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Aug. 13--Comic book-themed movies like "Superman Returns" and "X-Men: The Last Stand" made millions this year. Japanese anime-style television shows like "Fullmetal Alchemist" and "InuYasha" are hits with American audiences. Two Brownsville comic book crea-tors are hoping to tap into this burgeoning geek chic market.
Life with 'KOHAD'
Writer-illustrator Christopher Anthony Rodriguez, 24, said his current independent comic book project "KOHAD" began as an idle doodle in elementary school.
"I would mark down what I really needed to study in class, and the rest of the time I would be drawing," Rodriguez, a Brownsville native, said.
His mini-comic strips eventually turned into epics he now draws and writes in full comic book form. He publishes his work on the Web at www.kohad.com
"Back then the ("Teenage Mutant) Ninja Turtles" were in and I didn't know how to draw people. I made ninja cats," Rodriguez said.
The distinctive angular art and stylized storytelling of Japanese anime later inspired Rodriguez. "KOHAD" morphed from a sim-ple comic strip into a mature science-fiction adventure that takes place on a post-apocalyptic planet.
"It's general anime-ish comedy," Rodriguez said. "It's for geeks like me."
Rodriguez describes the world of "KOHAD" as a mix of futuristic and medieval society. The book's heroes, Kyano and Reenah, face numerous enemies and strange animals.
"One creature that's just about everywhere is a brrilla," he said. "It's like a cross between a bear and a gorilla. They were humor-ous creatures and they are kind of silly, yet really big and powerful."
'The Opossum'
Brownsville native Aaron Moses, 30, also started writing and illustrating his indie comic book "The Opossum" as a child.
Facing the trials of junior high school, Moses said he imagined himself as a powerful, truth defending superhero.
"It was like an autobiography. It was just a story I kept to myself, the story of myself as a superhero and a way to vent my teen-age angst," Moses said.
Important events in Moses life became dramatic fuel for "The Opossum."
"In early 1995 I lost somebody close to me. ... That added more depth to the story," Moses said.
The streets of Brownsville inspired Moses' character. One day, he saw an opossum being chased in his neighborhood by a man with a broom.
"My next door neighbor was doing everything he could to kill the poor thing, but as he left, the creature just got up and walked off," he said. "I thought, 'that's it.'"
"The Opossum" is set in a darker version of Brownsville.
"The way I am drawing the city has a lot of exaggeration," Moses said. "It's a combination of modern buildings and businesses and a clash of old school Mexican flavor buildings."
Moses' art style is dark and shadow heavy.
"The people that would pick up my comic book would be hardcore Batman fans, fans of Spider-Man with the teenage quirkiness and particularly fans of James O'Barr's 'The Crow,'" Moses said.
Self-publishing
What started as Moses' personal story has become a comic book meant for the masses.
"I wanted to make this into an actual book so I decided to go for it," Moses said.
Moses plans to self-publish "The Opossum." He even found a collaborator in fellow Brownsville-native LA Vera, who inks Moses' art and adds detail to the backgrounds.
Moses promotes his product on the Internet at www.theopossum.com Moses also recently promoted his book at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July, the largest comic book convention in the country.
"I really went to spread the word and I got to meet a lot of the famous artists," Moses said. "I gave them a talk through of what the comic was about and gave them promo posters."
With advice from pros and big ideas for his superhero alter ego, Moses hopes to have the first issue of "The Opossum" ready for purchase in September.
Rodriguez said he plans to stick to self-publishing "KOHAD" on the Internet.
"It's a hell of a lot cheaper," Rodriguez said. "I saw other people doing it and I thought I could do it too."
Rodriguez hopes to turn "KOHAD" into a video game and a limited animated series.
As an Online comic, Rodriguez work is not censored. "KOHAD" is not intended for children, he said.
"It's intended for mature readers that can also stand silly humor," he said. "It's going to have a lot of adult-themed humor and content."
The first chapter of "KOHAD" is a dark and bloody one, but Rodriguez promises his story will lighten from there.
"This is giving readers a taste of how dark its going to get and when it gets to the lighter stuff it's going to be an interesting relief" he said.
kgarcia@brownsvilleherald.com
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Copyright (c) 2006, The Brownsville Herald, Texas
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