LATINO COMICS EXPO review Pt. 1

The inaugural LATINO COMICS EXPO is now in the history books, and was I ever glad to have been a part of it! Held at The Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco the weekend of May 7 & 8, the event was a comic convention centered around Latino themed comics and their creators. 

I have to give a very special thanks to my fellow co-founder, Ricardo Padilla, for all the work he put into this event. As a San Francisco resident, Ricardo took the lead with all the physical footwork coordinating the event with the staff of the Cartoon Art Museum (Andrew Farago, Summerlea Kashar & Ron Evans, to name a few!). Ricardo also set up our 'official' Expo hotel for visiting artists, and in fact had his mother, father, son, daughter and lovely wife all help out with the planning and execution of the event! Latinos are known for close families, and this Expo really reflected that.

I arrived in San Francisco late Friday evening at the Padilla residence, and was greeted by this wonderful bit of business: a Certificate of Honor commemorating Latino Comics Expo Day! This was not only deeply appreciated by Ricardo and I, but every single one of our attending artists was blown away by this great achievement. 

The first day of the Expo was off to a good start, which coincided with FREE COMIC BOOK DAY. My spread for that day featured a stack of EL MUERTO MISH MASH comics available for free to anyone who'd like one.

I shared a table with good friend Rhode Montijo, who had a great display featuring his new SKELETOWN book and hand-crafted merchandise.

I've done a scores of conventions and festivals, signing in libraries, wharehouses, bookstores, parks and even a cemetery or two! But being set up inside an actual museum devoted to comic books and comic strips? That was a unique experience. Behind and in front of me were pages from classic Marvel and DC comics, comic strips like Peanuts, even political cartoons (there was Richard Nixon right behind me!).

I think a very popular component of the Expo turned out to be the panels. Working with all our artists/attendees, I think we came up with a really good variety of panels for the weekend. Saturday's started off with a kid's comics panel featuring (Left to Right): Carlos Saldaña (BURRITO), Rhode Montijo (PABLO'S INFERNO, CLOUD BOY), Moderator Hector Cantu (BALDO), Anthony Oropeza (AMIGOMAN) and Expo Co-Founder Ricardo Padilla.

Professor Frederick Aldama, who wrote a book entitled YOUR BRAIN ON LATINO COMICS, gave a lecture on the history of Latino comics. Many of the Expo exhibitors were both in the book and the lecture.

 Comments from the fans were positive and supportive, with many asking if we'd be back next year. My personal dream for this Expo is to take it on the road, giving more people across the land the chance to attend the show. That would also allow for more artists to be able to make the trek to the show as well.

Me and the Professor!

Jeff's a great fan, and it's always a joy to meet up with him when I do shows in the Bay Area. He's a huge fan of outre cinema & pop culture and always brings great conversation to my table. He bought one of the miniature EL MUERTO sketch dolls and decided to carry him around like Freddy the Flute from H.R. Puffinstuff! 

The Museum is divided up into 4 rooms, and we were stationed in two of them. Plus we had the use of the back room, where we held the panels. We even had access to their offices upstairs, where we set up a 'Green Room' for the artists to catch a breather. Ricardo's mother was kind enough to make two huge batches of burritos for us as well!

The Museum's staff was top notch, and there weren't really any problems all weekend. It really was a pitch perfect first-time outing. With me down in LA and Ricardo living in San Francisco, I think we were able to coordinate all the pre-planning and launch a  successful show. No doubt our artists and guests really were the highlights of the show.

LATINO COMICS EXPO Exclusive TEX-MEX Vs. MUERTO Pack

This weekend, Saturday and Sunday, May 7 & 8, is the first ever LATINO COMICS EXPO!

This is a show I organized with co-founder Ricardo Padilla, and it's bringing together over a dozen writers and artists that highlight the influence of Latino culture and experience in their works. The Expo will be held at the Cartoon Art Museum, and admission to the Museum grants you access to the Expo and all the panels and presentations. 

I'll be moderating and participating in a panel on Sunday, SELF-PUBLISHING YOUR COMICS. But as an artist, I'm bringing along my brand new comic book, WEAPON TEX-MEX Vs. EL MUERTO. And to really celebrate the uniqueness of this historic event, I'm putting together a very limited LATINO COMICS EXPO Pack! Here's what's included:

The new WEAPON TEX-MEX Vs. EL MUERTO comic book, the ROUGH CUT SPECIAL EDITION book, a color print, and an original penciled page I created when working on the rough draft of the comic. All 18 pages are being included in the LCE Pack, including the cover and back cover thumbnail pages.

20 packs in total, and once they're gone, that's it! 

I'll also have a brand-new metallic EL MUERTO/LATINO COMICS EXPO button, plus my usual catalog of comics, buttons and DVD. But mostly, let's meet up at the first ever LATINO COMICS EXPO and have a really great time!

