TALKING ROCKETO WITH FRANK ESPINOSA

[MattBrady]

by Chris Arrant

You've seen his work around. From television to magazines, most of you have even got his artwork delivered to your door. But do you know him?

Frank Espinosa is a world-class animator with many credits under his name. From re-designing the complete Looney Tunes characters in 1992, to creating series of Looney Tunes US Postage stamps. If that weren't enough, he also designed the Baby Looney Tunes characters. Stepping away from Warner Brothers and his animation work, Espinosa has set his sights on the genre of comics with Rocketo from Speakeasy Comics.

Created, written and illustrated by Espinosa, Rocketo tells the story of Rocketo Garrison, a world-famous explorer and mapmaker in a world far different from our own. Set 2000 years in a mythical future, Rocketo features Garrison's exploits through his career exploring the uncharted world that was once Earth as we know it. His art style is one part Yves Chaland and one part Flash Gordon, without losing any originality in his vital work.

Newsarama had the opportunity to speak with the cartoonist from his California home to find out what going on inside Rocketo and inside himself.

Newsarama: The main character's name is Rocketo Garrison. Issue #1 starts at his small beginning as a young boy. Can you tell us what he's like?

Frank Espinosa: Before his compass lights, Rocketo is much like any other young boy, except that he has this incredible genetic gift that makes his natural sense of curiosity ten fold.. So he reads tons of books on old myths and explorers, he asks tons of questions, and loves to explore the small Island where he is born.

We get to see how he spends his time with his parents, and how he gets to learn certain values that will help him later on in his Journeys. Because the Rocketo series is a long saga of this explorer's life, I wanted to start with his youth and work my way to Rocketo as an older man. The last journey, called Rocketo: Journey to ULTAMO takes place when Rocketo is in his late fifties, maybe even a bit older. So I wanted the audience to understand this character from start to finish. As the stories progress there will be more flashbacks to his youth and his friends on the island where he grew up. Right now it's broad strokes to get him moving and ready for Journey to the Hidden Sea.

NRAMA: Emerging from the wreckage of civilization are a group of genetically engineered men and women called 'Mappers'. Can you tell us more about them, and how they relate to society?

FE:The Mappers is the common name for a group of genetically engineered men, who are really the only way to move around in this world when it comes to long term exploration. They are tuned into the New Earth in ways that seem almost mystical. They can read the waves of the ocean, look at clouds and read the air patterns of far off mountain ranges, and have an incredible library of the stars stored into their DNA. Every blade of grass tells them a story. Since this world has no magnetic field, compasses are useless. They just spin crazy in all directions. The Mappers always know where they are at all times, they are firmly grounded. They also make these maps that really act as a store house of information. Only other Mappers can activate these maps, using a special genetic compass-like tattoo that is part of their bodies. This compass also can act like a beacon to light the way for others. And gives them other powers as well. The maps, known as holographic projection maps, also store a sort of genetic memory so to speak; a Mapper can pass down his thoughts, what he has seen, heard, or experience into the maps sort of like a quick download of information. Other Mappers can access this and know the full story. That way the information is passed on. We shall see later how the maps are actually made, but that is much later in the story line of the Journey to the Hidden Sea.

As far as they relate to society… well the Mappers have a code that makes them neutral to any wars, or political party they are always neutral. Well not always.

They are also not the only genetic men around… there are earthmen who look like giant "Easter Island" statues come to life… who communicate with the ground. They are the doctors of this world, they heal everything with plants they grow from their own bodies. Then there are the Birdmen who fly around raiding ships off the coast of what used to be South Africa... Tigermen roam the desert plains... and lots more.

NRAMA: Rocketo is set 2000 years in the future, where we find the world horribly misshapen by a catastrophe and a distortion of the globe's magnetic fields. Can you tell us what the world's like in Rocketo?

FE: Well the world has been shattered; continents have been broken into scattered pieces, and mankind has to re-explore the Earth. What was America is now know as St.Giles, and it has fragmented itself into small individual countries. Lots of open land, with giant grass ten feet high in some places; swamps, rivers everywhere, and some small towns powered by giant windmills, it's actually quite peaceful. Sort of like the Wild West before the taming of it. South America is really unexplored and Rocketo will go there on his next Journey. Africa is know as Venedicto and is sort of at the stage of exploration it was during the 1800's of our time… lots of open spaces with strange giant men walking around... plus other surprises.

NRAMA: Rocketo also features lyrics by Marie Taylor. Can you tell us about Marie Taylor, and how your collaboration with her came to be?

