Discovering Spider-Man & my Spider-Man artwork

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the Amazing Spider-Man, one of the world's most popular comic book heroes.

Star of 1000s of comic books, cartoon shows, live-action television, video games, blockbuster movies and more merchandise than you can shake a web at, the character debuted back in 1962 in AMAZING FANTASY #15. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Spidey has endured throughout the decades by being the underdog hero who never gives up. And you can't beat that costume!

As a kid, I was a huge fanatic. The earliest comics I had of Spider-Man were given to me by my older brother Albert. Some of these treasures included these gems by John Romita and Gil Kane (issue #88)....

 Through the reprint series MARVEL TALES, I got to experience the earlier stories drawn by Steve Ditko.....

By the time I stared buying my own comics at the local 7-11, I was a bonafide Spider-Fanatic...

 





















I'll be sharing memories about my favorite Spider-Man stories in later posts, and some thoughts about watching Spider-Man on THE ELECTRIC COMPANY children's show, the 1967 SPIDER-MAN cartoon show, the Sam Raimi movies and lots more. Right now though, I'd like to share some artwork I created over the last couple of days. Just some quick sketches capturing different characters from the books. 

First batch includes The Lizard, J. Jonah Jameson, Peter Parker's first genuine crush, Betty Brant, Peter Parker in his wrestler gear from AMAZING FANTASY #15 and a shot of Spidey himself:

 

Like I said, more webslinging action to come in future posts!

Spider-Man © Marvel Characters

Steve Ditko Poster Comic: DITKO CONSIDERED

While movie theaters are packed to the rafters with audiences watching THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, you can read my brand-new Poster Comic here for free!

The story of Steve Ditko, the co-creator of the Amazing Spider-Man, as well as a plethora of other characters and comics:

 Click here for a much larger, readable version. One you get to the image on DeviantArt, click the comic again and it'll go Super Size!


In commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of Spider-Man, I'll have a whole series of posts dedicated to what's always been my favorite comic book superhero since I was a kid. Tune in tomorrow for more art and memories of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!


For now, please read a little about the man who co-created this famous character, Steve Ditko....

Sketches and drawings and doodles

Sometimes I'll share some artwork I've created over at my Facebook page, or via Twitter. I also post lots of artwork on my page at DeviantArt. But I should remember to also share it here, for those of you who may not come across those other pages.


So here are several pages from my sketchbook. These were done within the last 2 weeks or so....

Etrigan the Demon, created by Jack Kirby in the early 1970s. © DC Comics

Devilman, created by Japanese comics creator Go Nagai, early 1970s. (What is it with demons and the early 1970s?). © Go Nagai and Dynamic Productions.

A character I'm currently working on as a Poster Comic. Miss Maude!


Here's a pair of doodles I did this morning. I call these doodles because I drew them without penciling them first. I just got my pen marker and started drawing, not worrying about making mistakes, or trying to draw correct anatomy or proper perspective. Just draw, and splash on some color with my Tombow markers....

Miss Maude and Weapon Tex-Mex © Javier Hernandez

The Coma © Javier Hernandez

A Night in Gotham ART EXHIBIT

Hey Batfans, join me this Friday for a Batman art show!

The exhibit is being held at the Arte Cabalturo Art Studio. The Opening Night Reception takes place on Friday, June 22 from 8pm thru Midnight. The show will be up until July 20.


Come on out to La Puente, CA and support this show, and the folks putting the event together. They're working hard to make this a memorable evening, as well as continuing to grow the arts community in the city. The Art Cabalturo Art Studio is located at 
15815 Main St., La Puente, CA 91744.


I'll have two paintings in the show including this brand-new piece, BAT 2 FACE:

And this classic, THE BATICALACA:

GEEKS CON 2 coming to GEEKS Comics June 16

GEEKS Comics will be hosting their second installment of their micro-comic convention.....

Yes, GEEKS CON 2: COMIC BOOK BOOGALOO! Saturday, June 16, from 12 Noon thru 5pm. Pick up some comics for your Father's Day gift-giving! I'll be there with lots of other local independent comic book creators. I'll have all my books and Poster Comics and prints and stuff....

