S9 EP3: Roberto Rivera Padro

[00:00:00] What's up, Primos, Primas, and Primas? Welcome to My Primos, My Primos, My Primos Podcast. Welcome to the My Primos Podcast. My name is Freddy. My name is Kevin Garcia. My name is Elia Maria Matiz. My name is John Abina. This is Chikumi. Whenever I can make it. My Primos Podcast discusses all things fandom and pop culture. From comic books, movies, to whatever obsession we have this week. But with a Latine, Latine, Latine perspective. Remember, we're all Primos. We're all Primas. Primas. Primos. No matter what the world is.

[00:00:30] What part of the world we're from.

[00:00:39] What's up, Primos, Primas, and Primas? Welcome to My Primos Podcast. The podcast where we look at pop culture from a Latine perspective. I tried to keep that as inclusive, but I was just at an event this weekend where Latinx was used a lot. So use whatever you want to use. My name is Kevin Garcia, or as we like to say, say hi, Kevin. Hi, Kevin. And our fearless leader, Freddy, is currently not with us, but he shall return. Maybe.

[00:01:06] That giggle that you just heard is our other co-host, Elia Maria Madrid. Elia Maria Madrid, say hey. Hey. Ha ha. I tricked you there. You thought I was going to say say hi, Elia Maria. I still follow directions. You did. You did. All right.

[00:01:21] And we've taken a new schedule this year, so we're kind of going every other week. We're seeing how that goes. It's been nice. We did a couple episodes where it was mainly us in the world of D&D, which, by the way, I was just at an event called the Latinx Comics Arts Festival in Modesto, California. And the person who put that on, Dr. Teresa Rojas, told me that she was listening to my premise podcast. And she's like, and then suddenly I was in a D&D game, and I was very invested. And I was like, okay, cool. Somebody actually listens.

[00:01:51] It makes us warm the cockles of the heart. Speaking of warming the heart, we have somebody here who I've been trying to get on the show for a while. And one reason or another, we couldn't have him on, but he is here. Roberto Rivera Padro, could you please say hello? Hello. Nailed it. Roberto, I've been a fan of your work since I met you, and I believe at that point you had only done one comic, and you told me it was kind of an experiment at the time.

[00:02:21] Could you tell us a little bit about what you do with comics and art? I try not to mess them up. That's a good policy. You know what? You know what? What do I do with them? Well, like, in other words, what do you create? What might you be known for? I started with Carlos the Kaiju Killer, which is the one that you read.

[00:02:51] So I've done some indie stuff. Carlos and Goldragón, which you said you read that one, right? Yes, I did. Very much so. And then RX. Which is the only one I haven't read yet. It's on my list. I have it there. And I think it was between that, I did. I worked on some Godzilla property stuff. Space Godzilla. Just some Godzilla stuff. All right.

[00:03:22] Mothra? Godzilla Rivals. Mothra. I'm pretty sure that there's others that I can't think of right now. I just want to jump in for a second when you're like, I'm pretty sure there are others. So, just to understand, I met this guy at Mexamerican. I want to say it was right before the pandemic. Okay. Yeah, it was before that. Yeah. I moved here during the pandemic. So you and I met right after. Yeah. Okay. So right after. Okay.

[00:03:52] So it was like, I think the first show you'd ever done and you were safe there. And literally, I was looking at the first issue of Carlos and some of your art. I think you had done a big kaiju monster that was something that was in the Godzilla universe, I think. And I was like, this guy, I even told you, I was like, you are going to be really big, really fast. And your reaction was, oh, you think so? I mean, oh, that's fine. And I'm like, but seriously, you were going to get really big. And now you're like, well, I don't know how much I've done. I've just done some amazing stuff. Godzilla.

[00:04:22] Which obviously is pretty cool. Hell yeah. Flex on it. I like it. But Elia, you read a little bit of Carlos and Kaiju Killer first impressions? Oh my God. I honestly, I'm going to go back and finish them because I'm just getting into the lore of Carlos's background and just the family. And I'm just like, oh. I love kaiju comics just in general.

[00:04:46] But the fact that this one meshes in with la cultura and there's background from that involved in it. I'm like, dude, this is so much fun. But I also, like visually, I love seeing the way that you illustrate action. It's so cool. Thank you. Like, I don't follow action comics as well because my brain just whatever. But this one, I'm just like, oh, oh, okay. Okay. Oh, whoa. Okay. Like, especially the ending of the second one. And that one, the impact.

[00:05:16] I was just like, oh, okay, next. Like, it's just really cool. No, I love it. It's great. And your style is really fun to, like, follow along with this story. It's like welcoming but also serious. So, oh, yeah. Show it, Kevin. Flex it, Kevin. I have the book. Look at that. Do you have one of those? Cool covers, too. I have the digital ones. Okay. Yeah. One of those. Yeah. Where are you? You're in San Antonio? I'm in Dallas. You're in Dallas?

[00:05:46] Yeah. I'm going to be in Dallas this weekend. What? No way. At NTX Comic and Car Show. Oh, okay. You should come. I should try. For those of you hearing this, that will have already happened. So, we expect you to have preemptively known that it was going to be there and have attended. I mean, hopefully, if I don't get there. Thank you for being here. Yeah. No, for sure. And if you're going to be at Mexamerican hopefully again this year, hopefully. We'll see if they.

[00:06:16] I'll be there. Yeah, we'll see. And if we're there, yo. Absolutely. I would love to. I would love. Yeah. We have, I think there's another one. If you can't make it to that one. Yeah. Oh, these are probably better for whoever is listening because they haven't happened yet. Yeah, no. Pimp out where you're going to be. Where can we find you? I'll be in Dallas as well. August and October. For, do you know which events? They're both NTX shows. Okay, okay, okay. Okay.

[00:06:45] It's actually a really cool kind of, I would say they're, they started with doing cards, like card shows. Oh, okay. Like trade. They're going into comic book stuff and they're, like, it's insane. Like, they had, like, Jim Lee on, like, their second show. Oh, my God. Okay, then. That kind of reminds me of Casa, where Casa just immediately started pulling in, like,

[00:07:15] like Christopher Priest and all these big creators. Yeah. Casa and San Antonio. I don't know if I can say who's going to be at the next ones, but. Yeah, no worries. But people were. Cool people will be there. If you had to choose, I would say, or if, you know, if I were to suggest, you should go to the October show. Oh, yeah. Noted. Noted. That one's going to be really cool.

[00:07:44] I found out who the guests were. Oh, nice. Spoiler. One of the guests is Roberto. Oh, yeah. Yo. Yo. I know Julian's going to be there. Oh, yeah? Julian Shaw. I think Luffy. Sam Luffy. Yeah. He's always cool. And there are a couple big boys coming. Okay. Okay. That's awesome. Yeah. That's cool. Big boy room. Especially right here in Dallas. I've been doing so many shows right now. It's kind of freaking me out.

