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One
Day on the Way Home From School... The Idea! by
AO
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Concept
drawing '93 |
Why
Not?
The
origin of Amigoman - The Latin Avenger
was actually very simple.
One day after one of my college classes, I was in a comic book shop,
Clint's Comics (shameless plug) in KC, and I was scanning the books on
this huge shelf and I noticed - there was only 1 or 2 minority-type comic
book titles and no Latino main characters on that shelf.
Being a Communication major and after coming from a communications class,
I wondered why weren't there any Latino comic book main characters on
that shelf? |
I
thought, We (Latinos) buy and read comic books, don't
we? So on my way home that day I thought (again), "Why
couldn't I create my own character?"
I knew nothing about the comic book industry (still
till this day, I have much to learn). Then I thought, "Why don't I come up with a character myself?" Why
not? So on the way home the wheels kept turning. The name.... |
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The
Name...
The name would have to be cool and have
to have a Spanish flavor. So I wanted
to come up with a universal Spanish-ish
name but would create him
as an American kid (early 20's), 3rd or 4th generation American, living
in his home town in the United States, similar to myself and almost all
of my friends. I decided I would give him a Spanish name that almost
everybody knew. I narrowed it down to
the word "AMIGO". . |
Everybody
knows what "amigo" means and it is a positive,
universal Spanish word. And then I added the word "man" at
the end to pay homage to the comic book world and
so it would give it a comic book touch. Plus, it
was kinda
catchy. AMIGOMAN! - one word like Superman and Batman.
Then, about his alter-ego... |
A concept drawing
1993 |
(Antonio F. Alvarado)
His Story (Background)...
I
wanted my non-superhero character (when
he is not in his costume), to be like
guys from my neighborhood - blue collar,
smart (for the most part) and funny.
But like in many neighborhoods in my
area and across the country, sometimes
it takes one to go through some bad
times before he or she realizes there
is a time to grow up and to realize
you have a better chance in this world
with an education - than not. And that
is what happened with Antonio.
I
ultimately would give him an American type of story
with a positive twist. Just like many from my neighborhood
my character would have a difficult youth but eventually
would be set on a path to make himself a better person
- that's were Gramps stepped up and
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stepped
in. I know and research has shown that a positive male
role model
in a young man's life can make a huge difference -
in school, home, relationships and community.
Just like many youth, there would have to be a positive role model to teach and
point Antonio in the right direction. And for our character Antonio Alvarado
(AKA - Amigoman), that came from his father figure - his Grandfather (Gramps).
Basically a transformation came about, from boy to man, and Antonio learned certain
things a young man has to learn and endure to understand certain lessons about
life - even when Gramps is not around.
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| More
Coming Soon... |
| What
do you want to know about your friendly neighborhood
Amigoman origin?
Just Ask! |