Check out the Facebook invite, and make plans to visit your friendly neighborhood comics show. It's FREE to attend, and it's held inside GEEKS, the fashionable comic shop located in Uptown Whittier.

GEEKS
6747 Greenleaf Ave. Suite A
Whittier CA 90601

Mini-comic in progress: DEAD DINOSAURIO

The above work-in-progress logo is for the project I'm currently working on, a mini-comic: DEAD DINOSAURIO & EZTLI: The First Calaca.

You may be aware of my Calacas of Justice project? Where I'm creating a team of Day of the Dead superheroes, based in part on classic superhero archetypes (or cliches). I've done two Poster Comics featuring The Spider-Calaca and the BatiCalaca. Calacas is Spanish for the skeletal figures you often see during Dia de Los Muertos, the Mexican holiday celebrating the life of deceased loved ones, friends and family members. 

Add to that growing roster of characters Dead Dinosaurio, and his young sidekick Eztli (that's 'Blood' in  Nahuatl, the native language of the Aztecs).  A boy and his dinosaur. Whether it's Moon Boy & Devil Dinosaur or that kid hanging out with the giant turtle, Gamera, there's a whole genre of a fiction teaming up a kid with a giant creature. That's something I definitely wanted to explore in a comic. 

 The boy who rode a giant, nuclear turtle!

As a way of introducing these two, I had to conceive an origin story for them. Who was the boy? And why did he have a T-Rex for a pet? Originally I thought of them as having a prehistoric origin (even though we're told that humans and dinosaurs were separated by millions of years). Then I came up with the idea of making the boy a young Aztec. But then I had to come up with a reason for him running around with a dinosaur! Well, that was easy...

During the Spanish Conquest of Mexico, I figured, young Eztli had come across a huge chunk of amber embedded into the side of a mountain. While not recognizing what was inside (perhaps it was Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent diety?) he began to slowly scrape away as much rock from the amber tomb as he could, returning every day to start anew. Once the Spaniards launched their siege of the Aztec city-state Tenochtitlan, Eztli runs back into the mountains and tries desperately to free the thing within the amber, praying that it will somehow be able to help his people....

  Thumbnails to a three page sequence.

This shouldn't be a spoiler, but, as seen in the above, it wasn't a god that was encased in the amber....

 So, before there can be a skeletal version of Eztli and the dinosaur, there has to be flesh & blood versions of them. That's what this story is about. The artwork for the book will be colored in gray tones, which still need to be added, with the final, printed book available by July. I'll keep you updated here as well as on my Twitter, DeviantArt and Facebook pages.

In researching dinosaurs, and Mexico and the Conquest, I discovered that about 15 years ago there was a movie about a Tyrannosaurus Rex running rampant during the Conquest of Mexico! Tyrannosaurus Azteca !? To say I was surprised was an understatement. A little bruised ego never stopped me, though.... You can watch the film on YouTube. It's quite....something else. So, if there was a precedent for the niche genre of dinosaurs and the Conquest, well then, I'm happy to add my own unique take on it!

Memories of the Latino Comics Expo 2012

I got home this past Monday evening from the long weekend in San Francisco for the Latino Comics Expo. Tuesday morning, I was right back to work on a new comic book, back to teaching my comics workshops, and squeezing in a screening of THE AVENGERS during the week (loved it, by the way!). But I realized I had better get to blogging about the Expo...!

This year's Expo was once again held at the Cartoon Art Museum. Many thanks to the Museum for hosting us once again, with special mention to Curator Andrew Farago, Executive Director Summerlea Kashar, Board of Trustees Chair Ron Evans, and the delightful Elena Diaz for assisting us day and night.

We had an art exhibit running in conjunction with the Expo as well, LA RAZA COMICA: A CELEBRATION OF THE LATINO AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IN THE COMIC ARTS (which runs until September 30). The Opening Night reception taking place on Friday, May 4. My good friend, and illustrious co-founder of the Expo, Executive Director Ricardo Padilla (in the gray sportscoat) is enjoying a cup of his home-made Sangria, alongside cartoonist Rafael Navarro:

The Museum will have several exhibits running simultaneously, and one of the other shows was the Mad Magazine retrospective. No shortage of gawking and geeking out on that show, and that was just us artists!

