I'll have a limited Latino Comics Expo Exclusive Edition of MANGA MUERTO: The Classic Collection available this March 15 & 16 in Modesto, CA!
You might know that I'm the co-founder of the Latino Comics Expo, begun back in 2011 at our first event at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco, CA. Since then we've done a total of 8 shows across California and last year we even went to Brownsville, TX!
For this year's event at Modesto Junior College, I've got a new edition of last year's sold out collection of the 3 original Manga Muerto comics. It's going to be another great show with a lot of fantastic guests. One of the artists visiting us from Indiana is Jorge Garza, an amazing talent I'm looking forward to meeting.
In fact, I have an exclusive partnership with Garza this year: He's created a special print of El Muerto done in his Azteca Pop style!
This is a fantastic piece, and to be honest I haven't ever commissioned an exclusive El Muerto art print created by another artist. So this will be available in limited supply by Jorge at the show, but if you won't be out on the West Coast to visit the event, you can actually pre-order from Jorge's shop and he'll ship it out after the event. If you're considering getting this fantastic image, please order it and support his efforts!
Thanks and see some of you in Modesto next weekend!
I have a number of appearances in the Los Angeles area this May. A total of 10, which is probably a record for me after 20 years in this business!
I have a new lecture titled CULTURE AND COMICS that I'll be presenting at various libraries. It's a historical look at Latinos in the U.S. comics industry, covering the 1940s through today. I also share my upbringing in a bilingual Mexican-American home and how that influenced my own comics career. This year actually marks the 20th Anniversary of my comic EL MUERTO, so some of the material I cover will reflect on that personal milestone as well.
In addition to the CULTURE AND COMICS lectures, I also have several appearances at comic book events throughout the month.
Here's the schedule:5/5: "ATTACK OF THE COMIC BOOKS!" - Sorensen Library, Whittier, CA. 9am-2pm. A free annual comic convention.
5/6: "GEEK ON" - University California at Riverside, Riverside, CA. 9am-6pm. A free comics/anime convention.
5/12: "East LA C.A.P.E." - El Gallo Plaza, East Los Angeles, CA. 11am-6pm. A free comics & pop culture convention.
5/19: "CULTURE & COMICS" - Claremont Library, Claremont, CA. 11am - 12 noon. A free lecture. 5/19: "CULTURE & COMICS" - Baldwin Park Library, Baldwin Park, CA. 2pm - 3pm. A free lecture. 5/21: "CULTURE & COMICS" - Los Nietos Library, Whittier, CA. 5pm - 6pm. A free lecture.
5/23: "CULTURE & COMICS" - Hollydale Library, South Gate, CA. 6pm - 7pm. A free lecture.
5/24: "LET'S MAKE COMICS!" - Norwalk Library, Norwalk, CA. 4pm - 5pm. A free comic book workshop for teens age 13-18.
5/26: "Q&A with JAVIER HERNANDEZ" - Tia Chucha's Centro Cultura & Bookstore, Sylmar, CA. 1pm - 4pm. On stage career interview followed by book signing. Free admission.
5/27: "L.A. ZINE FEST" - Pasadena Convention Center, Pasadena, CA. 11am - 6pm. Annual convention for zines and independent publishers.
I hope to see some of you at one of these events. They're all over the greater Los Angeles area, so please see which one fits your schedule and join me this Mayo del Muerto!
As a fundraiser for the Latino Comics Expo (of which I'm co-founder), we will be screening EL MUERTO on Sunday, August 13 at The Frida Cinema in Santa Ana, CA.
Based on my comic book, EL MUERTO tells the tale of Diego de La Muerte, a young man
killed and resurrected by the Aztec god of death on the Day of the Dead,
tasked against his will with performing an evil act.
The film stars Wilmer Valderrama, Angie Cepeda, Joel David Moore, Tony Plana, Maria Conchita Alonso and Michael Parks.
The screening takes place Sunday, August 13 at The Frida Cinema, Orange County's premiere arthouse
cinema showcasing independent, foreign & classic films. Following
the film will be a Q&A with screenwriter/director Brian Cox and me.
All attendees of the screening
will receive a free commemorative color print I produced for the event, plus there will be raffles for rare El Muerto comics, prints and even original artwork.
The fundraiser will help raise money for the Latino Comics Expo,
the nation's premiere convention dedicated to showcasing Latino comic
creators, writers and artists, as well as others working in related
popular arts. This year's Expo will once again be held on November 11
& 12 at the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, CA.
Pre-order your tickets at our Eventbrite page and make plans to join us!
I first wrote this poem, a mash-up of Dia de Los Muertos and Christmas,
back in 2006. Last year I finally got around to illustrating it.
My Christmas story starring El Muerto, The Aztec Zombie.
Thanks
to everyone who's paths I crossed this past year. In person or online,
in one way or another, we've connected in various ways.... Wishing you all the best this Holiday Season!
