIA:
It’s going to be three issues. In issue three, he meets his rouge’s gallery. There, he goes from defending his town to defending the Earth. I have big plans for him.

INDIE COMICS ZONE:
How are you getting the physical copies out to your fans?

DENNIS VALENCIA:
We have distribution with Golden and we have the distribution with Maverick. This book will be in comic stores, six months from now to a year. The guys I work with are in Australia, so I’ll have international distribution with them. We’re getting their baby steps, but we already are in comics for ourselves. My dreams are coming true, but it just hasn’t sunk in yet.

And then my one of my guys, has a character named Caspian Porter. He’s an intergalactic postman, and basically, he delivers mail throughout the universe. The stories are about the mayhem which happens when he’s delivering those packages.

INDIE COMICS ZONE:
You mentioned that you’ve been working on this character for a while…

DENNIS VALENCIA:
Yes. I’m the artist and I’ve been drawing since 1982. Creating the book, pencil drawn in color. My strength obviously is my art. But, since this was my first time writing, I really wanted to make a great store that complemented the art.

INDIE COMICS ZONE:
As an indie creator, what was the hardest part of this project for you?

DENNIS VALENCIA:
My advice to anyone… don’t wait. One of the things… I kept a lot of this story to myself. And many people asked, ‘Why didn’t you want to promote yourself?’ And I say, ‘I think intrinsically, I didn’t want to talk about something I wasn’t comfortable with.’ I can’t talk to a game or have confidence when I’m talking about when my art will stand by itself.

I know my art I know is good. But when it comes to storytelling… that’s my craft I’m working on now. And I couldn’t speak to it. Because for me, it’s not something that is a strength. I’ve worked really hard on that’s why when I say I want people to read it.