PIs and personal penises are no big deal in fiction, but that’s especially true in comics. There’s something about this archetype (the uncouth loner with a heart of gold and dangerous romantic tendencies) that resonates with readers. But what if a Latino PI adds new perspective and context? And what if he dies too?
This is essentially the premise of Calavera PI by writer and artist Marco Finnegan (Morning Star, Night People). Five years after his heroic death, Detective Juan Calavera rises from the grave in Dia de los Muertos. Together with a friend/co-worker named Maria, Calavera ends up “unraveling a kidnapping case that hits all too close to home.” Along the way, he must deal with a “masked human trafficker known as La Fantasma” and try to solve his own murder before being recalled to the underworld.
The Latin influence was clearly an important part of Calavera PI’s original appeal, creating a history that adds rich narrative/mythology and cultural nuance to the story. But aside from the noir and supernatural elements, it’s also a story about a man trying to do good for others in a time and place where it wasn’t always easy or straightforward. RIYL: Ghosts, Mexican culture, pulpy atmosphere, and complex hero types.
Calavera PI #1 will be released by Oni Press on November 13th. Ahead of that, we recently caught up with Finnegan to tackle some of the book’s biggest ideas and accomplishments. This includes the origins of the story, the use of folklore, how Calavera ranks as a protagonist, Maria’s important role, and previews for issues 2 and beyond.
Main cover by Marco Finnegan. Provided by Onipress.
AIPT: Where did the idea for Calavera PI come from? Do you have a lot of experience creating noir stories and projects?
Marco Finnegan: Calavera PI was born out of my love for film noir, (Dashiell) Hammett, all crime novels, Cunniff comics, and EC crime comics. I’ve always loved Deviant Knight’s Private Eye and wanted to make one. I failed many times and couldn’t get into it, but I drew a calavera based on a picture of a posada at a bar, and that gave me a little chance. Making my gumshoe a returning spirit set the rules (he can only come to Earth two days a year), and all that was left to do was choose the best time to start.
Provided by Onipress.
AIPT: I think noir is truly at its peak in comics. But this is the first time I recall it being rooted in Latin culture. Is there a major connection to the stories of crimes and PIs in Mexico and South America?
MF: I don’t know of many other Latin comic PIs. There are some great crime novels out there. Alex Segura’s wonderful Pete Fernandez book, Rudolfo Anaya’s Sonny Baca book, and a few others. But I can’t think of anyone who made the leap into manga. There was a great strip in Fight Comics in the 1940s about Senorita Rio, a Mexican actress who fought against the Nazis. She was a very nice woman, portrayed by Lily Renee, who came to New York to escape the Nazis. A pretty wild story. But by and large, Chicanos have been left out of the noir tapestry.
AIPT: Is it a conscious idea for you to try to expose people to Latin culture and history, or is it just to tell a story? That’s why you chose Dia De Los Muertos Is there a reason? Was it to let people know what it’s really about, beyond all recognition?
MF: Once I came up with the idea of Dia de los Muertos’ rule-bound undead detective, I started thinking about the history of Los Angeles, especially how Los Angeles was influenced by the Mexican Repatriation Program, and how Los Angeles I was also reading a lot about who was influenced by. It especially affected Los Angeles. In other words, it’s something that comes naturally. Most of my favorite noirs are set in LA in the 1930s and 40s, so the proximity of Chicano Gumshoe got me thinking about how he might interact with that world. . He can’t be Continental Op or (Philip) Marlowe, that won’t be his reality. So it made sense to delve into that landscape and weave it into his adventures. I think it’s nice to bring Mexican Americans and Latinos back into the golden age of noir. Especially at the time, Los Angeles had one of the largest Latino populations in the world.
Provided by Onipress.
AIPT: How do you think Mexican folklore differs from similar American-centric stories? What appeals to you about these types of stories and ideas?
MF: I think Mexican folklore has a better view that death is not the end. Growing up as a Chicano, I was always surrounded by ideas of magic, religion, and ghosts. All kinds of things coexist peacefully. My mother would casually talk about her mother being a curandera and the existence of the supernatural, though not always in the creepy version. As Americans, I think most of us fear death and think it’s the end, but for many in the Mexican community, it’s another place we can go and visit from time to time. Not too much. I think it’s wonderful that death is right around the corner.
AIPT: What is it like working as both an artist and a writer? Did you feel like you had to tell this story almost all by yourself?
