For those of you browsing my webshop here, you may have noticed that a few of my comics were out of stock. Well, they're back!
Yes, MANGA MUERTO Vol 1, COMIC POP! & WEAPON TEX-MEX Vs EL MUERTO are back with all-new printings, now now featuring cardstock covers, giving you a beefed-up book. AND, the prices are now actually lower than on the previous editions! I have a new printer I'm using, and their pricing is so good, I've been able to share the savings with new retail prices.
For those who have ordered these books in the past, thank you for supporting me with your purchases. I do appreciate everyone's patronage. If you've been thinking of getting some of these books, then now's the time to order! Follow this link to my webshop....
If you're looking for stories for younger readers (grade school/middle school), then MANGA MUERTO Vol 1 is a great way to go. It features a more kid-friendly version of my comic book character El Muerto, here recast as a foreign exchange student in Japan who comes into possession of a giant mega robot, Skeletron! (Think GIGANTOR or JOHNNY SOKKO & HIS FLYING ROBOT, cause I sure was!) There are three stories in this jam-packed 48 page book, enough for a weekend of fun. Giant robots, towering monsters and thrills for fans of...well, giant monsters and towering robots! Shown here is a page from MUERTO & SKYMAN, the second story in the collection. Pencils by me, inks by Ted Seko.
COMIC POP! features a cornucopia of work, such as pin-ups I've done for other publications, pin-ups other artists have done of my characters, stories I've written and drawn for other creators, comics I've collaborated on, etc. I even reprint, for the first time in a comic book format, El Muerto's multi-part appearance in the BALDO newspaper strip from 2008! At a 40 whopping pages, this book delivers plenty of art and story.
From COMIC POP!, the El Muerto story originally included as a mini-comic inside the package of the EL MUERTO DVD release. Story and pencils by me, finished art by Mort Todd.
WEAPON TEX-MEX vs EL MUERTO brings together two of my characters in a classic superhero street brawl. What strange forces bring together the Aztec Zombie and the Toro Terminator in the haunted ghost town of Santa Sangre?
Also featured in the WEAPON TEX-MEX Vs EL MUERTO book are two other Tex-Mex short stories, and that ain't no bull!
3 books, back in stock. And each one has a minimum of three stories per book! If that ain't a bargain in this day and age of multi-issue storylines the big companies try to keep you roped in with, I don't know what is...
Shop the JAVZILLA WebShop today. You'll get some exciting books packed with a variety of comic book stories, and you're supporting creator-owned work, the most exciting work being produced in comics today!
A very Happy Birthday to Steve Ditko, comic book creator extraordinaire!
(Mort Todd's colored version of his cover to DITKOMANIA #72)
Steve Ditko, as artist, is the co-creator of Spider-Man & Dr. Strange, and on his own has created such characters as The Creeper, The Question, Shade the Changing Man and his signature character, Mr. A.
(Larry Blake's cover to DITKOMANIA #75)
Born November 2, 1927, Steve Ditko continues to create new comics, published by himself and Robin Snyder. His latest book was DITKO #5-FIVE ACT, featuring such characters as The Madman, The Outline and The Cape! At age 83 his physical output has slowed down, and he's not going to be drawing at the same level he was 20 or even 30 years ago. But his determination to create new stories, and publish them himself, remains for me a continued source of inspiration.
For the last year or two, I've been contributing to the DITKOMANIA zine on a regular basis. My most recent illustration was this one for their Halloween issue, featuring a review of Ditko's sole Tomb of Dracula story, published in the late 70s.
The fact that Ditko was born on November 2, the same day as my character Diego de La Muerto, a.k.a. El Muerto (which is also El Dia de Los Muertos) surprised me when I made the connection years ago. My first exposure to Ditko's work was back in the mid-seventies, with reprints of his early Spider-Man & Dr. Strange stories available in Marvel reprints at the time. His work has always struck me for it's combination of quirky cartooning and surreal imagery, combined with his knack for innovative storytelling devices and layouts.
Happy 83rd Birthday, Steve Ditko!
To order Ditko's self-published comics from the last 20 years or so, visit this page, courtesy of the Ditko Comics Web Blog run by BobH.
