Moving forward, I’m going to do my best to slow down sometimes and pat myself on the back, because we should always be kind to ourselves first and foremost!
January 2025 Recap
Aaaand, here we go.
Welcome to my ramblings that I’ll be doing at the end of every month!
Here I’ll talk about the latest updates on some of my works, events coming up, recaps on future trips, and maybe some unwarranted life advice from your friendly neighborhood Javi!
That said, we’ve reached the end of the first month of2025 and while I thought I was probably going to take a break this month, Inadvertently got myself involved in a plethora of projects. Enough so that I came home on a Friday after work feeling so overwhelmed I made myself a to-do list for the month in my journal, looked at the list, and passed out by 9:30pm.
If you keep up with my Instagram, you’ll know that I’ve already completed 3 pieces this month, started a 4th, and am signed up for a gallery on February 7th-9th now! That’s what’s out there on my page, but on top of that I’m working on updating my zine “Triforze #1,” I’ve enlisted myself to format the next 2 Apollo City Comics anthologies, and I’ve been making plans to do a little “book tour” in March –but more on that in the following month!
To focus on the now, I’ve completed 2 pieces in preparation for my first gallery of the year at the Brooklyn Art Cave! It’ll be for the Portals of Love Gallery curated by Adriana Bugarin (@bugzzz_z) on February 7th – 9th! It’ll consist of a total of 26 artists and opening night will have live musical performances, as well! As you can tell by the name of the gallery, it’s love-themed just in time for Valentines! I have my pieces that I completed for the gallery here on my site as well as some process videos on my Instagram! If you’re interested in buying a print and seeing the art in person, then come out to the Portals of Love Gallery!
Tickets here: "Portal of Love" Opening night | Brooklyn Art Cave
Before sitting down to write this, I actually went through my to-do list and noticed how much of it was checked off. I recently had to remind myself as well this month – looking at my art books that I’ve now filled over the course of the last 5 years – that I should try to slow down sometimes and smell the roses. Not that I feel burnt out or anything, but I think it’s important to always maybe take a step back and recognize the work that’s been put in; sometimes we’re too focused on the next day, on the next goal, on the next assignment that we kind of get put on auto-pilot and it’s easy to stop appreciating the work you’ve put in when you’re in that mindset.
Moving forward, I’m going to do my best to slow down sometimes and pat myself on the back, because we should always be kind to ourselves first and foremost!
-Javi!
Jan. 26th, 2025
February 2025 Recap
Heyooo, it’s ya friendly neighborhood Javi!
Back with another blog post recapping everything that’s happened in the last month with my art, events, and looking towards the future for what’s to come – let’s not forget a little dash of life along the way, though!
February was a busy month, to say the least – a theme I hope to continue for the rest of the year. I actually got more done this month than I had in the month of January, but I surprisingly haven’t felt overwhelmed by anything… Yet. Some big thing came out of this month in terms of my art and comics, as well as local exposure in the art scene, and simply so much brewing in the background that it’s too early to reveal anything… Yet!
In this month, I’ve completed another 2 pieces – which were commissions for my nephews and ended up being a lot of fun to make, actually! Not only that, but I created a cover for my new book – more on that in a bit – and I also took that cover design to create a banner I’ll now have at events and a business card to go alongside it! Not only THAT, but I also designed beanies and hats for Apollo City Comics – which you should totally buy, by the way. NOT ONLY THAT, but Apollo City Comics is also launching a dual Kickstarter in March that I’ve been heavily involved in – so stay tuned for that! AND, NOT ONLY THAT, but the work has also finally continued on my solo on-going series with a preview to be ready for my events in March!
PHEW!
Oh, and how could I forget…
I WAS IN A LOCAL ARTICLE!
Shout out to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle for focusing on my career for a moment while I presented some of my recent works at the Portals of Love Gallery which was curated by Adrianna Bugarin (@bugzzz_z) at the Brooklyn Art Cave earlier this month!
You can check out the article here: Brooklyn Art Cave exhibition ‘Portals of Love’
As mentioned earlier, I made a cover for my book that I launched this month!
