My cover and foreword for LATINOS AND NARRATIVE MEDIA

There's a new book on Latinos in media featuring cover artwork by me. I've also written the foreword to the book.

LATINOS AND NARRATIVE MEDIA is edited by Frederick Luis Aldama, an Art & Humanitites Distinguished Professor of English and founder & Director of LASER/Latino & Latin American Space for Enrichment Research at Ohio State University. Aldama has written over a dozen books, often dealing with Latino culture and identity as viewed through media and the arts.

In addition to being asked to write the foreword, Professor Aldama also informed me that I was in fact the subject of one of the chapters in the book! Written by David William Foster, the piece is entitled "Latino Comics: Javier Hernandez's El Muerto as an Allegory for Chicano Identity". 

The book is an examination of the influence of Latino culture and creators on a wide spectrum of the popular arts, including film, animation, video games, tattoo art and comics. To be the topic of one of the essays took a minute or so to wrap my head around. When I originally set out to create El Muerto, my goal was to selfishly create a character that I wanted to see in print. Something that would let me express myself through the medium of comics, mixing up a wide variety of influences that inspire me. That people would find things in it that perhaps I wasn't consciously trying to address is flattering, but also speaks to the way creative people spin their stories. Whatever media we're working in, our inner lives and experiences can't help but flavor the final product.

The cover of the book uses artwork from the cover of one of my comics, MANGA MUERTO Vol 1. I submitted several images to the publisher, and in the end they used the one they liked best. Looking at the final cover, designed by Will Speed, I think they made a great choice. This book is a scholarly treatise, so my personal guess is that the comic art on the cover perhaps might give the book an appeal to a wider audience. Again, I don't know if that's the case. But having my artwork printed on the cover of a hardback book, one dealing with a subject I'm very invested in, is a great honor. 

If anyone is interested in purchasing the book, you can do so direct from the publisher, Palgrave Macmillan. I have a 20% off coupon I can send you if you email me at misterjav@gmail.com. The book retails for $95 but you can get it for $76.00. I'm assuming this book (at least the hardcover version) is priced for the academic field (colleges and libraries), which explains the price. I'll be sure to write a post if a paperback edition is released.

By the way, Aldama wrote a book specifically covering Latino comics a few years ago. Titled "YOUR BRAIN ON LATINO COMICS", it features 21 interviews with writers and artists, one of which features me.

Celebrate Steve Ditko's birthday at Stan Lee's Comikaze this weekend!

This weekend will be my first time attending STAN LEE'S COMIKAZE, a three-day comic book/pop culture convention being held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The show starts on Friday, November 1 and runs all weekend. I'll be in Artist Alley, sharing table AA955 with Jose Cabrera.

Interestingly enough, November 2 is Steve Ditko's birthday. Ditko, back in the 1960s, collaborated with Stan Lee over at Marvel Comics and together they created Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. Over the decades, Ditko has continued creating comics for various publishers, and even today, at age 85, he's still releasing new material through his co-publisher Robin Snyder. (Check this link to see the books, as well as ordering information for the titles).

In addition to selling my own comics and prints, I'll also have available "DITKO CONSIDERED", my one-page Poster Comic on Steve Ditko, and the most recent issue of the fanzine DITKOMANIA (edited/published by Rob Imes) for which I created the cover. On Saturday I'll have a little birthday celebration going on for whoever wants to join in. I'll be providing some snacks, and sharing some classic Ditko comics. So stop by and let's talk Ditko!

And if you can't make it out to Comikaze, you can always occupy your time by checking out my Pre-order campaign for my upcoming book "COMICS!"....

Pre-orders for "COMICS!" now available!

My new comic book is available for Pre-orders from my webshop. Here's the full, wraparound cover:

COMICS! is a full-color book, making available for the first time in one collection my series of one-page comics (Poster Comics). That's 12, full-color comics, plus 7 pages of behind-the-scene extras, including character designs, production art and commentary on creating comics in one-page stories.

