Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Javier Hernandez. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Javier thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

This past year, 2023, marked the 25th anniversary of launching my comics book series El Muerto. I spent a lot of the year traveling to comic book conventions and sharing my work. When I published the first issue back in 1998 I had always planned for a long career, but to be honest I didn’t know that I’d be commemorating 25 years of creative endeavor with the character.

In my travels this year I’ve continued to reach new readers but have encountered so many folks who had first read my comics in the intervening years. The longevity of this creative path has been it’s own reward in so many ways.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

As a child I grew up reading comics and drawing, so I think it was inevitable that one day I’d want to create my own comic book character. When I got around to actually pursuing the idea I knew that whatever I created it would reflect my Mexican background. In childhood my favorite characters were Spider-Man and Batman, among others, but as I grew into my teens and college years it was evident to me that there were very few characters of Mexican descent in the pop culture I was exposed to. Growing up in a Mexican American household, with relatives from Mexico and East LA, friends who were Mexican, etc it certainly was a wide gap between my personal life experience and the characters who populated the comics, movies and cartoons that I watched.

So the idea was to create a character based on Aztec mythology and Day of the Dead folklore. But the other goal was to self-publish the work, as back in the 1990s creator-owned work was confined to the self-publishing world (best evidenced by the monster merchandising hit TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES. So ownership of my work was of upmost importance to me, and I’m glad I’ve pursued that ever since.

When it came time to field a movie offer in 2001 I did so directly with the producer instead of sitting on the sideline while a publisher led the negotiations.

I’m most proud of the fact that the readers are getting the stories exactly as I envisioned them. Of course editors and publishers can provide guidance (and definitely wider access to more potential audiences) but having done things the way I have over the 25 years lets me know that everything has come from whatever energy I’ve put into the creative work, as well as sweat and tears that comes from marketing/publishing yourself.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I almost quit comics early on in my career! It was my second major comic book convention, just about 2 months after I debuted. I was at the WonderCon in Oakland, CA, tabling next to friend of mine who lived there and had been publishing for about a year prior to me.

The show had been running for a few hours and while my friend was busy at his table I had no sales at my table with my comics. This went on for another hour or so and I got frustrated. So much in fact that I told my friend I was going to take a walk. So I walked around the convention hall and looked for the hotel bar. Sulking, I sat there in the bar and decided that this comics thing was a bad idea. My first show was ok but the ride was apparently over. So I made the decision to go back to my table, pack up my comics and drive back home to LA!

Well, as I walked back to my table I saw my friend was looking around for me. As soon as he saw me approach the table he told me that this guy wanted to buy some stickers, that girl wanted to get a comic and this local reporter wanted to interview me! I quickly got behind my table and helped them all out. Afterwards I turned to my friend and told him what I was planning to do…. We both had a laugh and I ended up staying set up at the convention the whole weekend.

The lesson of course it not to quit because you never know what could just be around the corner!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I think that the nature of comic book storytelling (any form of fiction) is creating characters and stories that resonate with people. I know I have lifelong favorite comics and creators, so to be able to produce my own stories and hear back from people how much it means to them is tremendously rewarding. Let’s face it, as of right now we still haven’t figured out the secrets of immortality, but through creations of our own design we have a way to leave something behind for others.

Long after I’m gone someone can still pick up one of my comics and read it for the first time or recall fondly the memories they have of that story. It’s one way to achieve immortality in a way, and for better or worse it’s something I don’t take for granted but appreciate.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/javierloscomex/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Javier.F.Hernandez
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/JavierHernandez
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LOSCOMEXTV
• Other: Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C72GKB37?binding=paperback&qid=1703040676&sr=1-1&ref=dbs_dp_rwt_sb_rc_tpbk