Carlo Quispe’s journey through comics began across three continents, absorbing a rich mix of Latin American satire, European humor, and American indie and mainstream styles. This global blend of influences shaped his unique voice as a cartoonist and editor. In this conversation with interviewer Anthony Andujar Jr., Quispe reflects on how his background fuels his creative work and community-driven storytelling.
Interviewee: Carlo Quispe
Interviewer: Anthony Andujar Jr
Q1: Who were your influences within the field and medium of comics?
CQ: I grew up in Peru in South America and also Spain for a few years before coming to the US in the 1990s, so imagine the variety of comics I was exposed to even before being a teenager. Here are some that I remember the most, but I feel bad that I’m gonna forget to mention someone. There are many excellent editorial cartoonists I like, like Julio Polar and Carlin in Peruvian newspapers and magazines from the 70s and 80s, like Monos & Monadas, as well as comic strips like Mafalda by Quino (from Argentina), Condorito by Pepo (from Chile), and El Submundo De Maicol by Raf (Peru). In Spain, there are great humor magazines and comic strips from the 80s that I love, like SuperLopez by Jan, Superu Humor Comics by Ediciones B, and related characters like Mortadelo & Filemon by Francisco Ibanez, Anacleto by Vasquez, Zipi & Zape by Escobar, Disney comics like Mickey Mouse or Donald Duck and his Duck family. Also in Spain, there are translations of the most famous European comics like Hergé’s Tintin and Jo, Zette & Jocko, Peyo’s Smurfs, Lucky Lucke by Morris, and lots of illustrated classics. I even loved the photo-novella style comics made by the Barbie magazine, which were shot by commercial photographers.
When I came to the US in the early 90’s I prefered to read the comic strips in the paper, at the time Charles Shultz was still alive and making Peanuts comics everyday, Mutts by Patrick McDonald, Garfield by Jim Davies, The Far Side by Gary Larson, Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Watterson, Doonesbury by Gary Trudeau, Cathy by Cathy Gusisewite, Ziggy by Tom Wilson, For Better Or Worse by Lynn Johnston and then there’s comics strips in alternative papers, like Zippy The Pinhead by Bill Griffith, Underworld by Kaz, Tom The Dancing Bug by Ruben Bolling and comics by Ted Rall, Lynda Berry and Matt Groening. I loved Bongo (Simpsons) comics, the TNMT and Marvel comics, I read Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and X-Men. Then I switched to Image comics, I read early 90’s Wizard Magazine, I read Spawn by Todd McFarlane, Savage Dragon by Eric Larsen, Wildcats, Stormwatch, and Gen 13 by Jim Lee, The Maxx by Sam Keith, and Youngblood by Rob Liefield.
Dennis Kitchen, Matt Madden, Robin Chapman, Kat Fajardo, Peter K Chung, Roz Chast, Christoph Newman, Shannon Wheeler, Simon Bisley, Isabella Bannerman, Diego Avendano, Ingo Giezendanner, Thomas Ott, Joe Murray, Bcalla, Moebius, David Kelly, Victor Hodge, Diego Gomez, Mannie Murphy, ET Russian, Tamara Avery, Julio Salgado, Glenn Head, Evan Dorkin, Joan Cordella, Mike Judge, Amy Mann, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, Gary Baseman, Steve Rude, JJ Sedelmaier, Tony Millionaire, Michael Allred, Barbara Slate, Max Schullman, AA Bronson, Andy Warhol, Erykah Badu, Kembra Pfahler, Brent Engstrom, Chitra Ganesh, Raul De Nieves, Motohiro Hayakawa, Joey Terril, Carolina Johnson and others I am forgetting.
When I went to SVA (School of Visual Arts) to study comics in 1996, I was mentored by veteran cartoonists Joe Orlando (EC Comics) and Carmine Infantino (DC Comics). I was obsessed with Sergio Aragones and MAD magazine, EC comics like Tales From The Crypt and Weird Science, Heavy Metal Magazine and early comics strips like Krazy Kat by George Herriman, Popeye by EC Segar, Gasoline Alley by Frank King, Corto Maltese by Hugo Pratt, Nancy by Ernie Bushmiller, Marge’s Little Lulu and early Peanuts by Charles Shultz. I got into Japanese Manga by Osamu Tezuka, Katsuhiro Otomo and Masamune Shirow. I read comics by David Lapham, Frank Miller, Alan Moore, Arthur Adams, Geoff Darrow, Paul Chadwick, Paul Pope, Jessica Abel, Peter Bagge, Jim Woodring, Ben Edlund, Bob Burden, among others.
As I developed at SVA, I was also mentored by experimental cartoonists like Jerry Moriarty, Keith Meyerson, and Thomas Woodroof. I got into Canadian comics like books by Seth, Chester Brown, Joe Matt, and Julie Doucet. I got into the indie comics like Love & Rockets by the Hernandez brothers, Eightball by Daniel Clowes, Acme Novelty Library by Chris Ware, I collected comic books by Gary Panter, Kim Deitch, Robert Crumb, and Weirdo Magazine, Ever Meulen, Al Hirshfeld, Saul Steinberg, Art Spiegelman, and RAW. I got into underground and psychedelic comics, and I read The Comics Journal in the late 90s.
