Francisco Guerrero (comics)
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- For people with the same name, see Francisco Guerrero
| El Gato Negro | |
 Francisco as El Gato Negro. Art by Richard Dominguez |
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| Publication information | |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Azteca Productions |
| First appearance | El Gato Negro #1 (1993) |
| Created by | Richard Dominguez |
| In story information | |
| Alter ego | Francisco "Pancho" Guerrero |
| Team affiliations | Team Tejas |
| Notable aliases | The Nocturnal Warrior |
| Abilities | Expert in Ninjitsu, Expert in Taijitsu, Highly trained luchador, Boxing, Highly trained weapons expert, Access to high tech equipment, Master detective |
Francisco “Pancho” Guerrero, also known as El Gato Negro, is a fictional character and comic book superhero created by Richard Dominguez and published by Azteca Productions. The character made his first appearance in El Gato Negro #1 (October 1993).
Grandson of the original El Gato Negro, a former luchador-turned-adventurer, Francisco works as a social worker in Edinburg, Texas and devotes most of his free time to community service. Driven by the gruesome murder of his best friend at the hands of drug-smugglers, Francisco becomes the new El Gato Negro in order to wage war on crime. Unlike most superheroes, he possesses no superpowers and instead makes use of his own athletic abilities, accumulative knowledge, detective skills to fight crime. Operating throughout Lower Rio Grande Valley, he is assisted by several supporting characters including his grandfather Agustin Guerrero and weapons-mechanic expert Antonio Trujillo, and fights an assortment of villains ranging from common criminals to outlandish supervillains. Despite being popular with the citizens of his community, El Gato Negro is constantly being hunted by local law enforcement and sensationalized as a menace to society by the media.
The character's debut series was met with critical success but lasted only four issues. After a seven year hiatus, El Gato Negro later returned to be published in a new second series entitled, "El Gato Negro: Nocturnal Warrior". El Gato Negro's popularity has landed him guest-starring roles in several publications[1][2] and other media[3] including being featured in Mountain Dew's "Do the Dew" Tour and 2008's War of the Independents saga[4] Dominguez is currently in-talks for a possible live-action film adaption based on the character.[5]
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[edit] Publication history
[edit] Creation and conception
El Gato Negro was conceived by Richard Dominguez sometime in the mid-to-late '80s and was originally intended to debut in a largely Mexican-American or Latino superhero group called Team Tejas. Dominguez later placed Team Tejas on hold to focus on the development of the El Gato Negro character, as he recalls:
| “ | El Gato Negro was created or "born" when I was sketching on my notebook paper and in binders during (when I was supposed to be taking notes) classes in a community college...He was originally supposed to be a member of an all-Hispanic superhero group which I called "Team Tejas". I later became partial this particular character and put my emphasis on him and put the rest of the team in the "backburner".[6] | ” |
The name "El Gato Negro" originated from an abandoned settlement by the name of "El Gato", which was located south of Pharr, Texas.[7] Dominguez would later devise the character's secret identity, Francisco Guerrero, to have direct ties to the Mexican Revolution. The character's given name came from Mexican revolutionary Francisco "Pancho" Villa, while the surname Guerrero was mainly chosen for its english-translation "warrior", although Dominguez has hinted at a more historical signifigance:
| “ | I haven’t made up the entire story yet, I haven’t actually told this story yet, so I don’t have the details, but El Gato has a history all the way to the Mexican Revolution through his great-grandfather.[8] | ” |
El Gato Negro would become grounded in Mexican and Tejano folklore and popular culture, including a large influence from the Lucha Libre traditions. Various aspects of the character's personality and visual design were directly inspired by some of Dominguez’s favorite comic book superheroes including The Spirit, The Crimson Avenger, Daredevil, Nightwing and most noticeably Batman.[9] He also drew inspiration from several classic pulp figures such as The Shadow, Zorro, and The Phantom. (The latter of which made El Gato Negro a generational character) Elements from Japanese animation, manga, and martial arts films also aided in the development of El Gato Negro's costume design and equipment. The example of Judge Margarito Garza’s Relampago character helped Dominguez pursue his creation in a self-published format.[10]
[edit] Publication
Francisco Guerrero made his first published appearance in El Gato Negro #1 written and illustrated by Dominguez in 1993. The first three-part story-arc “Unknown passing, Unforgettable Return” introduced El Graduado, a notorious villain intent on making a large drug-trafficking deal in South Texas in order to gain a seat with the criminal organization known as The Annulus. El Graduado's best efforts are consistently thwarted by El Gato Negro until a final confrontation in which the criminal is apprehended and last seen awaiting trial. The debut series proved popular, and a fourth issue soon followed featuring a subplot involving Judge Garza's Relampago character, his first appearance in print after nearly fifteen years. The fourth issue titled "Enter: The Dogs of War!" occurs just weeks after the events of the first story-arc. The issue involved two hired mercenaries intent on killing El Gato Negro. Francisco, exhausted from his vigilante activities, barely survived his first encounter with the deadly duo, which resulted in near inter-cranial injury. A fifth issue tentatively titled "And Now...Relampago" was due for release, but the comic was put on hiatus ending the last issue with a cliffhanger. There are currently plans to release a graphic novel featuring the original series which will include the unpublished issue, thereby resolving the storyline.
