The Writer’s Block Kids love to cosplay (Well, let’s be absolutely honest… the whole Cosmic Family except maybe for Grandpa ‘Thulu love Cosplay) and at the beginning of July, I decided to do a short run of them dressed up as some very epic sci-fi characters. Can you name them all?
Around 15 years ago, I was called by my editor at Vanguardia Editores, Mr. Arnulfo Flores (R.I.P.) to tell me about a new magazine he was launching. The magazine, Saga Shojo, was a huge risk for mexican market: one that would be run by women, with only stories by women and only women collaborators. And he wanted me to be the editor, and to make a story “like Friends”. I was all up for editing, but there was a small problem… I hated Friends.
There were other problems (such as the resistance to more LGBT+ friendly stories from both audience and editing staff), but I created Abre una Ventana (Open a Window. Long story that has to do with my love for musicals), and la Saga Shojo had the love of the readers for about 10 issues. (Well, less according to sale numbers, but due to mr. Flores’s faith and stubborness, we lasted 10 issues). And while the others stories closed, I left mine open ended because I hadn’t finished with the characters.
In 2006, I tried to relaunch it with the Oubilette magazine. But due to time, and other situations, I couldn’t get past issue 2.
Still, I didn’t forget Romeo and the gang. And so now I can tell you all that I have written the whole story (22 chapters of 16 pages each, more or less) , and while I am drawing it, I am doing small strips with the characters, that am posting in Patreon, once a week. First strip of the month is free for all, the other three are for Patreons starting at $1.00 USD.
So, I hope you all like it, and trust me, you will be seeing more of the gang around here too.
And of course, I hope you follow me in Patreon too! 😀
Jem and the Holograms has always been part of my childhood. I remember when I watched the TV series, and found ONE store that carried a stamp album of the series. I never got anyone to change stamps with, so it went unfinished, but I loved it with all my heart. We never got the toys in Mexico, so I had to make do with Barbie and the Rockers -which I always saw as an inferior copy to the outrageous fabulousness that was Jem.
Fast forward a lot of years, and IDW with Sophie Campbell made a dream I had come true. Namely, a more modern Jem comic. Sure, it didn’t last too long, and I still want the second omnibus volume, but while it lasted it was AMAZING. Seriously, go and buy it at your local comic book shop and wonder at the gloriousness that is a Jem story that doesn’t have to sell dolls.
So of course, during my weekly practices, I had to do Jem and the Holograms (And Pizzaz and Stormer because I ran out of time the day I was supposed to finish the Misfits)
And seriously, go and buy IDW’s Jem and the Holograms.
I have to say, one of the things I love about working with Mandi Gordon, Dream Keeper Robin’s editor, is that she keeps challenging me to do better every time. One of her challenges was to try and change my style, not for the comic itself (That you can read at Tapas, updating every monday), but for illustrations.
So here they are, looking a lot more comic-strip than usual, for a nice exercise with color sharpies.
This particular playful house is from the city of Monterrey. She was built by a single father for his daughter, who, according to the legend was wheelchair bound. Thus, the house was fitted accordingly with ramps and not stairs. Unfortunately, one day when he and his daughter were checking the house, she slid down one of said ramps and out of the window, dying instantly. Since then, legend says, anyone who spends time inside the unfinished house will end up jumping out of the window, pushed by the house.
But come on, look at her! She only wants to play with you.
So, Comic-Con International, also known as San Diego Comic-Con. Which is, as you may remember, my favorite convention of all times. And well, I say that every year, and every year it gets so much better.
What I adore about the convention is that it has experiences for everyone: For the professional, the fan, the collector, the struggling artist, the one who is starting to figure out what they want to do with their career, the autograph hunter. In my case, the very first time I went there was In 2004, as press and was tasked by the magazine I worked for back then to cover the WHOLE convention. Deer in the headlights doesn’t start describing how I felt back then.
Of course, things have changed. Since that first convention, I learned how to get my professional badge, how to get a table in the Artist Alley (No, I haven’t personally had a table yet, but I have done the paperwork for at least four authors to get theirs), organize a panel, participate in the Souvenir Book with my art, sat at portfolios reviews, was part of the Friends of Lulu Board for a while, gotten two actual jobs that I adore, and talk at three panels now (the third one a surprise, as I was invited by the panelists literally two seconds before the panel started). In many ways, the Comic-Con International helps me focus, re-plan my goals, and gives me the strength and the confidence to actually fight for said goals. That is not counting the amazing and wonderful people I meet every year, who are now great friends (Especial shot out to Anthony, Mark, Felipe, Alessandro and Jessica at the Asti’s and everyone at Chocolat Cremerie and the USA Hostels).
I’ve met my heroes, like Todd Nauck, Terry Moore, Chris Sanders, Baton Lash, Gail Simone, Adam Warren, Phil Jimenez, the always wonderful Lea Hernandez, Max Brooks and Art Adams, all of whom have given me advice on how to keep on going.
And of course, have seen amazing cosplayers, of all characters, and body shapes that have helped me see how body positive IS a good thing that is not at odds with wanting to be healthy or fit. Despite it’s issues, Comic-Con still is the place where you can get ALL the positivity of fandom, where you can forget for a little bit that every fandom has their bad seeds and controversies because we’re all friends, we’re all geeks, and we’re all standing on a line that we’re not quite sure it’s going to where we want to go but we’ve already spend so much time on it that we might as well see where it ends.
I can’t deny I’ve had some of the best experiences in San Diego every year, and to be honest, I want to share it with more and more people. I have already done so a bit in Mexico, opening Ada tours to help people get to San Diego (Visas, passports paperwork, and getting three computers to participate in the lottery when it happens at work hours for them) but today I am opening it to everyone in the world with a monthly FREE newsletter where you will get tips, important dates and everything I can think of to help you have the best Comic-Con every year… just as I have.
So, Sign up for Ada Tours right here!
And now, some Cosplay:
La Casa de la Tía Toña, or the Tía Toña House, is a very intriguing house down here in Mexico City. It’s in the middle of the Chapultepec Forest, and entering there is forbidden. It’s also the focus of at least four contradicting stories, from the age of the Tía Toña (Some say she was elderly, some say that she was in her 40’s), to the nature of what happened there (Some say she killed some kids that were bullying her, some say that she killed the children she had adopted, all say she killed herself afterwards), and what happens if you actually manage to enter her.
That’s why making her design was so fun. Because she’s beautiful, but shrouded in mystery.
She-ra was another winner in my weekly polls, and one I was REALLY happy to see. I mean, it’s She-ra! And now she’s back in Netflix, which makes it even better because she deserves more love. When I was a little girl I had She-ra, Katra and Bow (I LOVED my Bow doll), and never missed an episode. Sure, some are really cheesy, but they’re still some of my fondest memories, and, let’s be honest here, one of the first, if not THE first, American Magical Girl.
Writer’s Block is Mandi Gordon’s and my baby. We’ve done almost 150 strips so far, and we’re going for more. And we both love our angels.
Now, Mandi also loves Calvin and Hobbes, so she challenged me to try and do a more comic strip-style for the cast. While I didn’t do the Horsemen (yet), I did all the kids. And I think that it’s a fun and quick style, that I might use one day in the strip. Or in another project.
Maybe.
Another series that I love with all my heart, is Sailor Moon. I was lucky enough to be a small part of the dubbing process in Mexico (As I was learning how to translate for dubbing when it aired, and in fact, my first test for translation was an episode of Sailor Moon R), and I have a ton of sweet memories around them.
That’s why I was very happy when they won the weekly poll in my facebook, because I got the chance to draw them again.