[00:08:14] We did one together a few weeks ago, which was the Mockingbird Lane. It's a first time show. So it was growing pains, but it was a fun show. It was mostly a horror show, I guess. But it was still, you know, comics. Yeah. The following weekend, I was at the Latinx thing in Modesto. I told you that. This coming weekend, although, again, to our listeners, what has already passed, I'm going to be at Staple in Austin. Oh, that's right. So I just got one show after another. It's been a lot going on, actually. I've been this busy in a while. I'm enjoying this. Yeah.

[00:08:42] I think Leslie's going to that one. He's going to be at Staple. He and I were going to go to, you know, we were both going to go. So, but, oh, when you said Luffy, for some reason, my head, but I heard Leslie. I don't know why. Yeah. No, I didn't say Luffy. I said Leslie. So you heard correctly. Oh, okay. He's going to be there. He and I are working on a new indie. Ooh. Yeah. Sweet. Cool people teaming up. I love it. Yeah.

[00:09:09] It's a, what would you say? Diesel punk fantasy. Already in my book. One more. Oh, nice. All words that I like combined together. Right. I like that. I was going to tell you somebody the other day. I want more diesel punk.

[00:09:39] In fact, I guess you'd call it diesel punk. My dream would be to have a Buck Rogers, but in the style of the 1929 Buck Rogers comic, which was like the future as seen by 1929. Yes. It's so trippy. They have this like flapper aesthetic while like they're like bouncing, you know, buildings and stuff. It's great. Anyway, I've been off topic, but enjoying this topic. I want to come back to Carlos for a second. Okay. Yes. Ellie had touched on this for a second.

[00:10:08] Ellie made it touch on this for a second with the, um, Kuturo, uh, tripping over my tongue because I haven't drunk. I haven't. Ours are hard. With the culture. Um, but I really wanted to touch base on that because, um, when it started, I think you were telling me it was just kind of an experiment to have fun. You know, kids, little kid, uh, punching Kaijus. But by the time you get the second issue on, you see this, this lore, like she was mentioning, and it's specifically it's Dino culture, uh, and history.

[00:10:37] Um, first off, uh, you are from Puerto Rico, right? Mostly. So why mostly, why was that so important to you to include, um, Dino history in the story about, uh, some young kid that punches giant monsters into space? Um, you know, uh, uh, um, uh, when I was younger, we didn't have a whole lot of Brown and black folk.

[00:11:06] I mean, you'd had like Falcon and, um, Luke Cage and, um, black tiger. Yeah. And white tiger. Um, but there, and some Latino coded characters on DC side, like Lobo. Um, yeah, but there was not like, I don't know. There wasn't someone that was like really representing, you know? Mm-hmm.

[00:11:34] And, um, it was something that really bugged me as a kid and just at one, uh, as an adult, I went back to the idea. And, uh, at the time I was working at a bilingual school in Milwaukee. As a teacher. Yeah. Wow. And, um, actually I think that was when I was working as a, uh, a parent para professional.

[00:12:00] So I was doing, it was, um, special education and, um, yeah, my mom taught a special education for decades and I was, her parents were invaluable. It's a tough job. That's a tough job. Yeah. Um, I know. So one of the things that I felt was, uh, could help kind of like the, the kids that spoke

[00:12:25] only Spanish and the kids that spoke only English in those bilingual schools is to bring, to like make kind of a comic thing. And, um, I had released, I think it was maybe 10 pages. Something like that for, um, uh, for my like, uh, animation, like college school storyboarding thing.

[00:12:55] Yeah. Um, it was like a final, final project kind of thing. Um, and I ended up finishing it after, afterwards. Um, and I think I remember like at the beginning it was supposed to be completely silent. Just sound effects. Um, you know, it was basically treating Carlos, uh, like a kaiju. It's just fighting.

[00:13:24] That's it. That kind of thing. Oh, I want to pause on that for a quick second. Um, for those of you who haven't seen this book yet, um, Carlos is just this average, I'm going to guess like maybe 20 something, maybe teenager, uh, um, you know, a kid who is by the way, 100% a silent protagonist. So this is like, uh, like link in a comic book, essentially. Um, just average looking, you know, average looking kid, average clothing, but when you

[00:13:49] say treated like a kaiju, literally he shows up and just fights 300 foot tall creatures with his fist. So I try to be very clear. We mean that literally. All right, continue. So you have this kid who's a kaiju. Um, so yeah, it wasn't until I think it was the bilingual school that I thought it would make sense to start working in some dialogue and it made like, I had a narrator.

[00:14:17] Um, I had kind of a narrator and I thought it would be kind of cool to do like boxing, you know, you know, like a, where it just sounded like a boxing, uh, announcer. Yeah. Very different from a narrator. So this, because we have a narrator, this is a non-diegetic. This is very much part of the universe. The people of, of the city are not just cheering him on, but following blow by blow what's happening.

[00:14:44] Um, so, and I thought, you know, a city that has, that has something like that would probably have people moving there specifically because to, to see one of these fights or rubberneck. Right. Yeah. Um, which is why he has fans, uh, in the first few issues. There's like, you'll see them, the, the newscasters like interviewing fans and whatnot. Yeah.

[00:15:12] Um, so, so you started off with, you know, you have Carlos, we have the monsters, and then we have this idea of the narrator. Well, the announcer and the idea of kind of, there's a, there's a mixture of Spanish and English. Right. Um, at what point did you decide to go all in with, with the, I hesitate to say mythology. One thing that I've always hated is that mythology is a, is a neutral word. Like it doesn't say something is real or not. Christian mythology is a thing, but when people hear the word mythology, they're like, oh, fake things. Right. And it really bothers me. I just, I don't like myths versus facts. I just, yeah.

[00:15:41] Myths are as real as anything else. People believe in them. Um, so Dino religion and culture, what made you want to heavily, uh, like lean into that here? So, you know, it was, I think it was halfway through the book. Uh, book being the first issue, the first issue. Um, I was slowing down cause I didn't know what else to do.

[00:16:11] Um, and I thought of a lot of stuff. I mean, like space and, you know, just go really, really far out or whatever. And then I was like, well, maybe it's like the monkey King. So like Eastern and it kind of dawned on me at one point. I was like, wait, why, why would I have to do Eastern when I have this whole pantheon of

[00:16:37] gods that we've talked to or told stories about, um, like my entire life when I was in Puerto Rico. Right. Like we just knew. So that's when I brought, uh, you can tell at the end of issue one because I brought in like that. I finally knew where I was going because I brought in, um, um, uh, way, right. Yeah.

[00:17:07] Right. And, uh, and who is this? Um, he's basically, um, our, and it's really hard to say this easily. He's, yeah, he's basically our, um, uh, Hercules, you know, he's a demigod. Um, he was, uh, uh, um, uh, cacique that was one of the best known caciques. And he was like great to his people and all this stuff.

