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| In college I was the typical nerd of color. Disenfranchised, alienated, lonely, confused, alcoholic; I was the typical angry young Latin man of the 1970s. Syracuse University was famous for being a party school and was upper-class and white. I had no clue. But, I did get to do my first published work for the Daily Orange. ADAM was a weird little daily strip that started off as a one-a-day sex joke kind of thing to a strange and often distressing melodrama. Too bad my grades weren't based on my strip. Except for beer and whining and my comic strip, I ignored everything else in life. Looking back, I realize that ADAM kept me going. |
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| COMING SOON! MAINSTREAM COMICS AND THE MILESTONE YEARS! OY VEY! |
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| Okay. Let's skimp over most of the childhood stuff. Too much drama. Let's just say that things could have been easier. That's probably why I got so obsessed with comics early on. Casper, Hot Stuff, Superman, Supergirl, Archie... all characters who showed great kindness to each other.... well, maybe Superman wasn't that kind to Lois or Kara, but he walked the walk. Cartoons like Astro Boy and KIMBA-THE WHITE LION got me hooked on simple pathos, and my grandmother's Spanish soap operas showed me the value of well placed melodrama. ESCAPING REALITY BECAME MY ART. |
| Then the seventies began, and I saw FIVE FINGERS OF DEATH, and just like the rest of the kids in the Bronx, it was all over for me. |
THINGS STARTED TO LOOK up for me. I began to work for the Hetrick-Martin Institute... my first
real job (5 years after college)! I focused on creating tales of the closet, along with posters and
educational materials. It was a hard time for us. AIDS was exploding in the gay community and
forced sexual orientation into the spotlight. Tales would be used as an educational tool, shipped to
high schools and social service agencies to educate and start a dialogue. It was the time of the
multi-cultural initiatives. I had to put myself in the spotlight... a move that my family did not enjoy.
But, damn, AIDS was killing so many of my friends and co-workers. everybody had to pitch in and
work. I got to talk about my work on tv, Fox 5, Bill Moyer's Journal, on NPR, and lots of the gay
mags. Details even asked me to contribute to their election issue... right next to Gilbert Hernandez!
It was a scary but exciting time.
real job (5 years after college)! I focused on creating tales of the closet, along with posters and
educational materials. It was a hard time for us. AIDS was exploding in the gay community and
forced sexual orientation into the spotlight. Tales would be used as an educational tool, shipped to
high schools and social service agencies to educate and start a dialogue. It was the time of the
multi-cultural initiatives. I had to put myself in the spotlight... a move that my family did not enjoy.
But, damn, AIDS was killing so many of my friends and co-workers. everybody had to pitch in and
work. I got to talk about my work on tv, Fox 5, Bill Moyer's Journal, on NPR, and lots of the gay
mags. Details even asked me to contribute to their election issue... right next to Gilbert Hernandez!
It was a scary but exciting time.
Blah blah blah. I decided to GET A GRIP on my life, and in doing so, help the ones
coming after me. Believe me, it wasn't such a lofty goal then. I just saw that there
was precious little in comics, or movies to help and validate people of different
sexual orientation, race, body and/or culture. What the hell... I'd put my two-cents
in and see what's up. So, I created TALES OF THE CLOSET.
coming after me. Believe me, it wasn't such a lofty goal then. I just saw that there
was precious little in comics, or movies to help and validate people of different
sexual orientation, race, body and/or culture. What the hell... I'd put my two-cents
in and see what's up. So, I created TALES OF THE CLOSET.
The time after college was not fun. No work, bad social habits, no friends, and no clue. Luckily i was also figuring out who i was inside, and
these new discoveries led to a lot of drawing. i realized that i was flailing around trying to find a way to come to terms with myself and the
world... and that it should have been easier. there should have been more mechanisms built into the world to deal with those that society
considered 'outside' the official authorized range of normality.
these new discoveries led to a lot of drawing. i realized that i was flailing around trying to find a way to come to terms with myself and the
world... and that it should have been easier. there should have been more mechanisms built into the world to deal with those that society
considered 'outside' the official authorized range of normality.
| what was this thing? political commentary? soap opera? teen angst? soap opera? goth soft porn? Navel gazing? A cry for help? I still don't know. |
Bio: Raised in the South Bronx, Ivan was heavily influenced by the chop-
socky karate flicks, Astro Boy cartoons, blaxploitation films, Spanish soap
operas, and Silver Age comic books that filled every second of his free time.
So far, that hasn't changed.
His work has also been seen in several issues of Gay Comics, Details
magazine, NYQ, and HX. He has sold scripts to HBO and the Hudlin Brothers.
He has also been reviewed in the Advocate, Edge, the Village Voice, the New
York Times and on NPR.
Ivan has written several Milestone titles, especially Blood Syndicate (which
included character design for some of the cast), A Man Called Holocaust, and
a year-long run on the acclaimed series Static. Both Blood Syndicate and
Static have won awards on his shift.
Ivan has also written for the mainstream, bless his little soul. He scripted the
last two years on Ghost Rider, Abominations, and a Venom mini-series,
among others for Marvel. At DC Comics, he wrote the Eradicator mini-series,
did some hard time on Extreme Justice, and a story for Vertigo's Flinch, and
the odd PowerPuff Girls story at their kid division. He also co-edited and
compiled the award winning YA title; DEAD HIGH YEARBOOK at Dutton.
He has finished his first short film, Malaguena (a ghost story), and is writing
his first novel; Opaline's Secret.
But Ivan is mostly known as the creator of Tales of the Closet, a ten-chapter
graphic novel that depicts the lives of eight gay teenagers in Queens. He has
won a 2004 Xeric grant and will use this to begin publishing the series on his
own imprint: Planet Bronx Productions.
socky karate flicks, Astro Boy cartoons, blaxploitation films, Spanish soap
operas, and Silver Age comic books that filled every second of his free time.
So far, that hasn't changed.
His work has also been seen in several issues of Gay Comics, Details
magazine, NYQ, and HX. He has sold scripts to HBO and the Hudlin Brothers.
He has also been reviewed in the Advocate, Edge, the Village Voice, the New
York Times and on NPR.
Ivan has written several Milestone titles, especially Blood Syndicate (which
included character design for some of the cast), A Man Called Holocaust, and
a year-long run on the acclaimed series Static. Both Blood Syndicate and
Static have won awards on his shift.
Ivan has also written for the mainstream, bless his little soul. He scripted the
last two years on Ghost Rider, Abominations, and a Venom mini-series,
among others for Marvel. At DC Comics, he wrote the Eradicator mini-series,
did some hard time on Extreme Justice, and a story for Vertigo's Flinch, and
the odd PowerPuff Girls story at their kid division. He also co-edited and
compiled the award winning YA title; DEAD HIGH YEARBOOK at Dutton.
He has finished his first short film, Malaguena (a ghost story), and is writing
his first novel; Opaline's Secret.
But Ivan is mostly known as the creator of Tales of the Closet, a ten-chapter
graphic novel that depicts the lives of eight gay teenagers in Queens. He has
won a 2004 Xeric grant and will use this to begin publishing the series on his
own imprint: Planet Bronx Productions.
