On The Road To Comic-Con: Interview With Gilbert Hernandez, Creator Of Fatima
Once again, this is another article in a series of interviews recently conducted for Technorati's Road To Comic-Con coverage. From July 12th to the 15th, nearly 150,000 people will crowd into the San Diego Convention Center to experience the largest pop culture event in North America. Comic-Con is all anyone will be talking about next week.
This week, however, we're talking with comic book creator Gilbert Hernandez. Hernandez is probably best known for his story contribution to the series Love And Rockets which he created with his brothers Jamie and Mario. His new creation, Fatima, is about drugs and zombies and the first issue was published last week by Dark Horse Comics.
Hernandez's work has a magical or dream logic quality to it that frames his artistry. "A lot of the time I just let my imagination take over and my conscious puts things into some sort of relatable form," he said. "The last graphic novel I did was called Love From The Shadows and it was created that way."
The pure imagination aspects drive his work but there are very clear inspirations for some of his projects. "My next two books will have very straight-forward narratives," he continued. "One is called Marble Season which is about kids growing up in the 1960's. The other is called Maria M. which about a gun moll. They'll both still have a few surreal elements; a few for me, that is."
His work, though popular, isn't something that main-stream audiences gravitate towards. Mostly, this is the result of the direct market which centralizes the distribution of comic books to specialty stores. This market has been weakened over the years, as stores go out of business. The reasons are varied and it's a concern for Hernandez.
"I'm hoping [The Direct Market] stays strong, for my sake and others," he said, and added a mirthful comment. "I grew up when comics were only sold in food markets and news stands, so the direct market is vital to me. The best way to make it stronger is if everybody buys my comics in multiple copies before they buy any others."
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