To order copies of the DITKOMANIA zine, edited & published by Rob Imes, visit this page.
Since 'sneak peeks' are quite popular at comic book conventions, I'd like to give you a preview of my upcoming comic book project:
COMIC POP is a really special anthology. Besides having a brand new autobiographic story from me, 'DOS MIL DIEZ' (Spanish for 2010), I'll also be reprinting 5 short stories I've worked on that many of my readers may not be aware of. The cover is pretty much the final version, but once I'm done putting the whole book together I'll most likely tinker with some of the text and add the price.
Let me start with the reprints. Over the years I've worked on various comics with some good friends of mine. I work with them on a project, they work with me on a project. That's what friends do. Or at least the ones I have! When I got the idea for these, I asked each artist for permission to reprint the story. These comics, for the most part, appeared in their own titles, so I just wanted to make sure they would be okay with this. In each case, of course, permission was granted!
Here's the rundown of the stories:
WEAPON TEX-MEX in "DESTROY ALL MEXICANS":
This is actually my first-ever published comic, a year before the first El Muerto comic debuted. I was invited by the publishers of HOT MEXICAN LOVE COMICS to contribute a story to the latest book, and at the time I was already working on the first El Muerto story. I didn't want to knock out a quickie Muerto comic, so I came up with Weapon Tex-Mex, kinda in the vein of the Thing (Fantastic Four): A big lug with a heart of gold. So in 1997, when HOT MEXICAN LOVE was published, I had my debut as a published cartoonist. The original comic was in black and white, I added the gray tones this year when I published the WANTED:WEAPON TEX-MEX mini-comic for the Phoenix Comic Con. (A few copies remain in the JAVZILLA WEB SHOP)
EL GATO CRIME MANGLER
Left, one of my pages, on the right, Michael Aushenker's cover
My friend Michael Aushenker's CRIME MANGLER series is filled with gonzo comedy featuring an oaf of a masked mexican wrestler and his misadventures in 1930s Los Angeles. For his NINE LOVES OF EL GATO (2003) romance comic, he had 9 artists each illustrate a chapter, dealing with an ex-girlfriend. He asked me to draw one of the stories, for which he provided a script. That was actually the first time I ever drew from a script, but the story was heavy on wrestling action so I had a ball with it. I even snuck in a cameo with the legendary WWE commentator team of Jesse 'The Body Ventura' and Gorilla Monsoon! This is one of the early comics I did where I used Sharpie markers. They can be cumbersome for detailed drawings, but I liked the chunky look it gave the story.
MASKS OF SONAMBULO
Left, a page of art drawn by Ted Seko, script by me, on the right, Rafael Navarro's painted cover.
This was an interesting collaboration. Rafael Navarro, creator of the Xeric Award-winning SONAMBULO comic, was putting together his own anthology, featuring stories written and drawn by others. He asked me to contribute to MASKS OF SONAMBULO (2003), and I immediately thought to ask Ted Seko if he'd be willing to illustrate a story I would write. Ted and I had previously worked together on "SKYMAN AND MANGA MUERTO Vs THE MONSTER MEKS", so we had already established a routine for working together. For this Sonambulo tale, I wanted to do a story with Sonambulo as a young kid, where he meets an old witch who foretells the future he will grow into. It wasn't an origin story, but it was nice for Rafael to let me delve into Sonambulo's early life.
EL MUERTO:MARK OF MICLANTEHCUHTLI
This mini-comic was created for the 2007 DVD release of EL MUERTO. When it came time to working with the distributor for ideas about what to include in the DVD, I suggested we include a comic book. After giving them a budget, I set out on what turned out to be an amazing final product. I wrote the script and provided loose pencil layouts and hired Mort Todd for the finished artwork, inks, gray tones and lettering. He's been working in cartoons and comics since his teenage years, becoming Editor-in-Chief of CRACKED Magazine in 1985 at the age of 23. We actually met some years previously via an Ebay transaction, believe it or not! Mort's tremendously talented and prolific, and his production values, as evident in the above image, really made this story sing!
