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Eduardo Burgos still remembers how eager his middle school classmates were to celebrate Christmas. Kids were jumping for joy as they left school, excited to see their families. But for Burgos, reality wasn’t so sweet. His father had been arrested for fraud and robbery in October.
That left him with only a pen, paper, and his imagination as an escape.
It worked. Almost 25 years later, Burgos, a Miami local who is now an adjunct art professor at Miami Dade College’s Kendall Campus, sat in a booth at the Miami Book Fair Street Fair recently with stacks of his self-made comics spread across the table. As the illustrator and writer of a wide-ranging comic collection, he has turned those early years of trauma and pain into a career built on connection.
“I wanted to share my work with the general population in South Florida because I made comic books that are created to help other people,” Burgos said.
The 37-year-old has eight comic books in total, each about 24 pages, that relate to real-life experiences.
They weave multiple periods from his life, growing up with a drug-addicted parent, finding refuge in art and navigating unfavorable childhood environments into stories he hopes will resonate with others holding similar memories.
“Fix” was Burgos’s first release in 2024. It describes his relationship with his drug addict father growing up. “Revive” is an extension of that, focusing on his dad dealing with the problems before it’s too late.
He then released his self-help book, “Kosis.” He had written it in 2016, but did not officially release it until after he published “Fix.” The book addresses being creatively blocked and how to overcome it by stepping out of one’s comfort zone. That period came after a low point in Burgos’s life: being kicked out of his grandfather’s house and losing his estranged father.
The next volume was “Compass.” It follows his relationship with his late grandmother, who passed away due to colon cancer. In the book, an evil guy is essentially a manifestation of colon cancer. Burgos gets defeated because his grandmother loses her life.
In the book, the bad guys are inspired by the killer from the “Scream” franchise and the character “Phantasm” from Batman. He has three finger-like claws on each hand, a hooded gown, a skull face, demon wings for flight and no floats because he has no feet. On the other hand, his grandmother is light-skinned, with gray hair in a low bun, wearing a white nightgown, socks and some wrinkles on her face.
“My relationship with my grandmother made me feel deeply loved,” Burgos said. “She cooked for me, took me to school whenever I needed, and showed up to every vital moment: parent-teacher nights, school events and graduations. Her presence gave me a sense of stability and unconditional support, shaping who I am today.”
Two months after he discovered he had a half-sister who was terribly abused as a child on ancestry.com, he put out two volumes of “Plantoman.” In volume one, a masked hero runs against time to save his daughter from an evil priest’s world of addiction and manipulation. Then, in volume two, the masked hero confronts the evil priest who has influenced his daughter’s mind, leading her further into the world of addiction and manipulation.
Burgos also has books based on others’ experiences. “Casanova” was inspired by an article he read about a kid who was being made fun of in class because his mother used the website “OnlyFans.”
“Mijo” brings awareness to the growing human trafficking in South Florida.
“I see [the comic book collection] as a way for me to give back to the community, not just through entertainment but to use my storytelling as a way to help other people,” Burgos said.
Although Burgos placed a lot of emphasis on the comics’ storytelling, he also focused on the artwork. Inspired by 13th-century and 14th-century art, Burgos consistently uses only black-and-white sketches to convey a sense of immediacy throughout the comics.
This isn’t new, though, as Burgos has used this artistic style to visually extend his emotions through his work without relying on color since his early childhood.
Now, Burgos has sold a little over 100 copies of his comics. At the book fair, he was in one of many artists’ booths in downtown Miami.. Attendees stopped by throughout the day to flip through Burgos’ illustrations. Many asked about the real experiences behind the comic.
Burgos sells prints for $17.49, T-shirts for $30.99 and comics for $9.99 on his official website. He plans to continue expanding the series to reach more people through additional storylines, but ultimately hopes his books help others open up about their experiences. He also hopes to increase his presence at conventions and fairs and develop more apparel.
“I want them to take away that vulnerability could be their superpower, and they can use it as a means to help other people,” Burgos said.
This story is part of a collaboration between Miami’s Community Newspapers and the Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media at Florida International University.
