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:''This article refers to El Muerto the independent comic book. For the film, see: El Muerto (film). For other uses, see: El Muerto (disambiguation)''
'El Muerto' ('El Muerto: The Aztec Zombie') is a fictional superhero created by Javier Hernandez and published in by his independent company Los Comex.The comic-book follows the story of 21-year-old Mexican-American Diego de la Muerte, who is abducted and sacrificed by the Aztec gods of death and destiny only to return to earth one year later with supernatural powers.
El Muerto was born Juan Diego de la Muerte, and grew up in Whittier, California. His friends simply referred to him by his middle name, Diego.
As a small child, Diego developed a fascination with the holiday of Dia de Los Muertos ("''Day of the Dead''") after watching a film titled "''Los Muertos Tambien Lloran''" ("''The Dead Also Cry''"). The film involved a man who returns from the dead on the holiday to visit his wife. When the clock is just about to turn midnight, the man decides he could no longer bear the pain of leaving his wife again. In an act of desperation, the man kills his wife thinking they can exist together in the afterlife. However, when she dies the man begins to whither away and turn to dust as there is no one living who can keep his memory alive.
About a year after seeing the film, Diego met his best friend, Issac "Zak" Silver. Zak was also a fan of the film and developed a growing interest in the Day of the Dead along with Diego. A secret pact was made between the two and they created an "Afterlife Contract" vowing that whomever should die first will visit the other and in turn the other would keep the visitor's memory alive.
The film also sparked Diego's interest in Mexican art, history, and mythology. He would spend a number of hours at Pre-Columbian museums and exhibits, learning just about everything there is to know about the subject.
When Diego became older, he became an altar boy at his church and held the longest uninterrupted service record at St. Mary's. Despite his beliefs, the study of Aztec mythology often led him to question his own religion. Leading him to wonder what the Aztecs thought when their ancient gods were replaced by the beliefs of the Spaniards. He would avoid the topic by telling himself that "''This was just the way things were''" and resumed being a "''faithful servant''".
Diego became 21-years-old on November 2 and wanted to have as much fun as possible- despite the fact his girlfriend of eight months had just broken up with him. Anticipating a local Dia de Los Muertos festival, Diego dons the guise of an undead Mariachi. He also applies the traditional facial markings to give himself a ghoulish look. He even got a tattoo of a calavera skull on his left arm to celebrate the occasion.
His tattoo was inspired from an Aztec temple bearing the same design. After getting the tattoo, Diego eagerly calls his friends to see if they are to celebrate at the upcoming festival. Unfortunately, his friends were busy on that particular night and had to "flake-out". Zak had become terribly ill but out of friendship lent his car to Diego for the evening.
Undiscouraged, Diego planned to have the best time possible at the festival. Unbeknownst to Diego, the tattoo he marked himself with is actually an ancient Aztec symbol of death. While driving his friend's car to the festival, the vehicle is struck by lightning and crashes into a tree- ending his life on this world.
He soon awakened in Mictlan to meet the Aztec god of death Mictlantecuhtli and the Aztec god of dreams Tezcatlipoca. It was there the god of death sacrificed Diego in an ancient ritual in which his heart was ripped out with an obsidian blade. Mictlantecuhtli then placed the still beating heart in a clay pot and permanently seared Diego's facial markings to his flesh. Soon after his horrific ordeal, Diego is cast back to earth via lightning bolt, exactly one year after his death.
And so Diego de la Muerte was reborn as El Muerto. His costume once intended for fun is now his permanent appearance. Realizing his family and friends have already mourned him, he finally concludes that it is best to leave his hometown and hitches a ride to the Mexican border in search of answers.
As of yet, little has been revealed of Diego's supernatural powers other than he has the ability to give life or take it away. Fans eagerly await the next installment and further issues of the comic to get a better understanding of his true powers.
El Muerto's beginnings occurred sometime in the early 90's and was originally intended to be part of a group of Mexican-American super heroes. Javier Hernandez had described it as something along the lines of a "''Latino JLA''". It was later that Hernandez scrapped the idea and focused mainly on the character El Muerto. The strange supernatural powers that he had planned on giving his creation were toned down and his almost feral look became gentler.
El Muerto's first public appearance was in 1998 at the Alternative Press Expo in San Jose, CA. His debut comic was titled "'Daze of the Dead: The Numero Uno Edition'" and was a in a xeroxed in a black in white format. At the same time, Hernandez brought along his newly printed newsletter "The Border". He later toured the Numero Uno Edition for a year in places like the Wondercon and San Diego Comic Con. El Muerto was a success and appeared in several publications throughout the years. For a time, the title was printed under an independent imprint created by Hernandez and a few close friends called Big Umbrella. Unfortunately, the imprint ran in to some financial issues and disbanded sometime in 2003. According to Hernandez:
Despite the break-up however, the indie comic-book creators still remain close friends and often collaborate on their independent works.
