Artist Q&A with guest illustrator Eddie Gonzalez

How did you get into art?

I started drawing when I was a toddler and just stuck with it my whole life. I remember in second grade, I'd always grab paper from my teacher's closet at the end of the day and just draw—especially characters or my own board games. I stopped drawing in high school when all I wanted to do was cut class and hang out with my friends (though I did have a graffiti black book—that counts, right?). Finally, when I was applying for college, I realized art was the only thing I was good at and decided to major in Graphic Design. I was lucky to get plenty of art classes from talented professors along the way.

Are you a fan of anime? Web comics?

I don't consume as much anime as I should, but I'm a fan. My favorites are Kill la Kill, Death Note, One-Punch Man, Sailor Moon, and Clannad. I also enjoy the ones tied to video game series I enjoy, such as Kingdom Hearts and Pokémon.

What motivates your art?

This sounds cheesy, but I'm motivated by my mentors—the people who got me where I am today—and the artists who will come after me. I'm also motivated by collaboration and ideas people are passionate about. For me, those two things are contagious. Whether it's a corporate design project or a fun illustration gig, I'm always excited to create and work toward a final product when I'm collaborating with people who have cool ideas to share with the world or simply love what they do.

This zine is a fun departure from the main story. Can you explain the concept?

Inspired by role-playing video games, we show Navaja stepping up to fight a Nahua warrior sent by a conquistador. She's turning over a new leaf and doesn't want to kill her opponent. So we get a look into the way her mind works as her foe stands in front of her: how she's scanning her opponent, taking note of weak points, and planning her next move.

The original concept was going to draw inspiration from fighting games, but we decided an RPG was perfect for the story we were trying to tell. RPGs have been around for a long time, and if you've played one, you know half the experience is looking at the skills you've learned, studying your enemy, and planning the next fight with everything you have on hand. Sometimes you're not even in a battle to the death; sometimes you simply fight to progress the story or learn from people.

Tell us about this warrior who appears in this zine issue. Was he fun to create?

He's a Nahua warrior originating from Central America. As a Salvadoran American, he just might be my ancestor. It was fun to create him, for sure, despite his tragic backstory. I learned upon reading the script that Central Americans, including Salvadorans, were kidnapped by Spanish colonizers and used as slave warriors to fight their battles. Sometimes they still fought in their own armor; other times, the Spaniards gave them subpar armor, too.

I definitely wanted to merge both worlds in his attire. Since the script called for him to lose his pants, he definitely needed some... uhh, pants. From there, I wanted to weave in some of his native attire to differentiate him from the Spanish soldier watching in the background. So I added the leopard hide, native jewelry, and loincloth.

Since he was going to take up most of the whole front page, my goal was to make him look like a video game boss. The best bosses look memorable and get the player pumped. Plus, my boy went through enough—he needed to go out in style.

Did you know about this tribal connection with Philippine history?

I did not know, unfortunately. While I was aware of colonization, I had no idea that some of these proud warriors were taken from their homes and forced to fight other people's battles in another land. It's crazy to think that you still see that today in some way, despite how much humanity has grown.

What do you like about this story so far?

For me, Navaja is a reminder that people fear what they don't understand. She was different—the "weird kid" who turned out to be a badass. And even as a confident, trash-talking fighter, she's still learning. She's struggling with her morality but still finds a way to keep things light. To me, keeping things light is very important.

What’s next for you with your own art?

At the moment, I'm just making art that makes me happy. I love crossover art. I started painting again. I also started improv, which I believe has similarities to making comics. Comics aren't animated. Improv doesn't have props or costumes. So in both art forms, you are committing 200% to making sure the audience knows what you're trying to communicate.