[00:17:37] And, um, when he died, this is not in the comic. Yeah. We're talking, we're talking the legend. The lore. When he died, someone was, uh, there was, you know, baby born that they then were like, yo, this is him reborn. Yeah. Is what the legend. Um, and, uh, he also became a really great cacique.

[00:18:04] So they, they kind of, um, Someone will inherit the mantle. Yeah. Yeah. So, um, I thought about it as, uh, uh, like the Hercules, right? Yeah. Like the immortal. Do you know what I mean? Yeah. So he would, he died and came back and stuff like that. To use Marvel terms, somebody new became worthy of the hammer. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:18:32] So, um, I think that was when I knew what I was doing. That's when I knew that I was going to continue with that. Cause it just, it just happened. It really just happened. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and I mean, There's a lot that's going to happen in this next arc. That's going to spoilers. Yeah. But, uh, we're talking about the, the, uh, the issues in this, by the way, you've,

[00:19:01] you've recently collected the, the first several issues as a trade. Uh, and also, um, I understand this is, this is a real trade. It has even a forward, uh, written by, uh, who's, who's this writer? You got that. Who? Um, Kevin Garcia. Oh, no, Jerry, Jerry Garcia. Jerry Garcia. Jerry, sorry. I get that confused all the time. But no, but you have this trade now. Um, and, and throughout the story, uh, like in the first issue, it's mostly Carlos and punching and people cheering.

[00:19:31] And then we see the guy show up at the end, but then very quickly, it becomes part of this entire mythology, this entire story. Um, and, and I think, I think one thing I've, I've, I've, I've not just with you, but with other people I've talked to is that, um, according to the, to the Spanish, the Taino culture was wiped out. Um, and, and it very much is alive, but also very much is remembered.

[00:19:53] Um, and so I think it's, it's, I think it's important to have that go beyond the shores of Puerto Rico. So other people can, can also learn. Um, I only recently, for example, learned about, uh, Ture, the, the, the, the Taino. Yeah. I didn't know. I hadn't heard of this. And this is a comic strip that pretty much, I guess everybody growing up in, in Puerto Rico for the past 30 years knew this comic. Yeah. I grew up reading that book, uh, that, uh, that, uh, that strip, um, he's still alive.

[00:20:22] The, the, the creator, the creator's still alive. Um, and hopefully I'll be able to meet him someday, but yeah, he's, um, that's something I'm not 100% sure if you can even get Ture in the United States. Oh, I just, I just learned about it. I imagine I can find copies on Amazon and eBay, but like, you know, uh, of, of the trades of collections, I mean, not the actual comic. Well, if you do let me know. Cause I, I immediately after learning it, I started looking up where, like where, what

[00:20:52] collections might be available. Cause I was very curious. Yeah. Um, you know, it's funny, you were saying earlier that, uh, you had this idea of making it like Eastern and then you're like, why not? Why would we have our own culture? Ow, hit myself in the face. Why would we have our own culture? Um, and I had a similar experience as a, as a, as a kid when I made my first hero when I was like nine years old. Um, when I eventually got to an origin, it was entirely, uh, based in Tibet with, with a Buddhist, uh, religion and mythology. And I, and I did a ton of research cause I researched everything for no reason.

[00:21:20] Uh, I started getting all these books on, you know, Tibetan Buddhism and everything. And then at some point I just kind of looked at all my notes and my, my, my draft of it. And I was like, you know, we have our own religions that are, are here in Mexico that, that came from Mexico, uh, including, uh, fighting styles and, and, uh, and traditions and priests and all these other things. Yeah. Why am I using somebody else's culture?

[00:21:46] So I completely redid it with, um, I was using, uh, Aztec style stories at the time. I never did publish that one. I don't feel like it's ready for the public yet. I needed to develop it more. Cause again, it's nine, but I just, I'd like to hear you say that cause I had a similar trajectory, I guess. Uh, I want to pause for a second and switch over to somebody else who recently had a collection released. Elia Maria. Um, I want to ask you, you're one of our co-hosts, so we don't get to ask you about your

[00:22:14] stuff enough, but I wanted to ask you about princess of taco because, and I don't think Roberto's familiar with your work. No, not at all. No worries. Yeah. So, um, how did you go from doing mostly like, I won't say joke a day comics, but like usually a little individually contained ones to a full story. And what was that learning process like? Oh man. I like, it was my first experience doing writing that wasn't based off like real life gags or thoughts.

[00:22:43] It was just a complete new idea. Um, I, I did have help from my community. I was like, I need ideas, just little, little bits of things that would be fun and silly. I wanted to keep it lighthearted and everything, but I also wanted to incorporate my culture. And so at the end of the day, I wanted to make sure it was lighthearted, silly, but very reverent to my cultural background.

[00:23:10] And so the skeleton in itself was like, okay, what's our problem? Let's get there. All right. Is it all better? Great. So literally like, it's an all ages thing. It's not too complicated, but it was complicated for me because I'd never done like writing like that where there's a start middle end. Um, and it was really cool to just explore that outside of like, Oh, here's a slapstick joke. Next slapstick joke. Next. It's like, I had to actually think.

[00:23:38] I mean, if there's a place to put bananas in, you put bananas in. I do. I mean, you shouldn't talk down about it. And it's it. That's tough. Oh, I'm not. It's no. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. People need to understand how hard it is. Right. That's why I wanted to have the idea of having you two here, having this conversation is you both went from being artists to storytellers, essentially. Yeah. It's something I want to explore more. I definitely need more practice. And especially because I have so many ideas up in here.

[00:24:05] I just need to know how to put them in words versus just pictures as well. Roberto, I'm sorry. You were saying something and I interrupted you. Was I? Yeah. You were saying that it's hard to do. The process is hard. Oh, yeah. Yeah. That's it. You know what's funny? Is that Freddie's not here with us? But if he but I can hear him in the ether right now saying there's Kevin interrupting people again. All right.

[00:24:35] Cool. All right. Like I can hear that right now. Like he's going to listen to this in post and he's just going to be listening in and he's going to be like, there he is. He's going to put a counter. Say that and go, oh, no, he heard me. Well, there's there's the delay I'm noticing. Right. It's because it's because of the whole Artemis mission. You know, you're on the moon right now. Right. Roberto. I'm on what? On the moon. You're in the moon right now. Right. Aren't you? Currently.

[00:25:04] Actually, what's funny is I think, Roberto, I think you're not actually very far from where I'm at right now. And I think are you in South Austin? Oh, I left South Austin. Oh, where are you now? The moon. No. The moon. I knew it. I knew it. But either way, you're in the Austin area, though, right? Right now. Yeah. I'm OK. So basically just down the street from Austin books and comics. OK. Makes that easy, I guess. Yeah. Well, I want to I want to jump topics for a quick second.