Currently, Javier is finishing the official sequel, "'Dead & Confused'" coinciding with the release of the live-action movie based on the comic, starring Wilmer Valderrama. In 2008, the comic will be celebrating its 10th anniversary.
''Original article: El Muerto (film)''
El Muerto is soon to be a released live-action film starring Wilmer Valderrama as its lead. The film also holds the talents of such seasoned performers as Michael Parks, Tony Plana, Billy Drago, and Maria Conchita Alonso. The official premiere to the public was on March 1, 2007 at the Latino Film Festival in San Diego, California. Stars Angie Cepeda and Tony Plana were present at the event as well as creator Javier Hernandez. The film will be released on DVD on September 19, 2007 with bonus features including an original mini-comic.
Due to online film announcements, those unfamiliar with the comic criticized that the main character's guise too closely resembles that of The Crow. The similarity was noted in an interview:
"''Yeah, they’re both dead. A lot of dead guys in comics. The Spectre. The Spirit. Anyway, visually it’s got the white face and the black suit. But if you look at the Day of the Dead folklore, people paint the skull-face on them[selves], and then the black Mariachi was just a stylish element.''"
And further noted in an interview at JoBlo.com:
"''Well, I've heard initial Crow comparisons online, and I can understand that based on a visual basis. But our story, drawing from Mexican folklore and Aztec mythology, is about a guy getting abducted by the gods of death and destiny, and fighting against their will. And his look is inspired directly from the Dia de los Muertos celebrations.''"
★ http://www.elmuerto.com
★ http://www.superherohype.com
★ El Muerto at efavata.com
★ Javier Hernandez, Interview at KAOS2000 Magazine
★ ''El Muerto on My Mind'', ''Dos Mil'', and ''El Muerto King Size Issue'' by Javier Hernandez
★ http://www.elmuerto.com 'Official Online Gravesite'
★ http://www.elmuertomovie.com 'Official Movie Site'
★
★ "I AM EL MUERTO" Animated Short by friend, Carlos Saldaňa
★ Podcast Interview at smallworldpodcast.com
'El Muerto' ('El Muerto: The Aztec Zombie') is a fictional superhero created by Javier Hernandez and published in by his independent company Los Comex.The comic-book follows the story of 21-year-old Mexican-American Diego de la Muerte, who is abducted and sacrificed by the Aztec gods of death and destiny only to return to earth one year later with supernatural powers.
| Contents |
| Fictional Character Biography |
| Early life |
| "Daze of the Dead" |
| Powers/Abilities |
| Creation/Publication History |
| Film |
| References |
| External links |
| Interviews |
Fictional Character Biography
Early life
El Muerto was born Juan Diego de la Muerte, and grew up in Whittier, California. His friends simply referred to him by his middle name, Diego.
As a small child, Diego developed a fascination with the holiday of Dia de Los Muertos ("''Day of the Dead''") after watching a film titled "''Los Muertos Tambien Lloran''" ("''The Dead Also Cry''"). The film involved a man who returns from the dead on the holiday to visit his wife. When the clock is just about to turn midnight, the man decides he could no longer bear the pain of leaving his wife again. In an act of desperation, the man kills his wife thinking they can exist together in the afterlife. However, when she dies the man begins to whither away and turn to dust as there is no one living who can keep his memory alive.
About a year after seeing the film, Diego met his best friend, Issac "Zak" Silver. Zak was also a fan of the film and developed a growing interest in the Day of the Dead along with Diego. A secret pact was made between the two and they created an "Afterlife Contract" vowing that whomever should die first will visit the other and in turn the other would keep the visitor's memory alive.
The film also sparked Diego's interest in Mexican art, history, and mythology. He would spend a number of hours at Pre-Columbian museums and exhibits, learning just about everything there is to know about the subject.
When Diego became older, he became an altar boy at his church and held the longest uninterrupted service record at St. Mary's. Despite his beliefs, the study of Aztec mythology often led him to question his own religion. Leading him to wonder what the Aztecs thought when their ancient gods were replaced by the beliefs of the Spaniards. He would avoid the topic by telling himself that "''This was just the way things were''" and resumed being a "''faithful servant''".
"Daze of the Dead"
Diego became 21-years-old on November 2 and wanted to have as much fun as possible- despite the fact his girlfriend of eight months had just broken up with him. Anticipating a local Dia de Los Muertos festival, Diego dons the guise of an undead Mariachi. He also applies the traditional facial markings to give himself a ghoulish look. He even got a tattoo of a calavera skull on his left arm to celebrate the occasion.
''Diego's ''calavera'' tattoo.''