Weapon Tex-Mex vs El Muerto: Coloring the pages

Maybe 'gray-toning the pages' might be more accurate...

This is the 4th part in my series of posts chronicling my process in creating my latest comic book, WEAPON TEX-MEX Vs. EL MUERTO: THE BATTLE OF SANTA MUERTE!! This one is about the gray-tone coloring on the book. The previous posts cover:

1) The Inspiration
2) Creating the Story
3) Inking the Pages

The page above, which I showed the uncolored version of in the previous post about inking, provides a good representation of my overall coloring in this book.


I colored the book in Photoshop, after scanning in the inked pages at 400 dpi. I colored in gray tones, which is basically shades of black. I tried to limit myself to about 6 or 7 shades, which means in my color palette I would have 100% Black, 85% Black, 65% Black, 50% Black, 35% Black and 20% Black (as an example). 


I'd have to make notes to myself (and in the Layers palette in Photoshop) to keep the colors consistent on the characters. So the 65% Black would be, let's just say,  for Tex-Mex's pants and the Cadillac body. 35% would be for the shading on Muerto's skin and the beard stubble on Tex-Mex. 


The reason for the limited amount of gray tones? It's my preference for coloring my own work. When I use actual colors, I try to keep the amount of colors I use limited as well. Aesthetically, since I draw my figures and environments with limited detail, or at least what we all call 'cartoony',  I also like to keep the coloring on a somewhat consistent approach. My gray tones are meant to first of all fill in the line art, giving it volume and variety from other parts of the art. Some of the grays, like the beard stubble, are meant to provide an indication of texture.

Here's a sample of panels from the book. They're not presented in the chronological order they actually appear in:

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In the bottom, right hand panel, the dark gray compliments the lines on the door to illustrate the appearance of wood. While the black is used to show a stark shadow from the light outdoors. It also adds to the mood of the panel (it's the interior of an abandoned church), heightening a sense of foreboding....


Basically I want my coloring to 'get to the point' of what I'm trying to convey in the art. Colored pants, ominous shadows, medium colored door, tanned skin tones, etc. Part of that comes from trusting the reader's judgement to see it how I hope they will, and part of it comes from wanting to keep the process somewhat quick for me to work through. The third reason, and my first concern as an artist, is just the way I want my work to look. My approach to all the art I create (drawing, comics, painting) comes from an internal, emotional gut feeling. There's universal precepts and fundamentals of art that inform my creative process, but at the same time, telling a story comes from such an intuitive mindset, at least the way I see my role as the maker of these stories.

The background on this page was colored to provide an interesting alternate to a plain white background. Also, the textured pattern somewhat reminded me of blood splattering, underscoring the brutality of the fight without resorting to showing the blood spraying patterns all over the page. (Although I've done that in the origin issue of El Muerto....).

Here's an image I colored in gray tones before I started coloring the actual story. This appears in the interior front cover of the book.

 

Mr. Smith, the instigator of the tale...

I spent more time on this that I would have if it was an interior page of the story. I knew this was going to be a promotional piece of art used outside the actual confines of the story, so I didn't mind making this a much more detailed piece. It was also more meticulously inked, again, because I knew this wasn't going to part of the story.
If I spent this much time and detail on every panel of the book, it would have taken me a lot longer to get it done, and as I've mentioned in previous posts, I had a deadline by when I wanted to ship this book off to the printer. 


Even as I get quicker in using Photoshop to color, I still think I'd
maintain my more simplified approach to coloring. Perhaps in a few years, that would change...

A favorite creator of mine is Go Nagai, a Japanese cartoonist whose prolific output includes Mazinger Z, Devilman and Cutey Honey, to name some of his most famous properties. His work, which like most manga is printed in B&W, really provides me with a lot of inspiration on how to approach coloring in gray scales. Here are 3 examples:

Above, a page from MAZINGER Z. Followed by pages from MAO DANTE:

In the DANTE page above, I love variety and balance of white, black and gray shapes throughout the page. When you add in the variety of textures that are inked in, the whole page just crackles with a lively panorama of imagery and tones.


I don't show these to say that my own coloring choices are meant to match the work done by Nagai, but rather to illustrate that by looking at other work we admire, we artists can often feel emboldened to go beyond the work we're normally satisfied in producing. What they call 'outside your comfort zone'.

As for working in actual color, here's the back cover of my book:

The 'Wanted poster' piece was relatively simple, as El Muerto is basically three colors (four if you count his Superman-inspired blue hair highlights!). I put in a Photoshop texture on the wall, complimenting the cracks I drew in the illustration. Overall a relatively quick color job, but very effective in showing exactly what it needs to. 


