NEWSLETTER 11: (is it?) Make them COMICS son.
Life’s a mess, but we make comics anyway. Hustle, art, and absurdity—read the latest on FWACATA! ⚡👉
Hello from the desert plains of El Paso, where the sun is an oppressive landlord and the wind personally delivers sand to every crevice of your body. You ever had sand in your ass and nowhere near a beach? What the fuck is that? It’s the desert, fucker.
Between teaching, hustling, and trying to make "ends meet" (which, as a kid, I thought was "making the ends meat"—like you had to go out and hunt your own damn dinner), life has been an endless cycle of trying to get shit done while not losing my mind. And lately? I’ve been handling my shit with an almost Zen-like detachment.
Case in point: my ongoing battle with the college’s Financial Aid and Business Office. Long story short, they royally screwed me over. Like, "consulting legal discourse" levels of screwed over. Old me would have lost my shit, maybe flipped a desk, screamed into the void. But this time? I choked down my bile, took a deep breath, and let it go. Not in a passive, defeated way—more like, "Okay, universe, you win this round, but I’m still making my comics, still teaching, still moving forward." Because unless I was about to go full medieval and start collecting heads, what else was I gonna do?
That’s the thing: life is too fucking short. You can either marinate in anger or laugh at the absurdity and go get a sandwich. Maybe try those new PB&J M&Ms. Live a little.
Speaking of exhaustion, I crashed the other day—14 hours of sleep, mummified in my sheets after running on fumes for weeks. Between college, teaching, making art, and just existing, my body was like, "Nah, we’re shutting this shit down." And you know what? Good. Sometimes, you need to pause before you short-circuit.
Because here’s the deal: You don’t need your pareja—you need amor (and maybe someone who actually texts back). You don’t need your jale—you need to feel secure, like knowing your fridge isn’t just hosting last week’s takeout and existential dread. You don’t need to be bello, cool, or más popular than Bad Bunny—you just need to feel appreciated, like when your abuelita calls you "mi rey" even though you’re 40 and still figuring life out.
I saw a meme the other day about Generation X, saying we turned 30 at the age of 10 and now, at 50, we think we’re still 30. Not wrong. Time is a weird thing. When I sit and let my mind wander, I realize how many stories have piled up—how much life has stacked itself like unread books on a dusty shelf. And then there’s the whole "Xennial" thing—those of us born between 1978-1983, caught between the analog childhood and the digital revolution. We were the last ones to grow up without the internet and the first ones to build our lives around it. We’re walking contradictions—nostalgic but forward-thinking, grumpy but hopeful, tired but relentless.
And maybe that’s the key: vulnerability. The willingness to be hurt or judged for your thoughts and feelings. It’s not weakness; it’s strength. It’s what fuels storytelling, connection, and, most importantly—
It’s what makes motherfucking comics.
So stop worrying, stop waiting, stop overthinking. Make the thing. Make the story. Make the art. Make the comics.
Because life is too short not to.
Current political mindset:
So yeah speaking of growth:
NEW ART TO THE FACE sketchbook is up for February, check it out on the Patreon or at the upcoming links
Also at DRIVE THRU COMICS: https://www.drivethrucomics.com/en/product/513691/art-to-the-face-february-2025-0014
Or at GLOBAL COMIX! https://globalcomix.com/read/275e72b0-0573-4a0c-bbe2-5106d209c0ad/1?utm_source=Link&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=art-to-the-face-&utm_term=GCRID_109723
March Sketchbook should be out soon.
I'm also writing daily when I can move on to my old WordPress. I forgot that I have about 3,000 followers there. Sheesh. Check it out here
I’m back at it doing Livestreams on Whatnot/Youtube and trying to make more work. I may have some time on my hands soon that I want to use to get that rolling harder and get some stuff out to you all. Aiming for Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays at 7pm MTN time, with Friday’s maybe going late. THATS THE PLAN anyway. Here tune in:
Follow me on Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@FWACATA to be up to donate or on Whatnot https://www.whatnot.com/user/fwacata to purchase though you can always go to FWACATA.com and hit me up via e-mail for any commission or freelance work.
There is an early rumbling of an idea of doing a live on SUBSTACK for people there but I need to see if that is really worthwhile. What do you guys think?
I’m also laying stuff out on EBAY to sell, this can be older bits of art and it’s of my fanboy salvage side hustle I try to work in here and there, Hialeah Trading company https://www.ebay.com/usr/hialeahtradingcompany
I need one of these, I swear
Other than all that, FWACATA #3 is almost done I have to do just a bit of coloring and then lay it out. I do have a cover to finish but have two freelance projects in front on my drawing schedule to do before all that.
And that’s it, cabrones.
Life keeps throwing punches, but we bob, weave, and keep moving. Whether it’s college bureaucracy, the grind of teaching, or the never-ending hustle of making art, the goal stays the same: make the damn comics.
Because at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about—turning all this chaos, frustration, and absurdity into something real. Something that speaks. Something that lasts.
So go make your thing. Chase your story. Hustle hard. And if it all goes to hell? Laugh, grab a sandwich, and get back to work.
Catch you on the next one.
BE GOOD.