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The Power of PHI Entertainment The Prospector University of Texas at El Paso

ThePowerofPHI
ByPamelaPrieto Published:Thursday,May7,2009 Updated:Monday,January18,201010:01

TheUniversityofTexasatElPaso|

UTEPgraduatesbring'spiralmind'comictolife

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IfSupermanisfasterthanaspeedingbulletandmorepowerfulthanalocomotive,whywashe notabletoprotectthevillagerswhenDraculaorFrankensteinattacked? BenPerezremembersaskinghimselfthisquestionashewatchedhorrorfilmswhenhewasa child."Supermandoesn'tfightthem,"hismothersaidtohimonedayandyoungBenwasleft wonderingwhenhewouldseeasuperherothatwouldfighttheseandanyothermonstersthat mightcomealong. "WellIknewthenthatthisproblemhadtobefixed,"Perezsaid."SoeversincethatdayI'vebeen designingacharacterwhowoulddojustthat." ThatcharacterisSpiralmindandthesecondissueofthecomicbookinwhichhestarsisdueout thissummer. "Spiralmind(is)asuperherothatcanbefoundinanyone,"saidMattRothblatt,cocreatorofthe comicbook."(He)isahardworking,hardstudying,selfmademanwhouseswhatheknows instinctivelywithwhathehaslearnedovertheyearsthroughexperienceandthrough engineeringstudiestodowhathebelievesisjustandright." ThecomicfollowsBenLandryinhisquesttosavehispreciouscityofNinevehfromthegraspof anevilcultofcreatures,theNephilim,whosepurposeistoenslavehumanity.Landry'salterego, Spiralmind,fightseverythingfromwerewolvestovampirestopossessedhumansbymastering theuseofPhi,ortheGoldenRatio,aswellaswithhisknowledgeofengineering. PerezandRothblatt,whoareengineersthemselves,havebeendevelopingthestorysince 2003.Itsfirstissue,"Spiralmind:Rabbi'sLament,"debutedearlierthisyear. TheUTEPgraduatesandcofoundersofPhi3Comicsadmittobeinglifelongfansofthegraphic novelgenreandhopetocreatesomethingthatwillimpactawiderangeofaudiences. "Weputourselvesintheshoesofeveryfangirlandfanboyaswellasourpeersand predecessorsandaskourselves,'Whatisthiscomicbooktryingtoaccomplish?'Iftheansweris thatitaffectsthemallindifferentways,we'vedoneourjob,"Perezsaid. OnewaytheyplanondoingthisisbymakingtheirworkreadilyavailabletoSpanishspeaking audiences. "Ourplansincestartingthisventurewastomake'Spiralmind'accessibletoeveryoneinElPaso andSpanishspeakersaroundtheworld,"saidRothblatt,whoalsoaddedthatmorethana businessdecision,translatingthecomicintoSpanishwasa"decisionoftheheart." "WhatIloveisthatit'sfromElPaso,"said18yearoldAaronCampos,holdingupacopyofthe blackandwhitebonus"Spiralmind"bookletsthatweregivenawayduringFreeComicBookDay heldMay2."Ilovethefactthatwehavelocalartiststhataren'tafraidtoshowtheirwork." JenniferReyes,17,alsoattendedtheeventandaddedthattheSpanishversionof"Spiralmind" wasnecessary. "(It's)coolbecauseweliveinElPaso,"shesaid."LivingsoclosetoJurez,weneedboth languages."
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The Power of PHI Entertainment The Prospector University of Texas at El Paso

JahazielRodriguez,alsoaUTEPgraduate,showedadeepinterestinthecomicsinceearlyin theproduction.WhenheknewRothblattandPerezwereplanningtoproduceaSpanishversion ofthecomic,hequicklymovedfromfantotranslator. "Ijumpedattheopportunitytobringsomethingtolifethathadnotpreviouslybeenseen. HispanicAmericanfansofthegenrewerenotbeinggiventheprivilegetoenjoystrongcomic storiesintheirnativelanguage,andIwantedtobeinvolvedintheprocessofmakingthat possible,"Rodriguezsaid. Theauthorsdeclaredthatfansofthefirstissueof"Spiralmind"canexpecttoknowmoreabout himintheirupcomingproject,whichisagraphicnovelthatwillexploreSpiralmind'sorigins, includingtheexorcismofBenLandry'smotherandhowhecametomeethismentors,aJewish rabbiandaCatholicpriest. Untilthen,thecomiccanbeorderedonlinethroughwww.comixpress.comand www.indyplanet.com.Formoreinformationandupdates,youmayvisit www.myspace.com/phi3comics. PamelaPrietomaybereachedatprospector@utep.edu.

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RobertCorral

MattRothblattandBenPerezcreated 'Spiralmind,'whichtellsthestoryofBen Landryandhisquesttosavehiscityof NinevahfromthegraspoftheevilNephilim. SpiralmindisLandry'scrimefightingalter ego.

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The Power of PHI Entertainment The Prospector University of Texas at El Paso

RobertCorral

'Spiralmind'cocreatorMattRothblatt(far right)speakswithsomefansofthecomic bookabouttheoriginsofthesuperheroat ThePercolatorduringFreeComicBookDay, whichwasMay2.

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