 (A sample of the Poster Comics)

 (A page from the behind-the-scenes extras)

Every copy of COMICS! that's pre-ordered will come with an original piece of art: a 5" x 5" sketch on Strathmore Bristol illustration paper, done with color markers, of one of the characters featured in stories. COMICS! is printed in a large magazine size, 8" x 10.5", comes with a cardstock cover, and features 20 pages in full color.

(Esperantos and Kaiju Kamen color sketches)

If you haven't already purchased THE LOS COMEX CODEX (my 138 page trade-paperback collection), you can order it together with COMICS! and get a package deal for both, saving you about $5 in shipping costs! Pre-order the 2 for 22 deal!

 

To Pre-order COMICS!, visit the Los Comex Webshop. Independent comics creators like myself appreciate the direct support from the readers!

Pre-orders will run until Monday, November 4!

Here comes.... the COMICS!

New book I'm working on. It collects all 12 of my Poster Comics in one volume, complete with bonus material (sketches, behind-the-scenes commentary, etc). It'll be my first full-color book, too!

More info to come. But it'll be here in time for your Holiday gift-giving needs!

My gallery of one page Poster Comics

I've just published my latest Poster Comic, "Kaiju Kamen". You can read it online at my DeviantArt page.

"Kaiju" is the Japanese word for 'monster', and is often used to refer to the giant monsters such as Godzilla, Gamera and others found in Japanese monster films. "Kamen" translates  as 'mask', so my title refers to the blue masked monster wrestling the giant octopus beast....

This is my 12th Poster Comic I've done since starting these in December 2011. Originally my goal was to do one a month, but in the later half of 2012 my workload became busier, so I suspended the project until May of this year. KAIJU KAMEN is my third one this year, and I've definitely got more planned. 

The original idea behind these 'poster comics' was to have a way to create comics featuring many of the ideas I have for new characters. A full-length comic book (30-50 pages) can take me several months to finish, and with other commitments I have during the year, it seems unlikely that I'd ever be able to get all these done as completed stories. So the relatively limited time it takes me to do one of these provides an outlet for these characters to make it into a story, however brief they are. Another reason I like doing these is that I can print them in color. Printing a one page, full color poster at 11" x 17" is cheaper than printing a full-color book, and it's way faster to color as well.

My first four, shown above, had that excitement you get with a learning curve, as they were my initial attempts. One of the critical things about these one-page comics is the planning and editing. How do you tell the story you want to tell, in a very limited amount of space, and still follow a beginning-middle-end story structure? And without drawing 30 panels per page! At least that was the challenge I made for myself.  

One page comics have a long history in the medium, so I wasn't creating anything new. What I did notice was that often, one-page comics have been used as humor stories, or as brief educational/informative devices. Also, they've been used to great effect to advertise products, such as the famous Hostess Twinkie and Cup Cake ads that appeared in comics from the 1970s and 80s.

One thing that's key to creating these is to not be too precious with the idea. Meaning that not everything I want to say about the character will be in the story, but I try to focus on showing them doing what identifies them, as far as their role as action heroes. 

For example, in the top left comic from the second batch below, the robot sentry, Andromeda X7X, is shown confronting an advance scout in a planned alien invasion. So the story specifically highlights her role as a guardian of Earth. Below that story is a biographic comic on Steve Ditko, the artist who co-created Spider-Man and continues his 60 year career even today. With the Ditko story, it was matter of identifying the key points of his career that I wanted to convey, so from there is was drawing those scenes and then scripting the narrative.

A lot of my character designs revolve around very distinctly identified characters. So if I have a caveman superhero, he's easily identified as such (the comic just below, on the left). Or the newest one, Kaiju Kamen.... A monster with a mask. I love the iconographic nature of comic book characters, so in some ways a lot of the character's identity is perceived upon initial viewing. That helps tremendously in these one-page stories. With an image that's bold and expressive, some of the 'writing' has already begun.

