Peruvian Comic Creator Alberto Rayo is no stranger to adapting fairy tales. His book Thumbelina, Wrestling Champ did just that. Intermixing the classic character with Lucha Libre wrestling in what made for a delightful and whimsical story. Rayo is also a talented editor. So being selected to help edit the last of the popular and acclaimed A Cautionary Fables and Fairy Tale Book Anthology Series was a job he was well suited for. Especially since it contained a collection of South American Stories.
This last chapter in the series will be crowd funded by Iron Circus Comics, just as the last edition, The Woman in the Woods and Other North American Stories had. In preparation for its campaign, we caught up to Alberto to talk about his career, his own fable adaptations, and the new South American Cautionary Fables and Fairytales Anthology. So, let’s welcome Roberto Rayo to GVN’s Talking Comics.
Background
GVN: Thank you for giving us some of your time Alberto. We really appreciate it.
AR: Hi! Thanks to you for this interview!
GVN: So, since this our first opportunity to talk to you, let start with a bit of your background. You are from Lima Peru. Which just proves that comics and their reach is international and unlimited. Which comics or comic creators first inspired you to consider working in comics as a career?
AR: Well, since I was a kid, I read a lot of manga thanks to my older sisters. But when I was about 17, I was introduced to the work of Maco, a Uruguayan cartoonist who blew my mind with her formalist play on panels and storytelling. Then I started looking for more South American comic creators to follow. During my exploration as a reader, the variety of voices and comic-making styles made me realize that I could make comics too.
Broken Panel Studios
GVN: Once you decided that creating and publishing comics was something you wanted to pursue, you started your own studio: Broken Panel Studios. Did you have any reluctance to take that step and were there any challenges you had to overcome to bring your studio to a reality?
AR: When I decided that I wanted to be a comic writer and started working with a few artists, the next steps came along naturally. A few years after I started writing, I had a close group of collaborators. As a group, we decided to create Broken Panel to continue what we were doing: making comics. For me, the biggest challenge was to find comic projects, at least in the beginning.
Thumbelina, Wrestling Champ
GVN: I have looked over your wonderful books and they are beautifully done and quite whimsical. Have you always aimed your works toward children and how do you decide which stories to adapt? For example, I found your “Thumbelina, Wrestling Champ” a delightful book.
AR: I started with comics that would be in fanzines sold in underground fairs so I wouldn’t say they were kid friendly ha ha. Said that, a few years later I redirected my work to the direct market, and I was reached by Capstone and asked to pitch a modern re-telling of fables I liked. I wanted to mix two concepts that were “difficult” to mix, so I chose the little Thumbelina and the grandiosity of Lucha Libre wrestling. My editor loved it.
The Lizard Prince and Other South American Tales
GVN: It is not surprising that with your talents in both creation and editorial, you are involved in what is the last of the acclaimed Cautionary Fables series: “The Lizard Prince and Other South American Tales.” How did you get involved in this popular series and were you familiar with the previous editions?
AR: Before participating in this anthology as guest editor, I was one of the many creators in another anthology “Mañana: Latinx comics from the 25th Century”. Talking with our editor, Joamette Gil, she told me about the position of Guest Editor for this anthology and I submitted my work for consideration. About the series, I did read the Asia edition when I was researching the work of Gene Luan Yang who was part of the book.
Choosing the Stories
GVN: “The Lizard Prince and Other South American Tales” has a talented mix of creators involved. Brenda Argon, Diego Carvajal, Francis Francia, and Rick Lazo to name just a few. Working alongside Kel McDonald and Kate Ashwin, I’m sure you had a large number of stories submitted. How did you ultimately decide which stories to include (without revealing any editorial trade secrets)?
AR: As you may know, there are a lot of South American cultures with different traditions and tales. When we reached the creative teams, we asked them for two- or three-story ideas. The decision was to make sure the stories weren’t similar (as many fables are) and pick the ones that played with the strengths of the creative team. We learnt that a lot of the fables involve birds!
Following Alberto
GVN: Thank you once again for your time, Alberto. Before I let you go, besides “The Lizard Prince and Other South American Tales,” which will be crowdfunded through the good folks at Spike Trotman’s Iron Circus Comics, do you have any other projects you would like to let our followers know about and where can they follow you and Broken Panel Studios online?
AR: I’m currently writing a Webtoon Original which is currently only in Spanish. It’s called Doble Detective Difunto (Double Dead Detective) and it’s about a ghost and a zombie trying to find who they were when they were alive. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram as @Rayointhebottle and Broken Panel Studios is on Facebook.
The Lizard Prince and Other South American Tales has now started its crowd-funding campaign through Iron Circus Comics. You can check it out here.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 60 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove headfirst over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 21-year-old young man with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