The bottom strip was more of a graphic design piece, picking some limited colors to tie the various elements together. Again, no fancy tricks, just creating something that looks good, and delivers a simple message.


In the next post in this series I'll share with you my writing process.

Weapon Tex-Mex vs El Muerto: Inking the Pages

Quick update: My new comic book, WEAPON TEX-MEX Vs. EL MUERTO:THE BATTLE OF SANTA MUERTE!! has been sent to the printers! Everything is on schedule for the initial batch of books to arrive in time to debut at the first-ever LATINO COMICS EXPO at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco on May 7 & 8! 

 In the meantime, I'd like to share with you another stage on the process of making the comic. In two previous posts, I talked about my inspiration for the idea and how I started to put the story together. In this third part of the series (collect 'em all!) I'm going to show you the actual inking of the comic book. Because I was working so fast, I didn't document any of the penciled pages, except for a very few panels. Here's one:

And here's one of the thumbnails to a page. 'Thumbnails' is just another word for rough draft, or loose pencils, of an actual comic page. In my case, it's a sheet of cheap, white 8.5" x 11" paper. It's done to layout a page, planning what the final, finished page will look like. Here's where I figure out my pacing for the story, how the individual scenes are visualized for best dramatic effect, tempo, mood, staging, etc.

And here's the inked page, after I penciled it on a sheet of 11" x 14" Strathmore Bristol paper:

If you compare the two, you'll see slight differences. But really the actual sequence of events in the panels is about the same. That's what I mean by establishing my pacing in the thumbnails. When I sketch out the individual panels, I try to pick the best shot for that panel, but when I redraw the page on the larger sheet of paper, that's when I really decide on the best composition for that panel, and making sure I'm satisfied I staged the characters as best I can.


Compare another set, this one where El Muerto and Weapon Tex-Mex first meet:

Here, again, the action is pretty much the same on both pages. One key difference though is that in the final drawing, I decided to shift the angle a bit on the central image. I liked the original version where Tex-Mex and Muerto are literally facing one another as if each of them is looking in a mirror. But tilting the angle in the inked version makes it look like Muerto is sliding downward into Tex-Mex's clutches, heightening the sense of danger. One of my chief priorities as a cartoonist is to always punch up the dramatic
cues in my artwork. If the scene, or even the characters, without any dialogue, can convey an emotional state to the viewers, then I feel the artwork has done it's job. But the visual impact is what I want to get across first, as that will be what the readers first process. This applies to quite, introspective scenes as well as chaotic action scenes. One of my favorite words to positively describe what I like about a comic book story, as a reader of comics, is visceral. If I can produce such a feeling with my art, then I've accomplished one of the things I hoped to.

For me, working on these pages allows me to totally disappear into the world on the page. In the thumbnail stage, I'm really focusing on crafting the actual story, pacing out the events panel by panel, page by page. Choosing the best shot, staging the characters, picking reaction shots from one character to the next. So much to figure out, even the size and shape of the panels. Everything on the comic page has to be given some consideration in how it's serving the telling of the story.


So as I work on the inking, my focus is on delineating the figures, picking textures for fabrics, hair and all the environments, determining shadows. While I wouldn't call that process mechanical,
there's a certain amount of peacefulness I get just working on this stage of the book. And temporarily shutting out the real world, that's where that peaceful sense comes from.

One of my most powerful tools I use when inking pages is..... music.
When working, I'll pick a playlist of music, usually film scores, that help me envision the world I'm creating. Soundtracks like BATMAN RETURNS by Danny Elfman and THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY by Ennio Morricone were very helpful to me in staying in a particular mindset as I worked on my pages. Actually, those films have elements in them that I recalled when making my comic: the macabre mood and gothic nature of one film, and the Southwest grittiness and colorful characters (and their relationships to one another) of the other. It's an interesting well to draw from, but influences come from all sources. 


Here's two examples of the soundtracks from the films that helped me zero in on the mood I was tapping into for my story (if you're reading this blog via Facebook, these Youtube clips won't show up, but if you visit my blog, you'll be able to play them):






As far as physical tools go, the photo below shows you what I use to ink the pages. On of my favorite new tools is the lead holder (the blue instrument). I've usually used Prismacolor non-photo blue pencils for the penciling stage, right before inking. But a friend of mine gave me the lead holder last year, and I like using it with a non-photo blue lead to do my penciling. Can't really explain why I like it better, but perhaps it's because I use less pressure (so the lead doesn't snap), which seems to allow me to get a little looser with my linework.

For brushes, I pretty much always use a '00' Winsor Newton and a #1 for larger areas. I'll be honest, I'm not that picky if it's Sable or synthetic or made from the nose hairs of an albino yak! Just as long as it lays down the ink like I need it to.....


