Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: kickstarter, zoot suit riots

Death To Pachuco, A Chicano Noir On The Zoot Suit Riots

Death To Pachuco, a Chicano Noir on the Zoot Suit Riots comes to Kickstarter from Henry Barajas, Rachel Merrill, and Lee Loughridge

Published Sat, 07 Dec 2024 06:57:08 -0600

by Rich Johnston

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Article Summary

Explore "Death To Pachuco," a Chicano noir set against the 1943 Zoot Suit Riots.
Join private eye Ricky Tellez as he races to solve the Sleepy Lagoon murder.
Discover the role of zoot suits as powerful political statements.
Back the Kickstarter campaign for exclusive covers by David Lapham.

Death to Pachuco: A Chicano Noir is a comic that Henry Barajas is crowdfunding on Kickstarter, "pachuco" defined as "a young Mexican-American having a taste for flashy clothes and a special jargon and usually belonging to a neighborhood gang." With five days to go, it has raised $8,300 of a $10,000 goal from 237 donors.

Readers are asked to prepare for a "gut-wrenching journey into the heart of Chicano culture and history" by Henry Barajas, Rachel Merrill, and Lee Loughridge, set against the backdrop of the Zoot Suit Riots and the aftermath of the Sleepy Lagoon murder. This Chicano noir-inspired tale "delves into the struggles, horrors, and resilience of the Chicano community during a tumultuous time in 1943 wartime Los Angeles." During the summer of 1943, Los Angeles became a hotbed of tension and conflict as a series of fierce clashes erupted between U.S. Navy members and Mexican American youth stemming from the murder of Jose Diaz. Private eye Ricardo "Ricky" Tellez needs to find the Sleep Lagoon Killer before the racist mob kills him in the Zoot Suit Riots.

"Death to Pachuco is an important story largely unknown," says Barajas. "It's about honoring the history of the Chicano community while weaving a narrative that is both timely and timeless. The Zoot Suit Riots were a pivotal moment in L.A.'s history, and we aim to shed light on the complexities surrounding it through the lens of a Chicano noir and with pictures and words."

"There are a lot of levels to Death to Pachuco that involve people's agency to exist," co-creator and artist Rachel Merrill says. "It's also about policing people's bodies. The zoot suit in itself is a political statement—and the fashion plays an important role in the story we're trying to tell."

The crowdfunded first issue includes a limited-edition cover by David Lapham, signed copies, and original artwork.