I was very proud that we put together an art exhibit focusing on Latino comic creators. And I have to say, as an artist myself, it's such a unique opportunity to have artwork hanging on the walls of such a museum. I've seen numerous shows there over the year, so it's a joy to have artwork displayed on the same walls that have featured such comics and artists as DICK TRACY, SPY Vs SPY, PEANUTS, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Wally Wood, Frank Frazetta, Jack Davis, Sergio Aragones, Gene Colan, etc. Literally every great cartoonist over the last 100 years! And now...sniff....me, too....

 A page from my WEAPON TEX-MEX Vs EL MUERTO.

I stayed at the home of Ricardo and Rosalind Padilla for the weekend, and after the art opening we went back to their place and watched MASTER OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE! Nothing like a little kung-fu cinema when running an Expo, ya know?

Saturday we woke up to stunningly beautiful, sunny weather, but luckily the crowds showed up to our first day of the Expo. We had a rich variety of creators exhibiting there, some debuting their new books, others being long-time, well-traveled convention exhibitors. We had creators working on web comics, zines, comics and graphic novels, even animation. I was giving out copies of the new BATICALACA Poster Comic, and luckily we had lots of kids show up, as the comic was created for an all-ages audience in mind.

I shared a table all weekend with Jose Cabrera, always a blast hanging out with the fun-loving creator of CRYING MACHO MAN (seen below with cartoonist Isis Rodriguez, who flew in from Mexico to debut her comic book NIÑAJI):

We had a full day of panels on Saturday, including one on Self-publishing (featuring, L to R, Crystal Gonzalez, the team of Mario Lanao and Cristian Garcia, Rafael Navarro & Michael Aushenker ):

I hosted a panel called 'Mythology in Comics'. It was fascinating to hear the panelists discuss their approaches to incorporating Mexican myths and folklore into their stories, as well all varied in our methods and reasons. One of our panelists, Rodolfo Mendoza, is from Mexico (currently living in Utah), so we assisted him with translating his responses to English (thanks to Isis and Ricardo for pitching in!). L to R are Isis Rodriguez, Adriana Garcia Cabrera, Daniel Parada & Rodolfo Mendoza).

I know that Ricardo and I were very grateful to have had so many great creators attend our Expo and appear on our panel. And we were especially proud to have also had a special panel featuring Spain Rodriguez, the legendary cartoonist from the original underground comix movement of the late 60s/early 70s, and cartoonist and friend of the Expo, Mario Hernandez. Ricardo reached out to Spain in the Bay Area and invited him to the Expo. Spain was more than happy to appear with his old friend, Mario. Here's Ricardo moderating the conversation with Spain (L) and Mario (in the middle):

Another memorable event that occurred at the Expo was that the curator of the Latin American, Mexican American & Iberian Collections at the University of Stanford came to the Expo. He and another representative walked through and purchased from the artists 3 copies of every work they had. They actually bought my entire inventory of EL MUERTO COLLECTOR BOXES I had brought with me! While it's always great to have such a great sale, what really is special is having your work included in such a collection, particularly from such an institution as Stanford. When someone wants to study the history of Latino comics and creators, my work will be available for research, alongside many other works by other artists. Yes, yes, I know we have Google, but good old-fashioned physical research can't be beat!

Saturday evening was time for another get-together, this time hosted by our friends at MISSION: COMICS & ART. Get a bunch of cartoonists together at a comic shop, add Sangria and some other 'drinks', and well, you got yourself a party!

Las Cartoonistas! L to R, Isis, Crystal Gonzalez, Gabrielle Gamboa, Grasiela Rodriguez and Liz Mayorga.

Me and the charming Crystal. And yeah, I'm sporting my stylish Ed Wood 'Bride of the Atom' t-shirt and vintage 1976 Howard the Duck presidential campaign button!

