http://www.jazmaonline.com/interviews/interviews2009.asp?intID=397

Richard: Why did you decide you wanted to become a comic book artist?

Armando: Because it's infinitely more fun that a desk job, or almost any other job for that matter.

Richard: Which other artists have influenced you?

Armando: First and foremost, I love all things cartoons, so the obvious ones are cartoon comic artists and animators -people like Bruce Timm, Darwyn Cooke, Bill Pressing, Chuck Jones, Genndy Tartakovsky, Butch Hartman, Carlos Meglia, Alfonso Azpiri, Eiichiro Oda and dozens more. But I'm also influenced by artist of different styles, painters, illustrators, basically any graphic discipline, though it may not be as blatant as the above.

Richard: How does one draw magical energy?

Armando: Oh, I don't draw that stuff. It's added in post, with CGI. Also, Ray's nose is prosthetic and King Heart is actually bald. They all do their own stunts, though. Real professionals.

Richard: Do you have any interest in magic?

Armando: Not really, I like it and all, but I never wanted to be a magician or had one of those amateur magic kits and stuff, and I can't remember the last time I went to a show. Then again, I actually got pretty interested while looking for reference for this, so I'll probably look into it more. That's another great thing of this job - You end up discovering stuff you'd never think of.

Richard: Which character do you enjoy drawing the most in "Hat Trick"?

Armando: Kalpino, easily. The villains are almost always the most fun to draw, they get to do the awesome stuff. Out of the good guys, King Heart is probably my favorite -he has this over the top costume, pisses off a lot, he's a badass - and even talks in faux Shakespeare! What's not to love?

Richard: Did you have fun drawing the giant rubber attack chickens?

Armando: Absolutely. It was my favorite sequence of the entire novel. I love monsters, I don't get to draw them as much as I'd like.

In fact, if there are any plans for a horror or monster book in the future, I call dibs. You hear me, Jason Burns?

Richard: What inspires you?

Armando: All kinds of stuff... comics, movies, books, junk food, music, a party, a conversation, more junk food, the work of other artists, etc. I consider myself a fan before a creator, so I'm pretty easy to inspire.

Richard: Was "Gypsy Joe Jefferson" the first printed comic your art appeared in?

Armando: Not exactly. It was my first graphic novel. I had published pin-ups and a few short stories in anthologies previously, and was already working as a commercial illustrator before entering the comic field.

Richard: How would you describe your art style?

Armando: Eh, I don't know...a drunk Saturday Morning Cartoon?

Richard: You also illustrated "The Middleman - The Doomsday Armageddon Apocalypse" how was working on that?

Armando: Awesome. As a fan of the original comic and the TV show -which is the one the new GN follows-, it's an amazing experience to team up with the original creators and being able to give a bit of your own spin to that fantastic universe.

Javier Grillo-Marxuach and Les McCLaine are officially my heroes now. I would encourage anyone to check out the show -if they haven't yet - and get in line for the DVD.

Richard: How is a graphic designer similar to a comic artist?

Armando: Not very similar at all. The editorial design part is basically the same, but artists are rarely involved in that stage of the process on comics anyway. The illustrator experience helps more, though you basically have to flex a completely different set of muscles for comics.

I know many talented illustrators that simply can't make comics; they find the amount of drawings insane, or can't get the characters to look any similar from panel to panel and stuff -it's funny, yet very interesting.

Richard: Is the comic scene in Mexico different than in North America?

Armando: It's pretty much like the indy scene, since we don't really have a mainstream comic industry, like the Big Two over here. There are two or three small publishers and a lot of self-publishing. Lately most creators are jumping to the webcomics bandwagon.

Richard: How can someone contact you?

Armando: Through my DeviantArt page or my comicspace. One of these days I promise I'll start a blog and actually keep it going. So far I have failed miserably twice.

Richard: Any last words of advice?

Armando: I wouldn't dare give advice to anyone. What if they listened to me? I don't want that kind of responsibility, thank you.