His tattoo was inspired from an Aztec temple bearing the same design. After getting the tattoo, Diego eagerly calls his friends to see if they are to celebrate at the upcoming festival. Unfortunately, his friends were busy on that particular night and had to "flake-out". Zak had become terribly ill but out of friendship lent his car to Diego for the evening.
Undiscouraged, Diego planned to have the best time possible at the festival. Unbeknownst to Diego, the tattoo he marked himself with is actually an ancient Aztec symbol of death. While driving his friend's car to the festival, the vehicle is struck by lightning and crashes into a tree- ending his life on this world.
He soon awakened in Mictlan to meet the Aztec god of death Mictlantecuhtli and the Aztec god of dreams Tezcatlipoca. It was there the god of death sacrificed Diego in an ancient ritual in which his heart was ripped out with an obsidian blade. Mictlantecuhtli then placed the still beating heart in a clay pot and permanently seared Diego's facial markings to his flesh. Soon after his horrific ordeal, Diego is cast back to earth via lightning bolt, exactly one year after his death.
And so Diego de la Muerte was reborn as El Muerto. His costume once intended for fun is now his permanent appearance. Realizing his family and friends have already mourned him, he finally concludes that it is best to leave his hometown and hitches a ride to the Mexican border in search of answers.
Powers/Abilities
As of yet, little has been revealed of Diego's supernatural powers other than he has the ability to give life or take it away. Fans eagerly await the next installment and further issues of the comic to get a better understanding of his true powers.
Creation/Publication History
El Muerto's beginnings occurred sometime in the early 90's and was originally intended to be part of a group of Mexican-American super heroes. Javier Hernandez had described it as something along the lines of a "''Latino JLA''". It was later that Hernandez scrapped the idea and focused mainly on the character El Muerto. The strange supernatural powers that he had planned on giving his creation were toned down and his almost feral look became gentler.
El Muerto's first public appearance was in 1998 at the Alternative Press Expo in San Jose, CA. His debut comic was titled "'Daze of the Dead: The Numero Uno Edition'" and was a in a xeroxed in a black in white format. At the same time, Hernandez brought along his newly printed newsletter "The Border". He later toured the Numero Uno Edition for a year in places like the Wondercon and San Diego Comic Con. El Muerto was a success and appeared in several publications throughout the years. For a time, the title was printed under an independent imprint created by Hernandez and a few close friends called Big Umbrella. Unfortunately, the imprint ran in to some financial issues and disbanded sometime in 2003. According to Hernandez:
Despite the break-up however, the indie comic-book creators still remain close friends and often collaborate on their independent works.
Currently, Javier is finishing the official sequel, "'Dead & Confused'" coinciding with the release of the live-action movie based on the comic, starring Wilmer Valderrama. In 2008, the comic will be celebrating its 10th anniversary.
Film
''Original article: El Muerto (film)''
''Wilmer Valderrama as El Muerto''
El Muerto is soon to be a released live-action film starring Wilmer Valderrama as its lead. The film also holds the talents of such seasoned performers as Michael Parks, Tony Plana, Billy Drago, and Maria Conchita Alonso. The official premiere to the public was on March 1, 2007 at the Latino Film Festival in San Diego, California. Stars Angie Cepeda and Tony Plana were present at the event as well as creator Javier Hernandez. The film will be released on DVD on September 19, 2007 with bonus features including an original mini-comic.
Due to online film announcements, those unfamiliar with the comic criticized that the main character's guise too closely resembles that of The Crow. The similarity was noted in an interview:
"''Yeah, they’re both dead. A lot of dead guys in comics. The Spectre. The Spirit. Anyway, visually it’s got the white face and the black suit. But if you look at the Day of the Dead folklore, people paint the skull-face on them[selves], and then the black Mariachi was just a stylish element.''"
And further noted in an interview at JoBlo.com:
"''Well, I've heard initial Crow comparisons online, and I can understand that based on a visual basis. But our story, drawing from Mexican folklore and Aztec mythology, is about a guy getting abducted by the gods of death and destiny, and fighting against their will. And his look is inspired directly from the Dia de los Muertos celebrations.''"
References
★ http://www.elmuerto.com
★ http://www.superherohype.com
★ El Muerto at efavata.com
★ Javier Hernandez, Interview at KAOS2000 Magazine
★ ''El Muerto on My Mind'', ''Dos Mil'', and ''El Muerto King Size Issue'' by Javier Hernandez
External links
★ http://www.elmuerto.com 'Official Online Gravesite'
★ http://www.elmuertomovie.com 'Official Movie Site'
★
★ "I AM EL MUERTO" Animated Short by friend, Carlos Saldaňa
Interviews
★ Podcast Interview at smallworldpodcast.com
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psst.. try this: add to faves
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