What exactly is Pseudo Press?

Pseudo Press began as a creative outlet and resource of inspiration from artist and designer, davpunk. Our goal is to keep our artistic passions alive by inspiring eachother to do more work. We also want to better ourselves as artists and not fall victim to the all-encompassing CG production machine. Pseudo Press is an attempt to reflect those ideals, and offer some cool products that will inspire other artists as well.

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Pluck of the draw
Time Out Chicago / Issue 128: August 9–15, 2007

A new press takes a shot in Wizard World’s DIY Artist Alley.
By Web Behrens

At least a few dreams will come true at Wizard World this weekend.

Of course, this being a three-day celebration of comic books and pop culture, some of the dreams aren’t especially ambitious. There’s the lucky score of a long-sought toy or comic, or the chance to snatch 30 seconds of conversation with a sci-fi starlet. But this is about the other side of Wizard World—removed from the giant DC Comics booth and the fans dressed like stormtroopers—where Artist Alley awaits. There, a bunch of DIY-minded folks are already realizing their dreams, self-publishing their art instead of waiting for someone else to green-light it.

On this side, you’ll find the nascent Pseudo Press. A tiny Chicago outfit dedicated to showcasing new artists, the indie-minded start-up hopes to win attention with its debut publication, Solo RM: The Art of Arempire. The 48-page book (full-color cover, black-and-white interiors) compiles a selection of sketches by local art whiz Rodrigo Mireles, of Little Village.

A guy whose love for American comics developed after discovering manga and anime, 33-year-old Mireles has many years of artistic expression under his belt. In his early teens, he perfected dodge-the-cops graffiti art in Pilsen. While in high school, he put his airbrush skills to work designing T-shirts. After earning a bachelor’s degree in illustration from the American Academy of Art, his early twenties included a mind-numbing stint drawing quick cartoon portraits at Six Flags Great America.

So Mireles was no novice when he put his art (and ego) on the line, pitching his work to corporate editors back in the ’90s. “It never panned out,” he says—partly because he was ahead of the curve. His fluid style wasn’t what mainstream comics were looking for back then, when so many titles wanted the look of hyperrendered muscles and insanely proportioned breasts. True, you can still find that look today, but it’s also not surprising to find a more lighthearted penciling style in some superhero comics, blending manga influences with a cartoony touch.

Those playful elements are all over Solo RM, which demonstrates Mireles’s knack for caricature as well as a wide range of expressive character designs. It’s no surprise that he makes smart use of his talent in his day job, doing concept drawings for EA Chicago (a local office of Electronic Arts Inc., an international video-game developer).

“One time, a Marvel editor really ripped me apart,” Mireles recalls of a time he brought his portfolio to Wizard World for a critique. “You know, I’ve learned to take criticism, regardless of how harsh. You just take it in, you don’t try to lash out and explain yourself. Other times, a couple editors liked [my portfolio]. One guy really liked it, but I never heard from him. I gave up on it. If I’m gonna do comics, I’m gonna do them on my terms.”

Solo RM, of course, isn’t comics per se—no sequential art here, no plot or dialogue—just his handsome sketches and offbeat imagination. He was gently prodded into the venture by EA coworker and fellow artist Dave Pasciuto, who founded Pseudo Press. Amusingly enough, they didn’t meet on the job but rather at the comic fans’ giant playground three years ago.

“I’d seen Rodrigo around, but the company’s pretty big,” Pasciuto recalls. “I recognized him when I saw him at Wizard World: ‘Hey, this guy works with me.’ We just started talking from there and realized we had similar interests."

He figures Mireles’s art will be a natural fit in this environment. “It’s perfect. It has an anime flavor yet an urban flavor,” Pasciuto says. “When I go to the comics show, I’m always looking for new art—people who are doing something that’s more raw because they don’t have an art director telling them what to do. It’s more interesting. He’s an awesome artist, so I figured other people will dig his stuff.”