Comics have unique relationship to their reader. A certain amount of collaboration occurs between the creator and the viewer in that the story is read at whatever pace the reader chooses. As the storyteller, I'm providing the roadmap, but the reader brings their own understanding to the experience, perhaps filling in the thin space between the panels with their own mental imagery. So whether it's a 12 panel story or a 48 page comic, I still provide the reader with a reading experience, and hopefully it's a worthwhile one. 

My plans for this Poster Comic series include another round of stories featuring additional new characters as well as a variety of non-fiction stories. A historic political/celebrity event, an adaptation of a public-domain movie, and a couple of biographic pieces (similar to the Ditko comic). Eventually I'd like to collect them all in a book of some type. Perhaps a full-blown 11" x 17" collection? We'll see....

You can read all these Poster Comics online over at my gallery on DeviantArt. Just click the one you want to read and it'll open up to a much larger size. Enjoy!

"HEY KIDS, COMICS!", plus a few other books I've contributed to recently

I have an essay in the new anthology called HEY KIDS, COMICS!, which has just been published and is available to purchase online. The book features essays by such comic book veterans as J.M. DeMatteis, Steve Skeates, Steve Englehart, Robert Greenberger and others.

The book is compiled and edited by Rob Kelly, an illustrator and writer (winner of the Comic Book Writer of the Year award for the ACE KILROY web comic, Philadelphia Geek Awards). Basically I wrote about my earliest experiences with comics, and how that evolved into a childhood of not only reading comics but watching superhero cartoons and tv show, as well as playing with action figures and collecting anything with superheroes on it. Eventually, all that led to my eventual career as a comic book creator (or so I like to think!). 

For the latest issue of DITKOMANIA, I've contributed a full-color cover. 

Published and edited by Rob Imes, the zine is a quarterly publication dedicated to the work of Steve Ditko, the legendary comic book artist who co-created SPIDER-MAN and DR. STRANGE, as well as creating THE CREEPER, HAWK & DOVER, MR.A and host of other characters. You can order copies directly from Rob. Info at the DITKO-FEVER website.

THE NEW ADVENTURES OF THE HUMAN FLY, the revival of the 1970s Canadian stuntman/superhero (who starred in his own comic book from Marvel Comics from 77-79) was published this summer. 

Edited by Michael Aushenker, the book features an all-star cast of creators, including artists who worked on the original series. I contributed a pin-up, as well as having worked on the production of the book. Currently available online as well.

Published in August, my own LOS COMEX CODEX is available directly from me in my webshop. It's a 138 page collection of 5 of my out-of-print titles, including DEAD DINOSAURIO, THE COMA and WEAPON TEX-MEX Vs EL MUERTO. 

And coming up on the horizon this Fall is a new book by Frederick Aldama (Arts and Humanities Distinguished Professor of English at Ohio State). The book is called LATINOS AND NARRATIVE MEDIA: PARTICIPATION AND PORTRAYAL.

I not only contributed the artwork for the cover, but I also wrote the forward. The book features essays on the topic of the media and popular culture as created and influenced by Latino authors, artists and other creative professionals.

It turns out that I'm also one of the subjects in the book as well! David William Foster wrote an essay titled "Latino Comics: Javier Hernandez's El Muerto as an Allegory of Chicano Identity". Flattered, to say the least! The book will be published by Palgrave Macmillan and is due November 7.

This is the first time I've had work appearing in such a variety of publications coming out within the same year. In my 15 years of creating comics, in addition to publishing my own work, I've had pinups published in other comics, but the scope of titles I've contributed to this year is a career high for me. I'm glad to warrant the work, and really, it's doing something I love. Hope you enjoy some of these!

LATINO COMICS EXPO this weekend!!!!

Cover artwork for new book on Latinos in media

My artwork is being used for the cover on a new book by Frederick Aldama.

Aldama is an Arts and Humanities Distinguished Professor of English at the Ohio State University. Among his fields of expertise are Latino/Latin American film, literature and comics. He's authored and edited 14 books, including the landmark study YOUR BRAIN ON LATINO COMICS. 

