SAN ANGELO, Texas — Jarred Lujan grew up with a dream of one day becoming a writer, but like so many people in the world, he decided to let it go and pursue a more ‘realistic’ career path. He was raised in Del Rio, Texas before coming to San Angelo to Political Science and Philosophy at Angelo State University. When it came time for him to graduate, he says he realized that what he truly wanted was to return to childhood dream. Lujan said comic books are the bridge between novels and film, being more accessible than novels without sacrificing important literary devices like symbolism and plot.
The comic book industry may seem small from the outside, but Lujan says it spans many genres and has contributed to many mainstream stories the world has come to love such as Atomic Blonde and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Returning to comic books after so long, Lujan said he couldn’t connect with the superhero comics like he used to and found the indie comic scene. He’s been writing comics for the last five years but didn’t hit it big until he got picked up by a publisher in March 2020.
Lujan remembers him and his wife were about to get on a flight home from the comic book convention C2E2 in Chicago when news broke about his book being published. He said everyone was so excited and calling him. However, being a nervous flyer and a pessimist, he jokingly recalled how he began to panic, thinking that would be the day they died. Fortunately, they all made it home safe.
Shortly after the announcement, the pandemic hit, shutting down their distributor and forcing the release date back from June to September. All marketing was put on hold as Lujan and his team anxiously waited the release of their hard work. Lujan said it all paid off in the end, as their book “Dryfoot” was finally released in the United States and Canada. The book has been very well-received by readers, even selling out across North America. Lujan said the book can be pre-ordered as the publishers complete a second printing of the comic book, something that is rare for an indie comic to need right after being released.
