Adrian Rodriguez

Adrian Rodriguez credits his early interest in art to his fascination with Halloween and super hero comic books, though he admits his exposure to the comic medium was largely relegated to a small novelty store in the neighboring town that carried used/uninspired knock-offs of mainstream mags. After an extended undergraduate career and much debt, Adrian received a both a BFA and a Diploma Certificate from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, where he studied printmaking and drawing.

H. P. Lovecraft - characters on the brink of insanity at all times. “I went mad then…”

What inspired “Pedestrian”?

A lot of my work has to do with perception.  In “Pedestrian”, I wanted to challenge the reader’s perception of the events as they unfolded as well as the main characters’ psyche. Is he being pursued or is it imagined? Do we as readers assume he is a victim of some type of persecution or is he guilty of some crime and has a valid cause for anxiety? Plus, the easiest and most fun type of story: create a character and then torture him.

I take it from your fascination with Halloween that this probably isn’t your first horror story, correct?

All of my work is horror or absurd.

What are some of your favorite horror stories? (And they don’t have to be limited to comic books.)

Frankenstein is top. Lovecraft, of course. I love how the characters in Lovecraft’s stories are always teetering on the edge of insanity; the slightest thing pushes them over the abyss. The Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark series. I had the Marvel “What if Wolverine was Lord of the Vampires?” comic that was insane. Everything Jack Davis and Johnny Craig did for EC. And I read the pre-code horror blog The Horrors of It All religiously. Richard Scala is great too. 

Explain to Hellbound readers your creative process. Was the story written independently and before the art or did both develop together?

It’s a chaotic mess. I typically start with a notion and let it develop on its own—both in story/content and visually. What’s worse is I am very influenced by things around me, politics, whatever I am reading, a conversation. Sometimes I can’t help but force these into stories I am already working on… It’s nuts.

What did you find most challenging about “Pedestrian”?

I think the silent comic is tough to make. And there are folks who have done and are doing amazing work in that niche that I look up to. I have so much that I am looking to convey—politically, psychologically, philosophically etc. all in the guise of an entertaining story. 

Artistically, was there anything you were hoping to achieve?

I have books I have had to replace from reading them over and over. For me with comics, there has to be an interest in the story but the drawing is crucial.

Are you happy with the results?

I was yesterday but not today. Juvenile, so what.

Thank you, Adrian.