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Yes, it’s finally time for our second interview in our art and comics interview series (our first interview was with Team RAGS), and this time we got a hold of the very talented Argentinien comic Artist and Illustrator Pablo Romero. (you can find Pablo on social media via Twitter or Facebook).

Anyways, we sat down and talked to Pablo about everything from the Captain Marvel aftermath, Comicsgate, censorship, cancel culture to Pablo’s thoughts on today’s gaming industry.

So with that said, please enjoy our interview with Pablo Romero 😉

Robin TGG

First thing first, thank you so much for your time Pablo =) And with that said, please go right ahead and introduce yourself to our readers.

Pablo Romero

Hi there! My name is Pablo Romero, and I’m a comic artist from Argentina. I’ve been working professionally in comics since 2010. All indie stuff.

Robin TGG

Do you remember how everything started for you in the world of comics? (when you started to read, create and draw comics and pictures?)

Pablo Romero

I started to read comics from a very young age. Probably the first stuff I read was newspaper comic strip (I can’t say for sure) My mother always remembers that I started drawing “Clemente” a character from one of the strips that were popular back then in my country (the late 80s, early 90s) I also read regular comics from my country and some American comics, not much since I was more of a fan of superhero cartoons than the comics.

Sometimes with my cousin, we drew short comics with us as the protagonist, and it was always something like a martial arts movie. That was pretty much how it started.

Robin TGG

I just found out about your neat-looking “Cyborg USA” comic via indiegogo. So, what could you tell us about that comic? (from what I understand, Cacy and Zach Tabacco is working on the comic together with you).

Pablo Romero

Yes, Rob Cacy and Zach Tabacco wrote the script, I did the art and Michael Beacon, who also has an indiegogo campaign with my art in it, called “Seven Legions” (currently in demand), is doing the colors for Issue 2.

Cyborg USA is about Superteam USA, an olympian team of gymnastics that get mutilated in an attack by the “Red Skirts” a terrorist organization, and get revived as Cyborg USA by the US government.

It is currently I think at 3,385 USD with 60 backers. We hope to reach 100 backers and more before the campaign ends. Issue 1 is completely done and there is a link in the campaign to read it digitally if you want, and issue 2’s lineart is completely done, only left to do is the colors and lettering. So go check it out.

Robin TGG

What’s the comic market and industry like in Argentina? And what’s hot and popular in your nation right now?

Pablo Romero

I’m a little disconnected from the comic market here but as far I saw the market is mostly American and Japanese comics. There is some local comics scene but it’s very small. This is why most of the talent in my country work either for the European or American market.

There is no way to make a living with comics in my country…And its a real shame really because there is a lot of talented people here and comics as a medium is pretty popular but because of economic reasons the only thing we got left is small press stuff, most it not ready for prime time and as you probably could guess, a lot of SJW stuff.

Robin TGG

You seem to be very much into the 80s and 90s styled characters and designs. So I take it that you’re a huge fan of the 80s and 90s era? (I’ve seen some really nice drawings from the cartoon show “Jem”, for example)

And speaking of which, have the SJW camp given you a hard time because of your comics and drawings? I’m asking since they seem to love to whine about comics, movies, video games and whatnot from the 80s and 90s (“controversial character designs”)…



Pablo Romero

I grew up mostly in the 90s (I have very few memories of the 80s, since I was born in 84) but we got a lot of stuff from the 80s during the early and even mid-90s.

Stuff like the A-Team, Miami Vice, Moonlighting, Jem, Transformers, Gi Joe, Robotech, etc, were things I used to watch as a kid. Furthermore, I also watched a lot of movies from that era.

The thing is that is not like I recently started following the trend of the 80s and 90s nostalgia. I never stopped watching stuff from that time period. With my friends, we usually played “Street fighter” on the SEGA Genesis or at the local arcades.

Sometimes we play Double Dragon 2 for the Famicom or watch movies like Commando, Delta Force, Karate Kid, Bloodsport, Terminator.

About the SJWs, I must say that I don’t think the knew about my work and even some liked my stuff before I started touching some of the characters they take as their own.

I’m of course talking about my drawings of Mia Khalifa as Ms. Marvel and my very recent Captain Marvel redesign. Some reacted to the Rose Tico one but not as much as people thought.