Sunday was another day of beautiful weather, and more Expo excitement!  

I really enjoyed hearing from the folks who visited the Expo. One elderly gentleman, I believe his name was Bob, was telling me about the first Latino in professional baseball (Luis Castro, playing for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1902). Bob was telling me how Luis died poor and in obscurity, with no tribute or tombstone to mark his passing. He told me he had no idea there were 'Latino comics' and he hoped that we would all leave a mark and not end up in obscurity, like Mr. Castro. There was sincerity and true emotion in Ben's voice, and it was really touching to hear him express his concerns. I told him that was the reason that we created a Latino Comics Expo, so that creators of Latino descent could gather together and share their work with readers. I also assured Ben that I make as much noise as I can about my own work, whether people want to hear about me or not! 

We also had an animation panel, organized by cartoonist and animation-dabbler Jose Cabrera. Here's Grasiela Rodriguez discussing her techniques, and a shot of the audience enjoying the various animated shorts:

 
On Sunday, we had another panel with Mario Hernandez, this time he did a reading from one of his comics and had a Q&A with the audience. Mario was a guest last year as well, and he's a complete pleasure to talk with. The first thing he said to me when I saw him Friday evening at the art opening was "I just saw THE AVENGERS and I loved it!". Now that's the way to start a conversation in a comics museum!

Being a co-founder of this particular event fills me with a huge amount of accomplishment. The reaction from the artists and the community of fans convinces me that this is a very important thing that we do, this love of comics as our storytelling device. And the reasons we do it, the influence we each get from our individual experiences, and the impact it has on the people, both within and outside the Latino community, well, the rewards speak for themselves.

LATINO COMICS EXPO this weekend at the Cartoon Art Museum!

This weekend in San Francisco, at the world famous CARTOON ART MUSEUM, the LATINO COMICS EXPO will be in full effect on May 5 & 6!

I'll be exhibiting there all weekend (I'm actually one of the co-founders of the event!), as well as hosting a panel (Saturday from 2:00pm-2:45pm). I also have artwork on display in the exhibit, LA RAZA COMICA: A CELEBRATION OF THE LATINO AMERICAN EXPERIENCE IN THE COMIC ARTS.

I'll have a full line of my stuff....comics, DVD, prints, buttons. I'll even be doing sketchcards, right in front of your very eyes!

A new product I'll have at the Expo will be the EL MUERTO COLLECTOR BOX. Packed with the first issue of EL MUERTO, the DVD of the live-action film and a hand-drawn & colored EL MUERTO mini sketch doll!

 
 Also, I'll have my current stock of Poster Comics, including the new one for May, THE BATICALACA! 

As a way to participate in FREE COMIC BOOK DAY (May 5), I'll be giving away FREE copies of the Baticalaca Poster Comic while supplies last!


Hope to see some of you at the EXPO!

BATICALACA Poster Comic

My 6th and newest Poster Comic is available for viewing...THE BATICALACA!

(Click on the image to see a larger, readable version on my page at DeviantArt.)  


The Baticalaca is one of the heroes of the CALACAS OF JUSTICE, my Day of the Dead-themed super hero group. A previous Poster Comic featured another hero from the group,  The Spider-Calaca.


This Poster Comic will be available for FREE this coming Saturday, May 5, at the LATINO COMICS EXPO, while supplies last. I'll be exhibiting both days at the Expo, being held again this year at the Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco. Free Comic Book Day is a national event with participating comic book stores giving away free comic books created exclusively for the event. I wanted to have a free giveaway as well and figured the brand-new BATICALACA Poster Comic would be a great way to do it!

Interview at COMIC BOOK CINEMA site

I did an interview for the COMIC BOOK CINEMA site, a blog that spotlights films based on comics and graphic novels. 

It's been awhile since I've done an interview about the EL MUERTO film, as it came out in 2007, but occasionally someone will ask about it. It's always nice to go back, with several years perspective on it, and relive some of the memories. 

