ALICE, Texas — Books have the power to change people, comic books included, and one Alice native is making his mark in the comic book world.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to have my own my book,” Lino Placencio, writer and creator of the “Bloodline” comic book said.
Placencio was born and raised in Alice, Texas and grew up loving theatre, superheroes, and comic books.
Placencio attended Texas A&M University-Kingsville where he received his bachelor’s and master’s.
While attending college Placencio appeared on the university’s radio broadcast program where he talked about the latest superhero movie, comic books, video games and according to him “anything nerdy and fun.”
But Placencio always wanted to create his own comic book and finally decided to give it a try.
The first issue of “Bloodline” took 5 years to create. Placencio said the first four years was simply planning and adapting to changes and the last year was actually getting the comic onto paper and publishing it.
He said it was a constant rewriting process and he learned a lot along the way.
“You have to think about plotlines, characters, backgrounds. It needs to make sense,” he said.
Placencio said his comic book started from an idea he had while driving in his car.
He and his fiancé Isabel Perez were joking about silly ideas for comic books but soon the conversation turned serious, and they realized their ideas weren’t silly they were good.
Placencio transformed that small idea into a story which eventually transformed into “Bloodline” issue one.
“I took the best idea that I felt resonated with me not only as just a comic book fan but just as a person,” Placencio said.
“Bloodline” follows a teenage girl named Kassandra who was given a special necklace from her grandmother. Kassandra soon realizes the necklace gives her power depending on whose blood it touches. Kassandra must learn what this power means while keeping it hidden from people who want to take it away.
Kassandra’s necklace was influenced by one of Placencio’s favorite comic book characters Green Lantern. There’s also lots of subtle hints to Hispanic culture and traditions.
Placencio said Kassandra’s grandmother, Abuela, reflects his own grandmothers and mother. He thinks of Abuela as a guide and teacher to Kassandra similar to Mr. Miyagi from "The Karate Kid." He remembers spending lots of time with his grandparents when he was young and listening to the valuable lessons they passed down.
“They kind of shaped me into who I am,” Placencio said.
Placencio said Kassandra’s character also reflects important people that have impacted his life.
“It’s been a collection of people that I’ve met throughout my life that kind of embody Kassandra the main character,” he said.
Placencio admitted one of the hardest parts was finding a talented artist.
“It was a hard task to find someone who is able to kind of make my script, my characters come to life through the art,” he said.
He scoured the internet for artists and eventually found Ebuka Okpala through reddit. Placencio says his partnership with Ebuka eventually transformed into a meaningful friendship.
“He does it all, he’s amazing. And honestly this wouldn’t have even like been close to coming to life if it wasn’t for him,” Placencio praised.
Placencio says Ebuka does the main art, his fiancé Isabel creates a variant cover and each issue going forward will have a third cover created by a selected family member or friend. Placencio’s close friend Buddy Trevino will help with the artwork for issue two.
Placencio credits his theatre background for helping him unfold the story. He said when he looks at the script it reminds him of theatre scripts.
“It’s there. It’s all theatre from beginning to end,” he said.
The second issue of Bloodline is set to come out later this year. Placencio estimates it will take 6-8 months since they are only a two-man team, but the results will be worth it.
“We want to make sure we put out the best issue possible. Especially since we’ve heard a lot of good things about issue one,” Placencio said.
Bloodline is expected to be a 10-issue series. Placencio hopes to turn the series into a graphic novel once completed.
You can find updates for “Bloodline” by clicking here or you can purchase your own copy here.
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