Another favorite new tool is the Pentel Brush Pen, made in Japan, no less. I'm still getting the hang of it, but it does produce some nice long, delicate brush strokes. And I like not having to clean it, unlike a brush.


Okay, next time, I'll be sharing with you my process for coloring the story, in gray tones. Thanks for reading, and feel free to leave comments. Always curious what people are thinking about in response to what I wrote.

Comic book workshop in Pico Rivera this April & May

I have a new round of Comic Book Workshops starting this April at Pico Park in Pico Rivera, CA.

A comic created by one of the students in my January 2011 class. How awesome is that title? Poor Chocolate Chip Cookie Boy...

The description for the class is:

A five week class that teaches your child how to make their own comics!  This class will cover character design, creating stories, tips on drawing and storytelling fundamentals.  At the end of the course, students will receive a printed copy of their own comic book.  There is a $5 supply fee due to the instructor on the first day of class.

Yes folks, that's right! Other classes may send your kid home with a bunch of loose, floppy sheets of comic pages they've drawn, but in my class they get photocopied editions of their 4 page stories! They can share them with family, trade with friends, even put them on Ebay and start their art school tuition fund!

We're offering two classes per week. Wednesday class is for kids ages 6-12, Thursday classes for ages 13-18. These have proved pretty popular, with many of the kids from the 2010 Fall classes having taken the class again this past January.

Schedule is as follows:

Wednesday (Ages 6-12): April 6 - May 4, 5:00-7:00 pm.

Second session May 18 - June 15

Thursday (Ages 13-18): April 7 - May 12, 5:30-7:30 pm.

Second session May 19 - June 16

Pico Park, 9528 Beverly Boulevard, Pico Rivera, CA.
Phone: 562-801-4470

Visit or call the Park to register, or register online at the Pico Rivera website. And feel free to email me with any questions: misterjav@gmail.com

Okay, I'll just come out and tell you right now: One of my nieces took the class, too. The story involved a group of kids at a comic convention trying to stop a thief who stole a copy of (I kid you not)...EL MUERTO #1!!

Aw shucks, Caroline....

New interview at RETCON Podcast

 

On St. Patrick's Day I spent an hour or so talking to the RETCON Podcast, a comics and pop culture show. I was interviewed by Henry Barajas and Eric Schock . We talked about, surprise, surprise... me and my comics work!

Among the topics we kicked around were creating comics with a D.I.Y. aesthetic, race & culture, teaching comic book workshops, my in-progress WEAPON TEX-MEX Vs EL MUERTO comic and the upcoming LATINO COMICS EXPO at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco. 

Interestingly, I was also asked about the EL MUERTO movie, which was released in 2007, but it was nice to talk about it again. As I had never been on the RETCON Podcast, it was a fresh subject for us to talk about. Actually, doing an interview about a film several years old now allows me to approach it with a certain perspective. I shared some behind-the-scenes anecdotes regarding the film, and it was nice to be able to relate the positive experiences I had with the production.

Another thing I mentioned on the podcast was that just this week a college student has ordered some of my books from my online shop, in preparation for his upcoming thesis on Latino comic books! That came out of the blue and it was quite a proud moment, I must say. 


You can listen to the podcast by following this link, or listen via iTunes (just search 'Retcon Podcast' in iTunes and download Episode #9).


My thanks to RETCON for having me on the show, and a tip of the hat to hosts Henry and Eric for their engaging questions.

 

Weapon Tex-Mex vs El Muerto: Creating the Story

Sorry for the long delay, but here's Part 2 in my series chronicling the behind-the-scenes process of my upcoming comic book, WEAPON TEX-MEX Vs. EL MUERTO: THE BATTLE OF SANTA MUERTE!!

 (A sketch for an upcoming promotional piece of art)

The reason I haven't been posting for the last 3 weeks was that I've actually been busy drawing the actual comic book. As of today, I can say I've penciled and inked the entire story. Of course, I need to go back and finish details on most of the pages, a few panels here and there. The way I worked was to sweep through the 18 pages, making sure all the figures were inked, and most of the backgrounds. What I need to go back and finish are mostly drawings of cars and interiors of buildings. As those will take a little more time (such as the perspective involved with some of the shots) I didn't want to 'slow' down my inking pace. 


In the first part of this series (scroll down this blog or click here to read it) I talked about what inspired me to create a Tex-Mex Versus Muerto story. Here I'm going to talk about how I put the story together.

Once I came up with the idea of having my two characters duke it out in a comic book, the first thing I did was come up with a sketch, something I thought could be used as a cover. Well, the second I finished the sketch, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that this had to be the final cover. There was something about the outrageousness and sheer audacity of the image that made me both laugh out loud and tingle with that excitement you sometimes get as an artist when you've 'stumbled' across a gold nugget in your own mind. Often in these type of superhero crossover battles (again, see the images from the previous blog post) there's a strong desire, at least for the cover image, to make sure each hero has equal standing with the other, where one character isn't getting the upper-hand on the other. 

