Hailing from Miami Florida, Jayro Lantigua is a comics illustrator pumping out some delightfully grotesque and disgustingly unhinged comics right now. Burnt Comix is the story of a foul mouthed, shit eating dog who after becoming tired with his soul crushing depraved existence decides to end it all and commit suicide. Hanging,shooting and poisoning just won’t cut if for this canine. He want’s something unique and memorable working his ways through satanic death cults and and drug filled dog pound orgies along the way until he finally gets his wish. Bookending this are two single page stories ‘Father and Comix’, a dispiriting story of being persuaded not to peruse art as a career and a hilariously tongue in cheek ‘About the author.
Jayro’s grotesque and freakish figures bring to mind the gross early nineties Nickelodeon toons such as Ren and Stimpy, farts and fluids everywhere as they delight in every known vice imaginable. No space is wasted on Lantigua’s pages as skulls, genitals and hypodermic needles litter every panel and more often than not the space between them. The copy Jayro sent me was printed on bright lurid pink paper which only added to the experience.
Until recently Jayro has self published his comics on his own ‘Lunchboxed Press’ imprint, however December will see the first issue of an expanded Burnt Comix released through Creature Entertainment. An entirely different beast to the original lo-fi self published comic, the Creature release will be more of a directors cut, a definitive version as he originally intended. Bumping up the page count from 16 monochrome too 32 colour it will also include more two page stories as well as a variant cover by Juan Navarro.
Marfedblog: How and when did you start making comics?
Jayro Lantigua: I used to grab a stack of copy paper and staple them together to make comics as a kid in the back of class. Growing up I would continue to draw and write stories but at the time it was more of a hobby. I didn’t start considering making a career with my work until 2012, when I realized it was the only thing I find happiness doing.
MB: Who would you count among your influences?
JL: John Kricfalusi was one of my biggest influences as well as Joe Murray. I used to watch Ren & Stimpy and Rocko’s Modern Life religiously as a kid. Johnny Ryan’s work was also a big influence as it showed me that there were more to comics than vigilantes beating up criminals while wearing the underwear outside of their pants.
MB: How did working on Burnt Comix with Creature Comics come about, are there any of their comics you currently follow?
JL: Juan Navarro and John Ulloa of Creature opened The Goblin’s Heist, a comic shop in Hialeah, Florida and I would go by and hang out at the shop because they’re friends of mine and we’d joke around and have some beers. I never pitched Burnt Comix to them as I wanted to self publish at first and just get more work done. I gave a few copies to them to sell at the shop and Juan recommended it to John one day, he read it and he asked if I wanted to join Creature. As far as comics I follow goes, I’ve been hooked on “Tommy”.
MB: What are the main differences between the original version and the Creature Comics version? Tweaked or an entirely new beast? How did the experience of working on the two differ?
JL: The original version of Burnt is very different from the Creature release. The self published version is only 16 pages whereas the Creature release will be 32 pages. The extra content features the continuation of the story, as well as more art and a couple more 2 page shorts. Honestly the Creature release is the way I truly envisioned the story and the first issue of Burnt Comix. I couldn’t fulfil it before in the self published version because of costs. The Creature Version will also have a full colour cover which is sweet. The experience as far as the work itself remains the same, the only difference is that I now have the support of great people with Creature Entertainment and the possibility of realizing my goals with my work are much more possible.
MB: The opening page is close to heartbreaking! Why do you think so many artists have similar dispiriting early experiences in regards to producing comics or art?
JL: A lot of parents don’t understand how lucrative art can be, so when their kid tells them they want to make a career of it, it’s usually discouraged. My parents, particularly my dad was very opposed to the idea and wanted me to be a doctor or a lawyer. Something more conventional that provides a stable income and stability as well as bragging rights to their equally ignorant friends. Yes, a career in comics or art doesn’t always bring a steady check but that doesn’t mean that it can’t.
MB: What’s the best reaction you’ve had with someone picking up your comic and suddenly realizing it’s full of death, swearing and dog pound orgies?
JL: There was a guy that opened the comic and immediately widened his eyes and starting laughing a lot. He really loved the work and later told me how much he wasn’t expecting the comic to be so adult and funny. It was great hearing that kind of positive feedback.
Jayro Lantigua’s work is collected on his website and can be contacted via twitter. The Creature entertainment release of Burnt Comix is released in December and available via their website
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