Hi I’m Sebastian, the artist and writer behind Bello Bear. Bello officially began January 1st, 2025, but in reality Bello’s been in the works for many, many years.
Growing up, I was a big fan of comics during the 1970s and 80s. It started in Germany with Asterix, Lucky Luke and few other comic book series. When we moved to the US in 1980 for my Dad’s work, I started reading the daily newspaper comics. As a journalist, he always had subscriptions to several newspapers, so I had a broad selection to enjoy. I pretty much read the entire comics page, but some of my personal favorites were Garfield, Hagar the Horrible, Marmaduke, Peanuts, The Far Side, Calvin and Hobbes, and Bloom County.
During my younger years, I spent countless hours drawing my favorite comics, creating my own characters, and writing stories. It was just something I really loved to do. I never considered being creative would lead to a career path, but it led me to graphic arts and marketing, which I’ve done for over a quarter century (can’t believe it’s been that long). I even started my own small company years back, that has been very challenging but also fun.
Fast forward to 2024 where the last few years had been life changing, both good and bad. It made me pause for thought and consider what I want to do with the rest of my creative professional life. For inspiration I decided to look through some of my old work, specifically the stuff I created just for fun (mostly from my childhood). There were lots of characters and stories and it got me thinking about what I could do with them. I loved all the bits and pieces I had, but how could I put them together? That’s when it hit, they were perfect for creating a comic series, with Bello as the lead character.
So here we are, Bello Bear is a reality and I’m really having a blast with him. My graphics business continues on and do enjoy it, but in reality, I hope that Bello will be successful enough that I can do this full time moving forward… Anyway, that’s enough yammering about me. I really, really hope you enjoy Bello Bear as much as I do creating him!
Ps. Like you, I don’t like ads and that’s why Bello Bear is 100% fan supported. Please consider making a donation now to keep Bello Bear going. It’s a one-time donation, no subscriptions (I hate those too) and it helps pay for this website and supports my family. Thank you!
Pss. Lots of folks have asked about the pup in the picture. Her name is Harley and she’s a spoiled lil stinker. She’s a Shih Tzu with tons of personality that makes us smile and laugh everyday. As I type this, she’s laying on my desk in front of me and snoring loudly. Not sure how I’m supposed to work under these conditions.