El Gato Negro returned in 2004 under the new series "El Gato Negro: Nocturnal Warrior" after a seven year hiatus. Dominguez enlisted the aid of Michael S. Moore to serve as writer and co-plotter of the new series (having previously worked together on the first published issue of Team Tejas) and artist Efren Molina. The combination of Moore's writing style and Molina's pencils have given the new series a much darker tone than its predecessor, to which Dominguez explains:
| “ | I felt that I didn’t do justice to true [El Gato Negro] fans who really deserve a book that is worthwhile reading about a Hispanic superhero. I’m relaunching the series with the services of writer Michael Moore (who is part Latino), who I believe truly understands the essence of the community...I’m really excited about Efren Molina’s pencils...[His] pencils give a darker atmosphere for the book. It pulls the ‘the true-blue-Gato fans’ right into the story.[11] | ” |
The new four-part "Legacy" storyline will retell the history of El Gato Negro and introduces a new villain in his ever-increasing rogues gallery, a sightless assassin, known as El Observador.
[edit] Fictional character history
Francisco Guerrero is a college graduate of UTPA and social worker living in Edinburg, Texas. Francisco adopted the moniker of El Gato Negro shortly after the death of his friend Mario Bustamonte, a border patrol officer who was overpowered and murdered by several drug-runners. El Gato Negro instantly became popular with the citizens of South Texas despite the media villifying his vigilante activities. El Gato Negro is constantly pursued by local law enforcement led by Sheriff Miguel Bustamone, Francisco's best friend and Mario's older brother.
In his first adventure, Francisco encountered Armando Ochoa, better known in the criminal underworld as "El Graduado". Being the son of the successful businessman and druglord Ignacio Ochoa, El Graduado plans to take his father's place amongst a criminal organization known as the The Annulus, which makes a yearly summit in South America. In order to impress the Annulus, El Graduado plans to make a large drug-trafficking deal in Texas. Upon being consistently thwarted by the Black Cat, El Graduado promises to kill the hero personally, at the risk of embarrassing himself. In a final confrontation with El Graduado, the villain has the upper-hand until the arrival of the original Gato Negro and the Texas Rangers. In a tight spot, El Graduado flees, inadvertently running into Sheriff Bustamonte. Recognizing him to be the brother of the border patrolman his henchmen had murdered several months earlier, Ochoa decides to kill the Sheriff as well. Francisco manages to intervene, saving Miguel, and allowing El Graduado to be taken in by the authorities. Afterward, Sheriff Bustamonte's opinion of El Gato Negro changes for the better but he continues to hunt for the hero regardless, believing his purposes to be noble but his methods to be dangerous.
[edit] Skills, abilities and resources
Unlike the average comic book superhero, El Gato Negro has no superpowers or abilities out of the normal human spectrum. Instead he makes use of his extensive training in martial arts, lucha libre, tactical weaponry and is assisted by several supporting characters, including his grandfather. While the original El Gato Negro relied more heavily on his fighting ability, Francisco's incarnation of El Gato Negro has a wide-variety of technology to choose from.
[edit] Costume
Francisco's suit design differs significantly from that of his grandfather's, which was more typical for the Lucha Libre traditions. His entire suit is made of a breatheable material described as "similar to biker's shorts", the nose and cat-like ears of his mask being reinforced with synthetic leather. The ears of the headpiece also serve to amplify the slightest sound and are able to retain their cup-shape despite being folded or bent. Inside each one of the ears is a battery compartment that powers the mask's lenses, modified from night vision goggles. The suit was designed by Francisco and his friend Antonio Trujillo.
[edit] Equipment
El Gato's weapon of choice is the shuriken or "Flying Cat's Claw". The shurikens are made of steel and are no bigger than 2 1/2" by 3/32", each one having 8 sharp barbs with a chisel-like tip. Francisco's suit can conceal a total of 8 Cat Claws in special compartments in his boots and gloves. El Gato will only use the Flying Cat Claws if he or someone else is in immediate danger. These modified shurikens were designed by both Francisco and James Takayuki. Other weapons in El Gato Negro's arsenal include two stylized batons which secretly adhere to the back of his costume.
[edit] The Gatocycle
A heavily modified motorcycle constructed by Antonio Trujillo. The front of the motorcycle is stylized to represent a cat-like symbol, with powerful high beams, and can travel with amazing speed. However, the Gatocycle was wrecked in El Gato Negro #3 while the hero was in a high-speed pursuit.
[edit] See Also
[edit] References
- ^ Baldocomics.com| Baldo meets El Gato Negro!
- ^ El Gato Negro and Baldo, An Unusual Partnership
- ^ Flash Animation: Burrito Amigo Army
- ^ Look Up in the Sky its El GATO NEGRO
- ^ PLANET COMIC BOOK RADIO interview with Richard Dominguez PART 4
- ^ Pop Thought, El Gato Negro interview
- ^ The Paper of South Texas - Richard Dominguez's "El Gato Negro" (part 1 of 2)
- ^ The Paper of South Texas - Richard Dominguez's "El Gato Negro" (part 2 of 2)
- ^ El Gato Negro "The Hispanic Answer to Batman"
- ^ PLANET COMIC BOOK RADIO interview with Richard Dominguez PART 3
- ^ Comics Bulletin EL GATO NEGRO RETURNS IN NOVEMBER