Later I got into underground publications by the LGBT community like Gay Comix, Hand Jobs and Meat Men comics by Howard Cruse, Jennifer Camper, Han, Donelan, Ralf Konig, Al Shapiro, Tom of Finland, Ivan Velez Jr. ( who also wrote comics for Marvel and DC Milestone comics like Static and Blood Syndicate), Eric Orner, Roberta Gregory, Jerry Mills, Jeffrey Krell, Andy Mangels, Tim Barella, Justin Hall, Rupert Kinnard, Diane Di Massa, Robert Kirby, Robert Triptow, Jon Macy, Alison Bechdel and others.
My post-grad work was at the small animation studio The Ink Tank. I worked for New Yorker cartoonist and animator R.O.Blechman, making cartoons for commercials and television. In the early 2000’s I became a contributor and editor of a political comics collective called WW3 Illustrated, founded in 1979 by Seth Tobocman and MAD Magazine’s Peter Kuper, also editors of their publication. I came of age reading the comics by David Wojnarowicz, Mike Diana, Sandy Jimenez, Sabrina Jones, Mac McGill, Sue Coe, Sue Simensky Bietilla, Chris Cardinale, Nicole Schullman, and others published in WW3 Illustrated, still in publication.
In 2010, art-book publisher Printed Matter published Uranus Comics #1 and #0, a collection of my work with artists Mike Diana and Shane Uht, whose work I respect and admire. In 2010, I was also awarded a grant to publish my independent publication Uranus Comics from the organizations Printed Matter Inc. and the Andy Warhol Foundation.
Around that time, I got back into reading mainstream comics through the DC Comics written by Grant Morrison, particularly Final Crisis, which got me interested in DC superheroes for the first time. I became a big fan of Ivan Velez Jr.’s work in DC Milestone comic books like Static and Blood Syndicate. I enjoy the Golden and Silver age characters and comparing them to their 2011 New 52 versions. I love offbeat comics like the Doom Patrol, Dial H For Hero, and Captain Carrot. I still read a few DC books, I like Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sekai, Groo by Sergio Aragones, Star Wars comics, the new Toxic Avenger comics, the new EC Comics horror series,
Currently, I collect books that relate to all these interests, especially LGBTQ+ comic books by Maia Kobabe, Gengoroh Tagame, Ed Luce, Katie Fricas, Bishak Som, and others. I am currently curating a Latinx comix exhibit with work by creators Ivan Velez Jr., Sandy Jimenez, Ivan Monforte, Sharon De La Cruz, Daisy Ruiz & Medar De La Cruz. There are cartoonists I find out about every day whose work is influential to me, like David Galliquio, John Mejias, Nate Garcia, Soufiane Ababri, Mohammed Iman, Carlos Luis Sanchez Becerra, Jorge Jimenez, Glen Hanson, Dave Ortega, Breena Nunez, Ajuan Mance, Lawrence Lindell, and others.
Q2: What were your influences outside of comic books?
CQ: Artistically, animated cartoons were the most formative for me, first cartoons by Hanna-Barbera and Fritz Lang, Terry Toons, Warner Brothers and Disney, Fleischer cartoons, Krazy Kat cartoons, and Felix the Cat cartoons. In Spain, I saw dubbed versions of early anime like Gigantor, G Force, and Mazinger Z, European & Japanese anime productions like Inspector Gadget, Ulysses 31, a Miyazaki-directed Sherlock Hound, Little Lulu, Around the World in 80 Days, Heidi, and other anime series based on western classics. I loved British TV cartoons like Duckula and Danger Mouse.
When I came to the US in the 90s, I loved animated films like Heavy Metal, films by Ralph Bakshi or Don Bluth, basically all US 80s and 90s Saturday morning cartoons, especially He-Man, Batman, Spider-Man, X-Men, The Tick, Toxic Crusaders, and TMNT. I loved the Vampire Hunter D, Akira, Appleseed, Black Magic and Ghost In The Shell animes, the 90’s MTV cartoons like Liquid Television, Beavis & Butthead, South Park, The Simpsons, Spawn, the new Hanna-Barbera cartoons on Cartoon Network like Cow & Chicken, Powerpuff Girls and Johnny Bravo, Nickelodeon, Nick Park and Spumco cartoons.
In the early 2000’s I worked for the small animation studio The Ink Tank. We made cartoons for commercials and television like Saturday Night Live, Comedy Central, and Scholastic. I worked on cartoons for TV Funhouse and the I Spy stop-motion animated series. In 2008, I adapted my mini-comic Hairy Tales into an animated short with Argentinian director Pablo Oliverio.
I’m also a fan of new CGI movies, Japanese anime films, stop-motion, puppet, experimental, short, Indie, and foreign animated films.
Q3: As an indie creator, what do you see within the comics industry that you feel is lacking, that the industry and its creators could benefit from?