[00:25:34] Talk about another one. Yeah. Because I kept gushing about it when we were at the event. You're saying that I should be selling it to people. So go that are gone. One you did with your sibling. Right. And I got to finish. Yeah. Yeah. And and so I only read the first issue and I immediately fell in love with it because it's just it's just detective noir, you know, that kind of stuff. Heavy shadows and toughness and everything. But he's also very much. Exactly. I love noir. I love noir so much. Same.

[00:26:03] Oh, and at the same time, it's also very much in the tradition of the Luchador movies where you have a guy who's just always wearing a mask and never takes it off, which again is I have to tell people all the time. It's not about hiding your identity. It's about showing who you are. Yeah. And then the the little icing on the cake there is that it takes place in a location called San Lucha, where it is just it's like what if Gotham City was about wrestling and there's just a giant statue of a Luchador in the middle town.

[00:26:30] And I'm like, OK, yeah, that's everything that it needs to be. Hell yeah. I don't know if you guys watch the oldest El Santo films. Oh, I did. Yeah. That is El Santo. 100%. So Santa Lucha is actually based off of El Santo. And that's why there's a gigantic ring and the statue. That's unofficially his statue up there in town. Oh, yeah. It's KO. It's a KO of El Santo.

[00:27:00] Unofficial. Unofficial. Yeah, yeah. Because because yes. But the point is, is that I like that it was like even though I felt like the city was a character in just that one issue alone, just because it had that feel of the noir plus the the Santo movies kind of thrown in together, which is something I've always loved. And that's one you did again as part of family. Right. So while you've got these other gigs with people like, you know, Godzilla and Mothra and things like that, who I understand are very big in the industry.

[00:27:30] Sorry. You've also been able to maintain this this indie tradition, both stuff that you have yourself and with your family, but also stuff with other small creators. Not not too big, I guess. You're keeping it humble. I mean, I don't know. I started as an indie creator and I'm still an indie creator. You know what I mean? Yeah.

[00:27:57] I like the, I think indie is just kind of where stories are, you know, where the good ones are. You know, not knocking the big boys, you know, with Marvel and whatever. Yeah. But they have legacies that have been going on forever.

[00:28:16] And indie people have to write something that not only like captures you right away, basically, because they don't have 20 years of like a story. Yeah. They have to keep you involved in a way that like Marvel and DC don't have to, because they could just have a crappy series and then forget that it even happened the next time, you know? Yeah. Which they do often.

[00:28:46] Yeah. And there's a lot of, there's a lot of great indie, great indie books and really good indie writers that are doing God's work. That's what. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There's stories out there that like, I would never see in these big names ever, but it's like, man, I'm glad you wrote this. I'm glad you drew this. And yeah, for sure. It's funny. You're talking about like doing God's work and people in creation.

[00:29:14] An argument I heard recently, I don't remember who said it, was basically like with all the AI out there, that's kind of destroying things. Indie is where the true art is because you know, people are making this blood, sweat and tears. This is humans showing art. And of course there are those people that are trying to put AI into things, but we're going to put that aside for a second.

[00:29:41] One thing that I've noticed, you know, you said that you, you are still indie. Um, you've, uh, I guess only been in the comic sphere for a handful of years now. Um, but, uh, have you, have you either turned to people that have had more experience to learn from them or have you conversely had people who just starting out come and ask you things?

[00:30:02] Both actually, which is, I, I still, um, like just constantly, um, um, any, any artists that I, that I really like or really admire like their work, I'll talk to them, especially if I see them at a show.

[00:30:20] Um, the, like, uh, I guess, uh, I realized very quickly that fanboying out is a little bit, you know, the, you don't get as much out of them unless you're just talking to them about what they love, which is working on art and whatever. To be fair, you did give Stan Sakai a drawing. Oh yeah, dude. And I, how are you guys on? Yeah. I shit myself too.

[00:30:52] Yeah. Oh yeah. On my previous podcast, everybody cusses, but me, that's just kind of, okay, good. Yeah. Um, yeah, he had the piece I gave, I gave him the piece and, um, dude, I was like just heart pounding, but he's, he, while everybody else is looking, I'm still like the indie people are the ones that are my legends. You know what I mean? Yeah. Um, cause Eric Powell. Oh yeah.

[00:31:22] Yeah. The goon. The goon. Um, um, Mike. Which has a whole new meaning nowadays, apparently. Yeah, I know. Um, Mike Allred. Mike Allred. Yeah, of course. And again, both, uh, Eric Powell and especially Mike Allred have done a lot of stuff for the big companies. Um, but they kept coming back to indie because that's where their heart is. Yeah. Well, I mean, you know, that's, that's where you can tell stories that nobody else is telling. You know, uh, Jeff Smith is the same way. I think. Oh yeah. 100%.

[00:31:50] Like Disney comics or something like for a while. And now literally everything, this guy comes out, but it's gold, you know? Hell yeah. Really, really nice dude. Yeah. He's really, um, what you were talking about. I have not met Jeff Smith. Mike Allred is thinking about Jeff Smith was what I said. I met Jeff Smith once for like five seconds and I was just like trying to act cool. You know, how'd that go? I think pretty good. He's just like, okay, cool. Thanks.

[00:32:20] And then walked away. Um, uh, uh, uh, Mike Allred's the same way. Like they're, some of these guys are just, uh, um, effortlessly cool and it's hard to be around them. Like it's hard to talk to them. The aura is high. Yeah. When he stands to Kai is like, uh, uh, he's, he's, he, he's like a, a pond.

[00:32:46] Like just, he's very gentle in the way that he speaks and walks in the way he talks. He's just, it's like watching like, like blooming flowers or like a pond. It's really, he's, he's something else. Like that's why it was, it was really, it's harder for me to talk to someone like that.

[00:33:13] Who's like just super kind and like just kind of floats, you know, the type of people I'm talking about. Yeah. It's harder to talk to those people than to talk to someone. With a lot of these guys, especially people like, like Stan is just that he just, you feel like you're, you're just in an aura of like, like there is creation. Yes. Uh, the, the one time I really fanboyed out, I've said this before is when I met, uh,

[00:33:39] art Adams and it's like literally my, my childhood wall was just plastered with his work. So when I, when I saw him at San Diego, um, you know, his booth, there was nobody there next to him was J. Scott Campbell with a booth with a lion around the block. And I'm like, well, why is nobody at your booth? And he's like, I know I'm wondering the same thing. And I was like, but, but I was just like, cause like, man, I mean, Campbell's, you know, good, but this is art Adams. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:34:06] I have noticed a lot more of the, um, but a lot of the shows when, when, um, kind of OG heads are like move away from comics and do a little, or not move away entire. They do a lot more pinupy type stuff. Oh yeah. That's when they get a lot of crowds, which I think ridiculous. Cause a lot of their stuff, they became the person that they are because of the stuff that they did prior to that, you know?

