In the world of comic book heroes, there’s the good, the bad, and the downright incompetent. Case in point: Ridley and Falstaff, the tragically inept team found inside Cemetery Blues— a comic book produced by local creators Ryan Rubio and Thomas (T.A.) Boatwright.

“We figured people have seen plenty of superheroes who are actually good at their job,” says Rubio, the author of the series. “Why not go the complete opposite direction?”

As monster hunters, Ridley and Falstaff spend their evenings patrolling the English countryside, succeeding only by complete accident. The duo comes equipped with an impressive list of shortcomings: They’re inefficient, arrogant, out-of-shape, and possess no superpowers. And forget formidable weapons, their arsenal consists of a few gardening tools and a lone baseball bat.

If there’s one thing the duo has going for them, however, it’s their creators, Rubio and Boatwright. Much like Ridley and Falstaff, the two have met their share of adversity along the way, yet continue to rise above it.

Unlike their creations, however, the two creators didn’t luck into their success. They reached it through tireless dedication to their work.

Rubio and Boatwright first crossed paths in 2005 while collaborating on a horror movie screenplay. Although the movie ended up falling through, the two remained in close contact. Rubio was convinced that his writing style — quick and clever with a touch of absurdity — could mesh well with Boatwright’s engagingly dark artwork.

One day, Rubio was thumbing through some of Boatwright’s “throwaway” sketches when he came across a drawing that instantly grabbed his attention. It showed a tall, slender gentleman (Ridley) fighting a vampire alongside a portly, Igor-esque sidekick (Falstaff). The drawing was just as creepy as it was comical, and would serve as the catalyst for the entire Cemetery Blues series.

From there, the creators simply “made their own way in the business,” according to Boatwright. The first order of business was to produce a tangible copy of the comic book to distribute. So in May 2005, they scraped up what little money they had and printed the first copy of Cemetery Blues at a local Office Depot.

With their creation in hand, the two started building a grassroots fanbase at regional comic book conventions. In June of 2006, the pair got a huge boost when — thanks to some brilliant marketing tactics — they became the stars of the annual Heroes Convention held in Charlotte.

“Part of the comic book’s appeal was that there was really nothing quite like it out there,” Rubio says.

One of the most notable differences might be the comic book’s color, or lack thereof. So far, only the front covers have appeared in color.

“At first, we made Cemetery Blues black and white to keep the cost down,” Boatwright says. “It works for us, though, because we have an old, monster-movie feel to the book.”

Cemetery Blues began attracting more and more fans, including some of the “big boys” in the comic book industry.

In January of 2008, Rubio and Boatwright got the break they’d been hoping for when Image/Shadowline — one of the largest comic book distributors in the world — decided to take a chance on the project, signing Rubio and Boatwright to a multi-issue deal.

“The main difference now is that we’re able to put a better product in the hands of a wider audience,” Boatwright says.

More than that, Rubio says, the Image/Shadowline affiliation adds a sense of legitimacy to their work.

“People recognize [Image/Shadowline],” he explains, “and that makes them more likely to give our comic book a try.

“Now I can die knowing I’ve contributed something creative to the world,” he quips.

As for the immediate future, Rubio and Boatwright will continue to balance their dream of creating comics with the reality of funding normal lives. Both of them still hold day jobs, Rubio working as production supervisor at WXII 12 News, and Boatwright serving as a photo specialist for Tim Talley Photography Inc. in Reidsville. While they have no qualms about their “real” jobs, they’re hoping that one day, making comics can become their full-time profession.

But until then, they’ll continue to lead dual lives — keeping one foot planted in reality, and the other planted happily in the grave.

Cemetery Blues is available at local comic shops. Recently, Image/Shadowline released The Unearthed Cemetery Blues, a collection containing Rubio and Boatwright’s work to date in the series. The book is available at local comic shops, or through Borders and Amazon.com. For more on Cemetery Blues, go to myspace.com/cemeteryblues.