El Rey Del Art, painter of Arizona light, gone but not forgotten

Crimson JusticeCrimson Justice Swings by his Storage Unit for a Few Things’ by El Rey Del Art

He was the king of art, El Rey Del Art, and he painted flat bright canvases with the glare of Arizona. Landscapes. Animals. Superheroes and luchadores. Monkeys. Robots. Squids. Monkey robots. Monkey superheroes. The usual.

But then El Rey stopped painting the “real world,” dropped his art name and turned his attention to the virtual worlds of video games, which he paints in the style of the Fauvists, “characterized by seemingly wild brush work and strident colors.”

Check out his rendition of a favela in Brasil from Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2:

Mas…El Rey Del Art, painter of Arizona light, gone but not forgotten

Dark Knight Colorado shooting cartoon by Lalo Alcaraz


Everyone is horrified about another mass shooting, this one in a movie theater in Aurora, CO at a midnight showing of The Dark Knight Rises. Gun violence in the U.S. is the highest in the world, and we need to do something about it. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the dozen murdered victims and the over 50 wounded. This editorial cartoon can also be seen at my syndicate website, GoComics.com/laloalcaraz

My photos from Comic-Con 2012 San Diego (and some extras)

Can you spot the drunken alien?

I made my regular trek to San Diego this past weekend for the Comic-Con orgy of cosplay and mass-media promotion and I’ve got the pics to prove it.

I had signings, slideshows, spoke at an inner-city “Counter Con” to promote the comic arts to kids and grabbed super chingon Simpsons creator Matt Groening and begged him draw a sketch at MY signing. (Sorry, Matt.) I also chased nerdos y nerdas in their Latino-inspired costumes and snapped photos of them.

I undertake this trying mission to document parts of the ultra-crowded convention so that you don’t have to go and get constantly elbowed in the knees by ewoks. Or have to hear fundamentalist Christian preachers warning throngs of people dressed as aliens that they are “going to burn in hell.”

Live long and prosper, and enjoy the show!

Peep the photo gallery here:

Mas…My photos from Comic-Con 2012 San Diego (and some extras)

Captain Pocho vs the Red Skull, wicked witch of the Southwest (toon)


Captain Pocho vs the Red Skull (aka Jan Brewer) Just thought I’d draw something for POCHO regarding the SB1070 ruling for this Fourth of July weekend. As a Chicano comic book nerd and artist, this is the best way for me to strike back against the Wicked Witch of the Southwest.

Gabriel Tellez Jr. is the vato behind The Misadventures of Pepito and Juan, serialized this Spring on POCHO.

When you can’t bear life without nachos, you need nachos tattoos

Some people can’t get through the morning with a cup of coffee, and others, apparently, can’t get through the day without delicious crunchy oozing-with-queso nachos:

We love nachos. Duh. We want to show it on our arms, legs, and face. Stains are not permanent enough, while permanent tattoos are against our religions.

So they made temporary nachos “tattoo” decals.

Would you get them? Wear them?

Thanks to BoingBoing for the link!

The Coachella art scene, home made by The Date Farmers (video)


East of Los Angeles via Interstate 10 lies the Coachella Valley, home of the desert oasis of Palm Springs, a famed music festival and acres of stately date palms.

On the wrong side of tracks, in the town of Coachella, there’s a group of Chicano artists who call themselves The Date Farmers. They make art out of love for themselves and their neighbors. This is their story. (Apologies to iOS users. KCET insists on using Flash.)