California. The 1940s...A young Latino boxer faces his first US match against a well known Mexican fighter. With the country at war and racism in ugly bloom, the young fighter rises above his father's boxing career and the challenges of raising a family to fight his biggest opponent yet; himself.
The greatest fights aren't always in the ring; but every fight begins at Round One...
Back in 2000, I wrote and illustrated ‘Round One’ as a 3 part comic book. The idea was a little raw, but the initial concept – personal struggle – was still there. I soon put the story on the backburner and would touch on it every now and then. Then 2009 came…
For the most part, it’s been a really hard year for a lot of people, myself included, and with so many challenges – economic woes, career stand-stills, relationship and political issues – it almost felt like being backed into a corner with no where to go. This reminded me of the classic scene from ‘Raging Bull’ were Jake LaMotta, beaten and bloody, was holding onto the ropes with everything he had while ‘Sugar Ray’ was winding up for the last punch. Everything goes quiet and we listen to the sounds of LaMotta breathing heavily.
‘Sugar Ray’ drops the bomb. LaMotta takes the hit – but, as in LaMotta’s famous last words...
“You never took me down, Ray. You never took me down”.
The boxer has taken on the role of personal metaphor in many stories which is often overlooked. What is it that the boxer sees when he’s in the ring? What is he feeling when he’s struggling against the odds? What kind of internal struggles does he - do we - have when entering the ring?
It is my hope to be able to produce ‘Round One’ to help inspire and encourage as we over come our personal demons, whatever they may be, so they don’t bring us down.
