Geek in the City Celebrates Upcoming New La Brujeria Issue with Free Downloads, Release Party
















A few years ago, Panel Pal Aaron Duran, along with artist James Sinclair and letterer Jennifer Alvin, worked on a series called "La Bujeria," which they described as follows:
A supernatural comedy about Althalia Cabrera, a gifted temp who gets a job at the Golden Bought Pawn Shop, a profitable front for Fairy Tale Maintenance. With Werewolves, Elementals, & a diminutive Chupacabra as co-workers; Althalia learns the Golden Bought Pawn Shop is anything but typical. With old powers and even older adversaries waking up on and under the streets of Portland, nothing will ever be the same.
The story ran four issues, which is pretty darned good for any indie comic, but it's been a long time since we've seen more of the characters. Duran has gone on to write a prose novel and  successfully Kickstarted a new, Lovecraftian Pirate comic in the meantime, but now he's back working on La Bujeria again, with a release party set for  Saturday, March 12th, 2016 at Bridge City Comics in Portland, Oregon.


It's been awhile since I read the original four issues, but one of the things I remember was that Duran, Sinclair, and Alvin were ahead of the curve in terms of presenting a positive character of color in a lead role. What really became a force in 2014/2015 for mainstream comics was already happening in indie comics (part of why I like them so much), and La Brujeria not only told a good story, but also created its main character with respect. Sinclair's art uses thick ink lines to define his characters, and his creatures are a lot of fun to see move across the page. It's very similar to the work you might find from one of the smaller indie publishers like Alterna.



With Dark Anna, Aaron has really leveled up his storytelling as a writer, and I'm looking forward to seeing that applied to his first major comic series. But in addition to having a new issue, Duran and company are giving away digital copies of the original La Brujeria series, leading up to the new release. That means that new readers can try the series without having to pay anything. It's a great idea to kickstart interest again, and you can find them from the Geek in the City Homepage. The first two issues are available, with the other two on the way between now and release day.



If you like comics like Princeless and have a soft spot for horror like Duran does, give La Brujeria a chance. Odds are you'll dig it and be ready to find Althalia and her pals in new adventures soon.