EL MUERTO MEETS BALDO
Well, that's going to be some book! Reprints of my first ever comic, the El Muerto DVD comic, the Baldo/El Muerto newspaper strip and two other stories I worked on some years ago.
I'll post previews of the autobio comic as we get closer to the release date, which is scheduled for APE this October. While the JAVCON will be running through Monday, the good ol JAVZILLA blog will be here long afterwards, so make sure you keep coming back!
I hope you've enjoyed this preview of my next comic book. We still have lots more content to share here at the JAVCON, including some never-before-seen storyboards I did for the EL MUERTO movie, the CD artwork I created for an indie band, and a never-before-published El Muerto comic! I'll be recording an episode of my D.I.Y. Comics podcast JAVILAND later today, so look for that here tomorrow as well.
Peter Fernandez, the actor who played Speed Racer in the 1960s cartoon, passed away on Thursday, July 15. He had been battling cancer. He was 83.
I say 'played' as opposed to 'voiced' because he not only performed the voice of Speed Racer, but he also wrote the English scripts and directed the cast. So he really had a complete role in creating that character. (He also wrote the English lyrics for the theme song!)
A painting I made back in 2008.
As a kid, in the early and mid-seventies, I was transfixed by SPEED RACER. The high-octane action, the unrestricted violence (that was back in the day that us kids could watch car crashes, fist fights and machine gun battles and not go ape-crazy at school the following week shooting up the entire class...). The world-hopping travelogue aspect of the show, the championship car races, the strong sense of love and togetherness of the Racer Family....All of these elements made for captivating entertainment. But it was the central character, Speed Racer, that really made the show for me. Not seeming that much older than me at the time (he's identified as an 18 yr old), Speed was a young hero who stood up for values such as family, honor and justice. Sure, he could be a competitive hot-head when pushed up against the wall, but he stood for the 'right' things. He was polite to people, a gentleman with the ladies and respectful of authority. But always ready to bring out the fisticuffs when injustice (and cheaters!) reared it's head.
Peter Fernandez was the voice, and soul, of Speed Racer. Peter really epitomized the innocence of the character, as well as the rock solid determination of a young man seeking to be the best racer in the world. Remarkably, Peter also voiced Speed Racer's older brother, Racer X! It's amazing to me to watch the cartoon now and think that those two different voices are from the same actor, especially as they're in so many scenes together. Peter's career in acting extends back to the 1949, so he was a seasoned pro by the time he worked on SPEED RACER in 1967.
Of course, we shouldn't for a minute forget Tatsuo Yoshida, the original creator of 'Speed Racer', named Go Mifune in the Japanese manga, MACH GO GO GO. Yoshida is one of the giants of Japanese manga & anime, who, after MACH GO GO GO, created other titles, including the GATCHAMAN manga, which was also turned into an animated series (known as BATTLE OF THE PLANETS once it hit the U.S.). But Peter Fernandez was charged with writing all the English scripts and directing the episodes, so SPEED RACER definitely carries his storytelling imprint.
In 2008, I was hosting an internet radio show, PLANET COMIC BOOK RADIO. Most of the interview subjects were comic book creators, particularly those who self-published their own work. But occasionally, I would have guests who I felt fit within the independent focus of my show, or other aspects of comic book culture. With the May 2008 release of the SPEED RACER film (see my glowing review in a previous Javzilla post) I thought it would be very appropriate to interview Mr. Peter Fernandez himself. And to be honest, I really just wanted the chance to at long last talk to the man!
I looked up his contact info online and sent him an email asking if he would be kind enough to appear. I'd like to share that email with you here:
Dear Mr. Fernandez,
My name is Javier Hernandez and I host a comic book podcast called Planet Comic Book Radio. The show is based out in LA. I would like to invite you on my show as a guest.
Of course I'm asking you to talk about Speed Racer. I am, I will tell you, a life-long fan of the show. And I absolutely loved the movie. I cannot believe how great the film was! And seeing you in it only added to the experience. The filmmakers really got the spirit of SPEED RACER: Family first, then all the fun, crazy action. I got choked-up several times during the film!