Well, these are both my characters, so I didn't have to worry about offending anyone. And since Tex-Mex is a rip-snorting, hulking brute of a man, why the heck wouldn't he be plowing the 5' 10", 160 lb El Muerto through a concrete wall?! Plus I like the fact that even though El Muerto is my signature character, with much wider recognition (the dude's got a movie made about him, for cripes sake!), he's on the receiving end of a good ol' Texan butt-whippin'!


This isn't actually the first time Muerto and Tex-Mex have been seen on the same cover. That milestone happened on my last book, COMIC POP, (with me thrown on there to further increase sales) :

 

They didn't actually appear in a story together, that comic was a collection of reprints featuring individual stories with them as well as some other rarities. But the idea putting them together really appealed to me.

 

My plan for the Versus story was that I wanted to make it a short story, primarily for the fact that the two previous Weapon Tex-Mex comics were short tales, really short. The first was 3 pages, the second a whopping 4. Since this is technically a Tex-Mex story, I wanted to keep to the shortened story format. Originally I thought I could do this story in about 8-10 pages. Eventually it clocked in at 18 pages, but it's the only way to have told the particular tale I came up with.

 

When I sat down to thumbnail the story, I didn't really have a definite idea where I was going, or at least how I was going to get there exactly. Just so you know, I don't actually write scripts for myself, I literally have to see the story in visual form, that's my 'script'. I prefer to deliver the story from my mind to the paper with the actual images of the story, unraveling the narrative through images, panel by panel, page by page. I knew the main story points I had to hit, but when I sketched out the first pages of thumbnails, it was almost like watching the story unfold right before my very eyes.

 

Here are the first three pages of my thumbnails (these are drawn on plain 8.5" x 11" sheets of white paper).  Page 1, first panel was going to have the title and credits, then followed by the first two panels, setting up the opening:

 

Page 2, a meeting between Tex-Mex and someone looking to hire a zombie hunter:

 

As you can see on Page 3, I stopped drawing when I got to the bottom of the page:

The reason I stopped was I realized that I was eating up 3 pages already, and I was hoping to tell this story in under 10 pages! So I knew right away I had to find a quicker way to start the story. I eventually got rid of the guy hiring Tex-Mex, or at least substituted another character for his role, and reworked the opening into a tighter narrative. So these pages go into the 'deleted scenes' folder...

 

Getting the tone of the story was something I always had to keep in mind as well. Tex-Mex is more of a satirical, humorous character, and his two previous stories reflect that, while El Muerto is much more along the lines of a tragic, cursed-hero figure. I don't want to give too much away here in regards to the final project, but I just crafted the story with the idea that these two have to meet in a story, and they have to be who they are, and the narrative has to tell their story. Obviously what they have in common is that I've drawn them before in their own stories, and even though they have their own distinct voices, I'm the one doing the 'talking'. So I think the way I confronted this issue was to simply just write them together in a story, keeping their unique identities intact, and make the story work. 

Another reason I wanted to bring these two characters together was I plan to debut this comic at the inaugural Latino Comics Expo, being held in San Francisco at the Cartoon Art Museum on May 7 & 8.  It seemed like such a natural idea to have a comic featuring Weapon Tex-Mex and El Muerto at such an event. In fact, I'm also aiming to produce a special limited edition of the comic exclusively for this event, with an entirely different cover and some extra added bonus item. More on that later...

In my next post for this series, I'll share some of the actual inked pages and how I approached that stage of production.

Weapon Tex-Mex vs El Muerto: The Inspiration

So the other day my mind was struck with a stimulating bolt of creative lightning. Once it hit, my brain was sizzling from the primal energy of the idea. So I made an executive decision and immediately put my current comic book project on 'Stand By' status, as I want to get this new book produced and sent to the printer by the end of March.

There's a couple of reasons I'm doing this. One is that I have a couple of upcoming conventions in a few months, and I want to release a new book at these specific shows. But what really gave me the actual idea for the story was the influence of some old favorites of mine growing up.

 As a kid, watching this on TV, I thought it was the coolest idea ever. Having watched the original KING KONG numerous times, and my fair share of GODZILLA flicks, it as a real kick to see the two of them going at it. I'm not going to say I was real media savy, but I knew it was a rare treat to be able to see the two of them in the same movie, as Godzilla was a Japanese property and King Kong was a homegrown movie monster.

  

Even the superheroes got into the act:

I actually had this comic in a collection my older brother had given me in the early 70s. Not only was the Jack Kirby cover just screaming to me to read it, but the whole idea of Captain America fighting with Daredevil was a thrill. (Spoiler alert: Daredevil had a fever, causing him to recklessly attack Cap who was performing some exhibition fighting matches for charity!).

