We then made a 3 hour drive to Winsten-Salem for a first time face-to-face meeting with another fellow illustrator I met on twitter, the talented Bob Ostrom.

This is a candid interview with the Bob Ostrom as he shares some great information on his career as a cartoonist, how he got started drawing childrens books, freelancing, marketing and chicks on motorcycles. Enjoy.

Welcome to the Carlos News Network

I recently drove down to Atlanta, GA from N.C. where I’m currently vacationing, and had the privilege of being interviewed by the wonderful and gracious (not to mention beautiful) Xanthe Tilden of CNN En Español about the diabetes storyline which ran in my syndicated Baldo comic strip the last few weeks. We’re proud to have partnered up with the National Alliance for Hispanic Health on getting the message out about diabetes and help build more awareness.

The interview was set up by the dynamic duo of PR and TV production, Carmen and Charlie Cruz of Effective Media Group. They even put us up for a night, took us to dinner and showed us around the Atlanta area. Xanthe even gave us a personal tour of the CNN studios.

Thanks guys! ;  )

We had a great time despite that fact I was all nerves (my Spanish is a bit rusty). It made me realize just how far my Spanish had slipped and that I really needed to make a conscious effort to improve it beyond just casual conversation. There are many second and third generation immigrants who have a very weak handle on their mother tongue, if they still speak it at all.

Needless to say I’m watching more Spanish TV and making a conscious effort to speak only Spanish while at home. Besides, it’s better for my kids as well. I grew up learning two languages at once and never gave it much thought. I need to more consistent in enforcing the Spanish only at home rule with my own kids.

It’s just one example of how I bring awareness and contribute to important issues and causes through my art.

We can all contribute in some way, and as a creative person, there is always an opportunity to put your talent to work for yourself and others.

How about you? Is there something you’ve helped create awareness for or some community project you can, or have helped out using your creative talents? Let me know, I’d love to share it with the world.

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I’ll also be on a discussion panel from 11:00-noon and on hand to help judge the art contest from 12:00-12:15.

If you like Anime, Manga, comics or like to draw, this is a great place to spend an afternoon. There’ll be a lot going on, plenty of young talented artists and plenty of entertainment including the ‘Ronin Taiko Drummers’ and a Kendo/Iaido Demonstration by the South Florida Kendo Club.

Drop by and say hello. Hope to see you there.

You can download the program for full details here Anime Fest Program

Listen to the show here.

Here’s an interview I did with the guys from Comics Coast to Coast. We talk about how I got started in illustration, my comic book collection, my Baldo comic strip and much, much more. This is one of the most fun times I’ve had in a interview, Brian, Justin and Tom are great and talented guys. Enjoy.

Oh… they also perform a little comic theatre with a Baldo script involving “MR. HAROLD: GANG ACTIVITY MONITOR “.

Look it up and follow along as we perform it!

In this video I’m completing one panel of a Sunday strip. Folks have asked about the exact steps and setup I used for this and I’ve posted it somewhere before, I just can’t recall where but I’ll dig it up attach to this post soon. Thanks for stopping by… enjoy

If you have any questions or if there’s anything you’d like to see, please let me know.

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There’s a new zine in town for all of us cartoon and comic geeks… uh, I mean lover’s.

Stay Tooned! Magazine has arrived. Published quarterly and devoted to the art and business of cartooning. Features include indepth profiles of pro cartoonists, articles and information of interest to any working and or aspiring cartoonists as well as fans of the cartooning arts.

I Just received my very own copy of the first issue just last week courtesy of editor John Read and it looks fabulous. Thanks John.

Holding it in my hands made me feel exactly like I did the first time I discovered the Cartoonist Profiles magazine by Jud Hurd back in the mid 70’s when I was still in high school and a aspiring illustrator/cartoonist. For me it was magic all over again. Though I’ve been a successful freelance illustrator for the last 26 years, and a syndicated cartoonist for the last eight, I still feel the excitement as if I’m discovering something new when reading about the lives and experiences of my fellow cartooning cohorts. Possibly because even though I’m a working cartoonist, to large degree I still feel of the same isolation I did when I was first starting out. After all, isolation unfortunetely is a big part of most cartoonists working lives. That’s where this mag really shines. While I have my fair share of artists blogs bookmarked and manage to stay informed and inspired by surfing the net, there’s nothing like holding an old fashioned paper mag that you can feel and hold. It’s the cartooning artform at it’s best. Or is that just me?

Anyway, if your at all a fan of comic/cartoon art you need to subscribe to Stay Tooned Magazine. Tell John Carlos sent you : )

BTW- John has informed me that I’m slated to be featured in issue # 3, so stay tooned!