At a time when he felt uncertain he could break into the comic book industry, artist Jason Loo used Kick Starter to self-publish his own Toronto-based superhero comic, the Pitiful Human Lizard, in 2014. From there, Loo gradually established himself as an emerging talent with fellow creators and industry heavyweights taking notice.

"Working on the Pitiful Human Lizard was like, this was my one shot into seeing if I can make it, or just give up," said Loo. "I took everything I learned from college and all my experiences through making comics after I graduated and applied it into the Pitiful Human Lizard."

Loo worked on the lizard throughout high school and college, tweaking and changing the character over the years.

"If this book failed, at least people got a great idea about what this Toronto superhero was all about," he said.

To make the most of his KickStarter risk, Loo offered a 52-page first issue, where he showcased notable areas around Toronto and an Asian lead character that was relatable who didn't fall into clichés and racial stereotypes.

"We don't have many Asian lead characters that have their own titles," said Loo. "I felt there was this responsibility to own up to it, to display another perspective of an Asian comic lead that we have never seen before — [one] that doesn't know marital arts and all the other stereotypes people are familiar with when they see a token Asian character."

Issue one was a success immediately, and had three printings. The reception allowed Loo to self-publish five issues before the series was picked by the now-defunct Canadian publisher, Chapter House.

As the series concluded at 22 issues, more opportunities opened up for Loo.

With renowned Canadian comic artist Chip Zdarsky, Loo co-created Afterlift, a story about a ride share driver transporting mysterious characters travelling to hell.

The comiXology-published original story won Loo and Zdarsky a 2020 Eisner award for best digital comic.

While the success of the Pitiful Human Lizard and the Eisner award helped establish his name in the comic industry, it was a seven-year-old two-page sample of X-Corps' Multiple Man Loo shared on Twitter that caught the attention of Marvel comics.

Jason Loo's two-page sample of X-Corps' Multiple Man caught the attention of Marvel Comics. Photo courtesy of Jason Loo's Twitter account.

"The Marvel thing, it just came out of nowhere," he said. "You'd think it would come after Afterlift. A friend of mine dug that [Multiple Man] spread out, and shared it with Dan Slott, who is this famous Marvel writer who has worked on Spiderman, now works on Fantastic Four, he worked on Silver Surfer - he has done it all."

From there, Slott shared the work with Tom Breevoort, the senior vice-president of Marvel Comics, and Loo began work almost immediately.

To date, this works include X-Corps with Multiple Man and X-Men's Jubilee. Loo's upcoming work will be in Fantastic Four no.35, which will celebrate 60 years of the team in September.

"My first few Marvel gigs, I got to draw my favourite Marvel characters — Multiple Man, Jubilee and Ben Grimm," said Loo. "I've checked off my bucket list with Marvel."

Looking back on the seven-year journey from his KickStarter risk to his current position with Marvel, Loo said he is content that the opportunities came step by step.

"I look back on that Multiple Man comic and I was so green," he said. I really wanted to work for Marvel at the time, and looking back now, I'm at a right time right now to work for Marvel - I'm very confident with my skills."

Listen to Jason Loo's full interview here: