Bleeding Cool got Steven Grant and I to talk about ourselves (which isn’t terribly hard to do) for a creator-on-creator interview in Bleeding Cool Magazine #6.
It hits shelves 8/28.
FREELANCERS‘ final chapter hits shelves this Wednesday. I’m sad to say goodbye to the girls (for a while…), proud of Team Freelancers for the work we did (shout outs to Chris Rosa, Bryce Carlson, Matt Gagnon, Felipe Smith, Joshua Covey, Popov Vladimir, Patrick Brosseau, Ian Brill), and still floored that I landed the gig in the first place.
Freelancers #6, available 6/12/13
This book literally changed my life. I’d never worked on a multi-issue arc before FREELANCERS, never worked a convention outside of Arizona, never flown on an airplane, never left the country, never had the support of a dedicated marketing team. Hell, I still had a day job.
Five issues later I’m a better writer, in a better place emotionally, and about three weeks away from achieving my over-a-decade-long goal of getting the Hell out of Tucson and starting my life as a multi-platform pencil-for-hire.
Freelancers #6, available 6/12/13
Cass has a line in this week’s FREELANCERS #6, “Get outta here and go surprise yourselves with what you’re capable of. Go become who you were always meant to become”.
It’s not a bad idea.
Hannah Nance Partlow and I have started doin’ a comic strip in The Tucson Weekly. There’s a new one EVERY WEDNESDAY.
http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/smell-ya-later/Category?oid=3733336
1.) I was invited.
2.) Boom Studios sat me in between Paul Jenkins (Wolverine Origins, The Amazing Spider-Man, Batman: The Dark Knight) and Steven Grant (Punisher: Circle of Blood, Avengers, 2 Guns) for the duration of the convention. LIKE WE WERE THE SAME SPECIES, or something.
3.) I landed two paying gigs while at the show (my first with each company. Details soon), ensuring that I won’t be homeless for another year. Thank Rao.
4.) The entirety of the Boom Studios crew (writers, artists, editors, operations folks, marketing, and so on) crammed into a Tardis-like 2” by 2”, non-air-conditioned room at some creepy Korean karaoke bar and sang and danced in unision for three hours straight.
Best song: R-Kelly’s “Gotham City”.
5.) Devon and Bryce Carlson free-style rapped. It was gangster.
6.) The Calgary Expo talent liaison folks knew I was vegan, and brought me vegan pizza, vegan sushi, fresh fruit, and Canadian root beer all throughout the day. Every day. On purpose. For free.
7.) Fans were excited to see me, and brought stuff for me to sign—which isn’t super uncommon (and I’m incredibly grateful for that)—but these people live IN A DIFFERENT COUNTRY than I do, so that was pretty cool.
One dude begrudgingly brought me his teenage daughters’ copies of Freelancers, and asked me to personalize them.
8.) Paul Jenkins, Zack Sterling (Adventure Time) and I hung out in the airport, swapping story pitches that producers—thus far—have been too lame to give us millions of dollars for.
Paul looked me in the eye after I finished my first spiel and said “Hey…That’s really good”, thus affirming my entire existence on Earth.
9.) Calgary asked Paul Jenkins, Michael Alan Nelson (28 Days Later, Day Men, Supergirl) and I to speak on a “How To Break Into Comics” panel.
I’m typing that again. Just to make sure you read it.
Calgary asked Paul Jenkins, Michael Alan Nelson and I to speak on a “How To Break Into Comics” panel.
I have spent my ENTIRE LIFE trying to get into comics. I lay awake at night, terrified that someday somebody is going to pull the rug out from under me and I’ll have to go back to working a soul-obliterating retail gig…and a bunch of people who live on the other side of the continent asked me to give advice regarding how to break in.
I guess I can calm down just a little bit?
10.) I felt like I belonged.
That might not sound like much, but this weekend is probably the second time that has ever happened to me (the first being the last night of Emerald City, at dinner with Dean Trippe and Hannah Partlow).
I eat like a weirdo, I don’t love the way people say I ought to, I don’t speak the same language as 99% of the people who I share a last name with, my biological family and I aren’t on the greatest terms, I don’t drink or smoke…there are a lot of barriers between me and the average Joe.
Boom makes me feel like I’ve found the place where I was always meant to be. I’ll never be able to thank them enough for that.
We are Boom. And you are too.
I wrote the premiere chapter in SpazDog Press‘ Nothing Can Stop Me Now, an anthology inspired by the songs of Nine Inch Nails.
Dig that creepy cover by the even creepier Daniel Bradford (Disappointing Monsters).
IN CROWD #2 (OF 4)
Eric M Esquivel (A) C. B. Zane (CA) C. B. Zane, Corey Knaebel
Hey, Kids! Comics!
