Last May, as I was preparing to attend the Phoenix Comic Con, I received an email one night. It was from a young filmmaker from Phoenix, Elijio Carlos Ramirez, informing me that he had created a fan film based on my character EL MUERTO! He was going to be screening it at the convention, and was inviting me to attend.
The surprise I had when reading the email was genuine, and flattering. Without knowing anything about the film, I knew it was an undertaking, both in time, effort and expense. I assured him that I would definitely be there...
The night of the screening I was rushing back to the convention center from my hotel, running into conflicting One Way streets at every turn. At one point I was heading down one of them, a pedestrian yelled out "You're heading the wrong way!". I eventually made it to the screening in time, sitting down as a few of the other shorts were playing. Once "EL MUERTO: A DAY FOR THE DEAD" started, a complete wave of anticipation gripped me.
Having worked on the full length production of the adaptation of my comic back in 2005, being intimately involved in every step of production (including a cameo!), my curiosity in seeing a film done without any participation from me was high. As the film played on, I took delight in the interpretation, and the sheer bravado on display in the production. Afterwards I met the director and two of the stars, thanking them for their work. One of the truly wonderful surreal moments I've had since creating the character back in 1998.
I asked Carlos if I could interview him for the site. Here's what we talked about....
So who in the world is Elijio Carlos Ramirez? In case anyone is wondering....
ECR: Ha ha, sometimes I wonder who I am too! I guess the most basic answer is that I'm a creative out here in Phoenix, AZ who's just trying to promote production in my home state. And the best way I know how to do that is by trying to produce projects locally.
In your youth, which movies or filmmakers sparked your interest in filmmaking?
ECR: I think like any child of the 80's I was strongly influenced by pop culture: Saturday morning cartoons, Star Wars, comic books. I loved Tim Burton’s 90’s-era aesthetic, how it played with shape and proportion. Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” has such a pop intensity that it really fired up people’s imaginations, mine included. And I loved Julie Taymor’s embellished realism in “Titus” and “Frida”.
How did El Muerto get on your radar?
ECR: It was around the mid-2000's when superhero movies were really starting to catch fire. I knew that I wanted to do something cool and action-packed like that, but I wanted to build it around a Latino property. But it also had to be something I knew I could actualize with the skills that I had, so… sorry Living Lightning! I can’t create a person made of electricity.
Then after going through racks and searching online I eventually found "El Muerto". I read as much as I could find about the character, the comic, and the mythology, and I thought it would make a great film. And then later I found out they already made one! But mine was different enough so we went for it.
What drove you to make '"El Muerto: A Day for The Dead"? The film's got some quality production value behind it.
ECR: Thanks! What I liked about “El Muerto” was that, besides being a great comic with this awesome black-and-white neo-noir style, I felt that it really said something about the origins of Latinos in North America. You have this young kid who dies but is called to the Aztec underworld of his ancestors and is sent back to earth with the cross on his forehead, which calls back to Catholic rituals, while dressed as a mariachi. It blends so much of our archaic, historic, and modern identities, and up until recently there hasn’t been anything in pop culture that did that. You have it now with movies like “Book of Life” and Disney’s “Coco”, but El Muerto came out before all that.
When I was planning the film, I felt it was very important to make something that would make a good story and had a lot of production value behind it, because otherwise it wouldn’t be taken seriously. “El Muerto” has a great origin story but the series was left open-ended enough that we could build on it. We took some creative license, obviously, but I think we stayed pretty true to the character.
The film is concise and packs a great punch. Is the final cut the original idea you had, or did you alter your story.
ECR: The final cut is actually a very close approximation to my original idea. We didn't have much of a budget, so there were some things that we weren’t able to include. I had wanted to include a scene where Diego digs himself out of his grave, partly catatonic, and pulls open his shirt to show that his heart was cut out of his chest. It would have tied the character more closely back to the original comic where the character clearly receives a cardioectomy, but we just couldn’t make it happen.
There was another scene I was actually inspired to add while we were filming! I wanted to add an origin scene for the main villain El Vivo. In the film, spoiler alert, it turns out that El Vivo is actually another Aztec Zombie! I’ll admit I didn’t know much about the character but based on the doll that was made for him, I had to draw my own conclusions. The story that I built for him was that he was actually a 16th century Spanish conquistador who was responsible for massacring scores of Aztec natives. So as punishment, they perform the ceremony of undeath on him and remove his heart, forcing him to walk the earth for eternity. I thought that really would've tied a lot of the story together, but filmmaking is a collaborative process with a lot of moving parts so even though we tried (really, really hard) to pull it off, sadly, the stars did not align in our favor. So… end spoiler!