His new book, LATINOS AND NARRATIVE MEDIA, features essays by leading scholars on Latino pop culture and includes writings on filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, the animated series "El Tigre" and the film "Nacho Libre". There's actually a chapter on me titled " Javier Hernandez's El Muerto as an Allegory of Chicano Identity" written by David Allen Foster. 

That was a complete surprise to me, too! I hope some of you read this book, because I'd love to hear what you thought about it.

I was also asked to write the Foreword to the book, which was itself an honor. The cover illustration originally appeared as the cover the MANGA MUERTO Vol 1. The graphic design department did a nice job of incorporating the text into the composition of the artwork.

LATINOS AND NARRATIVE MEDIA, published by Palgrave Macmillan, is scheduled to be released on November 7. You can read details about the book here.

Frederick Aldama will be appearing at the Latino Comics Expo LA on August 17, at the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, CA. He'll be conducting a presentation called "Spandexed Latinos: Geometric Storytelling in Superhero Comics" at 1pm.

Pre-Order the LOS COMEX CODEX

I'm currently taking Pre-Orders for my new book, the LOS COMEX CODEX!

The CODEX is a 138 page collection of 5 of my out-of-print comics. Measuring 8.5" x 11", this hefty volume reprints  Weapon Tex-Mex vs El Muerto, The Coma, Man-Swamp, Dead Dinosaurio and "A Day at the Beach" from MANGA MUERTO Vol 1. The covers are in color, the interior pages are b&w (some stories are toned in gray, one is drawn entirely in pencil).

The book will debut at the upcoming LATINO COMICS EXPO LA, being held August 17 & 18 at the Musuem of Latin American Art in Long Beach, CA.

But, if you're not a local, or just can't wait, you can now order a copy of LOS COMEX CODEX, which will include a full-color marker sketch on the title page. Here's one with The Coma:

The drawings will be signed, and if you'd like, I can personalize it to you or someone else if you're in a gift-giving mood!

Here are some pages from the book:

 

Pre-Order price is $20.00, which includes Priority Mail via USPS. Visit my Webshop to place your order.

I also put together some Archive Editions, featuring a page of original comic book art. The pages are the actual ones I drew to create the original comic books. Most of these are 8.5"x11", but the Weapon Tex-Mex/El Muerto page is 11"x14" and the cover artwork to the COMEX CODEX is 11"x17". 

Check out my Pre-Order section over at my Los Comex Webshop for prices and the complete selection of Archive Editions. By the way, the reason I don't have any Dead Dinosaurio pages available is that most of the pages sold when I had that comic on Pre-Order last year. 

And the Manga Muerto pages? Well, that one's tougher to explain. A few years ago, I had my car stolen, and inside were the original pages to this particular story. I was sharing them with my students at one of my comic book classes the day before, and unfortunately didn't remove them from the car the following day. At least I had already scanned the pages!

Pre-Orders help me to get the book printed, so I appreciate anyone who buys a copy. All orders will begin shipping by August 22, so everyone who bought a copy will get them by the end of August. It's possible I might start shipping a few days earlier, I'll notify folks via email once the books are mailed off.

Pre-Orders for the LOS COMEX CODEX will end on Wednesday, July 31. Order through the Los Comex Webshop.

Taking a ride with THE NEW ADVENTURES OF THE HUMAN FLY

The Human Fly is back in comics!

Readers of my blog will recall the various posts I've written previously about the Fly, the real-life, costumed Canadian stuntman who appeared in his own comic book published by Marvel Comics from 1977-1979. The entire 19 issue series was written by Bill Mantlo, one of my favorites.

Well, there's a whole new comic book featuring the return of The Human Fly....

The rights to the character are now owned by Human Fly International Inc., comprised of a filmmaking trio who are making a movie based on the true-life story behind the Human Fly! Screenwriter Tony Babinski, director Steven Goldmann and producer Alan Brewer have commissioned a new series of Human Fly comics, and the first issue is debuting this weekend at San Diego Comic Con.

 Producer Alan Brewer (L) and Editor-in-Chief/cartoonist Michael Aushenker at San Deigo Comic Con.