I illustrated a li’l Captain Marvel, Hannah Nance Partlow, Artist and Letterer inked & colored it, and Calamity Jon Morris published it on his slick “Cornered” blog. Dig it!
http://corneredblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/eric-m-esquivel-and-hannah-nance.html
Hey, lovely people of the internet!
My name is Eric M. Esquivel, and I’m an author.
My work has inspired a record by UK Hip Hop artist Akira The Don:
…And a music video by “The World’s Greatest Horror Rock Band”, Calabrese:
You can read more about me here (including a complete-ish bibliography), on my Wikipedia Page.
I have a Facebook Page, a Twitter, a tumblr.
I quit my day job about a month ago, and I have been freaking out about it ever since.
Having to make make up stories about magic pumpkin cowboys in order to pay for groceries is the weirdest feeling in the entire world. I’m not complaining–it’s a fantastic lifestyle…I’m just constantly terrified that the other shoe is gonna drop–like, maybe I’ll run out of stories, or people will stop wanting to hear them.
…Which is why I need your help.
I promise that I’ll hold up my end of the bargain (whippin’ up modern day myths that entertain, inspire, and enlighten), as long as you keep pickin’ ’em up.
Deal?
Here’s what’s comin’ down the pipeline in the coming weeks:
THE LEGEND OF OZ: THE WICKED WEST (ONGOING) #6
RELEASE DATE: 4/10/2013
PRICE: $3.50
Technically, it’s an adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s The Marvelous Land of OZ–but with steampunky pumpkin cowboys.
It’s exactly as cool as it sounds. You should probably order one.
FREELANCERS #5
RELEASE DATE: 4/24/2013
PRICE: $3.99
It’s basically Spring Breakers, but with ninjas.
THE LEGEND OF OZ: THE WICKED WEST (ONGOING) #7
RELEASE DATE: 4/24/2013
PRICE: $3.50
The super secret origins of Jack Pumpkinhead, Tip, and some surprise characters who you’re gonna freak out about after you read it.
AMERICAN HISTORY Z
RELEASE DATE: 5/1/2013
PRICE: $16.95
American History Z is the third installment in the New York Times Best-Selling Fubar series. Ander Sarabia (Blackest Terror, Thor: Unkillable Thunder Christ) and I teamed up to tell a Thanksgiving story…with zombies.
Yeah, dude.
THE LEGEND OF OZ: THE WICKED WEST (ONGOING) #8
RELEASE DATE: 5/29/2013
PRICE: $3.50
The epic conclusion to my three part saga! Folks die! Others come back from the dead! Stuff gets real!
ZOMBIES VS. CHEERLEADERS VOLUME 2
RELEASE DATE: 5/29/2013
PRICE: $19.95
It’s an anthology series (like a saucy Tales From The Crypt) Featuring three stories by me, one of which was drawn by David Cutler (Robyn Hood vs. Red Riding Hood)–with whom I’ve got a creator-owned thing in the works…
FREELANCERS #6
RELEASE DATE: 5/29/2013
PRICE: $3.99
The final issue, AND THE BEST VARIANT COVER OF ALL TIME.
IN CROWD #1
RELEASE DATE: 6/19/2013
PRICE: $3.50
A teenage super-team book, featuring Barnacle and Poseidon— an Aqualad and Aquaman analog created specifically for this series.
You know how I constantly complain about terrible the New 52 Aquaman is? This is me putting my money where my mouth is about that.
FREELANCERS VOLUME ONE
RELEASE DATE: 6/26/2013
PRICE: $19.99
This tpb collects the entire series.
BOO!
RELEASE DATE: October 2013
PRICE: Who knows?
I don’t know how much I’m allowed to say about this…Um…it’s an all-ages horror anthology, edited by Jon Morris & published by the biggest Digital-only publisher in the game, with a possible printed edition by IDW.
VIC BOONE: BOURBON AND BUCKSHOT
RELEASE DATE: Late 2013
PRICE: Money
Alex Diotto and I have a piece in the next Vic Boone anthology!
It’s my love letter to Andy Warhol and Arthur Fonzarelli.
Here’s where you can find me next:
APRIL 20th 3pm-3:45pm – RECORD STORE DAY
Record Store Day is kind of like FCBD for vinyl nerds–It’s a community-generated holiday designed to draw attention to brick-and-mortar record stores, before they’re rendered extinct by myopic, torrenting turds.
I’ll be at Zia Record Exchange (@ the Speedway Road location, in Tucson) location from 3pm-3:45pm, autographing copies of UNITE AND TAKE OVER: STORIES INSPIRED BY THE SONGS OF THE SMITHS VOL II.