FE: Marie is a godsend, we met when I was at Warner Bros. Consumer Products. I was the art director there and I was working on a book called the Character Design Manual, which amazingly enough will be out in the stores at some point soon. Anyway, I hired Marie at the time to sort my jumbled brain into some cohesive sense. And she did it so well that after she finished the manual, I told her about this crazy world I was creating. She jumped right in. By the way she really is the co-writer; she wanted the "lyrics by" credit because she was taking my words and making them more lyrical... an act worthy of Hercules. I will change the credits in the future issues to reflect that. Its nice to pick up the phone (she lives in Sacramento.) and be able to say, 'the Commonwealth has just attacked the Royalist in Zagorah' and she knows exactly what I mean... even though I have no clue. She is a mind reader and a muse.

NRAMA: How did Rocketo land at Speakeasy Comics, and how many issues do you have planned?

FE: Two names: Alex Ross and Darwyn Cooke. I showed my stuff to Alex and he liked it. My confidence in it was kind of low, but he took me to see Adam Fortier [President of Speakeasy Comics] during a recent Convention in Long Beach, and Alex did a great pitch for me. Darwyn Cooke was also present, and I later learned he really said some nice things about the book. So Rocketo really has two great godfathers… and I will always remember that.

Add to that Adam, who is the publisher I been looking for all my life. Straight to the point, and honest... what a combination! The man makes a decision and goes with it. That is amazing coming from the corporate background I came from. And Chris Stone was also present during the Alex Ross pitch and, Chris gave it his thumbs up. Chris is an amazing guy!

The Rocketo books are really one long story of a explorer's life on this new world called Lucerne. The books are Rocketo: Journey to the Hidden Sea, Rocketo: Journey to the New World, Rocketo: Journey to the Broken Moon, and Rocketo: Journey to Ultamo. Adam and I see them as 12 books each and then that’s it -- finished. Kind of like the Tin Tin books.

But maybe the books will be shorter in length...instead of 12 maybe 10, that should save some life in me.. I plotted out the first three Journeys. The last book, is the darkest part of the stories and we see what happens to Rocketo in the end.

NRAMA: How did your ideas that became Rocketo form?
Everything I liked as a kid.. Alex Raymond's Flash Gordon... Captain Easy by Roy Crane, Frank Robbin's Johnny Hazard, Peanuts... the list goes on and on...

FE: I wanted people to get to know the character of Rocketo a little better than some other comic book space characters we seen. I wanted to show his life during many stages, through turmoils, happiness, low points and high. He also makes huge mistakes that get him into lots of trouble later on. But he manages to find the light in all of it.

At first all these places like Venedicto, St.Giles, and Lucerne, where different planets that Rocketo would travel too. But I felt that one has been done to death, and believe it or not I think about this stuff quite a bit and asked myself questions like, well, the gravity is different, and the atmosphere and so on, and that was way to much. So I made it simpler by having it all take place on one world: Earth. All I had to do now was shatter it to pieces. So that exploring it would be fun again; re-discovering our world, with all its cultures.

NRAMA: A majority of your career has been in animation. Have you done any previous work in comic books?

FE: Actually a majority of my career started was in designing all sorts of products that eventually will wind up in giant landfills. Actually I am very happy with some of the work I did. I did the Bugs Bunny stamp and all the rest of that series, designed the Baby Looney Tunes way before they were on television, when they were just for product.

I wrote the previously mentioned character manual, and much more. I was in charge of an amazing crew who called themselves Murderer's Row… David Williams who has a comic coming out soon, with Sandi Collora. There was Jerome Moore, Chickako Mori, many more, that was a great base of super talent. Things have changed now. Plus I got to meet Masanori Hase who is an amazing designer and a great comic artist in his own right; Masanori does all the production for the Rocketo book. And I would be lost without his knowledge of computers. In the early days I worked in small animation houses in New York. Worked at Disney Florida for a bit. And Then Disney in New York.

Meanwhile I was animating this short little experimental films that were hard to put together, because we did not have Flash animation in those days. I would love to try my hand at animation again. Years ago, and I mean 'years ago' I had a small press comic with a partner, Juan Ortiz, called Rescue Comics.

There is a sort of pre-Rocketo in it called 'Major Rocket'; but the character was really a goof on old space opera stuff. Didn't have much of a goal except to chase villains and beat them up…but I thought he had promise, so when I wanted to get back into comics I took the mothballs away from Major Rocket and reinvented the character. By the way, comics and animation have always been my first love. They are really part of the same ideal both are an art form. Great mediums for telling stories.