[00:34:36] So I find that really odd and I'm sure our Adams didn't have like, you know, well, I mean, she has a lot of, Oh, he did. Oh, did he? Yeah. Art Adams. If you see his current stuff, it's all very pinupy. Um, the kind of stuff that Disney would not publish. That's disappointing. No, no. But, but again, when he does it, it's art. Right. Like he's got like a cave girl standing on top of a, of a, of a, of a dinosaur or something and a giant, you know, ape next to her. It just, it looks gorgeous.

[00:35:05] And I'm like, it's just, you know, go with it. Um, you know, but, uh, like I said, some people are just like, you know, I've been doing this long enough. I'm just going to draw what makes me happy. It's like, all right. Yeah. I guess ladies make them happy. Yeah. And dinosaurs or whatever. Well, it's like monsters and space girls and stuff like that. I don't know. Anyway, moving on. Point is really good work. I'm getting sidetracked all the time as I do. Um. It's what happens when we discuss like what we're inspired by. It's just tangent, tangent, tangent. That's part of the creative process.

[00:35:35] Let's hear what you were inspired by. What inspires Ellie? No, no, no, no, that's not important. I get inspired by a lot of people. I get inspired by just being surrounded by creatives, indie creatives, uh, storyboard artists, animators. If you're making characters, I'm in awe. Oh, that's cool. Yeah. I'm inspired by your poncho. I, I am also inspired by my poncho. I 100% need a Sailor Moon poncho. You do. It's comfy. I've been really wanting to pick up a poncho.

[00:36:05] I just don't know where from. You know what's funny? I picked one up at a, I'm getting off sidetracking again. I guess I do. I picked one up at a music festival years ago and, and literally like when I bought it, everybody's like, why did you buy that? It's just, it's like, it was like one of those stoner ones, like 100%. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And I was just like, it's comfy. And everybody's like, you can't wear, everybody's going to just assume you, you're, you have something for them. I love that for you. And I was like, and honestly, I've never actually worn it since I was sitting in my closet. Oh my God. Now you have to go to school.

[00:36:34] You need to wear it. See what the kids think. I know. It's going to be great for the teachers to come in with that. Yeah. You're going to make so many friends. The most straight edge guy wearing it. I love that for you. I swear. When I used to go to ACL more often, people would just come up to me like, hey, you got shrooms? I'm like, do I look like I have something? They're like, yeah, you do. I have portabellos in my lunch sack. I did. It's like. No, I, any given day I would have portabellos on me. That's actually true. You would. I know you would.

[00:37:03] I just, apparently I just look like that kind of guy. All right. That's cool. Yeah. I jokingly say in my high school, my nickname was stone. And I'm like, yeah, because I was so tough. No, it's because I, they thought I was stoned. I was just tired. She didn't sleep. Yeah. Too many ideas all the time. Yeah. Basically that. 100% that, which I think you guys can understand as well. Yeah. Yeah. Oh man.

[00:37:31] Talk about evolving ideas and stuff. You know, Maria was looking at your earlier comic work. Right. And then I've seen some of your more recent stuff that you've been putting together and you've been like breaking through panels and like going to different angles to get forced perspective on these action shots. Yeah. It's just, it's been a bit of joy watching your work evolve. Um, and, and actually now that I think about it, I also saw you do an entire rocketeer in like an hour.

[00:38:01] Um, so, um, um, so, uh, how, how do you, do you feel like you're developing as an artist, um, because of comics or just coincidentally, uh, like, does this. Um, you know, uh, I feel like it's, it's a, it's constant, right? You're the growth is constant.

[00:38:26] So you get, you even, you look at Carlos and then you look at the stuff that I, the, even the final. Issue of Carlos. You look at the stuff that I, um, um, that I'm working on now and it's different. Yeah. Golden Ragone is an entirely different art style. It's still you. It's still recognizable you. I can't wait to see that. But it's a different art style. It's more like if, if Frank Miller had like a cartoony edge, which you're not, I wouldn't call that cartoony, but like it's, it definitely has that. You can call it cartoony. That's fine.

[00:38:52] Um, my, um, one of my, uh, favorite, uh, um, was it someone had called my work violent Disney. And I was like, I'm in. Yo. Yes. Yeah. So that's basically what I've been very late. That's the one I've been excited about. Like, I want to make a shirt that just says violent. Violent. That's a fun label. I've been calling you Toon Kirby. I don't know. Toon Kirby. Which kind of goes the other direction.

[00:39:23] Yeah. Oh man. Um, the, so yeah, you all, you're, you're constantly evolving, I think. And, um, uh, the one thing that I realized, um, has helped me the most where I'm like, rather than incrementally getting better. Um, it's, it's, uh. Okay. Hold on. Time out. All right.

[00:39:52] We need to pause. Okay. So, um, I'm going to need to, uh, stop. No, I actually, here's what I need you to do. I need you to exit and then come back in. Cause I just got, I just got a note saying Roberto has stopped recording. Uh, so that is quite popular. Did it not pause? I thought I paused it. All right. Yeah. So I try refreshing. Yeah, there we go. It's going to come out. Okay.

[00:40:20] Um, when we come back, um, we'll probably have to do it a little. Let's do a wrap up. Yeah. Yeah. Recovery. I was going to say wrap up, um, 42 minutes is a little bit shorter than normal. I'm fine with that. If you are actually, it's probably about 30 minutes. Cause we talked for a minute, but what I was going to suggest was since we were kind of chatting about video games at the beginning, we could do that more formally. Yeah. I have a video game just to like, yeah, there's only one I've been playing. So let's do that. Works for me. Okay. Okay. Back in. Yippee. You guys switch sides.

[00:40:50] Oh, did we really? This thing swaps all the time. Like what's great about this app. Uh, the hashtag not sponsored, although Riverside should sponsor us. Certainly. Uh, is that we can edit everything in post. So whichever side anybody's on or who's being zoomed in our lovely editor who does amazing work putting in sound effects and stuff. I don't know what he just did there, but he probably did something cool. Um, you know, does some cool stuff. Oh, that's dope. I, I need to get a, a setup. Like you guys. I'm going to pause for a second.

[00:41:19] So I was telling Elia Maria a second ago that, um, earlier we talked about video games before we get started. Um, I'm thinking maybe we could just have a discussion about what we've been playing or what we'd recommend for people, um, just for a bit. And then we'll kind of close out by telling people how to find us. Is that okay? I don't want anybody to find me. Well, online. Hold on a second. You're on the moon. It'll be hard. Let me close my door because, um, Alex is probably going to come home in a second. Hold on. All right. Yeah.

[00:41:47] I can't wait to read your noir one now because I love noir so much. I'm ready to, to get back on that. Okay. So I've got issue six of Carlos coming out soon. Yeah. Okay. I'm like two pages away and it'll be out. Um, and then gold that are going is my next, the, uh, the next one I'm going to continue. Rx might wait a little bit because the art style was way, way far out.

[00:42:15] Like, like further than what I've done. Oh, dang. Okay. Um, and it was, I think we got it done in about. What? Let's formally have this discussion. Oh, okay. Oh, I'm all just like. Yeah. We were just talking. So, so I just asked you about, uh, evolving art and that kind of stuff. And you started saying how it evolves. Let's answer that your art evolves, um, with what you're saying right now about different art styles with your books.

[00:42:45] So first. Yeah. Let's talk about how, um, we, we, we're getting into Carlos. We're getting a new issue soon. Tell us about that. And then the rest of the works that you have coming up. Yeah. Yeah. Wait. We're like about. So basically what I'm asking you to do is this. We're asking about evolving styles. Yeah. So what I'm asking you to do is say how you went from Carlos to go to our X and how, what you're excited about coming up and what you're, what you're hesitant about. Hesitant. I'm excited.

[00:43:14] You don't have to be hesitant. But because I made it formal, I made it hard. Because I needed a formal question. Okay. But you were just saying a minute ago, but from the end. Kevin, be quiet. All right. So what were you talking about evolving, um, uh, evolving in your art style? Oh, uh, yeah. So it's, uh, other than like, uh, rather than what was, what I've noticed that allowed me

[00:43:42] to get better quicker and change. I mean, I feel like I truly have an art style now, which is the hardest thing. Yeah. Um, but like people can, it's in a, I can change sort of, um, the look of it sort of nuances depending on the type of story I'm, I'm part of. Yeah.

[00:44:08] But it, people can still recognize my work. So I'm at that point and I'm very excited about that. And, um, so I was trying to draw daily, constantly, constantly, constantly. And I sat in one spot where, I don't know if you felt this way or if you've ever done this,

[00:44:30] the, where you, um, uh, you're reading something or, and then you kind of like unconsciously start drawing or, or writing in that way. Does that make sense? All right. So new question, Elio, start us off with something. Yes. I think I'm confusing. Yeah. Talk about, let's talk about what you've got coming up. Tell us about what, what issues are coming out next. Nice. What works are in the work?

[00:45:00] Um, let's, uh, so, uh, Carlos issue six. So that's the beginning of a fingers crossed 12, uh, new 12 story, uh, 12 issue arc. So I'm going to see if I could push it from five to 12. We'll see. Um, so I've got issue six of that coming out. Um, I'm going to be working on, um, was it gold that are going issue two. Okay.

[00:45:30] So that kind of rounds, uh, you know, kind of rounds that out. Cause I was supposed to be a, uh, I love noir. So I kind of wanted to do like, you know, one shots, uh, with this character. Like Paul. Yeah. So like kind of do that sort of thing. Um, so yeah, I got to do issue two for that. RX is a completely different animal. Like talk about RX.

[00:46:00] How, what, what is that? And how is it so different from your other stuff? Um, I've, I was trying. Okay. So I was trying to get as close to what I remembered the, um, futuristic, uh, uh, uh, like seventies, eighties, like, um, like Logan's run kind of stuff. Like blade runner.

[00:46:30] Uh, you know, okay. That futuristic. Yeah. Um, and one of the things in there is that I try to make every building. I mean, I do this in Carlos too, but, um, I try to make every building look like a miniature. Does that make sense? Like when you're looking at it, it's like, they're using a miniature for a large movie. Yeah. So there's a lot of, okay. Yeah. It's good details that are like, it's like wide lens. Yeah.

[00:46:59] Um, so I'm trying to treat it like one of those like old, like, uh, uh, epic sci-fi films. So the look of it is very different. So I try to be, is that a challenge as an artist? Um, I mean, that was definitely the, the, the, the point was to challenge myself, right.

[00:47:22] To look at it more as a film and less as something that's not, you know, that's like a book, like reading, you know, like a book or still shots. And, um, I think I have like lens flare that I did.

[00:47:44] Another thing that I tried to do in this one that I didn't, that it was any of that stuff like lens flare or like fog or whatever. It's all hand done. Like I don't use filters. I don't use, um, like tricks, which it's totally fine. If I saw something that I liked that, like you could do in Photoshop with pressing a key, I always try to figure out how to do that.

[00:48:14] Like, uh, um, like just drawing manual. Yeah. Manually. Uh, um, yeah. And analog. Yeah. Well, cause if you can do it that way, I realized that you can then do it in front of people at shows. Yo, which is what I saw you doing. Yeah. Hey. Um, so anyways, that's a, it'll happen. The next issue that will happen.

[00:48:42] Um, because once the, there's a big story that we wrote 15 years ago, this is like, it was 15 years. And then, uh, my brother and I rewrote it specifically to fit this. Cause everything that we had written from 15 years ago is already happening now. So we had to make it a little bit further. Yeah. No problem. Oh no. Yeah.

[00:49:12] Um, that's weird. The world we live in. Mm. Mm. Let me ask you a question. You were talking earlier about, um, you know, physically doing it. Um, uh, how do you feel about, uh, cause you've done a lot of digital work with, with comics. How do you feel about going to traditional and just working ink on paper? I love it. I love it. Um, there's, there's definitely a different style when you're working on, on paper, you

[00:49:40] have a completely different style on paper than you have digitally. Mm. And, um, the, I was doing a lot of digital stuff. And then whenever I'd go back to my pencils, I always low, you know, like on paper, I always loved it a lot more. There was more emotion, more movement, you know, more like, um, it was like thicker, you know what I mean? Like it was visceral, strong. Yeah. It just felt better.

[00:50:11] And no matter how I tried to recreate that same feeling, it just wasn't there. It was too clean. Um, uh, it was like the looks there, but the heart's not there, you know? Um, so from time to time I'll still do digital stuff if need be, or I'll do a hybrid even,

[00:50:37] you know, like, uh, I'll do hybrid where it's maybe I'll do the sketches digitally because I'm not wasting a whole bunch of paper and then do the finished stuff. Um, tradition. Yeah. We're talking about the, the rocketeer. Um, you did like a pencil sketch. You put the ink. Uh, I'm watching these little intricate lines, speed lines, which would drive me nuts. And then you pull out the big guns, zip a tone and you started cutting it and putting it on there.

[00:51:05] I'm like, I mean, honestly, that's something people would just do on digital. Like you did the ink. Great. Cool. Now do the details there. Nope. You were just putting it. I was like, I, I, I think I said when I saw you doing that, I can never do that. And you're like, Oh no, you can learn. No, no, no. You don't understand. I cannot do small details. It drives me nuts. It's a skill. So watching you do that is like watching art and magic being, what was art, but watching magic being made. You know what I mean? Um, so yeah, there's something, uh, this role of watching it being physically done too. That's really cool.