Going back over the past 17 years has helped me relive some warm memories. I look at a lot of it as a combination of hard, diligent work mixed with some 'how did I get here' moments! But it all comes from one's desire to leave a mark, to leave your signature on that great landscape we all live through for any certain number of years.
El Muerto, and any work I do, any work anyone creates, is the result of making the effort to start a project or goal. To express an idea. We ultimately do it by ourselves and for ourselves, at least that's my initial starting point. But I've reached out to people for any number of my projects, sometimes for actual assistance, sometimes for feedback or advice. You form partnerships with individuals and organizations, you work with others in pursuing your dreams, and sometimes theirs.
Sometimes El Muerto comes back to me via someone else's hands, believe it or not. Over the years, I've had the good fortune to receive artwork of all kinds based on El Muerto: drawings, paintings, custom action figures, statues, etc. I'm always honored to be the recipient of such work. I like contributing my own interpretation of other artist's characters, so getting such work myself is inspiring. This past May I received an email from an individual informing me that he had made a fan film starring El Muerto, A DAY FOR THE DEAD. He was going to screen it at the Phoenix Comic Con, which I was actually scheduled to be a guest of. So I told Elijio Carlos Ramirez, the writer/director of the film, that'd I be attending the screening. The film was an exhuberant take on the character, one I found myself enjoying immediately. The amount of time and energy, not to mention passion, Elijio and his fellow filmmakers put into making it was charming. I was really flattered with the whole experience. The plan is to show it online eventually, but Elijio's taken it to several film festivals in the meantime.
Just the other day I was informed that a new book, TERRA ZOMBI (an anthology on zombies in pop culture) was just published in Puerto Rico from Editorial Isla Negra. The book features an essay on El Muerto contributed by poet and scholarMauricio Espinoza. I haven't read the piece yet, but it's an honor to have the character written about in such venues. There's been other opportunities like that over the years, and it's no less humbling each time.
As for what you can expect from me next... As I mentioned in an earlier post in this series, I've got a new chapter of the El Muerto story on my drawing table. This will be published in the early part of 2016, as part of a trade paperback collecting the earlier El Muerto comics. So a lot, if not most, of the Holiday Season will be devoted to finishing this up, the long-awaited conclusion to DEAD & CONFUSED.
Here's a 3 page sequence from the new story. This is what the pages look like after I ink them, before I go in and erase any pencil lines, or digitally clean up the pages in Photoshop after I scan them:
And a page from another scene:
As an artist you create something, and you hope others like it as well. You become the custodian for that character. And over the years you find a lot of goodwill comes back to you because of it. I couldn't possibly thank everyone who's supported my work, embraced my comic book character, offered a helping hand along the many years and countless miles. But I appreciate each and every person. All of you!
Thank you for reading along here on THE 12 DAYS OF MUERTO. Lots more days ahead!
Day 11: With the principal photography on the movie completed, it was time to catch a breather. For a minute or two, at least...
My day-to-day duties working on the film were done, as I was only contracted to officially be on the payroll for 6 weeks. Of course, there was no loss of contact, as I was updated regularly on developments. One of the biggest came about a month or so later, when my producer Larry Rattner invited me over to the office to watch the trailer. I was extremely eager to see it, anticipating it like I was opening a huge Christmas gift. It didn't disappoint. Take a look if you haven't seen it yourself:
Watching the scenes play out before me, having seen most of them being filmed, was such an intense rush. Soon as it was over he asked if I'd like to see it again, which of course I did. This was really the beginning of the promotional push for the film, as we soon booked a booth and a panel at the San Diego Comic Con. This was back in early 2005, when you could actually contact the convention this close to the event and secure such arrangements!
In May, an early cut of the film was actually shown at the Cannes Film Festival, which totally blew my mind. Sure, it wasn't an official screening held in one of the palatial theaters (it was shown to gain interest from distributors) but we can say it played at Cannes. Here's how it was coveredby the pop culture news site JoBlo.Com:
That
summer, after having spent the previous 8 years in Artist Alley, I
found myself on the main floor of the convention with a full booth (paid
for by the producers, naturally!). On our panel (moderated by my friend and fellow comics creator Mort Todd) we had starsTony Plana, Joel David Moore and Wilmer Valderrama , as well as myself and producer Larry Rattner.
It was cool to be up on the stage, having sat in the audience myself
over the years listening to similar panels. But here the audience was
gathered to see our preview, and definitely see our star Wilmer (but I spotted a lot of my friends sprinkled throughout the crowd!).
I spent the whole weekend at the booth, greeting fans and hyping up the movie. Wilmer and the other stars even came down for a bit after the panel, adding to the excitement. At one time, actor Seth Green walked by, and saw the poster with Wilmer on it, his eyes fixated on it as he kept walking by. I yelled out "Hey, Seth, that's your buddy Wilmer on there!". He raised a hand and smiled as he continued on. That was a funny moment.
