Today we’d like to introduce you to Dre Torres.
Dre, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always had a passion for writing and storytelling. At first, that passion manifested through hip-hop music. I released numerous projects under the alias Shottie and have been fortunate enough to perform in big venues in Miami, New York and Los Angeles. I’ve also been able to work with legends such as Ras Kass and rock shows with the likes of Mobb Deep, Rick Ross, Roc Marciano and many others. Eventually, my love for storytelling led me to film school, which I attended in Los Angeles and quickly made my main focus.
The original idea for POPOVA was to produce it as an independent film, but my writing partner Alex Valdes and I quickly realized we would not have the financial means to make that film a reality, so we switched our focus and adapted our POPOVA screenplay into a comic book formula. Having not been well-versed in the world of comics (aside from being a huge Batman fan) we delved deep into the culture and forged connections with amazing artists such as Yasmin Liang, Amancay Nahuelpan, Ari Syahrazad and Ian Cinco, that would help realize our vision. In 2017 we released our first issue of POPOVA and we’ve been working on expanding the universe ever since.
POPOVA is an action-drama about a group of discontented, abused women who band together to wage a violent war against their male oppressors. We felt that with the current social and political climate, it would be interesting to explore the origin of the patriarchy and the idea of gender roles in our society.
Has it been a smooth road?
Figuring out how to adapt our screenplay into the comic book format was a challenge. It’s not as straightforward as it would appear, but it was a welcome challenge that we embraced as writers.
Another challenge was the fact that we are two males writing a story about women. However, growing up as the only male in a household with three generations of women, the idea of powerful female protagonists wasn’t foreign to me.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with POPOVA – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as and what sets you apart from others.
We have independently released the first two issues of our comic book POPOVA, which can be found on our website www.popovaworld.com. While the first two issues are in black & white, we have recently teamed with talented colorist Shane Bailey and will be releasing a graphic novel version of POPOVA in full color later this year.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Miami is responsible for my perspective as an artist. It’s cliche to say our city is a melting pot of cultures, but it’s a cliche that holds up under intense scrutiny.
What I like least about our city is complicated – I wish Miami would be brave enough to forge its own identity. It seems like we wait to see what other major cities are doing in regard to art and culture and then adapt those elements into our way of life. With the staggering amount of talent in this city, I’d like to see more of us embrace all the wonderful, original aspects of Miami rather than copy what’s happening in places like L.A. and Brooklyn.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.popovaworld.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/popova_comic/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/popova_comic
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