This is Part One of a three-part interview with Tony Sandoval, exploring the imagination and artistry behind the work featured in The Tony Sandoval Collection, available now on Backerkit.

Magnetic Press has had the honor to publish Tony’s work in the United States for years, beginning with one of his earliest and most personal books about immigration, RENDEZ-VOUS IN PHOENIX, which recounts his crossing of the U.S.–Mexico border to reunite with his girlfriend. Since then, Tony has grown into a celebrated creator with multiple Eisner nominations for titles such as DOOMBOY, A GLANCE BACKWARD, WATERSNAKES, and 1000 STORMS, each a standalone tale quietly connected within a larger, shared universe, if you know where to look in the books!

Your most personal graphic novel, Rendez-vous In Phoenix, is the true story about the time you smuggled yourself across the border from Mexico into the United States. We hear a lot these days about this kind of illegal immigration in the news today, but you did it to reunite with your American girlfriend. Were you scared? What was the hardest part? And would you do it again today? 

Tony: I was scared as hell! And of course I’ll never do that again. The thing that scared me most was whether I was doing something bad for my future as a comic book author, by complicating my immigration status. Getting the papers to make a living in comics, which actually happened after a while, but I wasn’t as scared of the adventure.

How does drawing a comic about your own history compare to drawing fiction? 

Tony: It is out of my comfort zone, but it’s fine. I loved drawing it, after I figured out how. I just wish I could have spent more time on the storytelling.

Even though Rendez-vous is a personal story about your own reason for making that dangerous journey, what do you hope readers take away from the book?

Tony: I hope they have a good time reading about my adventure, but also to have a look at what is happening in our countries. I’m not just talking about in the U.S. but in Mexico as well. And I always drew.  I started drawing animals and only animals as a kid for quite some time, then people and stuff I saw on TV.  Eventually, I started reading comics like the New Gods from Jack Kirby. I also loved scary folk stories since I was a kid.