Robin TGG

I can only speak for myself now, but I became an instant fan of your art once I saw some of your beautiful and thick babe drawings.

So, have you always been into creating and drawing sexy and thick ladies? And how did all of that start? (the female form is a very beautiful thing)

Pablo Romero

I started when I was 14/15 years old. Before that, I drew mostly dudes. This is because I didn’t know how to draw women. So around that age, I decided to learn how to do it.

I think its that kind of mindset that all artists should have, when you don’t know how to draw something, just to do it until you learn.

So I started drawing kind of anime-inspired girls (since I was into anime at that time) some of those first drawings I sold to my friend at the time for a dollar. I don’t think he still has them, I would have to contact him to know for sure.

Robin TGG

I actually got a follow-up question for you on the same subject. Why do you think that there are so many people and big-name companies in the comic, video game and movie industry that are so afraid of the female form in the current year?

I mean, real and fictional female boobs seem to be worse nowadays than actual real-life problems (such as war, starvation, homelessness, and much more)…

Source:

http://archive.md/1HlKc

http://archive.is/a2OxO

http://archive.is/lXNbf

http://archive.md/v0pym

http://archive.md/mCsr7

http://archive.md/q5Pzf

http://archive.md/uKFqs

http://archive.is/yMsnV

http://archive.is/daCRP

http://archive.md/zaQ9f

http://archive.md/CYcxU

http://archive.md/0R2a6

http://archive.md/vmMU3

http://archive.md/V1JHx

http://archive.md/As3PX

http://archive.is/v0pym

http://archive.is/aQ3so (TGG)

http://archive.is/sS1Ix (TGG)



Pablo Romero

Well, big companies are not known for taking a risk. So when the marketing (or whatever department says to them) that the press and people get upset because of sexy females, they will go for what they perceive is the safest path to take.

It’s not that they believe any of the stuff they try to sell, they just think is the best way to do business today. Of course, this is not everything that there is to it but I think its an important factor.

Robin TGG

And speaking of being afraid of female boobs. I bet that you’ve heard some of the following arguments (aka “buzz words”) from the SJW camp as of lately: “unrealistic standards”, broken spine” and “where are her organs”.

If so, what are your thoughts on that matter? I for one don’t agree with them at all, because there exist all sorts of female body types…

Source:

http://archive.md/zaQ9f

http://archive.md/9t3hl

http://archive.md/bDjgq

http://archive.is/oUacS

http://archive.is/GV8s1

http://archive.is/u1Etp

http://archive.is/EQOrD (TGG)

TheQuartering via Youtube (“Only Good Boys & Girls Can Watch!”)

ShortFatOtaku via Youtube (“Where Are Her Organs?”)

Pablo Romero

I remember reading some of that stuff on the Escher Girls tumblr page. I think there are cases when this is true, mainly when it is someone that does very realistic stuff, but when you have something more stylized is just dumb.

I mean, in superhero comics where you have people that can fly and do other unrealistic stuff, having an impossible body should be the least of people’s concerns (at the end of the day, it’s all fiction).

Robin TGG

Uptil now, what would you say that you’re the proudest of so far with your comics and drawings and why?

Pablo Romero

I don’t know. I tend to focus on the things I do wrong more that the ones I do right. I think probably that i’m faster than before but that I guess is natural seeing that i’m drawing a lot more. Also is necessary, the faster I can draw an maintain quality the more money I can make.

Robin TGG

Are there any comics or artists that you really like, respect and look up to? If so, which comics and who?

Pablo Romero

Ok, this is the part I mention a lot of artist that people outside Argentina or some places or europe don’t know. So one is Ernesto Rudesindo Garcia Seijas. Mainly his work on “El negro blanco” a comic strip from the late 80s and early 90s and “Helena”, a comic he did for the magazine “Intervalo” in the late 70s and early 80s.

I always make a distintion between a good artist and a good comic artist. Because is drawing a comic is not the same as drawing an illustration. A comic artist needs to know a lot of things, beside anatomy, composition and stuff. Garcia Seijas I think its a great comic artist.

The comics I mention were not heavy action pieces, most of it is dialog and more realistic stuff, things that having been drawn by someone less talented, would have been unreadable.

Another one was Lucho Olivera, mainly his work on “Gilgamesh el inmortal” with Robin Wood doing the script and his work on “Skorpio” (a comic magazine that was edited here an in Italy).

