When I stumbled upon Alex D. Araiza’s work last year, I was instantly struck by his point of view. His cartoons were both surreal and completely ordinary, created with deceptively simple line work. In his nonfiction comic “I’m Going to Die Young,” Araiza examines his brother’s dangerous lifestyle and his mother’s coping skills, causing him to question is own relationship to mortality and fear. He’s a master of the closing panel, and this comic is no exception.
—Kristen Radtke
THE BELIEVER: How did this comic start?
ALEX ARAIZA: Well, I have a huge habit of bringing up my brother a lot. If I’m making a string of journal comics I’m bound to bring up my brother. He’s on my mind a lot, and so when an opportunity arises, I tend to share my thoughts on him.
BLVR: What’s your process like?
AA: It’s a lot of false starts. Even though I enjoy writing, my brainstorming seems to come about in sketching out pages first and then developing a script. I tend to fill sketchbooks with thumbnails and dialogue scribbled to the side. There’s also a lot of walking and music listening involved. Walking leaves a lot of time for ideation.
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