A lot of the movie is done digitally. I imagine that while time consuming, it definitely helps in cutting down on expensive location shooting.
ECR: Ha ha, yeah, going digital cut down on location expenses, but it definitely presented its own challenges. We shot the whole film in a green screen studio so I spent plenty of time in front of my computer working in After Effects pulling keys, rotoscoping, and basically using every trick I could think of to remove the background from the characters. It is definitely not as easy as it looks!
But I knew I wanted to use Phoenix as my setting. I really wanted to show off the visual appeal of all the midcentury architecture in our downtown area, which made the setting seem more timeless. So I went out and took pictures to use as backgrounds, but the challenge was taking pictures from the same angle from which the actors were filmed. That required the occasional use of a ladder or some light climbing and a few casual explanations to City of Phoenix police officers.
Any particular problems, or pleasant surprises. that arose during production?
ECR: The most pleasant surprise was how readily this project came together! At the time, I was working for a great production company here in AZ, Point In Time Studios, that worked closely with another company, Arizona Virtual Studios (now it's Arizona Studios), and that gave us access to everything we needed. I had met the cast (Jacob Orta, Tess Hernandez, and Alejandro Sanchez Vega) as an actor working with Teatro Bravo, Arizona's premiere Latino theater company, and that gave me a deep well of talent that I could call upon. I had performed with another actor, Sarah Clevinger, on a show at Arizona State University and she revealed that she's also a very talented makeup and prosthetics artist! We found Ramiro Quezada when he came in to audition, and he had such a strong, brooding presence and great martial arts skills that I knew I wanted him to play the lead villain.
The biggest
problem we ran into was casting someone for the role of El Fuerte, one
of the supporting villains. We really needed someone who could meet the
physical demands of that character because if we didn't then the
character wouldn't be believable and the short wouldn't be taken
seriously. The first actor we cast dropped out two days before filming
(because that's how these things work) so I started calling every single
person I had ever shaken hands with to find a replacement. And
mercifully (thanks to Miles Nuessle at NPC Miles Productions) we found
Ryan Foxx, a competitive bodybuilder who was just everything we needed.
He came in like a boss, all ripped and huge, and he just delivered!
But the most heartening surprise was working with a great crew. Working as crew isn't easy and it's not glamorous, so not a lot of people are eager to do it. But working with Point In Time I met a lot of great kids who really wanted to pitch in and be a part of this project, and I was able to work with one of my mentors Ralph Lopez who really helped bring the whole thing together.
You contacted me last year that you were screening it at the Phoenix Comic Con, and invited me to attend. Coincidentally, I was already scheduled to exhibit at the show. Did you have any trepidation when you emailed me about the creation of your film?
ECR: I did, actually! When you do a fan film, you never know how your work is going to be received by the person or people who created the original property, especially considering that we took some creative license. But I was pleasantly surprised and, quite frankly, relieved at how open you were to the project. But everyone in the cast and crew has been very appreciative of the support you've shown for us and the film.
Any future endeavors you care to share with us?
ECR: Right now we're getting ready to submit the short to Comic-Con
International's film festival, so if anyone is in a position to bend the
ear of the selection committee, please put in a good word for us! Aside
from that I'm keeping myself busy with a few other projects, and
keeping an eye out for new films to produce. So here's hoping we can
build on the success that "El Muerto" has brought us so far!
Me with the director and cast of EL MUERTO: A DAY FOR THE DEAD.
My thanks again
to Carlos and his cast and crew for putting together an imaginative
interpretation of my character. On it's own, it's a firecracker of a
film, and inspiring in it's own right. I'm always glad to see others put
their creative energies to use, and it also gives me a great personal
satisfaction to see young Latino talent express themselves through their artistic efforts.
Here's a piece of fan art I did the other day, in honor of their movie.
EL MUERTO: A DAY FOR THE DEAD is currently available to watch online. Click here to see it!
Early this evening I was contacted by a filmmaker who has created an EL MUERTO fan film! Yep, based on my character!
Elijio Carlos Ramirez, the writer & director, is going to be screening the movie at the Phoenix Comic Con
Film Festival, taking place the weekend of May 28-31. He’s invited me
to attend the screening, taking place Saturday evening, between the
10:30-11:30 Horror Festival block (Room West 104).
