Primal Thoughts and other Musings

by Juan Arevalo
(contributing writer)

As I write this article I am researching the different looks and weapons of ancient people. I've been asked to come up with a concept for a comic that is very simple in nature. A short story about two men dealing with one of nature's most basic traits, survival. It takes place in a barren wilderness where we find 2 hunters desperately looking for what may appear to be their last meal. In their struggle for survival, tempers flare, instinct kick in and the struggle to stay alive ensues. Pretty basic stuff! While on a drive home from the Windy City Con here in Chicago me and Rafael Nieves, a marvel of a writer, came up with a concept for this short story. The basis of it is to paint a no-holds-barred picture of survival by any means necessary, graphic in nature and perhaps even crossing over some lines many would consider offensive. I was in! We didn't discuss the page count, or if it would be color or black and white all we talked about was how cool it would be to tell such a tale. The feeling was even more evident with some of the recent movies that have recently come out. Now I'm not picking any in particular but lets focus on some of the most recent "Action" movies and animation that have just come out this year.

One in particular deals with a certain green goliath and a blond Asgardian deity. Now as brutal and monumental you might of thought such a pairing would of been, it left me quite dissapointed. Being a fan of both heroes, I thought, WOA!! This might be something phenomenal. A match that has never really been played out properly at least in my eyes. Needless to say, i was let down. Now don't get me wrong I'm not talking about a carnage fest or anything that would make a grown man hurl, but I do think these two Icons of comicdom in particular deserve a titanic battle that would leave a fanboy breathless from all the screaming and ranting! Sadly nothing even close happened. I just saw a movie based on a popular video game. I'm ashamed to say it, but I paid money to see the latest Street Fighter movie with Chun Li as the title character. You'd figure with a title like Street Fighter there would be some fighting right? Nope. The fight scenes were so short, if you blinked you might miss a few of them. I must of had a bad twitch 'cuse I think I missed like 90% of the fight sequences. Again, an outlet I thought would present to the particular fanbase, a good variation of battles that would satisfy our primal appetite for a good buttkicking fight. Once again GREATLY dissapointed. Having said that I'm even more hyped about getting the fight sequences in this story just right. Drawing them out with fluidness to their movement and aching, heart pounding reactions to every hit. At least that's the ball park I want to reach for.

I have a certain love for the early 80's Conan period BW novels produced by Marvel. Fantasy novels like Heavy Metal and the old Epic/Marvel graphic novels filled with really cool stories just facinated me from a young age! One of my greatest influences was Barry Windsor-Smith. The way he drew Conan was breathtaking. I want to bring some of that magic back to this story. I have been looking for a good old knock, down-beat type of story to tell for a while now. Maybe as far back as I've known Raf. Rafael Nieves and I go way back, I'd like to say close to 20 years now. We have thrown ideas around about different stories for years and among the few that we have come to share a common ground with, is a small print I created a few years back and is one that often comes to mind. It was called Michael at the Gates.

It was supposed to be the first of a line of Arch Angel prints that focused on these heavenly creatures in the midst of battle. I got around to finishing him and since the thought process and the spark came from Raf, we share the credit. It was a small 8.5x11, BW print that well didn't exactly sell like hotcakes but made enough to pay for a meal at McD's later on that day. I enjoyed drawing up Michael the Arch-Angel in not your typical heavenly form. I drew him battered and bruised, like he had just come out of a battle that might of not been in his favor. Still as he looks on to the opposing forces holding greater numbers ready to go at it again, Micheal clutches his bloody sword, with great struggle positions himself ready to do battle knowing this could be his last. It still is one of my favorite pieces.

Last year while in route to a Con up in the Northside of Chicago I caught up with Raf and Tony, another amazing artist and hermano, they informed me that one gentleman who didn't leave his name loved the Michael print that Raf was still selling in his table. He told Raf and Tony how much he loved the piece because of the fact that it had a very primal and barbaric feel to it. He asked if we were coming out with anything similar anytime soon, Raf gave him a humble yet hopeful... maybe. As we drove home that night Rafael, Tony "Malo" and I threw ideas around and Raf, being the storyteller that he has been known to be, whipped up a short tale of great porportions.

I'm hoping that somewhere out here, this individual holding the Micheal at the Gates print will return to the Windy City Con here in Chicago. I'm hoping he'll stop by, glance around for something he can invest his hard earned cash in and come accross this short stoty I'm putting together. I'm hoping he'll browse thru the pages and come to the conclusion that this is something worth buying. A "great job!" would be awesome to hear but a simple smile or nod will do just fine. I think as people we all want to connect with others, have things in common that we can talk about later on that day. Have a mutual love or need for something and to go out and create it is a great feeling. I think that is a joy that artists feel and keep very private about themselves. That is how we connect and relate to others that may or maynot share our common beliefs. In the process of creating this yet to be named story, I have learned quite a bit, one in particular is being able to have an outlet to express my many primal traits. My hope is to provide a great story that is visually pleasing to the masses, even if it starts out being just one person. Stay tuned and I hope to provide more art as I start pumping it out later on this month!

©2009 PulpFantasy.org/DVTVFilm.com    All Rights Reserved.   All material property of original artists/authors.