If you’ve ever seen a classic Mexican horror film, you know that it’s 1933 La Lorona, Carlos Enrique Tabuda’s 1968 ghost film Hatta El Viento Tien Miedo (The Wind Fears), or one of many El Santo films, or you love to take ideas from all genres and mediums and make them yourself. The element of fear is intertwined with the telenovella sensibility just to allow the comedy to sneak in whenever it needs to cut a bit of tension for something scary later on. It’s all wrapped in what Latin American literature excels: magical realism, a tradition of storytelling that treats magic as the status quo without providing much explanation for the strangeness.
Marco Finnegan’s latest book, Calavera, Pi, is a great example of this beautiful clash of style and storytelling techniques. Written, drawn and colored by Finnegan, the cartoon follows the honorable investigator after he died while working his final case on the land of living. He returns like an illusion of justice on the Day of the Dead and takes on the lure case his former colleague is working on.
The PI’s Calabella took place in Hollywood in the 1920s, with only white detective heroes in crime, often with suspects centered around Mexican immigrants and Cicanos. The script is inverted here. The hero is Chicano, and his brand of justice focuses on the mistakes that have influenced his community since Europeans colonized the region (i.e. sex trafficking).
Finnegan has the enviable talent to work with a variety of fear and atmosphere colors to give a particular sequence multiple dimensions of meaning and emotion. For example, his work with Keeper, written by Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes, is a great showcase for this. The more scary side of the story is kept quiet to build on the dark things that haunt the characters. This is a modest approach that knows when to unleash the UG officer of his repertoire for the greatest fear.
In line with Finnegan, Beat spoke about all the meaning of calabella, PI, and ultimately seeing passion projects like this.
Ricardo Serrano: Calabella, Pie feels like the type of story that has been sitting there for years. What is the reason you got the idea now?
Marco Finnegan: I feel the same! Honestly, one day clicked was just one of those ideas. I wanted to do Chicano Noir and was looking for a “time bomb” storyline. The Dia de Los Muertos Bit makes sense. In the current climate, I think many of the book’s themes are (unfortunately) very relevant.
Serrano: You have a rare ability to show not only a very subtle horror (as in the case of a Keeper), but also a clearer fear with monsters and creatures. Still, all of them seem grounded and easy to imagine in real life. How would you describe your preferences when it comes to approaching horror and explaining it?
Finnegan: Thank you! I think this comes from trying to make the “world” consistent. I’m thinking a lot about how Mignora works and how to create these blue-collar monsters. That’s the touchstone for me. I love stories where the supernatural coexist with the real world. James Lee Burke does this well in his crime fiction too!
Serrano: There is a great deal of attention to the Chicano aspect of the story, especially when it comes to the concepts of justice and awareness. What did you want to understand in this aspect of the story?
Finnegan: One of the things editors Gabriel Granillo and I wanted to do was to make the Mexican community in LA an integral part of the world. The book location and locale are authentic and you can still visit. All Latinos accusations are very real. So, bringing the spotlight on that history was important because it was actually happening. I also wanted to avoid “trauma porn.” This is a story that celebrates the culture that is not only focused on conflict, but has been historically erased by popular culture, and continues to be woven into the DNA of cities.
Serrano: Are there any movies, books, or manga that you found inspiration while working on PI’s Calavera?
Finnegan: Ah, man… lot! I think the main influence was Hammett’s opening of the Continent. I think of Carabella as a blue-collar guy. This is what he does and that’s what he’s good at. The OP is a detective of the same type. From an aesthetic point of view, I have seen Joseph Rody’s M remake on a continuous basis. And then there’s some fantastic footage of Bunker Hill.
Serrano: What are you planning for in the near future? More calavera cases?
Finnegan: I really, really hope. We’ve just scratched the surface and I think there are more ideas and places to take him. My fingers crossed!
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