Meet R.Robert Garcia

We were lucky to catch up with R.Robert Garcia recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi R.Robert, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

Purpose is an interesting question, as it’s the title of our first Chapter in the Retribution series. I think purpose is something I’ve searched for in life. For a good amount of time in my life, my daughters have been my purpose but now I needed to find some of my own. Storytelling would be it. I used to be an avid liar when I was an adolescent and teenager. Not in a harmful way but some of it was to get out of trouble. Most of it was due to trying to create a better world or story around me and who I was at that time. Not to impress others but to help me forget the world I had around me.

Eventually I grew up but my love of creating these worlds in my head did not, so I decided to take factual aspects of my personal and professional life and combine them into a sci-fi/supernatural world and that’s where Retribution came from. It’s been a cathartic way to process the experiences I’ve had in both worlds.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

Retribution follows our protagonists as they journey through the world of sci-fi, the supernatural and their own past traumatic events. It’s set in the southwestern part of the United States and journeys into Mexico, with part of the dialogue written in Spanish. Being a borderland kid, I wanted to bring to life the cultural experiences I grew up around. The story is inspired by my time working as a crime reporter in Tucson, Austin and El Paso and by personal traumas I, and friends have endured as adolescents and children.

I worked in the local tv industry for a dozen years and used to journal the events I covered to cope and understand some of the things I’ve witnessed and experienced. My hope is that the story brings a better understanding of the complexities of abuse and mental illness. Whether it be within families, friends, economically or societally.

The comic is rated mature, as there is graphic gut-punching action and coarse language. I’m extremely lucky to work with artists like Giulia Gualazzi, Kevin Keane, Scott Oakley, Kath Lobo and Valentina Pinti. Their work can be seen on the pages and covers of Boom Studios, DC, Dark Horse, Image, and Marvel comics. I don’t have retirement money left but they have been worth every penny as the images we’ve created are awesome!

We’re four-out-of-four on successful Kickstarters, which help fund the comic and we also sell it locally in Austin, Texas.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

I think perseverance must be that top driving quality. There will be several times you will question yourself and even have those around you question what you’re doing. If you have a dream or goal, you must find a way to make it happen no matter the outcome, success or failure.

Also, be true to your vision. Present the story you want to present and don’t worry about what has worked for other creators.

Ask for help, not only from people within your chosen field, but from those outside that field. I have been truly surprised and grateful by the feedback I’ve received. Sharing my thoughts and story with as many people as I can, has given me a better structure in how to develop my story and keep my focus.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

Like most indie creators, financing is our biggest hurdle. A single comic can cost a writer anywhere from two thousand to five thousand dollars. This includes artwork, lettering, editors, printing and shipping. Add in marketing and going to comic-cons, which are usually the best way to get your story into the readers hands…and that’s how your yearly bonuses disappear.

As I mentioned before, I’m truly living out a dream by self-publishing this story of mine. I understand the financial sacrifices I have to make to keep this going and I’m willing to accept them. It would be great to find a publisher to help with marketing and distribution but the aspect of giving up my intellectual property (IP), is not one I am willing to move forward with at this time.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @cheesycomicsshop

Image Credits

Giulia Gualazzi, Kevin Keane, Scott Oakley