Today we’d like to introduce you to Ray Reynet.
Hi Ray, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’ve had a pencil in my hand for as long as I can remember. As a toddler in pre-K, I was constantly doodling, filling pages with characters, scenes, and ideas that felt bigger than I was. Long before I understood storytelling or structure, I was already trying to make sense of the world through drawings. Comics became my first language, a way to express thoughts and emotions that words alone couldn’t carry.
As I grew older, those early drawings evolved into something more focused. By middle school, the ideas that had lived in my sketchbooks began to connect, forming the foundation of a story that would stay with me for years: JUNKET. What started as fragments of imagination slowly became a living world, shaped by mythology, adventure, faith, and wonder. JUNKET wasn’t just a project; it was a place I returned to as I grew, refining it alongside my own understanding of life and purpose.
From 2020 to 2023, I formally studied art, hoping to sharpen my skills and find my footing in the creative world. That chapter, however, came with difficult lessons. The school I attended ultimately closed, leaving me without the degrees I was promised and with significant debt. It was a disillusioning experience, but also a clarifying one. I realized early that no institution could define my worth or guarantee my future. If I wanted to create meaningful work, I had to take full responsibility for my path.
Rather than letting that moment stop me, I committed more deeply to my craft. I taught myself how to self-publish, how to print and distribute books, and how to connect directly with readers. Through persistence and trial, JUNKET: Hidden Worlds Revealed emerged as an independent comic rooted in emotional storytelling and timeless imagination. Influenced by creators like Jack Kirby, Osamu Tezuka, classic Disney, and early animation, my goal was never to chase trends, but to create something sincere, something that felt enduring.
I believe deeply that if we stop creating original ideas and stories that truly mean something to people, art loses its soul. Storytelling, especially in comics, carries a unique power. The marriage of words and images allows ideas to live in a space that is both intimate and expansive. Comics can be quiet or explosive, simple or profound, and they invite readers to participate in the act of imagining. That is a power worth protecting.
As JUNKET continued to grow, I felt compelled to explore its world beyond the page. Alongside my childhood friends, I began engineering a JUNKET video game, returning to the same collaborative spirit that fueled my earliest creations. At the same time, I started teaching myself animation, learning every step of the process hands-on. This led to early animation development connected to JUNKET and to the creation of my short animated film, Gunny: Golgotha, an atmospheric night drive through an alien cityscape that reflects my love for mood, worldbuilding, and visual storytelling.
Today, JUNKET has become a local cult favorite in Florida comic shops. I’ve built my own distribution network, spoken on comic convention panels, and released a short documentary, Why I Make Comics, to share not just the work itself, but the reason behind it. Each step forward has been guided less by permission and more by persistence, belief, and a refusal to let the work disappear.
Ultimately, I create because I want my stories to bring hope and inspiration to people. I want readers to feel seen, curious, and reminded of why imagination matters. Comics shaped who I am, and through JUNKET and the worlds that follow, I want to give something back. This is my introduction, not just as an artist, but as a storyteller who believes that original ideas still matter, and that stories, when made with honesty, can endure. Upwards & Onwards!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road has never been smooth. Doubt, fear, financial pressure, and the constant pull of time have been long-enduring battles, ones that have only grown heavier with age and responsibility, especially through loss and deaths in my family. There are moments when the weight of uncertainty feels overwhelming, when the question of whether continuing is worth it creeps in quietly and pushes me to my limit, breaking me down into tears of impatient disappointment.
What has carried me through those moments is faith. By believing in something far greater than myself, and by placing my trust in Jesus Christ through prayer, I have found the strength to keep going when my own resolve was no longer enough. Faith has given me perspective. It reminds me that my work is not rooted in success or recognition, but in obedience, purpose, and perseverance, even when the path feels unclear.
In a practical sense, I am simply a small dreamer with a few drawings, standing against a massive, ever-growing monopoly now backed by artificial intelligence. The entertainment companies that once sparked hope and inspiration in my childhood have transformed into cold, money-driven machines, focused more on consumption than meaning. The scale of that reality can feel intimidating, even crushing at times.
Yet with my faith and my pencil, I feel like David standing before Goliath. I don’t believe battles are won through size, power, or technology, but through truth, conviction, and faith. No matter how overwhelming the opposition may seem, I trust that God will ultimately prevail. My role is simply to keep creating, to keep believing, and to keep moving forward, even when the road is difficult.
Jesus Still Lives through us.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a writer, illustrator, and independent comic creator specializing in original worldbuilding and visual storytelling. I am best known for JUNKET: Hidden Worlds Revealed, a mythology-driven comic universe I’ve been developing since middle school and self-publishing through Amazon and selling at conventions and in local Florida comic shops like Tate’s Comics, and many others.
What I am most proud of is building my work independently. I taught myself how to write, draw, publish, and distribute without relying on major studios or institutions, while also expanding JUNKET into early animation and a video game developed alongside my childhood friends.
What sets me apart is my deep love for ancient mythology, theology, history, epic poems, Greek tragedies, fairy tales, and folklore. I have studied the greats in literature like Homer, Ovid, Virgil, Milton, Dante, Shakespeare, and I strive to always implement the strongest elements of those traditions into a medium that is often overlooked. My goal is to breathe new life into a comic industry that has become repetitive and mundane, bringing stories rooted in transformation, meaning, and, most importantly, hope.
How do you define success?
I don’t define success by money, fame, wealth, or material things. Those come and go, and they were never the reason I create. True success, to me, is measured in inspiration.
I thrive on bringing people joy through creativity, giving them a place to escape, to wonder, and to imagine worlds beyond their own. When I create, I often imagine what the four-year-old version of myself would think and feel if he were seeing my work for the first time. If that younger, innocent mind feels awe, excitement, and childlike wonder, I know the work carries something timeless, something capable of reaching the hearts and minds of my readers.
Sparking the imagination of both young and old is the most rewarding thing I know how to do. Moments at comic conventions, especially when I meet young aspiring artists whose eyes light up with curious wonder, are when I feel the most fulfilled. In those moments, I know the work matters.
Even if my name is long forgotten, I believe I’ve stored my treasures in heaven. If my stories leave behind a spark of hope, creativity, or belief in something greater for someone else, then I will consider that a life and a career well lived.
Upwards and Onwards.
Pricing:
- All My Books “Junket Hidden Worlds Revealed” are all out now Amazon Each of them are 10 dollars.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://farlookstudios.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rayreynet/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ray-reynet-853295254/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Farlook-studios/videos
