[00:00:00] Jerry Ashton: [00:00:00] Hello again, this is Jerry Ashton with let's rethink this. Got a very special interview today. Somewhere along the way, OAS as fates would have it. Oh, Marty was introduced to a cartoonist and ran of deep experience at an industry. So to attract someone like Mr. , who I'll be introducing in a minute.

[00:00:33] It's a conversation once we said what is the value of a cartoon when it comes to, shall we say spotlighting? What is the special added magic that is created when, someone has turned into a cartoon of themselves, is that an insult? Is that a compliment? Is that what we all desire?

[00:01:01] Is it what we are all anyway. So if we're going to have to rethink things, we're going to do that in the company, Mr. Big Giza here, who I'd like to introduce and ask him a few questions. So Vick, happy to have you with us.

[00:01:14] Vic Guiza: [00:01:14] Thank you, sir. Thank you very much for having me here, that to see you and glad to, to be part of other please interviewees and guests.

[00:01:24] So

[00:01:24] Jerry Ashton: [00:01:24] how did our connection come about? I came

[00:01:27] Vic Guiza: [00:01:27] about our mutual friend, Cary Harrison, and Jerry has been a great tool. Let's say that way for me. And I hope it will be one day I go to, for him, he is a very. Unique on his concept of, a PR agent. So we, both prayer prior to that, we had, I had a contract with a client of him.

[00:01:54] Daniel is to lead with who's a good writer and I love Daniels books. And I told him through Twitter, Italian, can I do a route or would you be interested in doing a graphic novel? I will illustrate it. And Just in your words. What about that? And as in some samples Daniel and Caryd so many samples, they like the art and they say, Hey, let's do it.

[00:02:23] Now. We're developing this graph from Danny, Leslie, but Cary, very highly. So it has been a, the link between. You and I, and also with that Daniel, even that I don't know Cary, before I have been more in contact with Cary than with Daniel, even though I have the door open with the Italian that's how we met

[00:02:50] Jerry Ashton: [00:02:50] Harry Harrison is unique in his own, right?

[00:02:53] He's a radio personality syndicated across some 300 plus station radio city. In the United [00:03:00] States. And I first met him when I was out there hitting the trails or the previous care who I have started called rip medical debt. And his magic and his work, we were able to get even more publicity. And of course, when people create results for you like that, and you like to keep them in your world.

[00:03:21] Okay. So Cary certainly qualifies in that. Now the idea of superheroes that interests me because when I first heard that, I said isn't it true that the people that are making these changes are heroes. And I know we do our best by way of an interview. We do our best, by the way. Writing stories about these people, but they, but the impact of being a superhero in a comic strip that got my attention.

[00:03:53] What we're doing with you at LRT is thinking through the numbers of people that we feel are making a difference out there and asking them if they would like to be accomplished. And a comic strip would be a simple number of panels at one time introduction to them as a superhero making changes.

[00:04:16] For example, our first super hero will be a gentleman with a deep roots in the community of Harlem. And his name is Clayton banks and Clayton banks has an organization called Silicon Harlem. They'll look at Harlem is going to be thanks to a new mandate and a contract with the city of New York.

[00:04:44] We'll be bringing broadband access to New York city housing out from there to nursing homes out there to any arena in which it's difficult for people. To afford broadband and therefore they lose the benefit of it. So anyone who can bring broadband to some 40% of Harlem that doesn't have access to it right now because of cost.

[00:05:11] And that's a hero to me. So you've been in conversation, you've been mulling over this. What ideas do you have around.

[00:05:18] Vic Guiza: [00:05:18] Many ideas actually years. My background is from illustrating comic books, children, books, many storyboards, et cetera. So in the sense of the comic strip idea is very powerful and we have to be very, specific, very concrete on terms of our storytelling, bringing.

[00:05:44] In nine panels, 10 panels. The story of the character, the, just the background then its mission or her, his mission. And then the challenge that he or her is, living [00:06:00] through coming through. And it has to be very specific, very fast on terms of the background and quite his impulse in this person to be a hero.

[00:06:11] Of course, great events doesn't consider a hero or a superhero. We that when we can see what he's doing, will we see a superhero there? So that's the comic strip.

[00:06:25] Jerry Ashton: [00:06:25] What I also love about comic strips is that they make the difficult, very simple. In the sense there's good and there's evil.

[00:06:34] There's right. And there's wrong. There are efforts that are put out there, results that come about from those efforts. So at the beginning of, any economist strip there's going to be a challenge that's being met in the case of Silicon Harlem. It's meeting the broadband needs of that community.

[00:06:53] And then there's the pho or the problem that's being addressed in this case, the digital divide And in an extremist for someone to spend his time from 2014 until today, to be able to create that as a possibility. That's yeah. You and I would probably agree that superhero status more to that very, first one that you're going to be doing.

[00:07:22] And I believe that's one of the sometimes. In early July of not very, much at the person, July and in preparation for introduction to the larger world that's coming up called Harlem week, which I believe is taking place in August. So I have a feeling that between let's rethink this and hickeys and Silicon Harlem.