I used to catch the show here in Los Angeles in the 1970s. It would often air on an UHF station, called Channel 52. Another show you worked on, GIGANTOR, was also shown on that station. We were into anime before anime was even a known word back then!
My show podcasts live every Tuesday at 5pm (Pacific Time). If you are interested, I do have Tuesday, May 27th available (the day after Memorial Day). I would also have Tuesday, June 10 available. This would be by phone of course, and I figure I would take up about 45 minutes of your time, if that's okay with you.
In any case, please let me express my deepest gratitude and appreciation for the wonderful work you did in bringing Speed Racer to American audiences. The show remains my favorite cartoon of all time, and the movie is pretty much right up there.
Best,
Javier Hernandez
His response, the very next day:
Javier, PLEASE call me Peter!
I'd love to do your podcast. Tuesday, May 27th would be fine if your slot then is still available. My home phone is: xxx-xxx-xxxx.
All good wishes,
Peter
(The 'PLEASE' was capitalized by him.) The very next morning after the interview he sent me this:
It seemed to go very well last night!
Thanks!
Peter
Emails are of course, unlike letters or postcards, intangible. You can't put them in a scrapbook, or pin them on a corkboard (unless you print them out). I haven't read these emails in over two years, but I have to say right now I treasure them as if they were handwritten. It's sad to realize his Inbox will never be opened by him again.
For the sake of the podcast, I wanted to conduct an interview that shared his extensive experiences and professional career with my listeners, and his process in actually creating the episodes. There are some really interesting things to hear, and the fact that he was the one telling us makes this priceless. But to be honest with you, I really just wanted to be able to talk to Speed Racer for an hour. It was truly a selfish act, and a totally fanboy thing to do, and thank God I had the chance to do it. That I now have a recording of me and Peter Fernandez talking about SPEED RACER, well, that's something I can look back upon fondly.
I won't delve into it too much here, right now, but I can say that Speed Racer is as much an influence on my creation of El Muerto as other childhood heroes, like Peter Parker/Spider-Man. A few years ago I was working with Mort Todd on the exclusive El Muerto comic book that came included in the EL MUERTO movie DVD release. I wrote the story, and sent Mort very loose pencil layouts to work from. He certainly was more than capable of drawing the whole book on his own, but I wanted to at least provide the layouts for the story. When I got back the first couple pages, Mort had added heavier wrinkles on El Muerto's face, probably more in line with the type of zombies and monsters Mort was used to drawing. I told him to think of El Muerto more as a pretty-boy Speed Racer/Peter Parker type, and if he could please 'smooth' up the face! Mort ribbed me for that, but of course complied like a pro. If you ever wondered why I draw long eyelashes on Diego de La Muerte, wonder no longer!
By the way, I have to mention that some years ago Mort wrote & illustrated a SPEED RACER newspaper strip, and I had mentioned this to Peter in an email. Peter wrote back asking me for Mort's current address, as he wanted to catch up with him. And I just now am realizing, as I write this, that an artist who worked on a Speed Racer strip also has worked on an El Muerto comic!
My condolences go to Peter Fernandez's family and close friends. His work on SPEED RACER definitely is a milestone in the history of Japanese anime finding a foothold, and audience, in the United States. I'm grateful to Peter for appearing on my show, and hope all of the SPEED RACER fans find value in the podcast. When you listen to the episode, you'll hear Peter talk about how he had recently met a fan, in his 40s, and how between tears the man tells Peter how much the show meant to him. I know exactly how that fan feels.
So my new comic book, MAN-SWAMP, has found it's first endorsement! Local comic book artist, Xerix Award-winning creator of SONAMBULO, Emmy Award-winning storyboard artist, (and, full disclosure, super awesome friend:) RAFAEL NAVARRO:
He's actually holding the comic in his hand, but it's hard to tell with his in-progress painting and his huge collection of books and toys vying for attention in the background!! But he's happy as a clam for his with fresh out-of-the-box copy of MAN-SWAMP, The Living Quagmire! Thanks for the celebrity endorsement, Raf!
