It’s as if I had been programmed from an early age to see art sequentially. As a graduate student (MFA, Illustration as Visual Essay, School of Visual Arts), I began to think about a career in Illustration and realized that making comics was not only possible, but held the greatest appeal for me. I would occasionally buy a comic here and there during my 20s just to check in on my old hobby and I began to find other genres in comics that spoke to me more than my childhood superheroes. Eventually this practice led me to college and then much later graduate school where I re-discovered my love for the comics’ art form. It just wasn’t “cool” at that point and other things became more interesting. I stopped reading and drawing super-heroes when I reached my teens. In the mid 80s to early 90s, superhero comics were at an all-time high in quality and popularity with classics like Daredevil and The Dark Night Returns, The Watchmen, as well as the Uncanny X-men. These stories are now very influential in the making of today’s popular super-hero movies. I soon became just as interested in the stories as the art. I continued to draw superheroes and started collecting comics. I really got into drawing because of him-and of course the encouragement of my mom, who would praise my drawings at every opportunity. He would often give me his drawings of Spider-Man, Thor, and other characters. I was mesmerized at a very early age by his talent. He was pretty good at copying art from his favorite Marvel illustrators. My youngest uncle, who lived next door with my grandparents, collected comics, particularly Marvel Super Hero Comics. What I looked forward to most after school was drawing and watching Super-Friends and Warner Brothers cartoons.Ī: When I was a kid, comics were an inexpensive form of entertainment. My favorite food was refried bean tacos with a healthy dose of American cheese. I grew up speaking Spanglish with my devout Catholic Native American grandma. We are distinctly Texans or as the history books call us, “Tejanos.” Our family has roots in old Texas, a mix of European Spanish and Native American ancestry. We were very poor and had been for many generations. We made our home in some beat up rental houses on the outskirts of a middle class neighborhood. My family moved to the capitol, Austin, when I was a baby and I grew up there with my older sister. Q: Tell us a little bit about your background.Ī: I was born in a small west Texas oil boomtown that has since gone by the wayside. Professor Martínez teaches Graphic Novel 1, 2 and 3 and Illustration 1, 2 and 3 at Queens College, CUNY. In this interview, Professor Martínez shares a little bit about his life, projects, and his passion for comics. 39, Issue 3, Fall 2014)Īndrés Vera Martínez is a graphic novelist, illustrator, and teacher. Interview first appeared in UCDA’s Designer magazine (Vol.
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