When I was first contacted about the possibility of making a movie out of the comic, in August 2001, believe it or not, I figured it was interesting to have gotten the attention of a filmmaker. At the time, the X-MEN film had been released, the BLADE series was in full swing, and SPIDER-MAN was just around the corner. Over the next couple of years comic book movies became the hottest thing for Hollywood studios, and it was with the rising tide of these large blockbusters coming out that somehow, to me, seemed like a movie based on my black & white, self-published comic was going to get made.

I was probably more optimistic about the chances of the EL MUERTO film actually happening because of our circumstances. Screenwriter/director Brian Cox, the person who initially contacted me, wanted to make the film. Larry Rattner, the producer that Brian partnered with, wanted to make the film. A group of businessmen, the Leones, Bruno and his two sons Dan and Rich, had previously approached Larry with a desire to finance their first film production. Larry brought up the idea of an EL MUERTO movie to them, and, like producers do, convinced them to put their money into the adaptation.

By 2005, we were in the midst of filming the movie. It was about a four week shoot, and every day was filled with surreal moments. For me, it was like years of film school compressed into 30 days of non-stop work, action and drama, with my comic being chosen as the class project!

At the Laemmle Grand Theatre in downtown Los Angeles in 2007, with mini-Muerto.

In the years following it's completion, film festival run, DVD release and cable TV circulation, the movie continues to find it's life beyond it's celluloid confines. I'll meet fans, via the internet or at conventions, who've seen the film in one form or another. A couple of years ago on this blog I wrote about what I called 'the Muerto movie boomerang effect', sharing some examples of how the film continues to find fans.

That's the power and reach of film, even a relatively small production like our independent comic book movie.

Check out the interview at the COMIC BOOK CINEMA site. And thanks to Ron Evans for contacting me for the chance to talk about a little film called EL MUERTO!

THE HUMAN FLY movie!?

 Looks like someone is making a documentary on THE HUMAN FLY! 


 

Long-time readers of this blog know that the Human Fly is the 1970s real-life masked stuntman whose exploits were made legendary in the 19-issue Marvel Comics series. I have written about the comic book (and my passion for it) here before, which you can find at this link.  

The YouTube clip above is an intro to the film, which hopefully will be completed and released. Despite all my years of being a fan of the Fly, I had never seen any video footage of him, so I was literally beaming with excitement when I finally watched the promo film. Imagine waiting some 35 years to actually watch a childhood hero of yours in action? For me, the Fly from the comic series (which was written for it's entire run by one of my favorite writers, Bill Mantlo) is the real Human Fly. He's the one whose story I followed for a year and a half as an 11 yr old, all wide-eyed and star struck. The fact that I knew the comic was based on the real-life stuntman just made him all the more awesome in my mind.

While all my friends were tripping over themselves to get to the new STAR WARS movie, I was daydreaming about the wildest superhero ever, because, hello, he was real!

My good friend Michael Aushenker (fellow cartoonist & Fly enthusiast) wrote an article a few years ago for BACK ISSUE magazine, (you can read my review of it here) providing the most comprehensive history in print I've ever read on the backstory of the Human Fly. It's worth seeking out (and not just because he actually got a quote from me for the piece!). While there are some unanswered questions and rumors regarding the Human Fly, and I imagine the documentary will address (expose?) them, I'll always have my idealized version of the Fly, as illustrated by such master cartoonists as Frank Springer, Carmine Infantino and the untouchable Mr. Frank Robbins, with captivating scripts by the great Bill Mantlo. 

I'm eager to see the full story of the Human Fly, warts and all. It's about dang time, and I know there is an underground cult of Fly Fans just waiting for this flick. It won't be the super blockbuster movie that THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN or THE AVENGERS will be, but what the heck, those characters ain't real!

 A color marker sketch I did just before writing this post, and after watching the video for about the 5th time since last night...

"Her name is.....Andromeda X7X" Poster Comic

April's Poster Comic is here...straight from the Limbos Galaxy!

For a much larger version of the comic, click here, which will take you to my page at DeviantArt. Then click on the image and it'll enlarge to a much easier-to-read super-size.