By the mid-70s, when I was buying my own comics, the greatest cataclysmic event in my young comics-reading career happened, right before my very eyes!

SUPERMAN VS SPIDER-MAN (1976), the first-ever superhero crossover comic between DC Comics and Marvel. And the really sweet thing about this was that it was printed up in the giant-size Treasury Edition format both companies were using at the time for special projects. This is truly one of my favorite comics of all time. The Treasuries measure about 10" x 13", and the size of the book really added to the impact of the historical nature of the story. In 1981 they followed up with this whopper:

As a comic fan, there is such a special excitement about seeing superhero characters from rival companies battle it out. It's not something that's going to be done frequently (if ever again), and they each bring their own extensive histories to the battleground. (If you want to read more about these books and Treasury Comics in general, check out my friend Rob Kelly's entertaining and informative site, TREASURY COMICS.COM)

In the mid 90's I became a fan of Go Nagai, the Japanese cartoonist who created both MAZINGER Z and DEVILMAN, two very famous properties of his that debuted in their own mangas (Japanese comics) in the early 70s. Amazingly, within a few months of launching each title, there were animated series for both characters. And within a year of that, there was the MAZINGER Z Versus DEVILMAN animated movie!

Here we actually have a crossover between one creator's characters. Such a smart move, because this way any profits (outside of whatever arrangement he made with the animation studio) go into Go Nagai's production company, Dynamic Productions. Plus he's getting two of his fan bases to watch one of his productions. And don't discount the merchandising possibilities, either...!

Just a few short weeks ago I learned that Go Nagai had published a brand-new team-up in manga called DEVILMAN Versus GETTER ROBO (another of his creations). I actually ordered it from a Japanese bookstore in Little Tokyo, and while I can't read Japanese, I was able to follow along somewhat with the story.

I really think this book is what really got me thinking about matching up two of my characters in one story. El Muerto and Weapon Tex-Mex seemed like an interesting fit. While the Tex-Mex stories (two short stories to date) are done much more in a humorous light, the El Muerto comics are created with a more melodramatic tone, with the gothic elements and human interest aspects blended in with the supernatural/superhero tropes.  


They're actually the first two comic characters I created that saw print (Tex-Mex in 1997, Muerto in 1998). So it's been a battle 14 years in the making! (Hey, gotta use that in the PR!)

I've already finished drawing the rough draft of the comic (the thumbnails, as we sometimes call them) and you can see the cover at the top of this post. (By the way, this is slightly revised from my first attempt at the cover. If you want to compare, check it out at my DeviantArt page).  

I'll be sharing some behind-the-scenes progress reports here for the next several weeks. Next post in this series will be how I came up with the actual story and the struggle I had in creating the rough draft. Taking two different types of characters, and putting them in a brand new story was an interesting exercise in creativity. Plus more insight into why these two characters actually work very well for what I have in mind.

And if you haven't seen it yet, my first ever WEAPON TEX-MEX comic is available to read, for free, right here on this very site, just click here, or scroll up to the top green tabs.

Upcoming shows: Latino Comics Expo and San Gabriel Valley Comic Book Festival

Two upcoming shows I'll be participating at include the first-ever LATINO COMICS EXPO being held on May 7 & 8 at the CARTOON ART MUSEUM  in San Francisco.

(Logo and illustration by Jose Cabrera)

The LATINO COMICS EXPO was an idea between myself and Ricardo Padilla (he curated my COMIC POP solo art show last year in San Francisco). We envisioned an event that would encompass a wide range of voices from Latino-themed comics from a variety of artists of Latino background. We approached the Cartoon Art Museum and they were very supportive of our proposal. I'll be posting up the names of confirmed artists next week, so please check back and make plans to attend!

 

(Robot monster painting by Ted Seko)

This is our 4th year in a row presenting our San Gabriel Valley Comic Book Festival. When I approached my fellow Nuvein Foundation Board Members with the idea of hosting our own local comic book show, they wholeheartedly agreed and now we have what promises to be our biggest show yet. Again, details on this will be forthcoming, but we're eyeing a June event this year.

When I started self-publishing my own comics years ago, it never occurred to be to one day become an organizer of shows. But sometimes you have to just take a step forward and make things happen that you believe should happen. Of course, nothing like this gets done on it's own, so thanks go to the many people involved in helping put these events together.

In memory of Lisa Nguyen

A few weeks ago, I was informed of the death of Lisa Nguyen, a 27 yr. old artist. I had met Lisa through another friend several years ago. Lisa was always very friendly and outgoing every time I met her, and her best friend would tell me of their many hilarious adventures the two of them had over the years.

