Meet Alfredo Morales | Cartoonist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Alfredo Morales and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Alfredo, career-wise, where do you want to be in the end?
I want to be in a position where any art form I want to do can be financially achievable. Not rich, but a strong financial structure that doesn’t just keep me afloat but makes any art form possible for me. I have no dreams of becoming super rich, I do want to create things that are financially successful, but I will have checks and balances in place where the majority of this money won’t enter my hands, but in the hands of those who need it. Whether that be humanitarian efforts or political endeavors.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My business is very much focus on clout or in other words, internet attention. I want as many people as possible to know my name and to associate it with the art that I make. That’s all in an effort to make as much money as possible off my own clout, Of course I realize I’m not some major super influencer that’s why my model of business is mostly based on pre-orders. I make my comic, I promote it online for a couple of weeks (which mostly means posting it all for free to read) and then I run limited pre-order sales on physical copies.

Now you might be wondering, why post it free first and then run the sales, didn’t the potential customer already get the product?
Well you see we live in the internet era and my generation of comic readers are use to reading anything they want for free, look at pirating manga. Everyday countless people read manga online illegally and manga is currently the biggest it’s ever been. People will still go out and buy their favorite series even if they read the whole thing. And we’re in the era were people are more aware of the people who make the media they enjoy. So being a big personality online and having comics that are easily accessible to read makes a perfect combination of funneling fans into customers.

The big problem with this model is that it usually takes two months to make a comic, and plus an extra month to sell said comic. I been working on several solutions for this. First is digital sales, which doesn’t make too much money. But can be the seeds to grow later financial success. My second solution is to work with other people in order to make comics between the months no comic is coming out. For example a couple months ago, I wrote a script for a horror comic that one of my artist friends is currently drawing right now. We hope to have this comic out soon, in the next month or so. In the mean time I’m working on a comic to release right after we’re done selling that comic. Create this rhythm of comics always coming out on a decent schedule.

And any moment I’m not making comics, I’m creating buzz about myself online, mostly thru social media. I run a weekly podcast (Main Character Syndrome Podcast) so people can hear a more “real” me, when I think of a silly idea for a four panel comic I draw it right away and throw it out into the internet. Maybe this comic might become the new meme, usually not but I have come close. It’s all an effort to grow my online personality, one simple joke post or silly drawing can be the hook that reels potential people into buying what I’m selling.

That being all said, I am still at start of all this really, every year I get more and more laser focus on what I should be doing and I’m never sacred to try something new. I’ll say this, this is going to be my year I can feel it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If they never been to the West coast, probably In-a-Out burger. I’ll take then to my favorite sushi place, Kiku sushi and show them around Convoy street where all the Asian restaurants and stores are at. Depending if they’re down for it, I’ll show them some of favorite canyons and storm drains too.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Major shout out to the Comic Artists of San Diego, their support and resources have been a big help in achieving a lot of my goals relatively quickly. Special shout out to my partner Wes Eisenzimmer (RottenEggShop) for all their love and support and my true partner in crime when comes to everything art and business related. Also big shout out to all my artist friends and fans on the internet, who always retweet, share or reblog my art. I will remember each and everyone of you, who helped me get to where I am, you are not forgotten.

Website: https://cheesymanfredo.carrd.co/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cheesymanfredo/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cheesymanfredo

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Cheesymanfredo