CQ: In other countries like Switzerland or even Canada, artists are given financial support, free housing, and free healthcare. I think we would benefit from cultural programs like that. In New York State, cartoonists could use their own category to apply for NYSCA grants. In a better world, there would be more grants for cartoonists, at least.
Q4: What inspired the development of your publication, Uranus Comix? What is the mission statement that you wanted to drive home with your work?
CQ: Uranus Comics is a venue for socio-political, experimental LGBTQ+ comics about what our community is going through at the moment, a publication that reflects the time it was published. At the same time as the creator and editor, it’s also a reflection of myself and my life at the moment. My collaborators are always close friends whose work I admire and respect, and I want to support. Our comics are about how we survive capitalism and the violent forces of power throughout the world.
Q5: As an indie comics creator, what are the benefits and limitations that come with being a one-man publication? How do you develop your own stories, and how do you schedule and manage your creative process?
CQ: The benefits of being a one-person publication are the control you get to have at every step of the production and distribution process. But the limitations are always not enough money and time. I always compensate my contributors, but the compensation never feels like it’s enough when you take into consideration the actual time and effort it takes to make comics.
Every person has their own way to develop their stories that works for them. My process is to imagine the kind of comic I would buy that doesn’t exist yet and make that comic. I imagine the things that are not being said, and I figure out a way to say them.
The way I schedule my creative process is a commercial art/ 9 to 5 work day mentality, where I am available to work from 9 to 5, but after that, I work on my projects or live my private life. I try not to work on the weekends or nights. I set deadlines for myself and release new comics when I participate in a book fair or comic con. Sometimes I do workshops or presentations about my work or do commissioned work that may have set deadlines, and I adjust accordingly. I also consider advertising on social media work that has to be managed, which is hard because nobody pays me for that work.
Q6: What are some of the misconceptions that you find from audiences within and outside of the comics medium, and how does that impact the way you approach your work?
CQ: One misconception from within the comics medium is that there are too many cartoonists, and I don’t agree. I have been waiting all my life for a time like this, when there are more comics and cartoonists than ever, from every age and community. They have the opportunity to tell their story with their own voice, from their perspective. I think there needs to be even more cartoonists and venues for publication.
One misconception from outside the medium: that bookbans work – I don’t agree. The truth always comes out. One of the reasons comics are being banned is because of their power to communicate new ideas in a direct way, especially to young people. Books that are being targeted for banning are mostly LGBTQ+ books that are about empowerment and liberation, some are critical of historical systemic racism, and others may have the word gay somewhere in the book. I think book bans are unconstitutional and are against the First Amendment guaranteeing free speech.
I try not to let these misconceptions distract me from making the work I wanna make or enjoying new comics.
Q7: This year, you tabled at MoCCA Fest’ 2025. What sets MoCCA Fest apart from other conventions that spoke to you as a comic book creator and appreciator of the medium?
CQ: I think that MoCCA is different because it’s curated by the Society of Illustrators, and it feels like a community of artists. Other gatherings are booked first come, first served, so it’s only about how fast you can get a table and how much merch you can sell.
Q8: When illustrating subject matter, what attracts you to the stories and work that you create? What are the challenges that come with tackling various subject matter?
CQ: What attracts me to the subject matter is whether it helps me express the message I want to say. For example, I made a comic about the settlement of a lawsuit between the NYC Port Authority police and a group of gay men who had been falsely arrested by the police while they were going to the bathroom. The police had been pulling their privates out and arresting gay men who looked at them for lewd behavior, mostly Black and Latinx men. They profiled the men based on what they were wearing and targeted men during rush hours to increase their arrest numbers. The men who were falsely arrested fought back and organized a class action lawsuit. It took over 10 years, but they won, forcing the police to stop their bathroom patrols and pay restitution to the men whose lives they ruined. I wanted to celebrate their victory over the police, who were wasting resources going after gay men who were not even cruising in the bathrooms. I wanted to reveal the details of the case, like how the Port Authority police security budget is over a billion dollars. Sometimes, the challenges that come with tackling such subject matter are that there are a lot of ignorant people out there who want to criticize what they don’t understand. Sometimes you have to deal with those people in a professional way, even if they don’t deserve it. It can be challenging to deal with their ignorance and prejudice.
I also forgot to add that in 2022 I appeared in the film No Straight Lines: The Rise Of Queer Comics
I’ve made a video of the exhibit of Latinx Comics I curated at The Clemente – https://youtu.be/4E2EHtj3oSM?si=lfnQicdMbo19MrP_
Q9: What projects do you have in the pipeline that readers should keep an eye out for?
CQ: I am working on a comic about coming to America in the 90s as an immigrant, comic book-loving gay kid, while dealing with my parents’ divorce. I hope to finish it by the end of 2025.
Note: You can find Carlos Quispe’s YouTube channel and watch a panel discussing Historietas: Latinx Comix as Alternative Histories here:
https://youtu.be/xKX5RPpbYm8?si=boG9ZA84oKRpv-ny
Dan Kleiner 
Brian Isaacs - Executive Editor / Publisher