 

 

Lisa's death is even more tragic, as she was murdered. The entire ordeal is a huge tragedy, and out of respect to her memory, her family and her friends, I'm not going to use this space to recount that incident. The fact that Lisa is gone is such a terrible fact by itself.

What I will share with you is that all my memories of Lisa are those of a young woman with a huge zest for living, a true passion for all matters of art, and a person with very close relationships with her large group of friends. I can't claim a close friendship with her, as I really only saw her through her best friend (my girlfriend at the time). I felt a real gratitude toward Lisa, because she would remark that I was 'good' for her best friend! But I feel she and I considered one another friends, because Lisa just made me feel that way.

The grief for those who knew, and loved her, has been tremendous. But so has the outpouring of support, friendship and love. I created the above piece of art for the tribute show her friends have put together to honor Lisa's life and artistry. 

The Fabulous Life of Lisa Nguyen
A tribute show
February 6 – 10, 2011

Opening Reception:
Sunday, February 6th in the Werby Gallery, 5:00-7:00PM
Student Gallery courtyard at Cal State University, Long Beach
 

Gallery Hours:
Monday – Thursday, 12:00- 5:00PM
Wednesday 12:00-7:00PM

Proceeds from the sale of work go toward the Lisa Nguyen Memorial Scholarship

My upcoming comics for 2011 and beyond...

I'm working on my latest comic book right now, I've written a script for another book to be illustrated by another artist, and my research for a 3rd project has begun. Here's a look at what I have coming up in my publishing plans for 2011:

EL MUERTO: DEAD & CONFUSED Pt 2

In the time since Pt 1 was published, we saw the publication of MANGA MUERTO Vol 1, MAN-SWAMP, COMIC POP, The COMIC POP SKETCHBOOK and the limited edition WANTED:WEAPON TEX-MEX (all currently available in my Web Shop!). But now it's time to finally getting back to the continuing adventures of El Muerto!

Here's the first page I've inked. It's not actually the first page of the comic, but I wanted to start off with working on a splash page as a way to hit the ground running. Also, this way I have something to show you with a little extra pizzaz! The page needs just a couple of details finished, then it will be scanned and taken into Photoshop for the inevitable clean-up. 


Here are a couple of shots of my thumbnails, the 'rough drafts' of the actual story:

I plan out the majority of the issue in my head, kind of like running a movie in my brain, where I literally see the visual narrative of the story. Then I scrawl out the story onto paper, often noting the placement of word balloons. Sometimes I'll add the dialogue, but more often than not I keep drawing, as I haven't decided upon the exact words I want the characters to say, although I know what the scene is about, and how they're expressing themselves. Once I'm done doing the thumbnails for the whole book, I'll pencil and ink the entire story, at full size, after which I scan the pages into the computer. I bring the images into Illustrator and create the word balloons, and dialogue the entire story, at this stage.

I'll be posting lots more about the production of DEAD & CONFUSED Pt 2 over the next several months, along with sneak peeks and publishing dates/details. The other comic that I currently have in the works is:

CALACAS OF JUSTICE

 Dead Dinosaurio, Sharpie drawing on canvas board.


This comic is a change of pace from the Muerto story I'm working
on for several reason. One of the things about this comic is that it's conceived and geared to be an All-Ages book, meaning the content is appropriate for younger aged readers. Clean, action-packed, comic book fun, like a Saturday morning cartoon. The other thing that makes this book different is that while I created all the characters, I'm only going to writing this one. I'm working with a fellow comic book creator, John Narcomey, who'll be penciling and inking the book. We're doing a coin toss who see who'll color it!

BatiCalaca, acrylic painting on canvas.

John's the creator of GHOST FACE, JUNGLE JIVE and a few other titles. I've know him for some years. A lot of times, artists tell each other "We should work on a project together." Well, the timing, and project, were right, and so John's on board to help me launch the CALACAS OF JUSTICE. I'm finishing up some of the character designs for John, but I'll update you folks here in the coming months on the progress of that book as well, including the first look at John's take on these characters.

 

Spider-Calaca, acrylic painting on canvas.

Who are the Calacas of Justice? A team of superheroes from the afterlife city of Posadaville. 'Calacas' are the skeletal figures which are commonly used in the art of Dia de Los Muertos (The Mexican Day of the Dead). These characters are inspired by the popular superhero archetypes we all know and love. Visually, I wanted to give them a certain design that calls to mind those illegal, knock-off toys you occassionaly see of Superman or X-Men, for example. The colors and details are sometimes off, but they resemble the original characters to a point. But they're often wonderfully garish and bizarre looking.

 Calaca Americano, digital drawing created in Adobe Illustrator.

