Q&A: Marco Finnegan Looks at 1930s Los Angeles Through a Different Lens in Supernatural Noir CALAVERA, P.I.
Death was just the beginning for private investigator Juan Calavera, whose spirit is summoned on Dia de los Muertos to help the barrios of 1930s Los Angeles in the new comic book series Calavera, P.I. With the first issue of the supernatural noir now on shelves from Oni Press, Daily Dead had the pleasure of catching up with writer, illustrator, and colorist Marco Finnegan about looking at the familiar setting of Los Angeles through a different lens, teaming up with Oni Press for this new four-issue series, as well as the pulp and detective influences behind Calavera, P.I.
Thanks for taking the time to answer questions for us, Marco, and congratulations on the release of Calavera, P.I. #1! When did you initially come up with the idea for this comic book series?
Marco Finnegan: Thanks for having me! I’d been playing with the idea of doing a Chicano noir for a few years, but it all clicked when I stumbled on the calavera drawings of [José Guadalupe] Posada. I started doodling skeletons in fedoras and it all came together. The lore and the rules of the world all seemed to find me as I was researching L.A. in the ’30s. There was a ton of stuff that I hadn’t seen in popular culture that it really just lent itself to being the backdrop for a noir.
Calavera, P.I. takes place in the Chicano barrios of Los Angeles in the 1920s and early 1930s, and that setting is its own vibrant character in this series. How important was it for you to set this story in that specific time and place in history?
Marco Finnegan: In all of my favorite noirs, the city/locale is just as important as the people that populate it. I wanted Calavera, P.I. to have the same type of setting. A place familiar (Los Angeles) but from a different lens. Personally, I treated writing the book as if I were there. What would my world look like as a Chicano in the 1930s? I did a deep dive into the comics and serial and pulps of the era to kind of see what the aesthetic would be, then I went up to LA and walked around, took some pictures and rode Angel’s Flight to get a sense of the world. A lot of that old LA is still there, just buried under mini-malls and Starbucks.
As the writer, illustrator, and colorist of Calavera, P.I., you really poured a lot of creative energy into this series, and it looks fantastic. How much time does it generally take you to create one issue from start to finish?
Marco Finnegan: Thanks so much! The first issue took a bit longer because we (my editor Gabriel Granillo and I) were really trying to find the right tone, especially in the colors. But now that we have the first issue out and have set the ground rules for the book, it takes about six weeks or so. The biggest lesson I have learned is how important is for me to start with visuals. Thinking in pictures seems to be the way I can see the story, so layouts have become my first pass of the script. It’s been a huge learning process for me, but thankfully I have a lot of support from Oni and their amazing designers and editors, as well as Jeff [Eckleberry] on letters.
In addition to your marvelous main cover, Calavera, P.I. #1 features an excellent second cover by Ramón K. Pérez and stunning incentive covers by Esteban Sánchez and J. Gonzo, respectively. How fun was it for you to bring those artists into your series and see their creative approach to the world of Juan Calavera?
Marco Finnegan: Oh man—it is so humbling to see these covers roll in. Just love seeing the different takes. It also makes me want to level up because these are all so great!! They all bring a little something to the character and it really gets me hyped to tell this story
Were you influenced or inspired by any other detective stories while working on Calavera, P.I.?
Marco Finnegan: The biggest influence for this were [Dashiell] Hammet’s Continental Op stories. The Op is just this blue collar guy going about his work, very much like a plumber or a bricklayer, no romance about it. Visually, the influences were Jack Coles’ Midnight, Johnny Craig’s EC stuff, and Caniff’s daily strips. Just tried to soak up as much as I could from those.
What has it been like to work with the team at Oni Press to bring Calavera, P.I. to life?
Marco Finnegan: It’s been amazing! The Oni crew has been so supportive. Everyone from editors, designers, PR, etc., have just put so much behind this. Really lucky. I think it’s pretty rad that the current publisher of EC Comics is putting out Calavera, because I imagine this book existing on the shelves with those EC books from back in the day.
Ultimately, what do you hope readers take away from Calavera, P.I.?
Marco Finnegan: I hope that they are entertained, first and foremost. If they discover something new about the community then that’s a good bonus. I am making the book that I want to read and I hope that it resonates with everyone. This is the most “me” thing I have done, so I hope it clicks with others, too.
Calavera, P.I. is initially a four-issue series, but do you have plans to continue this story beyond the fourth issue if given the opportunity?
Marco Finnegan: I would love to tell more of Calavera’s story. There is a way to have him show up in different periods, as well—assuming he survives this first adventure.
What advice would you give to writers or artists who are just getting started?
Marco Finnegan: Study the books you love, copy their work, but also make your own comics. Just keep cranking them out. Comics are great because they don’t have to always be rendered perfectly, you can tell a great story with stick figures, I think new creators make their work a bit too precious, at the end of the day telling a story is all that matters.
With Calavera, P.I. #1 out now in comic shops, do you have any other projects coming up that you can tease?
Marco Finnegan: Nothing I can talk about yet, some things in the works, but nothing is set in stone yet…
Thank you very much for your time, Marco!
Marco Finnegan: Thanks so much!!!
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In 1925, Juan Calavera died a hero. After a career spent outside the law defending the Chicano barrios where the police refused to operate, he earned a reputation for fearlessness . . . and a gunshot in the stomach. Now, five years later, on Dia de los Muertos, his restless spirit has been summoned from the grave to help a desperate former colleague unravel a kidnapping all too close to home. With only days to solve the case before he is called back to the underworld, can Calavera reveal the identity of the masked human trafficker known as La Fantasma before tragedy strikes again . . . and solve the mystery of his own murder in the process?
Featuring a haunting gallery of covers from the talents of Marco Finnegan (Morning Star, Night People), Ramón K. Pérez (A Tale of Sand), Esteban Sánchez (Cruelty Squad) and J. Gonzo (La Mano del Destino); CALAVERA, P.I. walks where angels fear to tread – in comic shops everywhere on November 13th!
CALAVERA, P.I. #1 (of 4)
WRITTEN BY MARCO FINNEGAN
ART BY MARCO FINNEGAN
COVER A BY MARCO FINNEGAN
COVER B BY RAMÓN K. PÉREZ
VARIANT COVER (1:10) BY ESTEBAN SÁNCHEZ
VARIANT COVER (1:20) BY J. GONZO
ON SALE NOVEMBER 13TH | $4.99 | 32 PGS. | FC
COVER A BY MARCO FINNEGAN:
COVER B BY RAMÓN K. PÉREZ:
VARIANT COVER BY (1:10) ESTEBAN SÁNCHEZ:
VARIANT COVER BY (1:20) J. GONZO:
CALAVERA, P.I. #1 Preview Pages:
