TUSTIN, Calif. — Twenty-four years ago, Javier Hernandez drew his own comics and handed them out to anyone who would have a look.
Now Hernandez talks comics too. Saturday, he’ll deliver his presentation on Latino comic writers like Perez of the White Tiger issues of Marvel Comics.
Hernandez will be the keynote speaker at Comics Orange, an in-person event at the Tustin Library running from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The free event is in celebration of libraries, comic books, cosplay and animation filled with family activities. p.m. at the Tustin Library.
Hernandez himself has been a comic book writer since his early issues produced off a copy machine. He’s best known for his “El Muerto: Aztec Zombie” comic book. The title was then turned into an independent film starring Wilmer Valderrama.
Began giving his talk before the pandemic at schools, museums and libraries feeding his personal interest in the history of Latino comic book writers.
“When I started self publishing 24 years ago, I knew the 10 or 15 artists were doing the kind of work I was doing,” he said. “Now, I’m glad to say I can’t keep track, and that’s the way it should be.”
Hernandez has done his own part to build a community of comic book writers and artists. He recently held the 11th annual Latino Comics Expo at the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach. The expo drew about 40 vendors, many of them self publishers, to share and draw eyeballs to their work.
There’s always an audience, Hernandez says at his other workshop, a one-hour tutorial on how to create a one-page comic.
“I tell kids, you can make a comic and put it online, on Instagram or TikTok,” he said. “Nowadays you can do your comic late at night, load it up and people as far away as Australia, the Middle East or Japan can see it.”
The good news is self publishing is easier. Instead of just handing out photo copies, audiences can find artists online, or search for interesting projects on crowdfunding websites. Many artists just starting out need only a few hundred dollars to get something onto the page and off to a few eager fans.
Latino artists have enjoyed recent success too, Hernandez explained.
“The public wants to read [work by them] and the publishers know they now have an audience for this and it helps them PR wise to show they have a more diverse group of creators.”
Saturday, audiences can learn more about how Latino comics got here, and the work that has come before the artists who are succeeding now.
The event is part of a series of mostly virtual events created by Orange County Libraries running through the Month of May. More information can be found here.