From the Pen to Your Eyes Pt. 1 is a re-work of my original zine, Tri-Forze #1 – at least, that’s what it started as. Eventually, I added two new stories to this book and somehow it ended up becoming an official Apollo City Comics publication! Available starting next month, readers will be able to take a journey through my career of making comics from all the way of 2019 to my recent works of 2025 – an anthology collection of stories I thought would never see the light of day, yet here they are. In my hands. And I couldn’t be any more ecstatic or proud of what I’ve achieved here. Thank you to my team at Apollo City Comics for always pushing and giving input and believing in me – couldn’t have done it without y’all.
Alright, enough sappy shit… Or maybe not, I don’t know.
In March, not only will From the Pen to Your Eyes Pt.1 be available, but two other Apollo City Comics anthologies will become available which I was heavily involved in!
Kick Out the Jams Motherfucker!! Music Anthology AND the One-Hitter: Cannabis Collection will be launching digitally in March with a one-week Kickstarter sprint alongside it to get it to print! Want more info? Well, stay tuned to my Instagram where I’ll be updating everyone on this as well as the future Apollo City Comics Discord server – yeah, it’s happening!
Lastly, I have events this month:
March 12th - Four Color Fantasies Tabling (Winchester, VA)
March 15th - Indie Comics Creator Convention “IC3” (New Have, CT)
March 20th to 23rd - BK Art Fest (Bushwick, NY)
This will be the first time I travel outside of New York for any event, and I’m anxious to say the least!
But I’ll let you guys know how it goes next month!
Until next time.
-Javi!
Feb. 23rd, 2025
...I thought would never see the light of day, yet here they are. In my hands. And I couldn’t be any more ecstatic or proud of what I’ve achieved here. Thank you to my team at Apollo City Comics for always pushing and giving input and believing in me – couldn’t have done it without y’all.
This month I had the pleasure and opportunity to meet a lot of my Apollo City friends in person. And honestly, using “friend” is putting it lightly.
I love my Apollo City family.
March 2025 Recap
Heyooo, it’s ya friendly neighborhood Javi!
Remember when I said February was a busy month for me?Remember when I said March was gonna be even busier? Remember when water bottlecaps used to be the size of soda bottle caps…? Ignore that last question…
March was insane, to say the least… But in a good way! Over the course of this month, I drew 6 separate pieces – 4 of them to be prints, 1 of them a commission, and the final to be a sticker! All these pieces will be available to be seen in my portfolio page here on the site or you can always tap into my IG and watch a lot of the behind-the-scenes/process of my pieces! Also, I finished the entire first 5 pages of my next book – To Verrsoon and Back – and made preview zines available to purchase at events! And can’t forget about the launch of From the Pen to Your Eyes Pt. 1 – My first solo book from Apollo City Comics! Oh! Let’s not also forget about the launch of the next two Apollo City Comics anthologies: our music anthology, Kick Out the Jams! And our stoner anthology, One-Hitters!
Insane, I know. And it doesn’t stop there!
This month I had the pleasure and opportunity to meet a lot of my Apollo City friends in person. And honestly, using “friend” is putting it lightly.
I love my Apollo City family.
Just had to say it! Anyways, I always had to fantasy of wanting to be in a band, and tour in a shitty van across the country. And over the course of 2 weeks, I got to fulfill the fantasy somewhat – minus the shitty van in replacement for a Kia Rio with tinted windows that smelled like blunt wraps. I got to go to Virgina where I tabled with Kai Brown, and Brandon Bloxdorf at Four Color Fantasies – an Image Comics Retailer Award winning shop! I spent some time in DC after that. From there, we went to Connecticut with Anton Blake, Eric Allred – who also scooped up Ben Collins – and so many more other industry friends to attend the Indie Comics Creator Con – or IC3 – and as my first official con it was a blast! I had so much fun hanging out with everyone, making new friends, discovering second-level basements, and slanging dat art!
After all that! I came back to New York where I had a few days off and did the BK Art Fest for all four days! My first time doing a 4-day event and it could not have gone any better! Was I tired? Yes. Did I barely get any sleep those nights? Yes. Was I insanely high for most of it? Duh. But it was such an amazing time where I got to meet some incredible people and make some meaningful connections! With how incredible the entire weekend went, you know damn well I’ll be back for the BK Art Fest: Summer Edition!
