Welcome back to our Employee Feature series, where we give you a “behind-the-scenes” look at our team. This week’s Meet Motion Source features Steve Brown, our newest team member and Project Manager.
Steve was born and raised in the Chicago suburb of Hickory Hills. He grew up in a big family, two brothers and two sisters, of which Steve is the middle child. Steve and his siblings got into comics at an early age, and when he turned 16, he started working at his neighborhood comic shop, eventually becoming the manager. While managing the comic shop, Steve attended college at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Shortly after graduating, Steve began work on his first graphic novel, launched and co-hosts Caffeinated Comics, a weekly podcast, and simultaneously opened his own comic book store, Chimera's Comics, in downtown La Grange in 2011. He has since grown that business to include a second location in Oak Lawn, IL.
Steve started working full-time at Motion Source in April 2017. Before then, however, he was no stranger to the team, as he freelanced as a storyboard artist, production assistant, grip, and boom mic operator.
Fun story from set: While scouting possible locations for a Halloween short, some crew members and I were out in the woods and came across two abandoned homes. Never one to shy away from an adventure, we began exploring the buildings. As we began our initial steps into the second house, we found what one would expect from decades-old abandoned structures. I started my decent into the basement slowly. It was dark, and I had to use my cell phone for a flashlight. About mid-way down the stairs, the light from my phone exposed a large, strange looking, leathery....thing. It was a full 30 seconds before I realized what I was looking at: the decomposing body of a deer. Never have I ever left a building so swiftly. How it got into the house and down into the basement is a mystery I will never know the answer to.
When he’s not at Motion Source: In my ample free time, I work a shift or two at the La Grange Chimera's Comics, I read and draw comic books, enjoy going to the movies, hang out with family and friends, and travel anywhere and everywhere the wind takes me, as often as possible.
You like comics. How did this all start? It all started back in 1993. My father took the children in the back of his 1941 Cadillac Hearse to a car show in Downer's Grove, IL, hoping it would spark a mutual interest in cars. Unfortunatelly for Bernie Brown's dreams, his children found a comic book store instead, and were hooked ever since. When asked years later about his dashed dreams, Bernie sighed, "Well at least it's comic books and not drugs."
Personal Mantra: Every problem has a solution.
Fun Fact: I am embroiled in a fierce, globe-trotting sibling rivalry that spans decades. My younger brother was the first to reach Europe, I was the first to reach Asia, and my older brother was the first to reach South America. I plan to take the lead when I reach Africa, but expect my younger brother to tie again when he makes it to Australia. I, not to be out done, may be the only sibling crazy enough to consider visiting Antarctica.