But believe it or not folks, the real reason I wanted to share this pic was to mention Rafael and his upcoming art show, NAVARRO NOIR, at GEEKS Comic shop in Whittier. Saturday, September 5 is the opening of the show, with the Artist Reception beginning at 7 pm. Raf will have original Sonambulo pages as well as lots of artwork featuring new pieces created specifically for this show.
Sonambulo© 2009 Rafael Navarro
Rafael will also have his brand new Sonambulo comic book, SONAMBULO LIVES!, at Geeks for sale and signing. Here's his spectacular painted cover to the book:
I first met Raf back in about 1990 during college. We hit it off immediately, talking about Frank Miller's DARK KNIGHT & DAREDEVIL and James Bond films! We both took a trip to San Jose back in 1996 to the Alternative Press Expo to specifically talk to independent creator Carlos Saldaña about self-publishing our own books. A year later, Raf was set up with his first Sonambulo comic while I hung out with him that weekend to learn 'on the job'. The following year, in 1998, I was up at APE with debuting my own comic book, EL MUERTO.
Raf and I have been friends ever since, doing many shows and appearances together, working on comic projects, and I even got Rafael a cameo in the EL MUERTO movie! Also that same day, I'll be hosting my free, 1 hour self-publishing seminar at GEEKS, earlier at 2pm. So there will be a double dose of the ol' Hernandez-Navarro magic that day.
Raf also contributed a piece to the EL MUERTO DVD Special Features, for the Galeria del Muerto. I'll leave you with that little gem, and hope to see you Saturday, September 5 in Whittier! Go to the DIY Comics Seminar, have dinner and see a movie afterward down the street, then come back to GEEKS for the NAVARRO NOIR art show!
Art by Rafael Navarro, coloring by Mort Todd El Muerto© 2009 Javier Hernandez
About 2 months ago I was a guest on Mosley's TALK OBJECTIVISM radio show, basically talking about comic artist Steve Ditko. TALK OBJECTIVISM is a show that discusses the philosophy of Ayn Rand, the founder of Objectivism. Steve Ditko, the co-creator of Spider-Man, is a long-time Objectivist, so one day after I discovered his talk show, I emailed Mosley and asked him if he was aware of Steve Ditko. Next thing I know, I'm on the show talking about Steve Ditko! Which was a pleasure to do, no doubt about it.
Then I was invited back the following week to moderate a discussion between Blake Bell, author of the recent book STRANGE AND STRANGER:THE WORLD OF STEVE DITKO and Mort Todd, a cartoonist and former Editor-In-Chief of CRACKED magazine, whose worked with Ditko since the 1980s. As a long-time Ditko fan, I was more than happy to have a chance to actually lead a discussion about one of my favorite creators of all time. This was literally one of those great opportunities that's come my way simply as a result of me becoming an independent comic creator, I firmly believe that. By taking the steps to create my own comics, and thus becoming active in my little corner of the comics world, I have met all kinds of people and have had numerous avenues in which to celebrate my love of comics.
So I told Jason that I would like to reciprocate the chance he gave me on his show and extended him an invitation to appear on mine. When I found out that he writes his own on-line comic strip, I figured that was his way 'in'! Plus I want to hear about his own reactions to reading the Blake Bell book, as he wasn't aware of Ditko until I had emailed him about Ditko. Also, I think it will be interesting to talk about Mosley's blog, MR. BACON PANTS and his TALK OBJECTIVISM talk show. While these may not be comics related, they are creative endeavors, and he's a big proponent about individual rights and identity, so that fits in line with the majority of my guests.
Please listen to the interview either live or once it's available for downloading.
If you're looking for stories for younger readers (grade school/middle school), then MANGA MUERTO Vol 1 is a great way to go. It features a more kid-friendly version of my comic book character El Muerto, here recast as a foreign exchange student in Japan who comes into possession of a giant mega robot, Skeletron! (Think GIGANTOR or JOHNNY SOKKO & HIS FLYING ROBOT, cause I sure was!) There are three stories in this jam-packed 48 page book, enough for a weekend of fun. Giant robots, towering monsters and thrills for fans of...well, giant monsters and towering robots! Shown here is a page from MUERTO & SKYMAN, the second story in the collection. Pencils by me, inks by Ted Seko.
