Day 3: So with that first issue done, I basically started hitting the convention circuit in California, traveling up and down the coast when (day job) time permitted. I also made the scenes around Los Angeles, soliciting comic shops and independent bookstores (usually the type that dealt with Latino-related material). Since mine was a photocopied book, I even searched out zine & mini-comics event, as I definitely had the DIY aesthetic. Also, with a concept like El Muerto, I exhibited at the various Day of the Dead festivals throughout town, as well as other cultural events. From the first day I knew I would seek out Latino audiences, figuring they would appreciate a culturally-themed character from a Latino creator. This was back in the late 90s, and there was a small movement of Mexican-American creators, as well as other Latino groups, publishing books featuring Latino characters.
In Texas there was Richard Dominguez (El Gato Negro), and along the West Coast such folks as Carlos Saldaña (Burrito), Fernando Rodriguez (Aztec of the City), Laura Molina (Jaguar), Rhode Montijo (Pablo's Inferno) and Rafael Navarro (Sonambulo), among others, were branching out and making their path in the independent comics world. Plus there were others across the country doing the same thing. It was an exciting time to be making comics. It was in this environment, amongst these pioneering artists, that I found camaraderie.
I did a second printing of THE NUMERO EDITION, about 150 more copies, if my memory serves me right. In addition to that (and instead of jumping back to the continuing saga of El Muerto!) I went off and made some other comics. What happens to me, and this you'll see occur throughout the next 16 years, is that I can get an idea in my head that won't rest until I put it in comic book form. One was an autobiographic story called DOS MIL (2000) and the other was a spin-off idea of my character called.... Manga Muerto. Basically taking the giant robot genre from Japan and mashing it up with El Muerto. I'll delve more into that little enterprise in the upcoming days, trust me. It was also during this time, Summer of 2001, that I did an interview with NPR during theSan Diego Comic Con that would later go on to have a significant impact on my career (and that'll be covered in my upcoming posts about the El Muerto movie!).
Remember my day job as an art production employee at the screenprinting company? It had evolved in being promoted to Art Director. That meant leaving behind the retail world, and getting a decent paying career in art. It also meant a lot overtime hours, and eventually some sporadic weekends. It was actually getting stressful in the last two years or so. Won't go into all the details, but our workload increased, meaning my responsibilities increased. All that translates into a trip to the doctor to find out I had high blood pressure! Pretty much things got shaky with the management. For the better, because that place was killing me and it was time to decide to get the heck out of there...
That brings us to 2002. It was also time for me to level up from photocopied comics and get my book printed through an offset printer, which would include a glossy cover and larger print run. Eventually my goal was to try to get the book carried in comic book stores by Diamond Distributors, the national comics distributor. One thing about making that Art Director money meant having the means to pay for such a print. I found a local printer, China Times Press, who specialized in newspapers and printing for the local Asian communities. But it was only amatter of showing them samples of comic books so they could quote me a price. And so with a few extras features and all new covers, and an $1800 printing bill, I reprinted the first Muerto story in a new package, KING SIZE EL MUERTO#1. The book was also accepted and carried by Diamond Distributors, which meant comic shops across the land carried it. The orders for that book weren't over 1000, but it was a big deal for me back then. Here's the cover, and the back cover which featured a painting from my friend & fellow cartoonist Rhode Montijo, as well as a few interior pages:
And because I wanted to hit the national comics scene with the full brass band, I gathered up a nice selection of guest pinups from a variety of cartoonists, including this delightful one byCarlos Saldaña:
With this new package, I spent the later half of 2002 once again making the rounds, hitting the convention circuit, finding new places to sell to, new fans to make. And having quit my Art Director job over the summer, I was completely re-energized and ready to rock and roll! At some point in late 2002 or early 2003, I took a part-time job at a local comic book shop run by my friend John Franco. It was a way to keep a little steady money coming in, but also proved to be aninteresting look into another facet of the comics biz, the retail side. I really liked working there, as it was a pretty low-key job but I was surrounded by comics and was able to chat with comic fans. Eventually though, I got a more stable job. Interesting enough, it was another stint as a production artist for a local screenprinting company, but this time I would stick to the relatively sedate position and avoid any management role! I wanted to put in my 40 hours a week, punch out at the time clock and not worry about overtime or weekends or fighting with the higher ups.
The next issue of El Muerto turned out to be an anthology featuring a new chapter in the story of our hero Diego, reprints of my auto-biographic comic DOS MIL and the firstManga Muerto story, and also a fun little 2 page featuring martians. The title for this one was obvious (to me, at least!). The back cover featured a painting by another friend and fellow cartoonist of mine, Ted Seko. Pinups included work by AXECOP co-creator Ethan Nicolle (bottom image in this group). From 2004, I present to you:
Like the KING SIZE special, EL MUERTO MISH MASH was also printed by China Times Press. Another 3000 copies, another $1800. Only this time, it wasn't carried by Diamond. Their form letter had two categories checked off on their decision to not carry this book. One was that there was too much time between the publication of each issue. The other was that the artwork was not up to their standards. Okay, I can't argue the time lag between issues. It is what it is. The art issue? Well, it was drawn by the same guy who did the first book that you guys carried... Anyway, I didn't bother to plead my case to Diamond. I took the letter, placed it back inside the envelope and slipped it in a drawer. I told myself right there and then: Let's see how much of a setback this is. Let's see if I continue, move forward, and don't quit because the sole distributor in the industry doesn't carry me. Let's save this little piece of paper they sent me.That was back in 2004...