My good friend Michael Aushenker, cartoonist extraordinaire, was contacted by Team Fly to put together the first issue of NEW ADVENTURES OF THE HUMAN FLY and he's pulled off quite a feat. Michael was able to secure new artwork from some of the artists who worked on the original book: Bob Layton, Steve Leialoha, Don Perlin and Al Milgrom, who drew the cover for the first issue of the original series:

In addition to those veteran artists, there are stories and pinups illustrated by independent cartoonists such as Rafael Navarro (who illustrated the cover), Paul Mason, John Heebink, Jim Rugg and others. Michael wrote and drew one of the stories as well.

And....I was able to contribute a pin-up myself!

Originally, I was slated to illustrate one of the stories, but unfortunately, due to an extremely busy workload at the time, I had to withdraw. However, I was able to produce this image, which of course I was happy to do.

While I wasn't able to commit to the deadline for drawing a story, my schedule eventually cleared up somewhat and I was able to work on the production of the actual book. That meant getting all the pages the artists had produced and formatting it for the printer. I worked with Michael on designing the cover, as well as the overall layout of the book. The filmmakers collaborated as well, so the final book represents a team effort worthy of the Human Fly.

A fan of the Fly from the first issue back in 1977, it was pretty exciting to work on the new book, some 36 years after the fact. Opening the files as Michael forwarded them to me, seeing new Fly artwork by some classic Marvel veteran artists, was surreal. And of course seeing the new stories as they were completed was fun, too. 

It's interesting when you work on a property you were such a fan of as a child...

Earlier this year, I was working on the planning of the San Gabriel Valley Comic Book Expo (which was organized by the Nuvein Foundation), and I had the idea to bring the Fly into the mix. Michael had produced two new paintings of the Human Fly, and I asked him if he'd let me use one of the paintings for the official poster for the Comic Book Expo. He was delighted, so then I secured permission from the Human Fly International group and...Ta-Dah!

Far as I know, it's the only time the Human Fly has ever been used on a comic book convention poster, so this was a cool stunt to pull off!

I'll be joining the promotion of the book for an LA signing, so stay tuned to my blog for info on that.

In the meantime, check out this vintage promotional video on the real-life Human Fly:

Read MANGA MUERTO online!

This being the opening weekend for Guillermo del Toro's new movie PACIFIC RIM, I thought I'd use the opportunity to put together a digital comic book to share with the world!

PACIFIC RIM is a movie about giant robots fighting giant monsters, based on the genre invented in Japanese pop culture. Familiar to American audiences through such fare as GIGANTOR, GIANT ROBOT, MAZINGER Z and NEON GENESIS EVANGELION (among scores of others!) I myself dove into this genre with a creation of my own. Or a recreation....

Spinning out of my comic book character El Muerto, in 2000 I created an alternate version of El Muerto I called MANGA MUERTO! These stories feature El Muerto as a foreign exchange student in Japan, teamed up with his own giant robot called SKELETRON. 

In 2001, I teamed up with friend and fellow cartoonist Ted Seko, as I wanted to include his character Skyman (since renamed Fusion Man) in a new story featuring giant robots and giant monsters (or specifically giant cyborg Monster Meks!).

The book was printed as a mini-comic, then later published in the comic book MANGA MUERTO Vol 1. Since that book is now out-of-print, I thought I'd share the Skyman/Muerto story with everyone online....for free!

The original b&w mini-comic featured a back cover by illustrator Mark Jiro Okui (creator of cult zine CALLING MONSTER ISLAND). For this new digital edition, I've once again put it on the back cover, but this time I colored it. 

Enjoy the freebie!

Steve Ditko's recent comic book covers

One of my favorite places to visit on Facebook is the DITKOMANIA Group. It's run by Rob Imes, the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of DITKOMANIA, the zine dedicated to the work of comics great Steve Ditko.

The DM Facebook Group is fairly active, with members posting some of their favorite Ditko images as well as engaging in numerous discussions on the work of cartoonist Steve Ditko (Spider-Man, The Question, Mr. A). Ditko's comic career started in 1953, which makes him a 60 year veteran of the industry. He is, in fact, still producing new work today, usually averaging a new 32 page comic book every 4 or 5 months.

