¡MAYO DEL MUERTO!

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!

Free Comic Book Workshop this Thursday in San Marino, CA

I'll be conducting a workshop for kids from 2:00-3:00pm at the Crowell Public Library in San Marino, CA. This Thursday, July 10.

It's free, and we'll be providing the paper and pencils. They tell me their drawing programs are heavily attended, to get there early to reserve your spot!

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!

I'll be at Wondercon this Friday, March 29

This Friday I'll be appearing at Wondercon for two presentations:

Wondercon will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center from March 29-31.

While I won't have a table at the show, I hope some of you can make it out to see me. The Latino Comics Roundtable should be fun, so feel free to ask questions and keep the roundtable spinning! And bring your kids out to my comic book workshop, I guarantee you they'll have fun making their own comics!

Long Beach Comic Con this weekend

 I'll be at the LONG BEACH COMIC CON this weekend, November 3 & 4. You can find me at in Artist Alley at Table #1400.

In addition to being an exhibitor all weekend, I'll also be conducting a free comic book workshop for kids. This runs from 12-12:45pm on Saturday in the Kid's Area.

Along with my usual assortment of comics and other items, I'll have plenty of copies of my new book DEAD DINOSAURIO, along with some Sketch Cover Variants, featuring hand-drawn, colored sketches on the cover.

Ticket information available here. If you can't make it out to the convention but would like to get DEAD DINOSAURIO, please visit my Web Shop here.

Thanks and hope to see some of you at the show! 

Meet FLOPPY THE COMIC!

A mission statement, a mandate, a mantra, a motto...



For me, it's a reminder to produce, produce, produce! On the full plate of creative endeavors and entrepreneurial enterprises I've served myself for 2010, making comics is the main course!