Tomorrow, more Muerto comics, more twists and turns!
My good friends, Carlos Castellanos and Hector Cantu will be celebrating the 10th Anniversary of their newspaper strip, BALDO, tonight with a special Call-In show for fans and friends.
10 years of a nationally syndicated newspaper strip is indeed a reason for celebration, and it's great that they're doing this for their fans. I'm not only a fan of the strip, but also a one-time collaborator with them. Back in October 2008, Hector (writer) and Carlos (illustrator) actually invited me to bring El Muerto into a Baldo storyline! I pitched them a plot, and after talking it over, we agreed that Carlos would draw the strips as normal, but I actually contributed all the drawing of El Muerto when he appeared in the strip. I not only thought this was a great idea, but I was genuinely impressed that they even approached the project this way.
The El Muerto illustrations I emailed to Carlos so he could insert into the strip. He would send me the rough pencils of what he drew, and from there I knew what size and pose to draw El Muerto in.
It was an exciting learning experience to plan out a story within the parameters of a daily newspaper strip. I'm used to telling my stories over multiple pages, with the panels often changing shapes and sizes, but keeping to the structure and pacing of a strip format was a great challenge. And of course now I can say that El Muerto made it into a newspaper strip, if only for that 5 day storyline. I even was able to write the Sunday color section! Talk about a dream gig.
The color Sunday entry of the BALDO strip. This was the culmination of the 5-pt story. They let me write the actual script for this entry. And it's right next to the GARFIELD strip! Surreal..
I actually first met Hector and Carlos for the first time back in March 2007. We were invited to attend some special events during the week for the San Diego Latino Film Festival, such as a gallery show and a joint screening of the El Muerto trailer (I returned that weekend to debut the film on Saturday evening) and an episode of the BALDO animated series. We took the train to neighboring Old Town San Diego and were a little late to our screenings! (Um, the waitress was very slow serving us our margaritas!)
Hector (L), me and Carlos at the San Diego Latino Film Festival.
I also got to see them again in November of 2007. Our mutual friend, cartoonist Richard Dominguez (EL GATO NEGRO), arranged a special 'Latinos in Comics' panel through Wizard World Texas. I, as well as Carlos and David Alvarez (YENNY) were flown in from LA, Florida and Puerto Rico for the event. Richard and Hector were local Texans, but us out-of-towners were given hotel rooms as well. That was a tremendously fun weekend.
David Alvarez (L), me, Carlos and Hector (far right) at a Mandarin Chinese restaurant. Boy, were we loud and obnoxious during dinner!
Tonight we'll be able to relive some of those moments, and share in the BALDO celebrations. Congrats to Carlos and Hector for 10 years of great work! Check out Carlos' video announcing the event:
The podcast featuring last Tuesday's guest,Blair Kitchen, creator of THE POSSUM, is now available on the PLANET COMIC BOOK RADIO site. Blair was really fun to talk to, and I am so glad to see that he gave out so much great insight into the role of the self-publisher. Several of my previous guests are self-published artists, and they all have great insights into creating a comic under one's own steam. But I think the conversation with Blair gives listeners, and maybe future publishers, a good portrait of one person's creative drive and determination to make his own creation work.
Also, since I've never actually met Blair (save for the past year of emails and one pre-interview phone call), we didn't have the shared, personal history I've had with my other guests. This may have allowed me to perhaps focus on discussion of the issues at hand, as opposed to the freewheeling rapport I've had with my other guests (i.e. friends). I'm not being critical of the interview, just sharing my own perspective as the guy in the interviewer chair. Either way, it was another fun and interesting podcast. I'm glad to have had Blair as a guest. And now, I think it's fair to say, as a friend.
This tuesday's show features Richard Dominguez, the creator of the comic book EL GATO NEGRO. Richard was an early influence on me, as I was trying to find my way into self-publishing. Back in the mid-90s, I had seen an article on him in HISPANIC MAGAZINE. They talked about how Richard, a Mexican-American artist, created his own comic book character with roots in Mexican culture. Richard, along with Carlos Saldaña, really pointed me in the direction to publish my own comic book creation, based on elements from both Mexican folklore and American pop culture.
I remember meeting Richard at San Diego Comic Con, before I published EL MUERTO, and really enjoying my first meeting with him. Later, when I debuted my own comic book at San Diego, it was a real thrill to be able to give him a copy (or did I sell him one?!). Well, Tuesday will be a chance to have him on my radio show and not only thank him again for all he's done, but to let him share with all of us the work he's done for the past 15 years.