I'll often post or comment there myself, and in fact was going to share these images there. But I decided to post them here since I wanted to add some commentary. 

Ditko's recent output over the last 6 years consists of 32 page comics, printed entirely in b&w. Each book is in effect an anthology, with Ditko providing several stories in each issue. When looking back at the 18 issues, there are instances when some covers feature similar designs. Sometimes the books are printed consecutively, in one case there is a several year gap between when each issue was printed. I could speculate that some might be intentional choices on Ditko's part, since he doesn't really comment on his work in public. At any rate, here are the examples:

'Act 6', which is actually the 11th issue in the series, shares a similar design with #18: The cascading masks on the lower left corner and the character headshot in the center of the page, surrounded by images of the other stories in the book. These two issues were printed about 2 years apart, so I'd be curious if Ditko just fell back on this design choice or specifically recalled the original image when drawing the newer one. Also note the use of question marks in both images, a motif that Ditko had been using for decades.

Here we actually have two issues published consecutively, 
#13 and #14. These actually bookend one another nicely, with the design flipped from one book to another. Another Ditko trademark shows up on issue #13, the wide-open eyes surrounded by sweat and tears. The intensity with which Ditko portrays these type of eyes is haunting, and always works. 

As you can tell by the above examples, Ditko seems to take great joy in his titles and numbering for these comics. The ingenuity and playfulness of the design, such as the motifs he uses (I love the black cat & 'lucky 13' wording), really endear these comics to me.

Plus he really makes ample use of lettering, adding text and blurbs throughout the cover. Again, it seems very playful, as well as enticing the viewer to come aboard for an entertaining ride. He also seems to be fond of the word 'surprise'!  

Here's a last example of a similar design on two consecutive issues:

It's interesting that the top row of characters are almost the same on both books: The Cape, The Outline and Hero (except on issue #17 Hero is substituted for The Distorter).
The bottom characters change from The Madman to Miss Eerie. Note that both these characters are speaking, as well. Right before they pulverize some hapless criminal, no doubt!

Miss Eerie, by the way, is one heck of a character. My favorite of Ditko's current era. She's a Private Investigator named May Ero, who dons a grotesque mask and solves crimes as the the two-fisted Miss Eerie! Everytime I see her on the cover of a new book, I look forward to her latest escapes.

Even today, at age 85, Steve Ditko continues telling his stories, and bringing his signature creative design skills to the table. These comics, and many more, are available from Robin Snyder, Ditko's partner in publishing. I usually order direct from Snyder, as the books don't have wide distribution through comic shops (although there are stores that carry them). You can visit Bob Heer's site, DITKO COMICS WEBLOG, where he maintains a list of all current comics available from Snyder/Ditko, as well as ordering info and prices. So, if you're a fan of Ditko and want to support his efforts, visit that link and buy some of these comics!

My color cover for the DITKOMANIA zine

I've done the cover for the new issue of DITKOMANIA, the zine devoted to the work of comics legend Steve Ditko.

DITKOMANIA was relaunched in 2008 by Rob Imes, after obtaining permission from original DITKOMANIA creator Bill Hall (who published the zine from 1983-1999). This issue's theme deals with Ditko's SPEEDBALL comic for Marvel, and the cover I drew features an assortment of Ditko's bouncing characters! (Clockwise from top: Speedball, The Screamer, Killjoy, Mr. Quiver and The Creeper).

Rob, as Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, has continued to take DITKOMANIA to greater heights, and the new issue, #91, marks his first full-color cover. Ordering info for DITKOMANIA can be found on the DITKO FEVER website.

I've been contributing artwork and articles to DITKOMANIA for a couple of years now, and I'm very proud to have produced my first cover for the zine. Originally, I had asked another Ditko fan, Fester Faceplant, to color the cover, but there were some technical issues with his saved digital file so I recolored it using Fester's original as a guide. Fester, by the way, runs a prolific blog on Charlton Comics called THE CHARLTON COMICS READING LIBRARY, and is currently in the process of starting his own zine, The Charlton Arrow, due shortly.

