What has life been like for the past few years. How are you doing?
Hard to say as the last few years I’ve have many changes both ups and downs. I’d say THIS year for sure has been the real whirlwind as everything went into lockdown, comic conventions have ceased, and I have been far more cautious about travel (not going anywhere this year!). But with the change of pace I have also found that making art is a life saver. When you have no more outside forms of entertainment like movie theaters, restaurants, or outdoor events…I can say I’m grateful to be able to be at home safe with the supplies I have to make comics and animations still. That luckily didn’t have to to change much…in fact maybe now I have been busier working on my art, because I have no more outside distractions! Although I do get pulled away by Netflix and the occasional YouTube video still.
Are you from the Bay Area or did you move here?
No I’m originally from Nevada, but for the past 11 years I have called the Bay Area my home.
If not, where are you from originally?
Good ol’ Nevada! The land of sin, booze, cheap buffets, gambling, legal prostitution, drive thru weddings and drive thru divorces.
You can have ALL YOU CAN EAT SUSHI there for only $14!!
When did you start making comics?
I started very early! My first comics were when I was about 7 or 8. They were one or two panel comics in the vein of the comic strip “The Far Side” by Gary Larson. Gag comics with lots of dark humor and animals. But I’d say I got really serious about making comic books when I was a teenager and pursued larger stories with my own characters and drew on sequential pages for a book format. The first comics I did were on copy paper, colored with prismacolor pencils and stapled at Kinkos.
How has the progression of your cartooning career impacted your life?
I’d say comics are a huge part of my life! If not for my passion of the art I would have never moved to San Francisco. That was where I studied art at CCA and graduated with a Masters (MFA). The whole college experience is where I met some of my biggest mentors and they were the ones who really motivated me to take my art seriously and grow it into the collection of works that it is now. And the city itself inspired so many comics too, I have a whole series about my rides on Bus 9 (the nasty 9!) lol. Plus cartooning and painting opened the doors to meeting so many other artists and professionals that I cannot begin to thank for all their support and just wonderful friendships I’ve made along the way.
How have you grown since your earlier comics?
I don’t know if I myself have grown much! I was a morbid kid with a love of dark humor, gags, cartoons, and monsters. I still draw comics with morbid visuals, dark humor, gags, cartoony elements, and tons of monsters! I guess the only thing that has changed is now I can actually draw it better, the stories are more complex, I’m more organized, the writing has vastly improved, and I have published the comics so they are available for reading and no longer just a mess of scribbles in my sketch book that no one will ever see.
What are some of your most memorable moments of your career so far?
Well I think the day you make that first REAL comic book and its shiny and smells like printer ink and you just say WOW I did this, it’s a labor of love finally in a book form for all to enjoy. That was so memorable, and I still feel that way every time I create a new book. The second most memorable moment was when I got to be a featured residence cartoonist at the Charles Schultz Museum. And maybe also getting to meet Jeff Smith (the creator of BONE)…because that comic was a childhood stable for me and getting to meet him as a comic creator myself and just chatting with him, that was awesome. Finally, getting to show my art in some famous galleries like The Galería De La Raza (famed for its Chicano heritage/representation) and The MOLAA (Museum of Latin American Art).
What is different about The Bay Area comics scene compared to other places you have been?
The comics scene in the Bay has the most diverse group of creators. You will meet artists from so many walks of life, ethnicities, styles and stories! Compared to other places you get a cold tone…a competitive feel between artists and not a lot of community. While in the Bay you have all these artists embracing each other, lifting and promoting others not just themselves. It’s a far more selfless art scene who welcomes people to just jump in and create and not be judged on where you are in your creative stages.
Any comics recommendations?
The Good, The Bad, and The Bunny – Candy Briones
Codex Black – Camilo Moncada
ZOTZ – Daniel Parada
Beasts of Burden – Jill Thompson and Evan Dorkin
False Edge - Marissa Shaw
BONE – Jeff Smith
Any cartoon/tv shows or movie recommendations?
The Dark Crystal Series – Jim Henson’s new epic (Netflix)
Ne Zha – Chinese animated film that made record $700 mill outside the US and no one has heard of it (now on Netflix!)
Padok - Its like Finding Nemo if it was rated R (Amazon Prime)
The Thief and The Cobbler – hand drawn animation from master animator Richard Williams (only on DVD sadly)
Klaus – hand drawn animation from Spain, academy nominee (Netflix)
Fantastic Planet – experimental animation from 1973 (HBOMAX)
What influences your work?
Old cartoons from the 1910s-1930s (ex: Popeye, Felix The Cat, Betty Boop, Flip the Frog, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit)
Horror comics like Creepy, Erie, Tales From the Crypt.
Society in general (human nature, social constructs, taboos, pop culture, psychology)
History (current and dead religions, past civilizations, ancient man)
My Latina Roots (“What is it with Mexicans and DEATH?!- Book of Life Quote)
Nature (nature is scary!)
Sci-Fi stories and books
What do you want to do in comics in the next 5 years?
In the next five years I have some high ambitions! I want to publish the next 3 volumes of my ongoing epic graphic novel “In The Dark”, and when all the volumes are done collect into a hardbound version for the ultimate collection. Create an animated short or series based on the characters of In The Dark. I want to make a published color version of my web-comic “S.A.H.U.” which is an existential sci-fi comic. I already animate a series on Youtube called “Skitzo the 1920s Killer Bear” but I’d like to publish a short comic anthology on him…kind of like Tales From the Crypt style (a bunch of short stories).
What are you working on now?
At the moment I am working on Volume 4 of “In The Dark”. It’s called Intoxication and involves the main character Fibble (who is stuck in Hell) getting trapped in a demon bar and having to prove his worth in a very dangerous drinking game with a huge frat boy demon named Intoxication. I’m also working on my S.A.H.U comic and redesigning/redrawing it for a book form after being a web comic for a while now. I’m also working on a new animation short on “Skitzo the 1920’s Killer Bear” which I hope to have done in the next month or so. On the side, I have also been drawing pencil comics online about my various experiences and encounters at comic cons over the past years. And for a little relaxation when I’m not doing all this….I like to dabble in watercolors and ink drawings to decompress.
What does your work represent to you?
My work is wild, its violent, sometimes gory, and unforgiving. But in every story and every different comic I do, whether it’s a man stuck in literal Hell escaping demons or a robot who fights his own programming to not become a killer war machine….it’s about social mores, existential questions about free will, and being a survivor even when chaos seems to constantly follow us in life. The comics I draw represents a satire of the world we live in and a commentary of how we live in it and react to it. And to me a dark humor or a twisted irony is a perfect way to approach dark themes and commentaries. Hopefully when a person reads In The Dark they laugh at the twisted humor and stay for the existential social commentary layered deep in its loins…did I mention I have a character with sentient pubes that eats rats? Yeah its like that.
Link to my NEW website! www.inthedarkcomics.com