by Andrew Henderson

A G. Ray Bodley High School graduate is one of five finalists selected in the Marvel Motion Comics Competition.

Eric Hunn, son of Peter and Carol Hunn of Forest Avenue in Fulton, has a chance to win the grand prize of $10,000 and the opportunity to showcase his work across Marvel’s digital network.

Aniboom, the world’s first virtual animation studio, made the announcement that Hunn is one of five finalists selected for the motion-comic competition. The competition is a collaboration between Aniboom and Marvel Entertainment, one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies. Those characters include Spider Man, Iron Man, Captain America, the Incredible Hulk, and the X-Men, including Wolverine.

A high number of original motion comics—more than 10 hours total—were submitted in a six-week period from Aniboom’s community of nearly 8,000 animators from across the globe. Marvel’s panel of judges narrowed the contest down to the top five.

Hunn’s entry, which featured motion comic interpretations of comic book stories starring renowned Super Heroes Wolverine, the Incredible Hulk, and Nova, received the highest number of internet views.

His work depicts the Wolverine in an epic battle with the Hulk in Canada’s Great White North.

As a finalist, Hunn will receive $2,000 to expand his motion comic into a full-length story. Since the week of Oct. 26, the motion comics created by the five finalists have been featured animations on Aniboom’s YouTube Channel. The winner will be announced Nov. 16 after a one-week viewing and voting period on Aniboom.com.

“Aniboom’s community has brought Marvel’s iconic figures to life with these striking motion comics,” said Uri Shinar, founder and CEO of Aniboom. “We have a talented pool of animators that are consistently demonstrating their versatility, creativity, and prolificacy, generating more than 10 hours of motion comics. Their body of work has significantly increased the number of motion comics that exists today.”

Though many entries had a 3-D influence, Hunn’s focused on the two-dimensional realm in order to treat the subject matter with a traditional comic-book feel.

Hunn, who began drawing comic-book characters while in Larry Mitchelson’s art class at Lanigan Elementary School, is a 2002 graduate of G. Ray Bodley High School where he designed the diversity mural.

He earned a bachelor’s degree of fine arts from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2006 before becoming the graphic artist for WSTM(TV) Channel 3 in Syracuse.

He lives in Marlborough, Mass. and is a staff artist at Scholastic Publication’s Tom Synder Productions. He also teaches animation at Mount Ida College in Newton, Mass.

The final version of his Marvel entry may be seen at Aniboom.com or direct via http://www.aniboom.com/competitions/Marvel/397239/The-Worst-Part-About-Getting-Your-Memories-Back/.