Today we’d like to introduce you to Gonzalo Alvarez.
Hi Gonzalo, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
As a first generation Mexican american I was given the idea of an “American Dream” and I chose to pursue my dream of being a full-time artist at Lamar University. There I learned about art and joined a comic book making club, which led to the creation of Polloman, a fantasy adventure story about a Chicken Warrior who fights monsters inspired by mexican folktales my parent’s told me growing up. Upon graduating with a prototype comic for my thesis, I self-published the first chapter which got me invited to WorldCon 76 where I met amazing people who led me to pitching it and soon Polloman was picked up by publisher Harper Collins in 2019. Since then, I’ve been on a journey learning Aztec culture, history, and language, the native roots of Mexican culture, to create an authentic story about a boy reconnecting to the spirits of nature to save the world. Polloman: Curse of El Raton, the Tooth Mouse, is now finished in 2026 and set to release April 2027.
The seven year journey to complete this book was long and hard, and during that time I founded Studio Tecuanis with my partner and a friend to create Nawalli: The Aztec Card Game. I grew up with trading cards which inspired my love for mythological creatures, but I realized there was a lack of representation for mexican creatures. So, I decided to llustrate and design a game based on Aztec culture, specifically the Nahua culture still alive today, and soon a successful kickstarter was able to bring it to life. Since 2023, Nawalli has sold worldwide and brought people together through the love of gaming and culture, and most importantly, given people an easy way to learn.
Through rediscovering my Nahua cultural roots, I was able to find my path and am now dedicated to illustrating books, games, and artwork for future generations. I am currently now working on the Polloman sequel and the series of books to come.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My parent’s were poor farmers before they immigrated to the U.S, and so growing up I had little guidance and becoming an artist seemed like a impossible goal. I was the first to go to college and the expectations to succeed and overcome poverity has been a weight my entire life it seems. Despite having early success with finding a publisher, working day and night to create a graphic novel while living in poverty was very taxing on my mental and physical health. Learning the skills to create a graphic novel was a struggle in of it’s own, but having to scrap ideas, rewrite, and redraw to polish it really tested my discipline and mental fortitude. Of course as an artist being judged and told you’re never going to succeed is a universal experience, but when it comes from family it has it’s own weight. It is the friends you make who do believe in you that make overcoming these obstacles possible.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a self-employed author/illustrator creating my graphic novel series, Polloman, and illustrating children’s books. I also do commission work illustrating for clients looking for logos, tattoo designs, and artwork, specifically in my style. I specialize in Aztec/Mexican designs, stories, and iconography. I am also a game designer at Studio Tecuanis, my small business selling my original Nawalli: The Aztec Card Game and merchandise of the various spirits. I think pursuing art full-time has allowed me to focus on exploring my own style and given me the time to learn enough Aztec culture,language, and history to become a cultural consultant on client projects. I am most proud of having spent the time to perfect my graphic novel and built the foundation for the entire series.
Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting out?
Don’t worry about what everyone else says, pursue the thing that you really want but are afraid to. Create the first version of the thing you want to make, then perfect it later. My graphic novel Polloman began as a 1 page story. Then I did a 4 page story. Then an 8 page story. Then a 24 page story. Then a 32 page story. Then finally, I had to turn it into a 260 page graphic novel. By doing the first small versions of it I was able to work through and learn the process of making something. Don’t overplan, plan enough to get started, you learn along the way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.gonzzink.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gonzzink/?hl=en
- Other: https://www.nawalli.com