[00:51:35] I think that that's, um, I think that's where the, it seems to me like that's where the, where the industry is going. They're going all the way back and maybe not with colors. Right. Yeah. Because color is going to stay digital. It's just easier. You know, um, people aren't using CMYK.

[00:51:55] The only time that, uh, CMYK like, um, uh, works correctly without like the moray and making it look kind of weird and muddy is if you're using, if you know, you have, uh, an offset, like I think it's called offset printing because they do old school printing. Yeah. If you're trying to do that digitally, it looks, it looks bad. It looks like shit. It's sad beige rainbow. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:52:25] So, um, I think coloring is going to stay digitally or it's going to stay digital, but, um, I mean, a good deal of artists, including, I mean, one of the more famous, uh, Daniel Warren Johnson. The reason why he's become other than the fact that, uh, the titles that he's worked on have become huge or were huge and he made them bigger. Right.

[00:52:54] It's because of the art he's been posting online and it's all his, every page he does is traditional. Like he's doing the zip tones by hand. He's doing the inks by hand. Like, uh, he uses, you know, washes and paints and he's awesome. He's really, really good. If you don't know him, you should check out just anything.

[00:53:19] I would say if you could, if you can, uh, either start with space mullet, which was one of his first ones or, um, uh, uh, or murder Falcon, which is really fun. See, I wasn't familiar with him before his more recent DC stuff. And then I really got to know him because of what he'd been posting online. Uh, the art there is just, it's gorgeous. Oh, his, his work is amazing. The goat.

[00:53:46] That guy's also, uh, socially significant. Cause he, he was one of the first, cause there's a lot of artists lately that have been drawing, you know, uh, fictional characters or real characters, real people, uh, fighting back against ice, fighting back, um, the oppression, fighting back against censorship and banning books and fighting back against the war. Um, and, uh, and now it's, you know, it's one thing to say that it's become popular, but

[00:54:14] more than anything, I think it's important that it's becoming popular and starting that. Um, and I guess that ties back to what we're saying about Carlos is putting the, the soul into it, into the art. Ooh, nice. Nice. Nice. How you did that. That was good. Yeah. Well, on that coming full circle thing, um, let's, uh, talk about where people can find you online, um, where people can get your books, uh, where people can find this, this amazing

[00:54:42] one that has, uh, again, a very, a very prominent, uh, writer and researcher doing the lead, doing the intro here at the, uh, forward. Hmm. Apparently he talks very highly of you. I know. Really love your work. Yeah. I was a big dead head back in the day. So that's Jerry Garcia. Yeah. Um, so, so where can people find you online, man?

[00:55:04] Um, it's, uh, simple Roberto Rivera art, uh, uh, this Facebook, Instagram, uh, anything else is the same. It's basically the same X was not, but I don't use X. I got rid of it. I don't either. Yeah. Yeah. Um, it's funny. I didn't like using it before and now I feel like I don't have to. So I know it's fun. It's fun to be able to get rid of those things. Right. Yeah.

[00:55:34] Um, absolutely. And then what about finding your books? So, uh, when it comes to Carlos, the single issues are, if you found them, you found them. If you don't, they're gone. Um, but, uh, the collection you can, you can, um, you can find on Barnes and Noble, uh, dot com.

[00:55:59] Um, and you can get them directly from me at any show, which I would prefer because I can actually see the people that, you know, and get to meet whoever is, you know what I mean? Like, you know, when he says it, when he says it that way, it makes me think like the little captures, like, are you really a human? So he's like, prove you're a human point to all of the crackle on here.

[00:56:25] Well, I had a, I had somebody tell me that they had, that they got the entire series and, um, but I don't remember them ever ordering it from me. And when I asked about it, they were like, Oh, I got it all digital. I'm like, how did you get it all digital? Cause I don't have it out digitally. So I don't understand it. Um, and I looked it up and I guess I must've put them somewhere digitally and never looked.

[00:56:55] So, uh, um, that was very uncomfortable. I think I might've taken that stuff down just cause like, you know, definitely. Um, nothing against digital comics. I think that's fantastic. And at some point I'll be, you know, creators got to get their coin. Yeah. And that's the thing they keep cutting, they keep cutting creators out, you know, all tend to do that. And it's terrible. Um, again, another reason for Indy. Yeah. He's around again. So you said, uh, speaking of which, and I interrupted.

[00:57:24] So that being said, so humans can come by your work. I know you're going to be at an NTX show this weekend, which is going to air after the show, but in the past, what are future shows that you have maybe within the next couple months that people can catch you at? Um, actually, you know what? I've got an amazing person who puts my calendar, sets my calendar up. So I'm going to be, I need to get me a manager. Uh, what month are we in?

[00:57:54] Uh, we're in April now. Can you believe? Wow. No, I can't. Yeah. I thought it was still February, but it's fine. Earlier today, I thought it was 2025. Oh yeah. I think I put 2025 on something. Yeah. So I'm at NTX this week, or I was at NTX this weekend. Um, I think I'm doing, is it, what is that?

[00:58:20] Oh, I'm going to be doing a signing in, um, uh, dragon, dragon's lair, um, Alamo ranch. Okay. Yeah. That's in San Antonio. Yeah. Okay. Um, I will be at Eastern Rim, uh, May 16th. Um, I will be, you don't know that one? That one's dope, dude. That one's dope. That one's like. Eastern Rim. Yeah. I needed to know that one.

[00:58:50] It's cool. Um, I will be a Corpus Christi, the fifth, uh, Corpus Christi Comic-Con, fifth, sixth, seventh. Um, let's see. I think I got something on flag day. Uh, Independence Day. I've got, uh, NTX in August. Uh, NTX. And then in October, I'll be at NTX again. Nice. Um.

[00:59:19] So you're booked and busy. That's the one people should go look out for. Yeah. Uh, during the summer, I will be at, uh, Heroes Con in North Carolina? South Carolina. North. North, right? I've got things about Heroes Con. Me too. This will be my second time back. Nice. Yeah. I mean, congratulations. Um. Wow. And, uh, waiting for, there, there are others that will continue popping up. Yeah, for sure. The, uh, risks of being popular.

[00:59:47] You know, it's, it's, uh, it's good to have, I've, I've been making friends at these shows. And I think that's where. I know. Um. Networking's a big part of it. I know. You're doing it. It's hard. Yeah. It's so hard. It's good to be kind. I think that's the. Oh, um. I'm still waiting to hear back, but I'm pretty sure I'll be at, uh, Austin. Greater Austin? Yeah. Greater Austin. Greater Austin Comic Con. Okay. Hell yeah.

[01:00:17] You've been a guest at, uh, Giganticon put on by, by some of the same people before too. That was one of my, like, my first, like, big show. Being a guest. Being a guest. Everything else I had to pay for it. They were the ones who, who started it. So I'll be there. I'll be their guest whenever they want me to. Um. Yeah. There's more popping up. There's more popping up. Um. Here and there. Um. But a lot of shows tend to.

