Hey! Its Jarred!
He’s a two time Ringo nominated writer, a 2019 Mad Cave Talent Search winner, an inaugural member of the DC Milestone Initiative in 2022, he’s been awarded the Professor Latinx Outstanding Emerging Comic Creator Award, and one of the winners of the Comic Book Yeti’s ICE awards in 2023. Who is this you’re wondering to yourself? Why none other than Texas’ own Jarred Lujan! A loud and proud Mexican-American who has steadily been making a name for himself in Comics for the past few years while also having a battle or two. He’s written Dry Foot for Mad Cave Studios, two stories in his Twin Blades universe, All The Devils Are Here (ATDAH for short) for Scout Comics, Crash & Troy for A Wave Blue World, How Music Came To The World, A Son’s Legacy, and Southbound most recently.
In addition, he’s joined as a co-creator of AWBW’s MEZO, and has been apart of a number of Anthologies such as YULE, Off Into The Sunset, and Big Hype Comics’ Project: Big Hype Volume 1. The man’s also a huge Wu-Tang Clan fan as well! Which long time fans of his and readers of this site are more than likely aware of by now at this point! He’s also big on folks believing in themselves and that is a Hell of a thing as we need more positive minded thinking like that!
I’ve covered a few of Jarred’s works and in this write up, I’m gonna cover a few more. So sit back and enjoy!
Southbound #1
Self Published
Writer: Jarred Lujan
Artist: Emiliano Correa
Colorist: Timothy C. Brown
Letterer: Micah Brown
Editor: Christa Harader
Summary: In a not-so-far-away future, the metroplex of Dallas-Fort Worth has become one massive city full of wealth and extravagance…but nothing in Texas is ever so simple. A state that never abandoned it’s wild west era, Texas’ growing wealth disparity has given birth to some of the nastiest criminal organizations on the planet, each one seeking more power in the criminal underbelly of the Metroplex.
So, when longtime hitman Deotoro “Deo” Vasquez defies a burgeoning crime boss (known widely as The Cat) by saving a newly elected US Senator, the whole city sees it as an opportunity for a power play.
Now, Deo has to get Senator-Elect Marc Rivera, and his daughter Oriana, out of the city before it’s too late–but first, they’ll have to get through every psychopath, killer, and freak in the city.
Southbound is a Cyberpunk story (and successful Kickstarter) set in Texas and centers on one Deotoro Vasquez, a Hitman seeking Redemption in order to re-unite with his family. And as mentioned earlier, Southbound is the latest from Jarred’s mind to come to fruition in this world of ours and is a five issue series. Deotoro, or Deo for short, has a couple of problems. Chiefly among them being cut off from his family for unknown reasons and has to work for despicable people in the hopes of being with his family again one day. Of course he’s going to have another problem by the end of this first issue but we’ll get back to that in a moment. When we first meet the big lug, he’s writing a letter to his kid and judging from the looks of things, its not the first one either.
Nor is it likely to be the last either for that matter. Well… That is if he survives the events Jarred’s teased us about that’s to come in this series. Events Deo kind of causes himself without necessarily meaning too and by the end of things, will have wished he’d done exactly as The Cat had told him to do! Granted, I could always be wrong but I imagine part of him will be wishing it!
Crash & Troy
A Wave Blue World
Writer: Jarred Lujan
Artist: Kyler Clodfelter
Colorist: Bruno Furlani
Letterer: Buddy Beaudoin
Summary: Intergalactic mercenaries Rex “Crash” Ballard (a super strong grumpy mutant) and Troy 3.0 (a sentient software arts aficionado) find themselves in hot water after freeing a ruthless dictator from a maximum-security prison planet. Now, they must clean up their mess or find themselves locked up instead. This means working with a very pissed off Chief Fiona Alvarez of the Earth Defense Forces and a no-nonsense handler named Delphi, which is hard for her because there’s a lot of nonsense on the way. Oh, also, there’s going to be an interplanetary war. No sweat for two “pros” like Crash and Troy!
Crash & Troy are your next favorite heroes for hire, in a hilarious heartfelt, freewheeling space adventure for the ages!
Crash & Troy is a success story in more ways than one in both the pages and outside of them. I will say that up front here and now and pretty sure many’ll agree with me on that. Our duo is made up of a Mutant that’s supposed to be on Earth due to a ban by the name of Crash while the other is essentially a Human turned Sentient Program/AI who has access to nearly anything he needs by the name of Troy. Including different bodies if the occasion calls for it and loves cat videos. They’re an unlikely pair of buds but it works damn well for them in my view. And the fun begins for these two after they break out someone who very clearly SHOULDN’T be freed under any circumstances. Who is also something of a parody of a certain foreign Dictator and that, along with some other influences Jarred used for this book, helped provide the creation of this book from start to finish.
And I kinda think Jarred put a message in this story about how being too damn sensitive over everything as parts of Modern Society has come to be is just not that great. Of course, I could be wrong on that but it does feel like that and its some funny stuff too.
