Tag: Marco Finnegan

Marco Finnegan brings ‘Calavera, P.I.’ back to life at Oni Press

The four-issue miniseries about an undead private investigator kicks off in November.

A folk hero returns from the dead to solve a kidnapping in Calavera, P.I, a four-issue miniseries coming from Oni Press later this year. Marco Finnegan writes and draws the story of Juan Calavera, a private investigator who defended the Chicano barrios in Los Angeles until he was murdered — but on Dia de los Muertos, he returns to continue his mission.

“Calavera, P.I. came about for two reasons,” Finnegan said. ”One, I love film noir/pulp novels and comic strips from the 1930s and ’50s. Those set in L.A. I love even more. There’s something about seeing the underside of a town you’re familiar with reflected back at you in black and white or written about in newsprint.

“The second reason is that as I learned more about the history of Chicanos in Los Angeles, the more it nagged at me how none of this history was reflected in those noirs I loved. Occasionally [Raymond] Chandler would have a Mexican driver give Marlowe some hot tip, or the Continental Op would chase a Latino hood in a [Dashiell] Hammett novel, but for the most part, we were erased. So I thought, if I lived during the thirties, what kind of hero would I want to represent me? Thus: Calavera, P.I.“

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‘Chivalry,’ ‘The Night Eaters’ nominated in the Locus Awards

The annual awards will be given out in June.

The nominees for the 2023 Locus Awards have been announced by Locus Magazine. While they don’t have a dedicated comics or graphic novel category like a lot of science fiction literary awards do these days, they do have an “Illustrated and Art Book” category where a few graphic novels have popped up.

It makes for some strange bedfellows for sure, as a handful of graphic novels will compete against an illustrated version of George Orwell’s Animal Farm and art books by science fiction artists, including a project collecting the artwork of Rowena that was spearheaded by comic artist Kim DeMulder.

But it’s nice to see comics sneaking their way into the awards, and who knows — maybe they’ll add a graphic novel category someday.

The graphic novels nominated in the category include:

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Smash Pages Q&A: Marco Finnegan

The artist of ‘Crossroad Blues’ returns with a new YA graphic novel about the Zoot Suit Riots, family tension and lizardmen.

In the early 1940s, racial tension between the Chicano community and white servicemen in the Los Angeles area led to the Zoot Suit Riots, named for the baggy suits worn by Mexican-American youths at the time.

Lizard in a Zoot Suit is a new graphic novel from Marco Finnegan (Crossroad Blues) that uses these riots as a backdrop for a socially relevant tale of racial tension, family and magical realism. Inspired by playwright Luis Valdez and movies like LA Confidential, Lizard in a Zoot Suit features two sisters who discover a lizardman — a lost member of an underground species who just wants to get home. Amidst the chaos, the sisters do what they can for their new friend in a beautiful tale told in two colors.

I spoke with Finnegan about the book, his inspiration for it and more.

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Smash Pages Q&A: Marco Finnegan on ‘Crossroad Blues’

The artist discusses his collaboration with novelist Ace Atkins, his work for the ‘Where We Live’ anthology, his upcoming Young Adult graphic novel, and more.

Marco Finnegan was a comics novice when Last Fair Deal Gone Down was published in 2016 by 12 Gauge, though he’d been working as an artist for some time. The book was his first collaboration with the writer Ace Atkins, and the two have established a close working relationship. Their second collaboration is out now from Image Comics.

Crossroad Blues is the adaptation of Atkins’ debut novel. The two have set out to adapt all of Atkins’ Nick Travers stories to comics. The stories are about a former football player turned academic, blues researcher, and harmonica player. In this book Travers tries to find a missing researcher, and gets involved with a strange cast of characters including an Elvis-worshipping hitman, who are trying to uncover – or hide – the true story of the legendary musician Robert Johnson.

People who follow Finnegan on Twitter know that he seems to always be posting drawings and sketches, and has mentioned working on comics for younger readers. I reached out to ask about working with Atkins, and find out more about his other comics projects.

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