As a Norman, Oklahoma native, Breyden Boyd has been working towards cultivating a creative space in his home state for years. As a child, Breyden was often drawing and designing superheroes that he could relate to. Somewhere along the way in his adolescence, he took a break and found other hobbies as he entered his teenage years. However, his love for creative media was restored when he found his binder of old heroes as he cleaned out his room when moving off to college. In that moment, all of the memories of the importance of art and artistic expression came rushing back. He knew he had to do something with these pieces, so he started tinkering with the idea of redrawing them and throwing some videos of them onto social media. His videos gained traction quickly and he realized that the love he had for these heroes was overwhelming. Crafting their backstories, designing their costumes, imagining the settings of their stories, and organizing a cast of characters to support and oppose them turned into a passion before he knew it. He began writing, sketching, and coloring full story comics for one of his heroes, Shape-Man. As Breyden’s comic took off, he extended the story into a trilogy and created the comic company, Shape Comics. Since the release of Shape-Man #1, he has released 6 comics in total under the company while also launching and successfully selling branded merchandise such as shirts, trading cards, stickers, posters.
Around the time Shape-Man #1 was released, Breyden was in his early college years at the University of Oklahoma working on graphic design. His interests began to change as he progressed at the University and he switched his major to Film and Media Studies. He also added a minor of Professional Writing. While juggling the comics world, Breyden started to write scripts for films and even had the chance to direct two of the horror comedy films he wrote with a student-led film production company called Greenlight Creative Productions. Around this time, Breyden switched the name of his comic company to Shape Studios, to expand its potential to incorporate other kinds of creative media.
Breyden’s hope with the company, and with his personal comic and film projects, is to help be part of the vast community of creatives in Oklahoma that are working to broaden the Oklahoma film and media industry. In the Shape-Man Trilogy, you will find the humans that take the alien in and foster him are a Chickasaw father-daughter duo that live an authentically modern Native lifestyle in Oklahoma. Breyden works to make the stories he writes relatable and relevant to any reader or viewer. As an indigenous filmmaker and writer, he brings an especially unique but integral perspective to life in the state.
As his career has progressed, Breyden has had the opportunity to intern with DSTLRY Media as well as work as a writing assistant for established DC and Marvel comics writer, Stephanie Phillips (Phoenix, Wonder Woman, Spider-Gwen). When Breyden isn’t writing or drawing, he may be on an author’s visit with the local schools as sponsored by the school district Indian Education Program, teaching classes at the Chickasaw Nation Arts Academy, doing freelance work for big time brands, or spending time with his wife and their three cats. He also finds the time to watch movies, read horror novels, and take walks. He has also been known to spend time shopping for Halloween decorations in the middle of June