NRAMA: Rocketo #0 premiered recently at San Diego Comic-Con. How was the reception from the fans, and how was your experience at the convention?

FE: This was my first convention, on the other side of the table so to speak, and I had a ball. I met all the great talent at Speakeasy, and got to meet all the artists and writers - Ethen Beaver, Charles Satterlee, Dawn Brown, and all the others who made my stay there a great experience. Then I got to meet Samuel Hiti whose work I love.

So all in all it was a great experience, plus talking to the fans that brought Issue #0 was wonderful, as I got to know them a little more. I hope they stick around they will have lots of fun.

NRAMA: Coming from the world of animation, is the creation of comics, especially your own creations, make it more personal and engaging for you?

FE: You bet. This is my baby right now, and I love exploring this world. I can tell this story at the pace I need to, slow down when I need to and not have to answer to focus groups for approval on character colors. Not to many places around in animation where one can be really creative. But there is one little studio in San Francisco that has caught my eye… called Ghostbot. Those guys are amazing! They seem to be having a lot of fun at what they are doing and treating it like the art form that it is. I would love to work with them on animating some Rocketo stuff, or anything else they have. Rocketo really is a sort of personal journey also, A mapper who has lost his way… getting back to his roots. Doing what he loves to do, regardless. I make comics… and tell stories. Everything else just pays my cable bill.

Rocketo pays my spirit.

Rocketo #1 goes on sale August 17th for $2.99, and is available for pre-order from Diamond Comics (JUN053157).

[JAINITZ]

Rocketo was easily the biggest buzz book amongst comic creators. We were all lining up to meet the talent behind the book and none of us were disappointed. Frank was the nicest, coolest, and most professional "first time" pro I've ever met. It's not fair to call him the next Darwyn Cooke, but he has the talent to make him that.

Frank has a very bright future, and Speakeasy may have found their cornerstone book.

Jai

[Blind Assassin]

Holy Crikey!!

That art looks beautiful, and the premise right up my alley.

Consider me a guaranteed sale!!

[Greg Thompson]

This book is just flat out amazing and Frank is one of the nicest creators I've ever met. I predict HUGE things for Mr. Espinosa in the comics world, and I don't think that's going out on a limb too much.

[Raphe Cheli]

The only thing that could possibly keep this book down is if comic shops don't order some for the racks.

I'm afraid that too many retailers who don't look very carefully at the back of Previews will pass this up, and it will never get the audience that it likely will create.

It just looks that cool.

[Blind Assassin]

Originally posted by Raphe Cheli
The only thing that could possibly keep this book down is if comic shops don't order some for the racks.

I'm afraid that too many retailers who don't look very carefully at the back of Previews will pass this up, and it will never get the audience that it likely will create.

It just looks that cool.

I agree with you.

Those in the Boston area can come down to Comicopia in Kenmore Sq., we ordered the title for our store.

don't know where we are? go here: http://www.comicopia.com for directions and whatnot.

Another thing, for people who see this and think it looks good:

It isn't due in stores till August, so be sure to LET YOUR RETAILER KNOW that you would be interested in the book.

Yes, a retailer can't order every book in Previews, so sometimes you might not get something, but also, being a little pro-active, and letting your LCS know that you are interested in the book, they could order it for you, and maybe get some for the stands in the process.

It's up to both the retailer and the customer, not just one, exclusively.

[c_andrew_s]

I will defintely add this to my pull list!!!!

[Ectocooler]

Initial reaction made me think "wow this is different, but cool" but in no way did the art really WOW me. Is there something I'm missing?

I'll definitely pick it up because I love giving indie books a try, but I just don't see why you guys are making such a huge deal of it. Not to be offending I'd just like someone to explain to me why.

Thanks

[Blind Assassin]

Originally posted by Ectocooler
Initial reaction made me think "wow this is different, but cool" but in no way did the art really WOW me. Is there something I'm missing?

I'll definitely pick it up because I love giving indie books a try, but I just don't see why you guys are making such a huge deal of it. Not to be offending I'd just like someone to explain to me why.

Thanks

I don't think you are 'missing anything', as much as it art is subjective, and people react to the same images in different ways.

for me, it is the style of art that appeals to me. Clearly defined, with a slight 'retro' look to it.

The vivd reds and blues of the final pic in the article really stand out, and the sky, with its hints of yellow interspersed in with the blue was very nice.

The first image, with the floating city, reminded me of something I might see in a 'golden age' sci-fi comic.

