STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- When super villains attack New York City, theres only one Staten Islander to call: Richard Perotta.

Perotta, 51, of West Brighton is a freelance comic book artist who has had the experience of working for both DC Comics and Marvel Comics.

The native of Bay Ride, Brooklyn, said his father introduced him to comics and coloring books at the age of 4 and he has been practicing art as long as he can remember.

"Drawing is amongst the oldest forms of communication and, for me, I communicate what Im feeling, what Im thinking and what Im seeing through my drawing. I love it; its part of me, he said.

Its telling a story with what Im able to do he added. Thats my favorite thing to do in this world."

Comic artist Richard Perotta of West Brighton specializes in drawing and designing superhero cartoon characters. (Staten Island Advance/ Victoria Priola)

His youthful imagination and passion for drawing created a foundation that helped him land his first comic book job as an adult: An inker at Marvel Comics.

After three application submissions, Perotta was hired in the mid-to-late 1990s.

Half of it is talent and half of it is being at the right place at the right time, he said.

During his 10-year career at Marvel, Perotta worked on classics like Avengers and X-Men. He was in charge of placing black line to the pencil artwork, giving two-dimensional work a textured feel. The process is one of the final steps a comic goes through before being printed.

While he did not get to meet comic legend Stan Lee (trust us, we asked), Perotta said, I knew when I was at Marvel, it was the opportunity of a lifetime. I just learned as much as I could and really took in the talent I was surrounded around.

Comic artist Richard Perotta of West Brighton specializes in drawing and designing superhero cartoon characters. (Staten Island Advance/ Victoria Priola)

After Marvel, he tested the freelance field before signing a two-year contract with DC Comics -- home of Superman and Batman.

If you really love creating, youll learn how to do it independently, said Perotta, who did not attend art school. Instead, he said he relied on books detailing human anatomy in order to correctly proportion characters he created.

Asked what advice he would give budding artists, he said, You have to do your research and the best way youre going to learn is practice.

Staten Islanders can catch Perotta working at local coffee shops like Fab Cup in West Brighton, where he designed one of the multiple tabletop pieces. For more of Perottas work, follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

Comic artist Richard Perotta of West Brighton specializes in drawing and designing superhero cartoon characters. (Staten Island Advance/ Victoria Priola)

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Meet the Staten Island comic book artist who creates superheroes - SILive.com