I’ve been collecting comics ever since I was very little. I don’t think I can remember the first time that I read my first comic, but at the same time, it feels like I’ve always been somewhat in the world of comics. I remember discussing Watchmen and the Killing Joke with my first girlfriend in high school, and going to local comic conventions with my dad is something I hold near and dear. I’m sure the first time I got a comic was because he gave me one.
I guess I’ve always wanted to make my own comics, ever since I was very young and I started messing around with the format of webcomics and how I could potentially tell stories through that medium.
It’s been years since those times, I remember back then I was just starting to get good at it when I took what would be an indefinite break from comics that probably lasted close to 6 years. However, during that time I did get a chance to work on some client stuff here and there.
Stuff like this for Fiverr
And even got the chance to do some flat coloring work for Marvel and some other Canadian publications with Alexander Diochon.
It’s been a wild ride indeed in terms of comics, and one that has barely just begun. It makes me happy to be currently working on some of my most treasured stories and I’ll be honest it is very much pushing my ability to make art on the spot. To create worlds out of thin air, to create landscapes that are true to the story and characters that are alive and have feelings. It’s quite a great thing to feel from the eye of a creator that I can but only look back at my younger days and realize how much power I had in my hands back then. How beautiful must it be to hold what is but a window into another universe where things aren’t quite like they are here, where things are magical, sometimes happy, sometimes dark. Deeply rich stories that shape our existence one page at a time.
It is truly fascinating to be at the forefront of thought where we don’t have to create these things but instead we get to experience them. That is such a wonderful feeling, to just be able to consume these wonderful stories of which there are so many. Stories like the fantastical cow race from Bone, or the intrinsically funny and complicated world of Chew. There are stories of horror, jealousy and evil but also stories of wonderful friendships, joyful camaraderie, and such nerdish activities that a fellow nerd can but only rejoice in such universes.
Yet in the shadows of all that could appear to be joyful there sits the lone creator toiling away at his next story. Waiting for, nay hoping that someone will get a reaction from their work, all in an effort to do that which is sacred to the soul. That which can only exist through the hands of only one artist. To share that story that resonates inside us, the story that only we can tell.
300+ Comics Later
I find comics to be magical, not only are they the first line of defense against bad stories and shitty movies, providing us with hours of great stuff to read and enjoy. They are also another opportunity for the artist to share their souls and their art along with them. As such I have so far at my 27 years of age (just turned 27 😉 managed to collect over 300 comics from all sorts of creators, indie creators, mainstream stuff like Marel and Dc, but also some really underground stuff that’s just plain creepy, oh and the mini-comic, gotta love getting those at conventions.
I do this because I feel like I must be a part of the great universes being created by talented, and not-so-talented artists. Each one of those stories is a pebble in the road that is my formation as an innovative artist.
I also do it because I get to see all sorts of different art styles, different ideas, different languages being transmitted throughout time to the attentive mind of comics readers the world over.
All of this serves as the foundation of my creative desire to tell stories that no one has ever seen or heard of before. That is why last year, or well a couple of years back but definitely last year did I take it seriously. I started work on two issues about 30 pages each of stories that sat deep inside me and needed to be told.
Valle de los Muertos/Eros Origins
If you’re part of the Comicslab community, you definitely saw this, but for the unfortunate artists not part of such an amazing community of talented comic creators. I share with you the first Amazon proofs of my books. They are Valle de los Muertos 1, and Eros Origins 1.
These two print tests are the first foray into actual real comics. Sure they are looking more like graphics novels right now, and I’m nowhere near done with the art yet but the idea of being able to hold these two sketchy, concepts books brings me tons of hope for the future.
Sooner rather than later I will finish the art and these stories will finally see the light of the day, my story will be told through them and I can finally say that I have fulfilled my life long dreams of releasing my own comics.
It’s an exciting feeling no doubt, and I’ve been thinking for years on how to go about the release of them when the time finally comes so as many people as possible can have them be good books in their collections.
That’s perhaps a topic for another post on another day, but do know this. I will 100% go back to my roots in the webcomics world and will find a way to make these stories available for free on hopefully this website or a variation of it.
I’ve also considered giving nfts of the comics to my first couple of buyers and even minting the pdfs for these books and selling them at even higher values. Something like a super rare collector Nft of the pre-production book. Imagine if you had a superman 1 and it was the sketch version, the only one in existence the one the artist prepared to pitch their stories. That would be monumental!
I know there is a lot of work left till I can finally finish these books but I can say that I am plenty excited to do them, and hopefully later this year I will be able to post a blogpost telling you all about the release of the comics website and where you can buy these great books for your collection.
Till then, and as always and forever. I am AntonioMabs signing off, have a blessed day and good on you for reading all the way down here. You’re a natural!
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