Former “Justice League” artist Kevin Maguire discusses his early days in comics

AUSTIN, Texas — While Wizard World’s Austin Comic Con featured an array of movie and television stars, comics also were a focus at last weekend’s show. In attendance were Nathan Edmondson (“Who Is Jake Ellis?,” “Grifter”), Greg Capullo (“Batman”), Robert Wilson (“Knuckleheads,”) Kevin Maguire (“Justice League”) and Freddie Williams II (“Captain Atom”).

Maguire and Williams entertained fans and would-be creators in a panel aimed at sharing tips on breaking in to comics. Maguire, who’s been professionally drawing since the mid-1980s, cracked up the crowd, saying he wasn’t sure how he got in and couldn’t really explain how he’d stayed in the industry so long.

“I haven’t broken in since 1986; it’s so different now,” he said. “I’m just here to provide color commentary.”

Maguire sent in samples in the early 1980s to Marvel. That led to his becoming part of Romita’s Raiders, an internship-type program at Marvel doing corrections and working with art director John Romita. During that time, he also sent samples to editor Andy Helfer at DC, which led to Maguire’s being offered a comic book at DC Comics.