“I was just one of the lucky ones that got to retire and now I do shows and special appearances and it’s almost as hectic as it use to be in my hay day, but with the recent popularity in movies and the pop culture that there is now, I am very busy. ”
When asked his opinion about the recent surge in popularity of comic book characters on the big screen, he had this to say, “ I’m glad that the characters made it to the big screen but I like to remind people that they originated in the comic books so if you like the movies give the comic books a shot, come to your local comic book store and pick out a book or two, I hope that people will give it a try. My favorite one has always been Spider- Man and I got started drawing Spidey when I was 7 years old but no one payed me.” As far as influences, “ Names like Jack Kirby who co-created most of the characters that we know from Marvel alongside Stan Lee. Steve Ditko, John Romita, George Tuska and a whole lot of other names that people do not remember anymore but I took note of who was drawing the comic books. Who were the artist and who were the writers. It is very difficult to finally get to work for Marvel comics, the odds are against you but if I made it other people can do it also. I always had an interest in high school and college and always took art courses from commercial art to live drawing, fine arts, design, I took all the courses. You can apply many of those things to just about any art field but nothing specific as far as the comic book field. I just practiced and tried to get better and eventually caught someone’s eye in New York City and then the work started to roll in. In 1984 was when I first started with Marvel, I’ve gotten to work on Spider-Man comics, Star Wars and one of the most notable comics which I worked on was the very first time that readers were able to see Venom in his own book. I was very lucky to have been asked to work on that and it’s still popular to this day. In my latest Comicon appearance this year in San Antonio I was lucky enough to be spotlighted at the event and it is clear how much the comic book community has grown. I continue to exhibit my work all over, including in Mexico. Eagle Pass has been great, I talked to a lot of nice people here and I appreciate everyone that came by.”
Chicho Rodriguez, owner of Heroes to the Rescue which has been in business now for 8 years thanks all the people of Eagle Pass, Del Rio, Uvalde, Carrizo Springs who come into the store.
“We were struggling at first but recently we have been doing very well thanks to the community. Sam de La Rosa came by to visit us and we were very glad to host as he has had extensive experience working with Marvel, DC, Darkhorse, Image and he is very well known for his artwork on the character of Venom. We met several years ago and became good friends and when he told me he was coming by to the store I was very grateful.”
Heroes to the Rescue provides a one of a kind comic book experience from young readers to the mature comic book fan.