About Us
Why Do We Dream?
Because It Keeps Us Alive.
We named ourselves Radical Dreamers Creative Development because each word is a definitive statement of who we are and what we do. It is a radical idea, to think that made up fantasies have true and lasting importance. Yet here each of us are: fundamentally changed by stories we have read, characters we have loved, and worlds we’ve received glimpses into. So we dreamed. We decided that we would start from scratch and shoot for the cosmos. We decided to never believe for a moment that it couldn’t be done. We had to get creative. A story doesn’t reach your hands because we had a great idea. It gets to you because we met the right people, we came up with solutions, we dodged bullets by the skin of our teeth, and all along we dedicated our minds to making our worlds rich and real. We know we aren’t the only ones with good ideas. But we know how much work it takes to birth them into the world. That’s why we chose our last word: development. We want to help, in any way we can, to bring a story to life, and we know the best works come from collaboration. We have stories to tell, yes…but so do you.
The Radical Dreamers Creative Development Team:
“There are voices unheard and places unseen. There are truths we must learn that we can only accept through story. We Radical Dreamers aspire to craft our imaginations into catalysts for good. We toil in faith that our dedication will forge a bridge between our dreams and yours.”
Mathias Hanten
Owner, Co-Founder, Director of Business
Mathias “Matt” Hanten, is the grounding force of Radical Dreamers Creative Development. Having received his Masters in Business from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, he has been indispensable in turning this wild dream into a reality. Establishing the LLC with the help of lawyers, securing RDCD its first contract (which provided the initial funding for the comics), and building this very website are all duties that have made up the very tip of the iceberg that is Matt Hanten’s role here. If that wasn’t enough, he is also the lead writer on “Full Send” and contributes deeply to the development of every RDCD project.
When he was first starting this business with his friend Terran, Mathias’s mother gave him a comic book she had found in her storage. It was one Matt had drawn when he was about eight years old, and it still slapped. To him it felt like a validation, that though he had taken some detours here and there, he was heading back to where he belonged.
Almost every single story in the RDCD arsenal began in Matt’s mind; an image, a moment, a character, a setting – some spark that would catch into flame. (Honestly he has more ideas than we can keep up with at the moment, so buy some merch or something so we can hire more artists, please.)
[When he is not working on this company – or for his other full time job – Mathias golfs or snowboards with his wife, lays it down on the drums, takes his fishing rod out to the rivers with his boys, and maintains his champion’s rank in Rocket League.]
Andy Gordon
Illustrator (Full Send)
Andy Gordon put the stars in our hands. In the search for someone capable of blending playful characters and beautiful galactic expanses Andy has proved himself many-fold. He immediately saw the heart of “Full Send” and took the mantra for law in his approach.
He so often captured the essence of a scene when creating this comic, that writers Matt and Terran often found themselves able to remove whole swaths of exposition or explanation. Jokes came to life, and characters bloomed. A considerate collaborator with a shipping crate of his own ideas, Andrew Gordon made himself indispensable to the Radical Dreamers team.
Andy graduated from SCAD with an MFA in Sequential art, and since then he has been working full time as a freelance artist. Andy has been a featured artist at Neighborhood Comics in Savannah and Nirvana Comics Knoxville.
If (like us) you want more of Andy, check out some of his other published comics, such as “Benny and the Lich” on his website, and follow him on social media!
www.andygordonart.com
@andygordonart (instagram)
Terran West
Writer
“All my heroes are imaginary.”
Terran West may as well be made of paper and ink. Suitcases of drafts and redrafts and world notes and character profiles make up most of Terran’s physical possessions. More than half of his phone storage is used up by years of poems packed into his Notes App. Though for many years he believed he would become a mathematician (and he does still study physics in his free time) it was never the thing he did best.
In the years working to establish Radical Dreamers Creative Development, Terran West has finally found a job that doesn’t feel like work – one that he can put his whole person behind. Creating worlds, crafting characters, weaving in twists and tears, and working alongside talented artists is a dream come true. Even budgeting and accounting has become kind of fun.
Terran’s respect for the audience and the world of storytelling is the magnetic north to his compass. All he wants to do is share these dreams with you. Please help him.
[If he isn’t working his full time job or grinding for RDCD, Terran helps raise his daughter, practices martials arts, and climbs mountains – in addition to a healthy dose of video games, Dungeons and Dragons, and media consumption.]
Ken Krekeler
Illustrator (Acclaim)
Ken Krekeler is an indescribable and untamable force of the wild. Working with him is like sharing an office with an rabid ocelot, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. There’s never a conversation with him that doesn’t include laughter. He quickly synced with the RDCD team, and the back and forth collaboration made Acclaim what it is.
Ken brought over fifteen years of industry experience to the team, having publish a number of his own works including “Westward” and “Dryspell”. His role goes far beyond the art on the page, as Krekeler has advised in many of the decision making processes regarding this series. His improvisation in action scenes brought motion to the page and captured the raw and visceral beauty in combat.
It is hard to describe Ken Krekeler. He is a mystery wrapped around a puzzle-box trapped inside an escape room, and with your help, the RDCD team can keep him around until we figure him out.
Learn more about him (if you dare) and purchase some of his other amazing work on his website:
www.kenkrekeler.com