All in all, those 2 weeks of events fulfilled that tour life I always wanted to experience, and I loved every second of it. Goingback to work the following day was difficult as I was feeling some very intense post-concert depression, but more so post-event depression. Those 2 weeks were truly a glimpse of what my life can be and hopefully will be like in the future. The day I get to live my life simply doing event after event, kicking ass, meeting new people, and hanging out with friends – all the while making art? Yeah, I’m looking forward to it, to say the least!
So, what’s going on in April?
This month, first and foremost, you can expect to receive your Kickstarter rewards for Kick Out the Jams! And One-Hitters! That is IF you backed it, but of course you backed it… Right…? Right!?
Even if you didn’t, we’ll have copies of Kick Out the Jams and – hopefully – One Hitters at the next event we’re doing! Yes! I said “we!”
April 26th - 27th you’ll find meat the annual BICS – Brooklyn Independent Comics Showcase – event at St. MarksComics with, Brandon Bloxdorf and Lex Castellon! Apollo City Comics first appearaceat BICS! ACC x BICS! The best crossover since Barbenheimer! No hyperbole here!
This is the flyer I made for us with the given template!
Also, I’d be amiss to not shout-out Aynsley Leonardis (@yeslnyaleonardis) friend and coordinator of BICS! I met Aynsley through sheer coincidence and she motivated me to participate for BICS back in 2022 – the first one! I think about all the doors that have opened since, and to be tabling with my Apollo family this year at this event is a real full circle moment for me – I found Apollo City Comics through another creator at my first BICS in2022 and I am now tabling as an Apollo City Comics member for this 4thannual BICS event 3 years later!
Funny how life works sometimes, don’t you think?
Other quick updates for the month of April: It’s AHorror Show: Found Footage Anthology should be good to go this month! The bulk of the book has been formatted, and we’re just waiting on some final pages! I am taking on a new project and my first big collaboration with Kai Brown for an all-ages one-shot special issue! We have new Apollo City shirts - I mean... We do NOT have Apollo City shirts now ;). And I’ll be taking on the mantle of formatting one of the next Apollo titles – Soul Catchers!
Okay, enough yapping! I have to get back to work onthis super special commission! I’m extremely excited for you guys to check thisone out! And don’t forget! If any of you want a custom piece, just hit up yourfriendly neighborhood Javi!
Until next time.
-Javi!
March 30th, 2025
Moving forward, I’m going to do my best to slow down sometimes and pat myself on the back, because we should always be kind to ourselves first and foremost!
January 2025 Recap
Aaaand, here we go.
Welcome to my ramblings that I’ll be doing at the end of every month!
Here I’ll talk about the latest updates on some of my works, events coming up, recaps on future trips, and maybe some unwarranted life advice from your friendly neighborhood Javi!
That said, we’ve reached the end of the first month of2025 and while I thought I was probably going to take a break this month, Inadvertently got myself involved in a plethora of projects. Enough so that I came home on a Friday after work feeling so overwhelmed I made myself a to-do list for the month in my journal, looked at the list, and passed out by 9:30pm.
If you keep up with my Instagram, you’ll know that I’ve already completed 3 pieces this month, started a 4th, and am signed up for a gallery on February 7th-9th now! That’s what’s out there on my page, but on top of that I’m working on updating my zine “Triforze #1,” I’ve enlisted myself to format the next 2 Apollo City Comics anthologies, and I’ve been making plans to do a little “book tour” in March –but more on that in the following month!
To focus on the now, I’ve completed 2 pieces in preparation for my first gallery of the year at the Brooklyn Art Cave! It’ll be for the Portals of Love Gallery curated by Adriana Bugarin (@bugzzz_z) on February 7th – 9th! It’ll consist of a total of 26 artists and opening night will have live musical performances, as well! As you can tell by the name of the gallery, it’s love-themed just in time for Valentines! I have my pieces that I completed for the gallery here on my site as well as some process videos on my Instagram! If you’re interested in buying a print and seeing the art in person, then come out to the Portals of Love Gallery!
Tickets here: "Portal of Love" Opening night | Brooklyn Art Cave
Before sitting down to write this, I actually went through my to-do list and noticed how much of it was checked off. I recently had to remind myself as well this month – looking at my art books that I’ve now filled over the course of the last 5 years – that I should try to slow down sometimes and smell the roses. Not that I feel burnt out or anything, but I think it’s important to always maybe take a step back and recognize the work that’s been put in; sometimes we’re too focused on the next day, on the next goal, on the next assignment that we kind of get put on auto-pilot and it’s easy to stop appreciating the work you’ve put in when you’re in that mindset.