The film still needed post-production work on it, mainly digital effects, scoring and such. So I used the rest of 2005 to return to the drawing board, and work on the next chapter of the El Muerto comic. It was interesting to sit there at my desk, all by myself, armed with my pencil, and once more be the sole voice in the telling of the story of my character. Having seen a whole team of creative people gather together to create the film, even being part of that team myself, it was satisfying to once again, quitely and at my own pace, create the latest chapter.
In November of 2005 I was asked to do a specific job for the film... My director, Brain Cox, asked if I could provide artwork for the opening titles. He wanted to incorporate my art into the film, and also needed some images to complete the opening narrative of the film. The credits would be place into the drawings. There were a couple of scenes he didn't film that could be shown with an illustration. I loved the idea, and told him 'Yes'. Then I immediately contacted my lawyer and told him we'd need to ask Larry for a contract, so I would get paid for this work. Hey, I may be the Associate Producer but I'm also a working artist! Anyway, I did a total of about 24 images. For the opening of the film, Brian requested a particular image of El Muerto. Originally it was a pencil drawing for the cover of a preview comic I published earlier, so I redrew it in ink and we cropped it to fit the widescreen format:
By September of 2006, the film was completed and ready to screen. The first time I saw the film was in a screening theater they had rented on the Warner Bros. lot. We arrived at the theater but then they told us it was moved to another one a few doors down. Evidently, Clint Eastwood was showing the WB executives an early print of FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS. I figured if I'm going to get bumped out of a theater, better be someone of Clint's stature! Seeing EL MUERTO, complete from beginning to end, was a most memorable experience. I was invested in the movie as a viewer as much as possible, trying not to see it through the eyes of a creator or filmmaker. The fact that the bulk of the movie was original material from Brian's script (with my characters and origin story being the spring board) allowed me take it in as a fan. Seeing my cameo was particularly surreal, in that I'll forever be immortalized on screen with my character at those cemetery gates on East Los Angeles. It's a nice little atmospheric film, letting it's cast of characters wind through the story as it unfolds before them. I still enjoy watching it every so often, letting myself be taken along for another journey by the characters. Sure, I could always sit there and wish we had lots more money for more elaborate set pieces and explosions or whatever, but getting that movie made is an experience I don't take for granted and I'm very satisfied with our final product.
2007 came around and it was time to hit the film festival circuit. Here on the west coast I was able to attend all the screenings: Los Angeles, Oxnard, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco and also one in Texas. And while I didn't travel with it, it did screen in New York and Toronto, Canada. Not too bad for a small little independent movie. The festival screenings were as fun as you can imagine. There really is an undeniable attraction to all the hype and excitement of movie screenings and the whole festival circuit. There's Q&A with fans and press, and after-parties of one sort or the other. A whole different level of engagement than we normally find in the comics biz.
Me and actor Tony Plana (Aparicio) at the San Diego Latino Film Festival 2006:
With Maria Conchita Alonso (Sister Rosa) at a screening atCal State LA:
In San Francisco:
Working the crowds in Oxnard, CA:
Me and Tony Plana even returned to San Diego Comic Con in 2007 with an actual screening:
We also prepared for a DVD release and that was another thing I was heavily involved with. I suggested some of the special features, such as an art gallery with guest artists that I handpicked, a how-to-draw El Muerto tutorial, and the El Muerto mini-comic made exclusively to be included in the DVD package. I also got to record the commentary on the DVD with our director, Brian.
For purposes of marketing, the distributor strongly suggested that the DVD be released under the title THE DEAD ONE. So that's how it was first released initially. 6 months later I was glad to see it re-issued as EL MUERTO. Interesting to have two versions out there. I guess the DEAD ONE is our rarer variant, for all you collectors out there...
Eventually I got copies of the both the Polish and Australian versions as well:
In September of 2007, we even had one more final victory run for the film, a one-week exclusive engagement at theLaemmle's Grande 4-plex in Downtown Los Angeles. On the Opening Night our director, Brian Cox, Larry our producer and myself held a Q&A after the screening. I went at least twice during the week it played there, and lots of my friends reported going throughout the week. One friend even told she and her family ran into one of our actors, Billy Drago, who was in the audience checking out the film himself! Here's me and Brian by the poster, and my and Martin Espino (a friend and accomplished musician who worked with our film composer to provide authentic pre-Columbian music to the soundtrack) outside by the marquee.
With the DVD on the market, and multiple runs on cable tv and streaming services, the film continued to make it's rounds, and I periodically hear from someone who's seen it. Usually at a convention or other appearance I may hear from someone "Oh, I saw that movie!", to which I always say "Well, here's the comic it's based on!". The movie was a big part of my career, and it continues to be a welcome presence in my life.
Tomorrow, we wrap up this series with the 12th day of THE 12 DAYS OF MUERTO. See you then!
