David Gonzales (cartoonist)

David Gonzales
Born	1964 (age 52–53) Richmond, California
Area(s)	cartoonist, apparel designer, toy designer
Notable works	Homies, Mijos, The Palermos
Children	Andres, Monica, Anthony
http://www.davidgonzalesart.com

David Gonzales (born 1964 in Richmond, California) is a Mexican-American cartoonist, apparel designer, and toy designer. He is the creator of the Homies line of toys.

Gonzales was one of five brothers who were very close. He grew up in the tough streets of a poverty-ridden Mexican-American neighborhood. After attending Roman Catholic elementary school, Gonzales begged his parents to put him in a local public high school because the art program was better.

Gonzales began drawing comics while he was in high school. His amateur comic strip was called The Adventures of Chico Loco, and the characters were based on "barrio guys." The main character, based on Gonzales himself, was called "Hollywood."

Gonzales attended California College of the Arts in Oakland. He had changed the title of his strip to The Adventures of Hollywood when it was picked up as a monthly feature by the San Jose-based Lowrider magazine and steadily gained an audience.

In the early 90s Gonzales began drawing characters from The Adventures of Hollywood on T-shirts and other products, which he and his wife sold at local beach stands, swap meets, liquor stores, and eventually urban clothing stores. These characters were the templates for Homies. Under the Gonzales Graphics name, Gonzales also sold shirts geared toward "La Raza," with Aztec designs, Pachuco imagery, and illustrations of the Mexican Revolution.

Gonzales lived in Taos from 1994 to 1998, when he moved back to the Bay Area. It was at that point that Gonzales shifted direction from T-shirts to toy design. He released the first set of Homies figurines, which were initially sold in supermarket vending machines in Chicano communities throughout California. Gonzales initially had trouble selling his product, in particular because the Los Angeles Police Department claimed that the toys glorified gang life. In response, many stores stopped selling the Homies.

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