MF: It’s tough, but it’s a lot of fun! I was originally in talks with a few writers about co-writing a version of this (not Supernatural), but they both passed and co-wrote it. The author suggested that it is not really necessary and that it is enough. Writing this helped me gain confidence in my “voice,” but most of that was due to the guidance of my editor, Gabriel Granillo, who made sure I didn’t derail the train or embarrass myself. He protects me. As an artist, I sometimes get irritated with writers who ask me to do tricky things. As a colorist, I hope I don’t leave so many open lines that I, as an artist, have to clean up, but overall it’s a lot of fun. In other words, you can create and draw your own stories! It’s a dream!
AIPT: How would you describe Juan? Is he a pastiche or homage to someone? Do you find him particularly likable?
MF: Juan is a blue-collar guy. He treats his job as a job, very much in the vein of Continental Op and Spades, but I think Juan is even more disgusted. Unlike Hammett’s two heroes, Juan knows that he (as a Mexican-American) will never be given the same respect as other lawyers and gumshoes. When we meet Juan in 1925, the idea of a Mexican-American detective on the Los Angeles Police Department payroll was not common, but he wasn’t particularly good at anything other than being a detective. . He only catches cases that “legitimate” police and detectives wouldn’t touch, which makes him a hero to LA’s Latino population. That’s what puts him on the Maria reporter’s radar. She wants a romantic hero, but what she finds is a man who is dissatisfied with his position in life and is becoming a fed up drunkard.
Provided by Onipress.
AIPT: Can you talk about the look and feel of this world? Where were you turning your head while developing the world? Did you try to lean into a really old-school pulpy style?
MF: I’m a big fan of newspapers in their early days. Especially EC’s Crime and SupenStories by Milton Cunniff, Noel Sickles, Frank King, and Johnny Craig. They created a lot of visual vocabulary that resonates with me: clear compositions, silhouettes, melodrama. These are all things I like about this medium. So, when I decided what I wanted to say, I tried to imagine what this book would have been like if it had been written in the same era as they did. So I leaned toward clear direction, melodramatic acting, and a limited color palette. I wanted it to be on the side of the book at the drugstore or on the funny Sunday page. That was the goal anyway. I also wanted the Los Angeles to look like the one depicted in Joseph Losey’s M. A city of shadows, secrets, paranoia…and maybe even some creepy monsters.
AIPT: Maria was also a great character in the early days. Why is she so important? Do you consider her almost a semi-protagonist, or even a protagonist in a sense?
MF: “Maria” is based on strong women from classic films, such as Rosalind Russell in “Girl Friday,” Myrna Loy in “The Thin Man,” and Katharine Hepburn in “Woman of the Year.” It’s an homage not only to the women of Mexico, but also to the strong women of Mexican Noir from the Golden Age. Movies — Andrea Palma in Distinto Amanecer (Another Dawn) and Maria Felix in The Kneeling Goddess. All the women in these movies are forces of nature and I think Maria has the same qualities. She is the real catalyst of this story. She believes in Calavera’s ability to be a hero, sees him as a man of honor, and challenges him to be a better person. I think she could carry her own books with her if she had the chance.
AIPT: What did you find important/interesting about this period in LA in telling this story?
MF: The 1930s is the perfect time to tell this story. Black Mask magazine includes a comic strip that beautifully depicts Hammett’s story and Caniff’s fistfights. Hollywood is all the rage, but there are also prohibitions. The Great Depression, and the resulting Mexican deportation program, and all the havoc this caused, especially in Los Angeles, it’s just a great backdrop, and the city has such a great personality, and it’s so different from the tumultuous ’20s that Juan was living in. It’s different. It wasn’t perfect at the time, but the world he returned to five years after his death was vastly different from the one he left.
Provided by Onipress.
AIPT: Do you have a favorite moment from the first issue? Something that set the tone?
MF: There’s a nice moment in the middle of this issue where Juan and Maria are sitting and waiting for the police to arrive and they have this fun conversation. It’s a glimpse of something that might have been in another universe. Something might have happened to these two, but life and death get in the way. That’s my Casablanca moment.
AIPT: Is there anything you can tell us about how the rest of the story unfolds?
MF: I hope it has all the fun twists of classic noir, but there are also quite a few supernatural elements. Take a tour of this new world with Calavera as your guide. I think one of the best things about fiction is when we (the readers) can discover the unknown buried within the familiar. Also, fighting.
MF: Is there anything else we should know about Calavera PI, comics, Hispanic heritage, etc.?
MF: This book is a love letter to the genres I love (pulp/noir/horror), written through the lens of people who were there but were left out of the folklore. I hope people dig it.