I knew
nothing about this until he notified me, so this was a complete
surprise, and flattering as heck. I always admire the work that fans do,
whether it’s cosplay, fan art or fan films. And now to be a subject of a
fan film myself, well, that’s a special kind of honor. In 2007, an
independent film starring Wilmer Valderrama was released, which was a
huge milestone for me. This has it’s own special excitement, and I’m
very much looking forward to seeing the film, and meeting this team of
filmmakers.
I'll be exhibiting all weekend at the convention at Table # 11137, so please stop by and visit if you're there.
Last weekend's trip to the Phoenix Comic Con turned out to be a great call, as it was my first time exhibiting in Arizona and ended up being an exceptionally good show.
How do I judge the success of a convention? Sales, quality of the people I meet, the surrounding environment outside the walls of the convention hall.... All these were met with positive results.
First thing that struck me about Phoenix, as evidenced from the 6th floor window of my hotel, is that this town was empty!
Photo taken at about 8am Friday morning.
Here's a shot taken 9am Sunday morning, about 6 blocks down from the hotel, after a filling breakfast at IHOP.
Nice, huh? Seriously, I love wide, empty streets! I'm from So Cal, remember? Yes, it was Memorial Day Weekend, but from what I understand, the downtown area, as clean and modern as it is, just doesn't seem to attract people to it. Might have to get me an artist studio over here and enjoy the silence!
The Con itself, billed as the Southwest's "signature pop culture event", was filled with enthusiastic fans of comics, fans of anime and manga, fans of superheroes and dressing up and having a good time. I was amazed at the sheer amount of folks in costumes. I'd swear about 20-25% of the attendees were in costume. Something about that made me feel like I was in a place where no one is 'too cool for school', that it was perfectly fine to let your inner geek out of it's hiding place. Sure, all comic book conventions are like this, but something about this Phoenix Con really struck me as a pure love of the comics culture. Truth is, I took more pictures of costumes than I usually do.
This gal was just the cat's meow in this costume, my favorite version of Catwoman.
I just love that this guy dressed up as the classic Penguin. He wasn't concerned about wearing something hip or current.
I have to admit that I found this well-crafted bird head somewhat unnerving. The lower beak would occasionally open, then close...
As I've written here about previous trips, it's always good knowing your work is being introduced to a whole new audience. This is only my third state outside of California that I've exhibited at, so the anticipation of the audience reaction is always a welcome experience.
The advantage about driving to a show is that I can bring my full storefront, such as my banner and acrylic stands, and as much merchandise as fits in my car. With ever-rising airplane ticket prices and mounting cargo fees, picking shows I can drive to becomes more and more likely.
One of the benefits of attending shows is getting to meet some new fellow creators. In the photo above, on the far right side, you can see one of my neighbors for the weekend, Ralph Miley of the Christian Comics Arts Society. Turns out Ralph lives in the neighboring city to mine! Small world, no? Ralph and I had plenty of good laughs over the weekend, his infectious laughter making for some great moments.
My neighbor on my left was also my carpool co-pilot and roommate for the weekend, Jason Martin of SUPER REAL fame:
Jason of course is my good friend from Portland, whose hosted me several times when I've exhibited in Oregon. Jason actually flew in from Portland to LAX, landed at 5:30 pm on Thursday night, from which we drove straight through rush hour traffic across Los Angeles and all the way to Phoenix! We arrived at our hotel at about 3 am Friday morning. And believe it or not, I was hit with a serious case of insomnia, meaning I slept about an hour total. But, like troopers, we got up and set up Friday morning and had a great time together. Amazing how much comics/publishing talk you get done stuck in a car together for all those hours. Jason's a great friend, and I always enjoy traveling with him and doing a convention together.
Here's a pair of suave creative types I finally got to meet in person, Mssrs. Dave Baker and Eric M. Esquivel of Modern Mythology Press:
These guys are an artist (Dave) and writer (Eric) duo that I've known for about 2 years now via podcast interviews we've done with one another. Just a few years out of their teens, they've self-published comics, run a podcast, and in general have put themselves on the radar of everyone from comic book writers Matt Fraction and Tony Isabella to Word Ballon podcast host John Siuntres. They have a real, genuine love for the comics medium and their nerd factor includes them walking around with Superman backpacks and lunch boxes! Dave's art has been evolving at an amazing rate, as his long hours of drawing are really paying off. And I once received a proposal from Eric for an El Muerto story that really impressed me with his keen perceptions of the characters. I hope they get as far in comics as they want to with their hard work and moxie.