He had kind of weird style that made sometimes more generic comics to look great. He often didn’t do proper perspective or anatomy but his compositions were so good that made it work.

Juan Zanotto was another one that I really liked. There is also Lito Fernandez, Solano Lopez, and many others. On the American side I would day I like Adam Hughes work, Alex Ross, Neal Adams. Like I said before I wasn’t that much into american superhero comics.

Off course I can forget about my teachers, Roberto Viacava and Marcelo Valentini. They are not very known but do very good work (mainly for the european market)

Robin TGG

From your point of view, what has the response and feedback been since you started to make comics and drawings of sexy and thick vixens?

Pablo Romero

Positive. Most people like sexy women, even women. I have a good amount of female followers and also follow a lot female artist that draw sexy women or just are good at drawing in general. Off course a large porcentage of my following are men.

Robin TGG

As you just happen to be a part of the comics industry as a comics creator. Well, what’s your opinion on comicsgate and what’s it been like to be an indie comics artists/creator in today’s comics industry?

Source:

knowyourmeme

washingtonpost

thedailybeast

miamiherald

buzzfeednews



Pablo Romero

Comicsgate started really good and it helped me build a fanbase. Before that I was kind of lost, I drew some comics and uploaded drawings to deviantart that nobody watched. Comicsgate united a lot of people that was starving for work like mine.

The problem I see currently is all the infighting that is dividing us and i’m not sure that it can be fixed. The other problem off course is not having the crowdfunding campaigns fullfilled in time, I understand that some just didn’t realized the amount of work self publishing is, but most people don’t care, they just want their books.

So that along with creators fighting each other is making people leave and that is not good. And its a shame because comicsgate could have been so much more than it is. I don’t know the future off course so maybe i’m wrong and it becomes bigger but from what i’m seeing now is not. Maybe is just me being pessimistic.

Robin TGG

I don’t know if you’re into video games or if you have followed the drama and scandals surrounding Blizzard (the Blitzchung and Blizzcon “Incident”)…

But if that’s the case, then I’m very curious to hear what you have to say about the said subject. Especially so since Blizzard continues to silence and punish those who support Hong Kong and It’s people who are fighting for their freedom…

Source:

Rod Breslau via Twitter (archive: http://archive.md/lJP9x)

The Verge

Businessinsider

Gamespot

Reddit



Pablo Romero

Like I said in another question, companies are not known for taking risk and they don’t really believe what they say. So its no surprise to me that they are not willing to loose the chinese market.

This is what companies do, they go for the money. I’m not that informed in the subject anyway since I don’t really care much for modern gaming.

I left when I saw that a lot of gamers were willing to let companies abused them with dlc, buggy games and other crap. Also because most modern games try more to be like movies that just being games.

Robin TGG

Since our world just seems to get more politically correct by the hour…What’s your take on censorship, cancel culture and today’s SJW madness in general? And what do you think we could do about it?



Pablo Romero

I see that this trend is not that different from what we saw back in the day with the religious right. The problem is that we don’t have as many allies as we did before.

What I learned with this is that a lot of people that claimed to believe in stuff like freedom of speech didn’t truly believe in it. They just used it to gain power, as we have right now, so be aware that some people now that are talking about that stuff, just see us as “useful idiots”.

To fix it I want to believe what Jordan Peterson says about starting with fixing us. I say I want because I don’t know if there is a way to fix it. Sometimes I think this, western civilization is just doomed and probably will be taken over by stronger civilizations like the Asians or Islam.

About Cancel culture, this is a very dangerous game that if it’s not stopped fast, could end up in people being killed, not only in suicide like already happened, but with people being murdered.

Robin TGG

Now, for my very last question for you. What are your plans, hopes and expectations for the rest of the year? And is there anything else that you would like to say to our readers?

Pablo Romero

I hope to finish my work on Maneater, the webcomic I’m publishing on Tapas and Webtoons. I will be releasing a physical version of it next year trough print on demand, with an exclusive chapter for it.

To the readers I would say check it out, if they like sexy ladies and horror, this comic is for you.



Robin “V-Act” Ek

Editor in chief

The Gaming Ground

Twitter: @TheGamingGround

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Tags: Art, Cancel culture, Censorship, Comics, Comicsgate, Lewd, Pablo Romero, PC culture, SJWs