Baldo Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with Sunday Guest Artists

Kansas City, Mo. (September 1, 2011) - For Hispanic Heritage Month, the creators of the "Baldo" comic strip are turning creative control of their comic over to fellow artists whose work normally doesn’t appear on the comics pages.

“It’s a way for us to shine a spotlight on fellow artists who are doing incredible art, and giving them a chance to have their work published in the Sunday funnies,” said Baldo co-creator Hector Cantu.

“These are all artists with distinct creative voices we admire who gladly accepted our challenge to do a Sunday comic,” added Baldo co-creator Carlos Castellanos. “There’s an exciting element to this because we had no idea what they were going to submit. We left it all up to them.”

The results are beautiful, funny and entertaining. “From Rhode Montijo’s Skeletown characters to Ralph Cabrera’s superhero take on Baldo and Cruz, we were blown away by the work,” said Castellanos.

The artists whose Sunday comics will run starting on Sept. 11 through Oct. 16, 2011, are:

Jose Cabrera (appearing 9/11): The Web comic strip “Crying Macho Man” was “born on the mean streets of New York City and has been bringing you the funny since 2004,” says Cabrera, who is originally from Washington Heights, N.Y. Today, he lives in Los Angeles. www.CryingMachoMan.com.

Isis Rodriguez (9/18): Rodriguez grew up in Topeka, Kan. After graduating from the University of Kansas with a BFA in painting, she moved to San Francisco to pursue her cartoon-inspired artwork, and has since had numerous exhibits on the West Coast. She currently lives in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where she is developing a comic book called “Niñají.” www.IsisRodriguez.com. Follow “Niñají” at www.Facebook.com/Ninajicomic.

Rhode Montijo (9/25): An accomplished animator and illustrator, Rhode Montijo is a Stockton, Calif., native who now lives in New York City. He is the creator and illustrator of comic books ("Pablo’s Inferno"), chapter books (Melvin Beederman "Superhero" series published by Henry Holt) and children’s books (“The Halloween Kid,” published by Simon & Schuster). His upcoming book features his new Skeletown characters, inspired by the Mexican Day of the Dead holiday. www.RhodeMontijo.com.

Aleloop (10/2): Aleloop is a “pop surrealist, new brow, low brow, urban contemporary” artist who lives “half time in Miami and half time in Looptropolis.” A native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, she has completed design and animation for Xbox, MTV, VH1, 7UP, Dr Pepper, Nickelodeon, Nicktoons, TNT, Cartoon Network and LOGO. www.Aleloop.com.

Ralph Cabrera (10/9): A native of Pinar Del Rio, Cuba, Ralph Cabrera now lives in Miami. He’s completed work for First Comics, Dark Horse, DC Comics, and Marvel Comics, working on titles such as "Spider-Man," "Conan," and "X-Men." He also does advertising work and has completed assignments for Metlife, McDonalds, Burger King, Disney, and Telemundo. www.RalphCabrera.com.

Carlos Navarro (10/16): Carlos Navarro spent the early part of his life in New York, moved to Miami in his teens and has lived there ever since. His painting style has come to be known as “Pop Suave,” fusing Pop Art with traditional Cuban, Miami and other contemporary themes inspired by his heritage and upbringing. He has been commissioned by Perry Ellis International, Bacardi, and Ford Motors, and in 2007, he was commissioned by the Super Bowl XLI Host Committee to create a painting and poster for the International Media Reception. www.CarlosANavarro.com.

It’s the second time Castellanos and Cantu have turned their Sunday comic over to guest artists and, like in 2009, the creators were thrilled with the results. “We’re sure Sunday comic fans will enjoy these artists and take some time to learn more about them and their remarkable work,” Castellanos said. 

"Baldo" is a daily comic strip featuring the exploits of teenager Baldo Bermudez and his family. The strip provides a warm and gently humorous look at the Latino experience while offering a take on what it’s like to be young in modern America.

Baldo is syndicated internationally by Universal Uclick.

Creators: Hector Cantu and Carlos Castellanos

Contact: marketing@uclick.com