It’s going to rule. You should come.
Click here to read more about Record Store Day: http://www.recordstoreday.com/CustomPage/614
April 26th-28th – Calgary Comics And Entertainment Expo
Boom! Studios is flyin’ me out to friggin’ Canada.
MAY 4TH – Arizona Comics Mini Expo @ Samurai comics in Mesa, Arizona
Other guests include: Eric Larsen, Eric Canate, Brian Augustyn, Scott Godlewski, Ernie Najera, Armand Villavert, Ben Glendenning, Val Hochberg, Cory Walker, Tony Parker, John Derrick West, and more!
May 23rd-26th – Phoenix Comicon!
I’m goin’ to bounce back-and-forth between my guest table (which will be run mostly by Hannah Nance Partlow, and feature my Moonstone, BDI, Spookshow Records, Spazdog Press, and Modern Mythology Press stuff), and the Boom! Studios booth.
Other guests include: J. Michael Straczynski, Mike Mignola, and Neal Adams!
June 19th – The In Crowd #1 Signing @ Charlie’s Comics in Tucson, Arizona
Be there, or be square!
July 18-21st San Diego Comic Con International
Courtesy of Boom! Studios!
So, yeah…that’s my life right now. This is all new ground, and I’m just starting to get the hang of it. For the most part, I look like one of those videos of the baby giraffes, covered in afterbirth, taking its first awkard steps:
Emphasis on the afterbirth.
Esquivelians – I’ve got TWO–count ’em–TWO books in today’s Diamond Previews catalog.
TRANSLATION: that means that you can tell your favorite comic shop/book store/Online bookseller that you want a copy, and they’ll guarantee you a copy. Please do that. It helps guarantee a larger print run, and it lets my employers know that people are on the hunt for stuff with my name on it…that when they buy my books it isn’t an impulsive thing, it’s because they’re into my idiosyncratic style of storytelling.
Astute readers will notice that I’m also credited with writing The Legend of Oz: The Wicked West #9. That’s not super true. The amazing Tom Hutchison penned that one. But I’ll take credit for it, anyway.
FREELANCERS TP VOL 01
BOOM ENTERTAINMENT
Eric M Esquivel (A) Joshua Covey (CA) Felipe Smith
Money Talks!
Val and Cassie are two women trying to make it in L.A…but instead of an elite university or acting studio, they are graduates of a Kung Fu Orphanage who know make their living as Freelancers – solving unsolvable problems for a price. In a city where loyalty only runs as deep as one’s bank account, Val and Cassie take the most dangerous gigs, and learn what sacrifices are necessary to make Hollywood dreams come true. Red-hot newcomers Eric Esquivel and Joshua Covey bring you the smash hit series full of raucous nights, beautiful dreamers, and heartbreak in-between trips to the newest food trucks.
PRICE: $19.99
SHIP DATE: 6/26/2013d
IN CROWD #1 (OF 4)
BIG DOG INK
Eric M Esquivel (A) C. B. Zane (CA) C. B. Zane, Owen Gieni
As Tidepool begins his epic destruction of the United States, a group of young heroes takes the scene by storm – with their cameramen in place to get their good sides on film! The In Crowd mixes the fun of superheroes with the ridiculousness of the reality TV craze. They’ve got great hair, great bodies, and great power. But great responsibility? Not so much!
PRICE: $3.50
SHIP DATE: 6/19/2013
I’ve got THREE BOOKS in this month’s Previews World catalog!
Maybe if I get FOUR books in the Diamond Previews Catalog, then my Dad will love me.
Page 268 – The Legend of Oz Wicked West #8 (5/29/2013) $3.50
Eric M Esquivel (A) Carlos Reno (CA) Carlos Reno, Nei Ruffino
“Jack Pumpkinhead squares off against and old friend who was believed dead – and maybe he would have been better off if he stayed that way”
Page 345 – Zombies Vs. Cheerleaders Vol. 2 #2 (5/29/2013) $3.99
Eric M. Esquivel, Steven L. Frank & others (A) Jason Pederson & others
Page 345 – Zombies Vs. Cheerleaders Vol. 1 TPB #2 (5/29/2013) $19.95
Eric M. Esquivel, Steven L. Frank, others (A) Jason Pedersen, others“The eternal war between cheerleaders and zombies continues! Reprinting Zombies Vs. Cheerleaders #4-7 as well as the Becky & Bob one-shot and the Hack/Slash Meets Zombies Vs. Cheerleaders crossover! All of the hot covers are featured, too! Get caught up on the terrifying, yet hilarious, adventures that reside within the pages of ZvC!”
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