Today we’d like to introduce you to Jorge Santiago.
Hi Jorge, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m originally from El Paso, Texas where I fell in love with telling stories. I ended up leaving home for Atlanta, GA to earn my MFA in Sequential Art from the Savannah College of Art in Design. Since then, I’ve been working on comics and other graphic novels, both self published and with teams. I’m most well known for my work on Spencer & Locke with David Pepose, which was nominated for 2 Ringo Comic Book Awards, and my webcomic Curse of the Eel, which has over 1.3 million views on the webcomic service, Tapas.
I’ve also been working part time as a professor at Kennesaw State University, where I’ve had the great joy to help future artists on the path to achieving their artistic dreams.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Making a living in art is a tricky but rewarding one. I’ve had my fair share of setbacks though: rejection letters from agents, cancellation of ambitious projects, lack of funding, etc. It’s not easy to make a living doing what you love, but it’s important to find and seek out opportunities when they appear.
It is all worth it though, when someone tells me how much I love a story that I’ve created. It’s a joy I wouldn’t have known in any other path, so it’s been great; despite the challenges.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a writer as well as illustrator, focusing on comics and graphic novels. I’m known for my webcomic Curse of the Eel, which was the work I began for my Master’s Thesis for my MFA. While I have worked with writers before, I love being able to blend the story and art together myself and much prefer to work with writers that are open to collaboration with the writing duties.
I’m most proud of my storytelling first and my drawing skill second. I’ve spent a lot of time studying comics, animation, and films, and I really love adapting those techniques into my comics to make them more cinematic and to bring the audience more into the story. I also really enjoy using the strengths of comics to tell the story in ways that other media cannot. Comics are the most fun storytelling media to me, and I love the puzzle of piecing the narrative together.
I think what sets me apart from others in comics is my storytelling, especially in comic panels. I put a lot of thought into my layouts and chapters so that they read easily while also being fun and exciting.
Any big plans?
I want to keep writing and drawing my own comics, although I do plan to try out Kickstarters in the future. I’d like to reach a wider audience if possible, and that level of crowd funding is a good way to do it.
Also, probably a lot more fantasy comics. I just finished part one of a new story and I love it so much.
Pricing:
- Curse of the Eel volumes are 20$ each
- Honor Bound Ch 1 = 10$
- Rare Drops volume 1 = 15$
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.jorgesantiagojr.com/ and https://www.patreon.com/jorgesantiagojr
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jorgesantiagojr/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jorge-santiago-82a326a5/
- Twitter: https://x.com/jorgesantiagojr
Image Credits
Art and story by Jorge Santiago Jr
