Dawn Best

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Dawn Best
Dawn Best at Pittsburgh Comicon, 2009
Born	Muncy, Pennsylvania
Notable works	Sonic the Hedgehog, VARULV, Sylvanna, Heissdampfreaktor

Dawn Marie Best-Eshleman is an American artist, game designer and author known for her work in the Archie Comics version of Sonic the Hedgehog. She is currently a freelance artist, author, and software developer.

Comic work[]

Best was employed at 19 and became one of Archie's youngest creators.^[1] Her first issue of Sonic was issue #101 (2001), and she has remained active at Archie since. She has since appeared as both guest and attendee of conventions and holding annual charity auctions of original artwork. She has been credited with contributing to several other graphic novels as both artist and writer, including web serials Sylvanna and Heißdampfreaktor. In 2010, she began production on graphic novel series, VARULV, which became the premier comic book released by her own Gloryhound Network in February 2011. In 2012 she created a limited print-edition of her serial Daemonology under the Gloryhound name. In 2013 Sylvanna was also added to the roster as a joint-effort between her and Sonic writer, Ian Flynn after it successfully was funded via Kickstarter in one night, and went on to double its original funding goal.

Best cites Patrick Spaziante, one of her peers while working for Archie Comics, as one of her main influences in the art of cartooning and penciling. Others include Joe Madureira, J. Scott Campbell, and Mike Deodato.

Game Development[]

As of 2015, Best has served as Creative Director for EVOLV Games and has produced two titles for the company. She was responsible for all of the artwork as well as server-side programming on Age of the Four Clans, a small-scale online role-playing game released in 2016. Another title, Harmonic Odyssey: The Five Gods is in development with a projected release date of Q4 2021. A demo of Harmonic was released in Q4 2019, and Best was responsible for artwork, musical score, writing, and programming duties on the title.

Activism[]

Her father, brother, grandparents and uncle all served in various branches of the United States military, and in 2002, Best held her first auction of original art in support of the Fisher House, to which she still contributes, today. In recent years, she has been outspoken about the high cost of a college education versus its necessity for young artists, and has marketed the Gloryhound brand around this mantra.^[2] An ordained minister, Best's personal causes often revolve around supporting LGBT marriage equality and suicide prevention, especially among LGBT youth. Many of her original art auctions also support these efforts.

Personal life[]

Best resides in rural Pennsylvania and is married to musician Matthew Eshleman. The couple have one daughter.

References[]

External links[]

• Dawn Best's Artstation Page
• Harmonic Odyssey: The Five Gods
• Age of the Four Clans
• Sylvanna.net
• Dawn Best's deviantART Page