Eric M. Esquivel Explained

Birth Date:10 February 1987
Birth Place:Gurnee, Illinois, U.S.
Notable Works:Border Town
Collaborators:Eddie Berganza

Eric Michael Esquivel (born 1987[1]) is a Latino American comic book writer and journalist, known for the 2018 series Border Town, which was cancelled following allegations that he had sexually and emotionally abused a female friend.

Early life

Eric Esquivel was born on February 10, 1987, in Gurnee, Illinois. He is of Irish and Mexican ancestry.

Career

Esquivel has worked as a journalist and critic, writing for such websites as Bleeding Cool,[2] Fox News Latino,[3] Bookmans Entertainment Exchange,[4] and The Tucson Citizen.[5] He has worked as a comics writer for publishers including Archie Comics, Boom Studios, DC Comics, Dynamite, Frederator Books, Heavy Metal, IDW, Papercutz, Scholastic, Starburns Industries Press, and Zenescope.[6]

In 2018, Esquivel began writing Border Town, a magic realist comics series with art by Ramon Villalobos, at the center of a relaunch of DC's Vertigo imprint. The series dealt with immigration and Latino identity, for which Esquivel received death threats in advance of its publication.[7] [8] The series was well-received by critics, and the first issue went to a second printing after its September 2018 release, to meet retailer demand.

In December 2018, Esquivel was accused by a woman of subjecting her to ongoing sexual and emotional abuse several years previously; he disputed her account of their interaction. His creative collaborators on Border Town (of which four issues had been published) withdrew from the project.[9] DC cancelled the unpublished issues, and accepted retailer returns of those that had been published.[10] [11] DC also cancelled plans for Esquivel to take over writing their superhero Nightwing series.[12] [13]

In 2020, Esquivel announced Alternate Empire, a publishing venture with Eddie Berganza, who had been terminated by DC in 2017 following sexual harassment allegations.[14] [15]

Bibliography

Further reading

Print interviews

Video interviews

Audio interviews

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Esquivel, Eric M., 1987- . VIAF . January 7, 2024.
  2. Web site: Johnston, Rich. Journalism. Bleeding Cool. 2012-08-13.
  3. Web site: Esquivel. Eric. Free Comic Book Day in Tucson. Fox News Latino. 2012-08-13.
  4. Web site: Bookman . Bob . Donald Glover Cast as Miles Morales in 'Spider-Man' Cartoon . Bookmans . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141006154230/http://bookmans.com/search/node/esquivel . October 6, 2014 .
  5. Web site: Esquivel . Eric . Time to bid adieu to readers, face 'film'-flam world . https://archive.today/20130205000742/http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue2/author/eric-m-esquivel/ . 2013-02-05 . The Tucson Citizen . dead . 2013-01-22 .
  6. Web site: Long Beach Comic Con is excited to announce Eric M. Esquivel will be coming to #LBCC2018!! – Long Beach Comic Con. en-US. 2019-02-15.
  7. Web site: This Latino Writer Got Death Threats for 'Border Town,' a Comic Book About Healing Racial Tensions. 2018-10-18. Remezcla. en-US. 2019-02-15.
  8. Web site: Vertigo Writer Receives Veiled Death Threats Ahead of SDCC Appearance. 2018-07-12. CBR. en-US. 2019-02-15.
  9. Web site: Artist and colorist leave DC Vertigo's 'Border Town' in response to abuse allegations against writer Eric M. Esquivel. Forrest Hollingsworth. Adventures In Poor Taste. 12 December 2018.
  10. Web site: DC Cancels Hit Comic Book Series 'Border Town' After Abuse Claims. The Hollywood Reporter. en. 2019-02-15.
  11. Web site: BORDER TOWN #5-6 Cancelled, #1-4 Made Returnable. Newsarama. en. 2020-01-18.
  12. Web site: As Expected, Eric Esquivel Dropped by DC Comics From Nightwing. Bleeding Cool. 2019-02-15.
  13. Web site: Nightwing Co-Writer Eric Esquivel Removed From Issue #58. 2018-12-20. CBR. en-US. 2019-02-15.
  14. Web site: Eric M Esquivel and Eddie Berganza Launch New Comics Publisher. Yup.. 2020-06-07. bleedingcool.com.
  15. Web site: 2020-02-01. Eric Esquivel and Eddie Berganza Team Up for the New Publisher Alternate Empire. 2020-06-07. Graphic Policy. en-US.