Last year was a wild year. The Death to Pachuco gang has been working on this series since late 2024. But you can’t just make a comic these days. You have to send out all the Kickstarter rewards, do TikToks, visit comic bookshops all around the world, and letter it. It felt good to hustle work that we own.

Before I share my top fives of 2025, I have business to address:

Preview Death to Pachuco #4

Death to Pachuco, or “DTP” in the group chat, is in full swing. I can't believe we’re near the finish line. We get a little wild in this issue. Sure, we’ve been wild in all the issues, but, I think this one is a little bit out there. DTP has been heavily inspired by John Woo after seeing him talk at The Egyptian during his America Cinematheque retrospective. Let’s just say there’s a shoot out. Oops, spoiler alert. Click here to buy a copy on January 21st, 2026!

Pre-order Death to Pachuco #5

Click here to pre-order the last issue and to see the cover gallery featuring J. Gonzo and Carmen Pizarro!

Preorder Death to Pachuco TPB

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HENRY’S TOP 5 THINGS OF 2025

GIL THORP GOING VIRAL

I’m going into year four of writing Gil Thorp. The fans are even counting how many days I’ve been writing the series. It’s sweet. Rachel Merrill’s talent has elevated the strip’s profile. The Comics Journal interviewed us when our Fourth of July strip went full-blown viral. A FBV, if you will. I have talked about gun violence, racism, LGBTQIA+ issues, ghosts, juvenile detention centers, the war in Gaza, Native history, ableism, and the list goes on. Our editor suggested that we do a more topical strip. That was a fun challenge because I think the strip speaks for itself.

Big shout-out to Kit Mills and Jason Margos for stepping up and filling in for the strip. The streak lives.

Launching Death to Pachuco with Top Cow & Image

Our Kickstarter supporters made Death to Pachuco possible. I’m at the tail end of sending the rewards for the campaign that made it happen. I can’t ask for a better team than Rachel Merrill and Lee Loughridge. Will Dennis and Phil Smith are the glue that keep this whole thing together. I’m lucky I can write and letter my own book. Comics thrive because of comic book stores. Thank you to all the shops that took a chance on the book, and the readers who ask for it.

Touring Again

(Yes, that’s Rachel holding her gay Our Flag Means Death fold out zine.) Toronto is a safe and equally problematic a place as anywhere on the planet earth. It was safe and walkable. The food was fantastic, and the people are always lovely. Debuting DTP at Anyone Comics in Brooklyn was such a fun experience. It was good to get to know Rachel and Travis (who recently tied the knot, congrats to them) while they were here for Comic Arts Los Angeles. Silver Lake Comic Fair was incredible. We tore it up at Thought Bubble trying to find the best Sex on The Beach cocktail. That doesn’t count the countless signings at Collector’s Paradise, Golden Apple, TFAW Universal, Revenge Of, and The Comic Bug. The response has been great in LA. We hope we can keep making more Ricky Téllez crime comics!

The NoHo Library came back

North Hollywood Amelia Earhart Library helped establish me when I first moved out here. I love that place. I love Studio City branch, but my heart is in NoHo. Support your local library! Go to your local library and take advantage of all the physical media in the world. And digital: Death to Pachuco is on Hoopla!

You… The People

You. Yeah. You. I’m talkin’ to you. Thank you for making this possible. I can’t wait to shake your hand and thank you in person someday. I’m trying not to travel as much in 2026. I keep getting sick after every trip. Not every trip. It enough to make me feel less into the idea. It looks like I’ll be going back to the Bipoc Pop! event at UT Austin in March. Portland is due for a visit. We’ll see!

WHAT I’M WATCHING

WHAT I’VE SEEN

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WHAT I’M HEARING

WHAT I’M READING

ABSOLUTE MARTIAN MANHUNTER: MARTIAN VISION

See you in the funny papers,

HB