Cartoonist Steve Ditko first started working in the industry in 1953. In 1962, he and writer/editor Stan Lee created Spider-Man for Marvel, followed by Dr. Strange. For DC Comics, Ditko created The Creeper and Hawk & Dove. Among his many other creations are The Question, Static and Mr. A. Even today, Ditko continues creating, including a series of 32 page comics released several times a year:

You can order Ditko's creator-owned work through his publisher Robin Snyder. Visit their page at THE DITKO COMICS WEBLOG for pricing and availability.

By the way, I'll soon have copies of DITKOMANIA #91 for purchase here on my site and at conventions, available signed and with an original character drawing of a Steve Ditko character by me.

San Gabriel Valley Comic Book Expo- Sunday, June 23 in Baldwin Park, CA!

Tomorrow I'll be at the San Gabriel Valley Comic Book Expo, a free event being held at the Baldwin Park Arts & Recreation Center (ARC)!

The event is brought to you by The Nuvein Foundation, in partnership with the ARC. The Expo runs from 11am-6pm on Sunday, June 23. There will be over 20 local artists and creators exhibiting at the event, selling their comics, publications and artwork. There will also be a full day of programming, workshops for children and plenty of other activities.


The Nuvein Foundation is a local, non-profit organization dedicated to providing a platform for artists (writers, musicians, poets, visual), and to also connect the community with those very artists, and in turn inspire younger artists to explore their own voices and follow their dreams. The Foundation was founded by Enrique Diaz, who tragically passed away in March of 2011.

I first met Enrique while I was exhibiting at a local arts fair in El Monte, CA. He took an interest in my work, and eventually I started talking to him and Nuvein about the possibility of hosting my own podcast on an internet radio station Enrique had started. By November 2007 I was hosting PLANET COMIC BOOK RADIO, and found myself on Nuvein's Advisory Board and eventually on the Board of Directors. 

One of the things with Enrique was that if you had an interesting idea for something, he'd pretty much push you forward to the point that the next thing you knew you were organizng an event! I once mentioned to him that Nuvein should host it's own comic book convention, to which he told me "Great idea, put it together!". Our first convention was held in April of 2008, and we've hosted two subsequent ones after that.

After we got the comic book convention going, I once mentioned that Nuvein should host it's own Dia de Los Muertos festival, to which Enrique once again encouraged me to present the idea to the Board. I've been working on that committee ever since!

This year marks our return to the comic book circuit, rebranded under the name San Gabriel Valley Comic Book Expo. This will, in fact, be my swansong for the Nuvein Foundation, as I notified the Board some months ago that I was planning to retire from the Foundation after the comic book expo.

The reasons come down to time-management. With my increasing workload as co-founder and Creative Director of the Latino Comics Expo, and an overwhelming desire to focus much more time producing my own comics and art, I had to reach the decision where my time working on the Board of Directors of the Nuvein Foundation had to come to an end.

The work we've all done together these 6 years or so have been a large part of my life. I've worked with so many great and dedicated people, on the Board and in partnership with other organizations. Because of Enrique's belief in me as an artist, I've been able to bring a lot to the Foundation. I don't leave it with any hard feelings, but one of immense accomplishment and partnership. I know that Enrique would support my decision to pursue my personal artistic dreams, and would keep the door open for any future partnerships. My appreciation to Christopher Trevilla, the current President of the Foundation, for offering me that very option.

At our Board meeting this morning, I looked around the table and was very proud that the Foundation continues to grow and attract new members and partners to this day. We've survived Enrique's passing as an organization. It was tremendously difficult at first, but we all realized he would want the good work to continue, and we each wanted to continue the efforts we've individually put into the organization. But I miss him as a person, to this day.

I'd like to dedicate tomorrow's Comic Book Expo to my friend Enrique Diaz. 

It's a great idea, Enrique. Come see what we've put together!