[00:07:51] The people that make things happen in that humidity will probably have some more fun with you. If you could very quickly get. Your resume and also how people can contact you. If someone wants to say hi, I'm about as calm as you can get. And I'd like to have your makeup. No problem. It, somebody like me.

[00:08:13] Do you have an email address? Yes, I

[00:08:15] Vic Guiza: [00:08:15] do. My, my name is Victor Giza I'm from Mexico. I leave some time in the U S back in the late eighties, nineties. Then I came back to Mexico and I've been working here. Freelance illustrator since I was 14 years old doing storyboards for TV, commercial for TV.

[00:08:37] And since then, since that I have been doing toy development, animation, reproduction, a lot of other Tysons. I know all the big names in the other pricing I've been working with them in the past. The brands like Kellogg's like the known Levi's, et cetera. And science like [00:09:00] Disney, like Marvel comics trading their, upper cards, their upper deck trading cards the teenage mutant ninja turtle.

[00:09:10] As a, as an incur bongo comics with the same sense, et cetera. So that's my insured words might, may resume. Okay. 37, 36 years of experience in many fields. I have been working with clients in 17 countries. I have been awarded for my illustrations in in the us for, children. Over kind of words.

[00:09:37] And I enjoy my work. I love my clients. Most of my clients, I have to be realistic.

[00:09:46] Jerry Ashton: [00:09:46] Most of our clients let me intrude for a minute here and point out another thing. And it's important for our viewers to know that this is not the work that we're doing with you is not a one-off. That there will be a series and ongoing series of Pharaoh's probably on maybe a twice a month basis, every two weeks in which we will be introducing these superheroes.

[00:10:10] There's another element that we're adding to it. Yeah. And that is the odd and strange and mysterious world at van FTS, non fungible tokens. So it's going to be our project with you once these cartoons are probably. To turn them into non fungible tokens and allow the public to bid on them, to find out which of these superheroes they would like to have an original of that cartoon strip by way of NFT.

[00:10:40] So what is your thoughts about that?

[00:10:44] Vic Guiza: [00:10:44] I'm very excited. Oh, hold on. I just forgot my email. My email is Viki Giza to add dot.

[00:10:55] Jerry Ashton: [00:10:55] Now it might be a good idea to spell out.

[00:10:59] Vic Guiza: [00:10:59] Oh, Jay Giza is like the pirates of keys in Egypt is a G U I Z a This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or third. You guys, I consider myself as part of the artistry.

[00:11:13] Jerry Ashton: [00:11:13] You are that, every bit of that. So for the first time ever into an NFT

[00:11:21] Vic Guiza: [00:11:21] I have been following Cryptocurrencies scenes 2017 before the big boom of Bitcoin. I have been. Following and buying some cryptocurrencies. And this year I began to notice the NFTs, the famous NFTs, that is the, that are linked to a blockchain, a unique block chain, et cetera.

[00:11:49] And they were like, wow this is something else. And this can be another way of revenue for me. And [00:12:00] for my clients. But I have to get in and I was talking with Gary since day one with the story of Daniel and the graphic novel. I said Perry, we have to find a way to develop NFTs of our own stuff.

[00:12:18] Okay. Even though we get $50, we can get 150 or we can get 150,000 or more So I will develop the art. It will be linked to the NFT and let's see how we can promote or option the NFT. And he has been since day one, trying to find a way to do it. And I'm talking November last year. Okay. Then after.

[00:12:53] Six months, five months, Cary, call me and say I have the solution at our key. They are developing these and they are what they want to meet you. I will introduce you to Mr. Jerry Ashton, who is you? And so since there's, I think we, we found another empathy besides our mutual Admiration for each generation.

[00:13:19] Thank you. And then

[00:13:25] Jerry Ashton: [00:13:25] I can add, one more thing before we complete our interview with you, Vic. And that is being an art collector myself in a modest way. I've always cared about the welfare of the artist. The artist sells a piece and that's it. It's a single transaction. What attracted me to the idea of NFT is, that written into a contract?

[00:13:45] That an artist would agree to give up rights, not commercial, but give up rights to his art or her art that there would be a recurring revenue of 15% of any future sale. Now imagine what Andy Warhol, if their state had gotten 15%, every time a piece of his art was sold, they'd be rolling in it for sure.

[00:14:09] One of the first people that I approached this idea was a fellow by name of cousin Ernie, Pennett Sholay who is renowned. Yeah. One of America's great hip hop photographers, if not the greatest and Ernie Penta, Charlie we'll be writing and working with LRT to promote a hip hop rap artist whose name I can't reveal at the moment, but that will be revealed when we have the opportunity to put it up for auction.

[00:14:43] So anybody interested in what we're doing? Go to. The usual WWS and go to let's. Let S rethink C H I N K, this, you know how that's bill, let's rethink this.com investigate what we're doing [00:15:00] sign up if you, if it resonates with you and let's see what kind of common interests we're going to be having in the future months and years.

[00:15:08] So thank you once again.

[00:15:11] Vic Guiza: [00:15:11] Thank you. Thank you very much, sir. Thank you for the opportunity and let's contribute to, to rethink our work.