[Dery]

This was easily the most exciting new book I found at the convention... Frank Espinosa is the new coolest creator around.

[Robert_Coyner]

Wow - I love what I see here and can't wait to pick it up next month.

[Ectocooler]

Originally posted by Blind Assassin
I don't think you are 'missing anything', as much as it art is subjective, and people react to the same images in different ways.

for me, it is the style of art that appeals to me. Clearly defined, with a slight 'retro' look to it.

The vivd reds and blues of the final pic in the article really stand out, and the sky, with its hints of yellow interspersed in with the blue was very nice.

The first image, with the floating city, reminded me of something I might see in a 'golden age' sci-fi comic.

Ahhhh I see it's more of a retro thing. I haven't read any golden age books besides the first few Action comics and detective comics. Up until recently it was really hard to get affordable reprints. I love what they're doing with the DC $15 tpb reprints, I bought 3 copies of the Batman volume 1.

Still the art from those is more early Dicky Tracy than what I'm seeing here. I guess I haven't had the privelage to read some of the older stuff (which is a shame because sometimes my favorite reading is old back issues stuff).

I'm still going to pick this up, and maybe this art will become a fresh thing rather than a retro.

[EmeraldGuy32]

There's no way I'm not picking this one up. The art alone makes it worth it.

[nenad]

Good stuff, but is Chaland also going to finally get some attention from American comic fans?

[mikepenny]

Frank, great job. The art, I think unique, imaginative, cool & fun come to mind.

Shipping September - Previews Order Code JUL053058

[TheBeave]

When I cot my copy of Rocketo #0 at the SD Con, It was love at first sight. Like so many comic book Romeo's, I immediately had to proclaim my love. This is my sonnet, and although I've posted it in a couple other places, I just can't quit telling people how great this comic is! Anyhow, this is what I've been saying...

CLASSIC. That's what this book is- an instant classic. I took one look at it and my imagination burst into flame. I think Rocketo #0 was the best new comic at the San Diego con. This book is incredible. And I'm not the only one saying it. Professional after professional came by the booth, almost all of them asking where they could find Rocketo.

The comic is emblematic of all the best adventure strips drawn by artists like Roy Crane, Frank Robbins and Milton Caniff. While the story is derived from the best Sci- Fi the strip era had to offer- stuff like Buck Rodgers, Flash Gordon and Doc Savage. The only modern work I can think of that Rocketo resembles is Calvin and Hobbes. It's like the Calvin and Hobbes Sunday strips got tangled up in Indiana Jones and then traveled to Kirby's KAMANDI.

The art? This book is Jazz for your eyes. It is improvisational, fresh and uncompromising all at once. Frank has mastered the "economy of line" theory. He uses one line where most of us use three. He very often uses NO line. It's an object lesson in abstraction, minimalism and confidence. Most artists (and I number myself among them) don't have enough courage produce the type of work Frank does.

And like all great art- his work demands that we participate. We must utilize the imagination to appreciate his work. Because it is underdrawn, we have to read between Frank's lines and colors and make some decisions. It’s our responsibility to finish the drawing. His work says " You can love me or you can hate me, but I refuse to bore you- accept me or reject me."

Oh, by the way- the best is yet to come. I sat next to Frank for the first three days of the con and he showed me a bunch of work that will see print later on in the series. Besides the regular brilliance, there are some acrylic paintings that are going to rock your socks off.

I thought long and hard about how best to describe the book, and decided on the word "classic." For those of you not able to get your hands on a copy through the traditional methods, BORROW, STEAL, or KILL. You've never seen anything like it.

Supercharge your imagination- order Rocketo now.

[James Sime]

Everything about this article makes it pretty clear that I could not be more on board for this book. Beautiful art, great concept, and some really fun story elements at work here, Rocketo is definitely up my alley. Thanks to Chris Arrant for pointing it out to me.

Can't wait until I get to start putting Rocketo in people's hands!

James Sime
Isotope - the comic book lounge
San Francisco
http://www.isotopecomics.com

[csatterlee]

Frank is a dear friend already and I am just blown away by the stuff I have seen already. He is truly the next big thing. I think the Darwynn Cooke thing is a bit of a misnomer as Frank is very much his own style.

Darwynn is very cool and I guess I can soome similarities, but look close and darwynn is much more a line artist than Frank. Frank uses his own colors to create lines while Darwynn (again...one of my favorites) draws most everything within the confines of black lines.

It is just a thought...I could be wrong.

Anyway...Rocketo is definitely cool and I am glad to be able to say...I knew Frank Espinosa when...