[01:00:45] Like, the bigger ones, they'll book you at the, like, very early on. Yeah. But then there are ones that are, you know. That are like a week notice. Yeah. Well. Yeah. You know, the week notice for the really small ones or. Yeah. Fingers crossed I'll be at Casa. Me too. Yeah. Yeah. Um. Cause. I did that one once. It was amazing. It's funny. All the shows I've done recently. Like, the three that I was mentioning that are one week after another.

[01:01:12] All of them I've had on my schedule for almost a year. So. Nice. It's like. It really helps when people reach out in advance. So you can put them in the calendar. Um. Yeah. And other than that, I think there's some signings here and there. But I usually. Oh yeah. I usually try to post stuff. As I. Yeah. I usually try to post stuff. Which I should probably do that tomorrow. Tomorrow. Yeah. So people know where I'm going to be. So y'all heard.

[01:01:42] Y'all heard. Go follow right now. So y'all can keep up with the schedule. All right. Get a book in person. That just seems like. Get 10 books in person. Yeah. As you should. As you should. Speaking of. Speaking of. Uh. Keeping up with people and following. Uh. Elia Maria. Um. How do people find you online again? Uh. Go around the corner. Past the palm tree. You're going to see. A glass table. There's a sleeping dog at the end of the street. No. He's always there. Go past the sleeping dog. Just give him pets. No.

[01:02:11] I'm spice eliostrations on everything. Was it spice? Are we. We. I've got to be following you, right? Eliostrations. All right. If you aren't. You should. If you aren't. It's okay. I'm going to do it now. A notification. Do it. And I'll follow you back. Yeah. I'm going to do it right now. And what about you, Kevin? Where are you? Are you on the internet? Before we do. Are you on the line? Before we do. I will. I'm glad you asked me that. I don't want you to ask me in a second. Either events or where people can find your work. Yeah.

[01:02:40] I will be at Denison Lit Con. The first weekend of May. I hope it's lit. Where's that? I'll be a guest there. That is in Denison, Texas, which is like north of Dallas. I'll be guesting there with David DeGrand. Oh, that's great. He's super cool. I love him. He's such a sweetie. And then I will be at a Mother's Day festival with the Dallas Library, Oak Lawn. Oh, that's great. So that'll be on Mother's Day. So bring your moms. I'll draw pictures of her.

[01:03:10] Everybody and their mother wants to go there. Exactly. And then after that, I don't think I have a show until like Texas Latino Comic Con, I believe. Imagine Houston. And then Princessa Taco. Yes. How do people find a copy of that? They can go on either my website or my publisher, Comic or Press's website. And right now, I am campaigning for a Ringo Award nomination. You can find the details on my website. Oh, yeah.

[01:03:40] Please go. Yeah. Was it Spiced what again? Could you say that one again? Spiced. Yeah. Spiced Elia Strations. Elia Strations. Nice one. I know, right? Get it? Because it's my name. Okay. Now, you've been asked a very important question. Yeah. Kevin, are you on the line? Are you on the land? I am on the landline. Yeah. So, yeah.

[01:04:06] I'm Kevin Garcia underscore com, which is for some reason confusing to people. Basically, I own KevinGarcia.com. And I think it works now. It wasn't working for a couple years. It wasn't. But it's working now. Yay. And unfortunately, they wouldn't let me put KevinGarcia.com on the social. So, I put underscore. Made sense at the time. And at this point, all of my socials have that pretty much. So, Instagram, Blue Sky. Well, actually, Blue Sky is just Kevin Garcia. That's the only one that doesn't. TikTok and YouTube, which I keep swearing up and down.

[01:04:35] I will soon do some YouTube videos. Don't worry about it. I just feel like it's. No, I really want to. I just feel like there's a higher bar. Because at TikTok, they kind of reward you for having bad green screen and bad editing. It seems as kitschy. But you do it on YouTube and they're like, oh, skip. You know? Oh. Yeah. It's a different crowd. It's a different crowd. But what are your events? Where are you going to be? Are you doing anything? I did a bunch of events already. I've got. You really did. You had like five in a row. I did a lot. So crazy. I miss this stuff.

[01:05:05] Last time I had this many in a row was right before the pandemic, actually. Yeah. In fact, I didn't even realize what I was. How many I had until suddenly they weren't there anymore. And I was like, oh, my God. Withdrawal. So I definitely have Comicpalooza coming up in May. That's right. It looks like I will also be at San Diego Comic-Con doing some panels there as well. Hey, okay. I haven't finalized my plans for Free Comic Book Day, but I will be somewhere probably

[01:05:35] in Austin on Free Comic Book Day, one of the comic stores here. And also, I am working on a Kickstarter. I've got an artist I've been working with. He's doing a great job. I really want to know. I lost my train of thought for a second. I really try to figure out what it is that I need to put on the Kickstarter because I've done it before. I've done it several times, but it's been a couple of years that I did it. Yeah.

[01:06:02] I took a whole year off from comic creating because I had personal stuff going on. But now that I'm back, I really want to dive in. I've been really excited about this project. I haven't formally announced it yet, I guess. Miguel Angel Hernandez is an artist out of Veracruz. Basically, I told him about my idea and about an hour or so later, he had to be a sketch of my characters. And I was like, oh, all right, let's do this. But it's something I'm very excited about.

[01:06:30] And I want to talk on my Primo's podcast about it. Hopefully, they can get me on as a guest. We'll see if we can fit you in. Once it's ready to promote. Hell yeah. As someone who's seen a preview of the art, I'm excited. I can't wait. The art is so cool. Yeah. And I had actually a lot of friends did sketches of the characters, which helped inspire me to put it together and say, I need to make this happen. You got this. Yeah. All right. You've done it before. You got this. We've been talking about where to find us.

[01:07:00] But the most important thing that you need to find is My Primo's podcast, which you can find at whatever it is you're listening or watching us on right now. Spotify and YouTube and probably Apple Music and a bunch of other places. But we are also at myprimospodcast.com as well on the socials as at myprimospodcast and at myprimosproductions, which both function, thankfully, after somebody tried to hack us last year and

[01:07:29] hold us for ransom. We beat the hacker. Which we pointed out, we don't have any money. And they're like, oh. And we got it back. They said, oh. Well, no, I think they were still trying to get money from blood from that stone anyway, but that didn't happen. But we're back and we have it. And we now have extra socials now. So please follow us there. With that, we need to remember that wherever you are out there, Primos, thank you so much for being here. Remember that wherever you are, whoever you are, you are always a primo. You are always family.

[01:07:58] You are always part of us. Thank you so much. And with that, we out. That was so beautiful, Kevin. Bye! Ha ha.