Interviewed on NBC Latino.Com

There's a new interview with me up on NBC Latino.Com. 

I was contacted due to my role in the Latino Comics Expo, which is happening this weekend in San Francisco, once again at the Cartoon Art Musuem. In addition to talking about the Expo, we also discussed my own comics work.

Please click the link to read the interview, and if you're inclined to leave a comment on their site, please do so!

And hope to see you at the Latino Comics Expo in San Francisco this June 1 & 2!

3 more titles in my Webshop are sold out/out of print

Three more of my comics are now "Out of Stock" in my Webshop!

COMIC POP!, MANGA MUERTO Vol 1 and THE COMA.

 

Along with the previously announce MAN-SWAMP and EL MUERTO: DEAD & CONFUSED, that brings my number of Out-of-Print books up to 5!

I'm always glad, of course, when people purchase my books.
With the unfortunate demise of IC GEEKS PUBLISHING last year, I've not found a suitable printer for my floppy comics. And by suitable I mean 'good pricing'. Shopping around, I find way fewer financially attractive choices in terms of a POD (print on demand) comic book printers. POD allows me to order a nominal number of copies at a time. Ordering 50-100 copies of a book at a time is reasonable, giving the shows I do, and other outlets I have to sell my books. The great thing about POD is that I could always order another batch of books when I needed them.

I'm in the process of putting together THE LOS COMEX CODEX, a paperback collection of my out-of-print books, but that won't be released until a few more months.

The thing is, I really designing in the floppy comic book format. Most of my books include additional artwork on the back covers, inside covers, plus I usually include behind-the-scenes text pieces on each book, including production art and thumbnails of the original pages. But that makes the printed copies special once they're sold out! The folks who have them will have something a little different from those who read them in paperback form. And yes, I realize that I need to get my books in digital formats as well. But even those will have contents different than the printed versions.

I think that the most unique book I had in my product line was COMIC POP!

 
This book featured rare work of mine, some done for other creator's comics. In 2008 I had contributed to an appearance in the BALDO newspaper strip, where El Muerto showed up in Baldo's world. With a special arrangement with creators Hector Cantu and Carolos Castellanos, I had permission to reprint the multi-part storyline in this comic.

While these three titles are no longer available in the Webshop, there are a few copies probably floating around in some of the shops I have them in. I always keep one or two copies of each of my titles for file copies. Since I won't be going back and printing these titles, at least not in their current format, any copies that turn up at my convention appearances will be placed in that 'Out-of-Print' category. Aimed more at serious collectors and completists, if you know what I mean.....

Check out my Webshop if you'd like to purchase my remaining titles, and thanks to all who've supported me in the past. Your purchases and readership are very much appreciated. 

Interviewed on HISPANIC.COM

I've got a brief interview over at Hispanic.Com. 

We talk about creating comics, the Muerto movie and working with younger artists, among other things!

Check it out. And they also have an interview with me and Ricardo Padilla about starting the Latino Comics Expo. 

I'll be at the WHAM BANG POW - THE RETRO EDITION tonight

The follow-up to last November's inaugural WHAM! BANG! POW! art show is happening tonight at The Vex.

I'll be there selling my ever-dwindling supply of floppy comics, as well as my Poster Comics and prints. I'll also have my brand-new Sketch Posters....

It comes printed with full-color images of my characters, along with a unique hand-drawn sketch!

The event begins at 8pm tonight. Check out their Facebook page for more details!  

LOLIPOP KID & CUP CAT Poster Comic plus a free Comic Book Workshop!

If you couldn't tell I've been exceptionally busy by my lack of posts so far this year, the fact that I finally had time to devote to creating a new Poster Comic should prove that!

Here it is, my latest one-page comic, starring LoliPop Kid & Cup Cat!

These two characters are ones that I've been using for the last several years in my comic book workshops. When demonstrating to the students methods on creating a comic page, I use Lolipop Kid and Cup Cat as characters in the lesson. I solicit ideas from the class on which way to take the story, then I'll illustrate each panel as they describe the action.

It's a great way to engage them in the storytelling process, after which they begin working on designing their own characters and later, draw their own comic.

I had never created my own story with these two, so I thought it'd be fun to use them for a Poster Comic. The artwork was produced soley via computer, on a program called Illustrator. The lines are all drawn in what's called 'vector art', a process which I'm lousy at describing but it's produced with either the 'pen' or 'pencil' tool (I used both).

It's a little hard to read at the size it appears here, but if you go to my page on DeviantArt, and click on the image once you see the page, you'll open up a much larger, more readable version.

It was fun working on a real simple, all-ages comic. This comic can also function as a guide to storytelling with comics, so it'll serve an instructional purpose in addition to it's entertainment value.

And lest anyone think I've lost my 'edge', here's a peek at the character for my next Poster Comic....

By the way, speaking of workshops, I'll be conducting one of my free "Let's Make Comics!" workshops this weekend at the Hastings Branch Library in Pasadena. No registration is required. The workshop is being brought to you by the Library as part of their FREE COMIC BOOK DAY celebration, so join in the fun and let's make comics!