My good friend John Narcomey of Draw Hard Studios and Hightower Comics made the trek from Los Angeles as well:
I had the opportunity to meet several other creators, including Paul Ziomek and his brother Peter from the New Mexico comics collective, 7000 B.C. Paul had heard of me through my podcast, JAVILAND. He and I really hit it off, and one day I hope to make it out to a con in New Mexico. It sounds like they have a pretty vibrant comics and art community in their area.
Outside the convention center, making dinner plans....
The night life in downtown Phoenix is pretty sparse, far as I could gauge that weekend. Seems like a lot of the restaurants closed before the evening really got started. One night we had the misfortune of hitting a grill that took over an hour to get us our food after we ordered it. Wish I remembered it's name so I could badmouth it over at Yelp....
Couldn't resist asking this lady to give me a celebrity endorsement:
One b&w clad, white-faced zombie character promotes another...
Far as the show itself from my perspective, I didn't do too bad at all. It was interesting to me how many folks told me they had seen the EL MUERTO movie, mostly via cable. That was really cool. That's one thing about movies, they're so pervasive in our culture, and with the advent of non-stop, continuous content streaming day and night, even a small film like EL MUERTO gets heavy rotation.
One of my favorite encounters was with this patron:
Yep, a fan in Crow make-up stopped by the table. First day he walked by and slowly looked at image of El Muerto on my banner. He stopped and flipped through the comics, and didn't mind when I asked if I could take his picture. I talked to him briefly about the various Crow movies and sequels. The next day he came back in make-up and bought MANGA MUERTO, then briskly walked off. The third day he came back without the face make-up (apparently the black was burning his eyes!) and finally bought the first issue. My friend Jason turned to me and said in an announcer voice, "Crow fans have an application for El Muerto comics". I'm a fan of the original Crow graphic novel and the first movie, so it's cool to have a Crow fan also be a fan of El Muerto.
I also had lots of sales for my new WEAPON TEX-MEX mini comic, as well as the occasional fan of swamp monsters reaching for MAN-SWAMP. But I would say that overall the three days in Phoenix allowed me to introduce new readers to El Muerto, which always makes me happy. While I'm continuing to create new titles with new characters, I really get a lot of personal satisfaction of being the creator of El Muerto.
I decided by the end of the third and last day that I would definitely be putting the Phoenix Comic Con on my must-do list for next year. Hotel and travel costs (especially if I split them again) are doable, and I have way better idea of what merchandise to bring (buttons seem to do good here), and the fans were just really responsive.
Having been up in San Francisco in early April for the Wonder-Con and my solo art show, I think circulating the West Coast/Southwest for more shows is something I want to focus on even more. There are obvious benefits to the internet, no doubt about it. But doing these in-person events are so rewarding in numerous ways.
See you next year, Phoenix!
This coming Memorial Day Weekend, I'll be exhibiting at the Phoenix Comic Con. It's my first-ever show in Arizona, and as I've heard good things about this Con from some DIY comics creator friends of mine, I thought I'd take the plunge and head to Phoenix.
It's always exciting to get in front of a new audience, and I'll also be able to meet some friends of mine from Tuscon, the tag-team comic duo of Dave Baker and Eric M. Esquivel of Modern Mythology Press. Besides bringing along my comics and DVD, I'll also have some prints and original art with me. And, as a special exclusive to Arizona, I have a brand-new mini-comic I've just put together, WANTED: WEAPON TEX-MEX!
Weapon Tex-Mex actually appeared in the first comic story I ever had published. I was asked to contribute to an anthology called HOT MEXICAN LOVE COMICS, so I came up with this character to use in an anti-anti-immigration story, back in 1997. Seeing how the political climate is swirling around a new immigration firestorm from Arizona, I thought it would be most appropriate to reprint my original story, along with a new Weapon Tex-Mex story, and take it to the Phoenix Con. Actually it's the first new Tex-Mex comic in 13 years, so this is an interesting little collection. You get the first as well as the most recent story in the character's history.
I'll be at Phoenix Comic from Friday, May 28 - Sunday, May 30 at table T78. Los Comex is hitting Phoenix, baby! Planting the El Muerto flag in a new state, and ready to make some new fans.
