Eric M. Esquivel

Eric Michael Esquivel (born 1987 ) is a Latino American comic book writer and journalist, known for the 2018 series Border Town, which was cancelled following allegations that he had sexually and emotionally abused a female friend.

Early life
Eric Esquivel was born on February 10, 1987, in Gurnee, Illinois. He is of Irish and Mexican ancestry.

Career
Esquivel has worked as a journalist and critic, writing for such websites as Bleeding Cool, Fox News Latino, Bookmans Entertainment Exchange, and The Tucson Citizen. He has worked as a comics writer for publishers including Archie Comics, Boom Studios, DC Comics, Dynamite, Frederator Books, Heavy Metal, IDW, Papercutz, Scholastic, Starburns Industries Press, and Zenescope.

In 2018, Esquivel began writing Border Town, a magic realist comics series with art by Ramon Villalobos, at the center of a relaunch of DC's Vertigo imprint. The series dealt with immigration and Latino identity, for which Esquivel received death threats in advance of its publication. The series was well-received by critics, and the first issue went to a second printing after its September 2018 release, to meet retailer demand.

In December 2018, Esquivel was accused by a woman of subjecting her to ongoing sexual and emotional abuse several years previously; he disputed her account of their interaction. His creative collaborators on Border Town (of which four issues had been published) withdrew from the project. DC cancelled the unpublished issues, and accepted retailer returns of those that had been published. DC also cancelled plans for Esquivel to take over writing their superhero Nightwing series.

In 2020, Esquivel announced Alternate Empire, a publishing venture with Eddie Berganza, who had been terminated by DC in 2017 following sexual harassment allegations.

Print interviews

 * "New/Old Heroes to Challenge 'White, Right' Status Quo". Newsarama
 * "Eric M. Esquivel Speaks on The Blackest Terror". Ghetto Manga
 * "Eric Esquivel And His Unkillable Thunder Christ". Bleeding Cool
 * "Atomic Interrogation: Eric M. Esquivel". Atomic Comics
 * "An Interview With The Unkillable Eric M. Esquivel". Comic Book Therapy
 * "Freelancers Are Taking Over". Broken Frontier
 * "Kabooooom Quickies: Eric M. Esquivel" . Kabooooom
 * "Esquivel and Gaylord Bring on the Metal Apocalypse in “Loki: Ragnarok and Roll” for BOOM! Studios (Exclusive)" . Multiversity Comics

Video interviews

 * "Eric M. Esquivel At PhoCo 2012". Comic Book Therapy
 * "A Comic Show Interview with Eric M. Esquivel - Phoenix Comic Con 2012". A Comic Show
 * "Invest Comics Interviews Eric Esquivel" . Invest Comics
 * "LBCHC 2013 Eric Esquivel: Eric talks about the upcoming series, LOKI: RAGNAROK AND ROLL at Boom! Studios.". Comic Vine

Audio interviews

 * Steve Bryant & Digital Debates With Brion Salazar, Jeffery Simpson, Eric Esquivel, Dave Baker Word Balloon
 * Issue 123 – Mythology of 2 Straight Dudes in Love Comic Book Queers
 * JAVILAND: Episode 21 Javiland
 * JAVILAND: Episode 36 Javiland
 * The Fred And Jeff Show: Phoenix Comicon 2013 The Fred And Jeff Show
 * Ep. #010 The 'PREVIEWS' Party Podcast feat. Eric M. Esquivel & Janelle Asselin Fanboy Comics
 * We Be Geeks Episode 55: And Starring Eric M. Esquivel As Aquaman We Be Geeks