Now had Crash and Troy done some research prior to busting ol’ Jongil out of the joint, they likely wouldn’t have done the deed to begin with considering how much of a dictator is. But of course, we’d not have this edge of your seat story if that happened. And I love how one simple mistake on Troy’s part is what gets our boys caught later on, a mistake that Troy’ll probably never make again unless he’s too distracted by cat videos again. Now said mistake leads us to meeting Agent Delphi, a member of the Wexian race where Jongil is from and pretty much a no-nonsense kinda gal. One who’s not afraid to call Crash out on his crap either as we later get to see thanks to the fact she has to work with the two boys.
And if Crash is the straight man to Troy’s comedy act, she’s the reluctant straight straight (wo)man to their combined routine. A dynamic that’s been seen for years but is none the less, great to see and this trio’s dynamic is one I’d be down to see more of if I’m being perfectly honest with you folks.
I also love the fact that Jarred practically skips on any romance in this story since its practically seen in almost everything. Even when its not needed. Though, there is a very teeny tiny hint of it at the end once all’s said and done and it makes you wonder how things would go between the two given how different they are. But the fact Jarred keeps things centered on the action, the comedy, and the small amount of character development is great and is just one of the reasons he’s managed to gain recognition like he has because of his versatility and humbleness. The fact he manages to always get a great mix of talent on the creative team for his stories is another great thing in my view.
And I really hope he does come back to the world of Crash & Troy at some point as I’d love to see what else these two find themselves involved in. Especially given the stuff Troy pulls off at the end of the story!
The Twin Blades: Blood & Obsidian
Self Published
Written by: Jarred Lujan
Art by: Julio Saurez
Colors by: Rocco Langg
Letters: Gabriela Downie
Summary: The second installment of THE TWIN BLADES comic. A samurai/western style historical fiction about a lone wielder who must stand against a new type of enemy and avenge her fallen sister at the historic Cinco de Mayo battle of Puebla. Successfully funded on Kickstarter with 303 backers.
Blood & Obsidian is the next chapter (and a successful Kickstarter) in Jarred Lujan’s Twin Blades universe and this time set in the 1860s rather than in the current day time like the first story. And the holders of the Twin Blades in this time period are Catalina and Joaquina Perez, a pair of sisters and in a period of time where what they’re doing would probably be heavily frowned on by the men folk. Course I could always be wrong on that. These two are also dealing with the final days of the War of Reform that Mexico was experiencing at the time, which leads to some unfortunate events to occur that leaves Catalina on her own and none too happy as we later see. Given the circumstances, its easy to understand as anyone would be feeling like that. And I love how not only is Jarred borrowing Mythological figures from other lore, but is also expanding on his own for the Twin Blades universe.
As in this second story, its shown that there could be survivors from the previous Suns and Rudianos (Celtic/Roman figure) is one such figure. Which makes me curious to see who else may have survived each Sun’s destruction. And if whether or not they could be an ally.
Though whether or not Gods like Xolotl would allow them to be allied with those like the Blade Wielders is another story entirely. But I love the potential this expansion has that Jarred’s brought here, as it brings the possibility that the other Pantheons did exist but only in each previous Sun’s existence before being destroyed thanks to a certain pair of warring brothers. And I can only imagine how angry any survivors like Rudianos are given how much they lost. Especially with the fact Rudi himself has managed to survive the destruction of 4 separate Suns and in the current, managed to hide himself in plain sight. Which shows he’s able to use his mind instead of allowing hate fueled revenge to cloud him. Granted, he’s got a crap ton of experience so he’s bound to be able to do that unlike Catalina but she is human after all so she’s afforded a little leeway.
I’m also loving the fact that Jarred’s got the same creative team from the first book for this one and hopefully that keeps continuing in future releases. As it feels like it wouldn’t be right with anyone else but I could always be wrong.
And even though its probably something you’d only expect to see in a more modern setting, but Catalina’s disillusionment where Xolotl and the other Gods are concerned after her experiences is a nice touch here. Not to mention realistic as even the most faithful can turn away due to unpleasant experiences. Her disillusionment seems to only grow towards the end after doing something no one’s done and isn’t supposed to do. Namely, wielding the power of both Blades in order to kick some ass since she ain’t got no bubblegum. I’m curious to see how her current beliefs after all’s said and done will play out in future tales of the Twin Blades universe and if it’ll have any impact among the dead and perhaps even the living in some way.
To me, Jarred is a great example of the power of Positivity and Believing In Yourself. Something he’s been promoting for years in addition to his own work and no doubt will continue to do so while also successfully having to fight certain battles. And whether his work is unapologetically centered on Latin Culture, Texas, or a mix of both, he’s doing work that is successfully gaining notice as his writing is the kind he himself would’ve no doubt liked to have seen growing up. Something that resonates not only with himself but with others like him. When you go outside the box and take risks despite how scary it might be, you may just end up surprised by the amount of support you’ll get.
Jarred’s star is definitely shining and I continue to look forward to whatever he does next with his writing.
Review by: Rob Wrecks