SECRET MYSTERY COMIC

My final major project I'm working on this year is Top Secret. It's a fictional tale based on a real person. A famous person, for that matter. What's really interesting for me is to actually be researching my subject. I've never really had to do much research for my previous comics, other than the usual visual references (what's a crocodile look like, carnival scenes, taking photographs in my city, etc.).

But due to the fact that this is based on a real person, I wanted to get a pretty good idea how the person thinks, acts, talks, etc, plus accumulate as many relevant biographical anecdotes as possible. This has included purchasing a handful of books (autobiographic & biographic) and DVDs, and even getting a Researcher's ID card at particular local library/museum. Also, doodling the character's likeness, along with other supporting characters, is something I do to help me get familiar with the subjects.

The primary focus about this Top Secret project that I'll be working on, while I produce the new El Muerto and collaborate on the CALACAS, will be to continue taking notes from the various books and films I'll be watching when I'm away from the art table. I won't start drawing any of the actual pages until El Muerto and the CALACAS are done and printed. I'll also be updating you here as I go along into the research, and how it impacts my storytelling. My best estimate is that I'll start drawing this book in the Fall of this year. For now though, I guess we can refer to this mystery comic as:

PROJECT: Z-XOZ

  

One word about another project people have asked me about. Last year I announced that my political/satirical comic, DEMOLITION DOVE, was going to debut as a web comic. Well, it's still going to be my first webcomic, but I'm going to move it to next year. 

What happened was that after the horrific tragedy in Arizona, with the shooting of Congresswoman Giffords and the murder of 6 innocent bystanders, the airwaves were filled with all kinds of emotional and vitriolic talk about violence and the so-called 'targeting of politicians' by political 'hate speech'. Well, I'm not going to turn this post into my own political rant on the subject, but it was because of this climate that I decided to hold off a year on putting my story out in the public arena. Of course, predictably, even as the President himself declared that the shooting was not a direct result of the influence of political speech, the same hysterical feuds between the left and the right have resumed. There really is no hope for the two parties, is there? And to be very honest, having the webcomic run during the 2012 election year is just a way more smarter move, as a publisher!

DEMOLITION DOVE deals with an alternate world, parallel to ours to a point, populated by a different species. Think PLANET OF THE APES with bird people. It's a nightmarish world, told through scorching satire and black humor, where the most extremist elements of the left wing and the right wing are battling for control of the government, the media is an immoral law unto itself, and the world's terrorists have formed a corporation. 

The main protagonist deals with it in the only way that works in this world gone mad:

 (You can read the Demolition Dove preview story online at Webcomics Nation by clicking here)

There will be no shortage of targets and bullseyes and surveyor's symbols in this book! But, and I'm going to have to make sure to repeat this periodically, this is a fictional, satirical story, not a blueprint for political assassination. 

So these are the primary comic book projects that I have on the assembly line. There may be a short story or two that pop up, and of course there are other matters to attend to this year, like conventions, my increasing amount of comic book workshops and any other artistic endeavors that I end up pursuing. But this year, the focus for me will be on producing some new comic books!

Personalized artwork from a student and an El Muerto birthday party

Last evening in my comic book class, one of my students gave me this:

 

Me dreaming about my comic book creation, El Muerto...! 

The student's name is Matthew, and for Christmas I had given him a sketchbook to encourage him to keep a lot of his drawings together in one place. I met his parents at a Starbuck's over the Christmas break and gave them the gift. That's such a cool drawing, and very much appreciated.

 

Matthew was in my class last Fall, and I actually met him and his parents earlier that year at a local library where I was doing a Live Art presentation with the Cartoonistas. One day I received an email from his mother asking if I'd be willing to perform a Live Art/comic drawing demostration at her son's upcoming birthday party. I thought it was a neat idea, and so we settled on a price and some months later I did my first ever birthday party performance. We even ordered a custom-made El Muerto piñata for Matthew! And his mom had ordered a custom-made El Muerto cake as well. It was a superhero themed party, so the whole day turned out to be a real fun event, even for the kids!

 

It's great to see such supportive parents of a talented child. Matthew's got a lot of creative outlets for his talents, and there's no reason to think he won't remain active with his art as he gets older. 

Thanks to Matthew for the wonderful drawing he gave me, and to Ben & Cathy for being supportive of my work as well!

Comic book workshop starts this week in Pico Rivera

This week I'll be conducting a couple of 5 week Comic Book Workshops at Pico Park in Pico Rivera, CA.

If you know of any young artists who like drawing and telling stories, consider signing them up for my class. I've been teaching classes in the city of Pico Rivera for about 7 years now, and I'm always glad to see a new group of kids taking the class and seeing their individual takes on comics creating.


If you need any more info, please call or email the Park at:
562.801.4470
recreation@pico-rivera.org

Or email me directly at:
misterjav@gmail.com


You can also register online at:
Pico Park Online Registration