Moving forward, I’m going to do my best to slow down sometimes and pat myself on the back, because we should always be kind to ourselves first and foremost!
-Javi!
Jan. 26th, 2025
...I thought would never see the light of day, yet here they are. In my hands. And I couldn’t be any more ecstatic or proud of what I’ve achieved here. Thank you to my team at Apollo City Comics for always pushing and giving input and believing in me – couldn’t have done it without y’all.
February 2025 Recap
Heyooo, it’s ya friendly neighborhood Javi!
Back with another blog post recapping everything that’s happened in the last month with my art, events, and looking towards the future for what’s to come – let’s not forget a little dash of life along the way, though!
February was a busy month, to say the least – a theme I hope to continue for the rest of the year. I actually got more done this month than I had in the month of January, but I surprisingly haven’t felt overwhelmed by anything… Yet. Some big thing came out of this month in terms of my art and comics, as well as local exposure in the art scene, and simply so much brewing in the background that it’s too early to reveal anything… Yet!
In this month, I’ve completed another 2 pieces – which were commissions for my nephews and ended up being a lot of fun to make, actually! Not only that, but I created a cover for my new book – more on that in a bit – and I also took that cover design to create a banner I’ll now have at events and a business card to go alongside it! Not only THAT, but I also designed beanies and hats for Apollo City Comics – which you should totally buy, by the way. NOT ONLY THAT, but Apollo City Comics is also launching a dual Kickstarter in March that I’ve been heavily involved in – so stay tuned for that! AND, NOT ONLY THAT, but the work has also finally continued on my solo on-going series with a preview to be ready for my events in March!
PHEW!
Oh, and how could I forget…
I WAS IN A LOCAL ARTICLE!
Shout out to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle for focusing on my career for a moment while I presented some of my recent works at the Portals of Love Gallery which was curated by Adrianna Bugarin (@bugzzz_z) at the Brooklyn Art Cave earlier this month!
You can check out the article here: Brooklyn Art Cave exhibition ‘Portals of Love’
As mentioned earlier, I made a cover for my book that I launched this month!
From the Pen to Your Eyes Pt. 1 is a re-work of my original zine, Tri-Forze #1 – at least, that’s what it started as. Eventually, I added two new stories to this book and somehow it ended up becoming an official Apollo City Comics publication! Available starting next month, readers will be able to take a journey through my career of making comics from all the way of 2019 to my recent works of 2025 – an anthology collection of stories I thought would never see the light of day, yet here they are. In my hands. And I couldn’t be any more ecstatic or proud of what I’ve achieved here. Thank you to my team at Apollo City Comics for always pushing and giving input and believing in me – couldn’t have done it without y’all.
Alright, enough sappy shit… Or maybe not, I don’t know.
In March, not only will From the Pen to Your Eyes Pt.1 be available, but two other Apollo City Comics anthologies will become available which I was heavily involved in!
Kick Out the Jams Motherfucker!! Music Anthology AND the One-Hitter: Cannabis Collection will be launching digitally in March with a one-week Kickstarter sprint alongside it to get it to print! Want more info? Well, stay tuned to my Instagram where I’ll be updating everyone on this as well as the future Apollo City Comics Discord server – yeah, it’s happening!
Lastly, I have events this month:
March 12th - Four Color Fantasies Tabling (Winchester, VA)
March 15th - Indie Comics Creator Convention “IC3” (New Have, CT)
March 20th to 23rd - BK Art Fest (Bushwick, NY)
This will be the first time I travel outside of New York for any event, and I’m anxious to say the least!
But I’ll let you guys know how it goes next month!
Until next time.
-Javi!
Feb. 23rd, 2025
This month I had the pleasure and opportunity to meet a lot of my Apollo City friends in person. And honestly, using “friend” is putting it lightly.
I love my Apollo City family.
March 2025 Recap
Heyooo, it’s ya friendly neighborhood Javi!
