WIZARD WORLD CHICAGO: MIKE NORTON

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Is there a comic-book artist with a more diverse agenda than Mike Norton?

He certainly seems ready to take on different styles, different genres and different publishers. Take a look at his work plate:

* The first of Norton's three issues on Marvel Comics' The Runaways starts with #19 on August 16.

* He will be contributing to Stephen Colbert's Alpha Squad 7: Lady Nocturne: A Tek Jansen Adventure, a project featuring the Comedy Central show host just announced by Oni Press.

* His run on Spider-Man Adventures, touted by editor-in-chief Joe Quesada as Marvel's top subscription title, is coming to an end.

* He's got another issue of Teen Titans Go!, this one featuring Jericho, coming up.

And let's not forget his past work -- teenage drama of The Waiting Place, science fiction of Jason and the Argobots, agent action of Queen & Country, super-heroics of Gravity, his Devil's Due duties as art director/artist on G.I. Joe and Voltron and likeness-driven work on IDW's Angel Spotlight -- to name a few.

"I love the variety," Norton, 33, told The Continuum over the weekend at Wizard World Chicago, his hometown convention. "It might be nice to kind of settle on something and have a regular series, but I don't get bored this way. I like to do different things."

In terms of style, Runaways is closest to the "real" Mike Norton these days, the artist said. (See the cover by Jo Chen and preview pages by Norton above.) He got the gig through Runaways assistant editor Nathan Cosby, who worked with Norton on Marvel Adventures Spider-Man.

"It fit perfect into my schedule," he said. "It's one of my favorite books, so I jumped at the chance.

"It's really a refreshing look at super-heroes. It's more about the characters than what people do with their powers. And Brian Vaughan is one of those guys that everybody wants to work with."

Vaughan has been pleased to work with Norton as well.

"Mike is an incredible artist," Vaughan told The Continuum. "He draws kids who look like actual kids, not just small adults. He totally captured the feel of Runaways, but really made the characters his own.

"In this next arc, the Runaways are facing a much bigger threat than anything they've ever encountered before, and Mike absolutely nailed our new villain."

Norton said he is into his third issue of the "Dead Means Dead" arc, which Marvel is describing as a jumping-on point to the series but keeping details to a minimum.

His favorite Runaway member?

"Gert, but they killed her," Norton said, laughing. "I guess my favorite now is the youngest one, Molly. And the dinosaur (Old Lace) is fun to draw."

Fun might be the common denominator of Norton's current works. He said he's enjoyed working with Peter David on Marvel Adventures Spider-Man, which will include an upcoming team-up with Hawkeye as the heroes battle Frankenstein.

"Yeah, I'm having fun," Norton said. "All kinds."