Remember when I said February was a busy month for me? Remember when I said March was gonna be even busier? Remember when water bottlecaps used to be the size of soda bottle caps…? Ignore that last question…
March was insane, to say the least… But in a good way! Over the course of this month, I drew 6 separate pieces – 4 of them to be prints, 1 of them a commission, and the final to be a sticker! All these pieces will be available to be seen in my portfolio page here on the site or you can always tap into my IG and watch a lot of the behind-the-scenes/process of my pieces! Also, I finished the entire first 5 pages of my next book – To Verrsoon and Back – and made preview zines available to purchase at events! And can’t forget about the launch of From the Pen to Your Eyes Pt. 1 – My first solo book from Apollo City Comics! Oh! Let’s not also forget about the launch of the next two Apollo City Comics anthologies: our music anthology, Kick Out the Jams! And our stoner anthology, One-Hitters!
Insane, I know. And it doesn’t stop there!
This month I had the pleasure and opportunity to meet a lot of my Apollo City friends in person. And honestly, using “friend” is putting it lightly.
I love my Apollo City family.
Just had to say it! Anyways, I always had to fantasy of wanting to be in a band, and tour in a shitty van across the country. And over the course of 2 weeks, I got to fulfill the fantasy somewhat – minus the shitty van in replacement for a Kia Rio with tinted windows that smelled like blunt wraps. I got to go to Virgina where I tabled with Kai Brown, and Brandon Bloxdorf at Four Color Fantasies – an Image Comics Retailer Award winning shop! I spent some time in DC after that. From there, we went to Connecticut with Anton Blake, Eric Allred – who also scooped up Ben Collins – and so many more other industry friends to attend the Indie Comics Creator Con – or IC3 – and as my first official con it was a blast! I had so much fun hanging out with everyone, making new friends, discovering second-level basements, and slanging dat art!
After all that! I came back to New York where I had a few days off and did the BK Art Fest for all four days! My first time doing a 4-day event and it could not have gone any better! Was I tired? Yes. Did I barely get any sleep those nights? Yes. Was I insanely high for most of it? Duh. But it was such an amazing time where I got to meet some incredible people and make some meaningful connections! With how incredible the entire weekend went, you know damn well I’ll be back for the BK Art Fest: Summer Edition!
All in all, those 2 weeks of events fulfilled that tour life I always wanted to experience, and I loved every second of it. Goingback to work the following day was difficult as I was feeling some very intense post-concert depression, but more so post-event depression. Those 2 weeks were truly a glimpse of what my life can be and hopefully will be like in the future. The day I get to live my life simply doing event after event, kicking ass, meeting new people, and hanging out with friends – all the while making art? Yeah, I’m looking forward to it, to say the least!
So, what’s going on in April?
This month, first and foremost, you can expect to receive your Kickstarter rewards for Kick Out the Jams! And One-Hitters! That is IF you backed it, but of course you backed it… Right…? Right!?
Even if you didn’t, we’ll have copies of Kick Out the Jams and – hopefully – One Hitters at the next event we’re doing! Yes! I said “we!”
April 26th - 27th you’ll find meat the annual BICS – Brooklyn Independent Comics Showcase – event at St. MarksComics with, Brandon Bloxdorf and Lex Castellon! Apollo City Comics first appearaceat BICS! ACC x BICS! The best crossover since Barbenheimer! No hyperbole here!
This is the flyer I made for us with the given template!
Also, I’d be amiss to not shout-out Aynsley Leonardis (@yeslnyaleonardis) friend and coordinator of BICS! I met Aynsley through sheer coincidence and she motivated me to participate for BICS back in 2022 – the first one! I think about all the doors that have opened since, and to be tabling with my Apollo family this year at this event is a real full circle moment for me – I found Apollo City Comics through another creator at my first BICS in2022 and I am now tabling as an Apollo City Comics member for this 4thannual BICS event 3 years later!
Funny how life works sometimes, don’t you think?
Other quick updates for the month of April: It’s A Horror Show: Found Footage Anthology should be good to go this month! The bulk of the book has been formatted, and we’re just waiting on some final pages! I am taking on a new project and my first big collaboration with Kai Brown for an all-ages one-shot special issue! We have new Apollo City shirts - I mean... We do NOT have Apollo City shirts now ;). And I’ll be taking on the mantle of formatting one of the next Apollo titles – Soul Catchers!
Okay, enough yapping! I have to get back to work on this super special commission! I’m extremely excited for you guys to check this one out! And don’t forget! If any of you want a custom piece, just hit up your friendly neighborhood Javi!
Until next time.