CONTRIBUTOR SINCE: July 15, 2020
PRONOUNS: He/Him
Nero is an indigenous Latinx erotic cartoonist living in Seattle who specializes in sensual, erotic work that uplifts queer bodies and celebrates the beauty in the masculine. His comic work has been published by Slipshine, Iron Circus Comics, Fortuna Media, The Nib, and more. The majority of his work can be found at itsnero.com.
COMICS
39 Steps Underground
Ignacio Flores is the type of artist willing to go the extra few miles for his work… Even if it…
Beasts of Burden
Disgraced bioengineer Dr Mallow has a new hobby- building the perfect, eternally horny, slutty boyfriend from stolen work scraps. But…
Deja Vu
Dante Martinez works 6 days a week at the sex shop Deja Vu Videos. A passionate connoisseur of retro gay…
Fuck me Running
Two marathon runners, who only see each other during events, elevate their relationship from casual hookups to something more. One…
Heel Turn
Rafael, a luchador at the height of his career, leaves Mexico for Miami in order to get a new career…
Spotlight Interview originally published September 2024.
My name is Nero Villagallos O’Reilly! I’m a gay Latino/Indigenous artist from Philadelphia living in Seattle, WA.
How long have you been creating comics?
Almost 20 years- time flies! I got my start on deviantArt and Livejournal back in the day- I still have scans of my old sharpie-colored comics from then.
What do you enjoy drawing most?
Huge men! The bigger the better. I also really love inking hair, so most men I draw end up being a little fuzzy.
What are some of your biggest inspirations in your work?
One of my earliest inspirations is Roxie Vizcarra- the way she draws the masculine body is endlessly fascinating. A few other comics-specific ones are Tomoko Yamashita, Natsume Ono, Suzuri Ryo, and Est Em/Maki Satoh.
What do you like about erotica and/or drawing erotic comics?
As a life long comics lover, erotica has its own visual language that you don’t see elsewhere in comics. Things like big page spreads of characters fucking in various positions collage-style, or the soundeffects people choose for jizz (it feels weird to NOT put some kind of SFX, right?). Also: it’s hot.
What was your favorite project you’ve worked on for Filthy Figments thus far?
I still really like Deja Vu! I was doing a lot of learning while working on that, so it’s filled with positive memories for me. Also: big hair! Love to draw hair, no matter where.
Recommend a few of your favorite Filthy Figments comics from the archive. Tells us WHY you love them.
Wilfrith and the Golem Stonemason by Jon Cairns: A gorgeous, fantastically written comic from one of our generation’s best horny cartoonists. It really does a fantastic job of working within a shorter format too- just a taste of worldbuilding and vibe in service of the characters and their interactions. Great stuff.
Leatherbound by Ben Mehlos: Love a little formalism in my porn comics! Also the sassy, sharp trans man in this is a fantastic character. Anything by Ben Mehlos is an automatic ‘must read’ for me, and this is no exception.
Thieves End by Apollo/Hydra: Gomorrah was one of the first comics I read by Hydra, but this one really shows off their skills. Filthy and to the point! Coated in that classic, chunky, grungy inks and neon colors they’re known for.
Any personal projects you’d like to plug?
My webcomic! If you like body horror, blood sports, and toxic gays- come read Ultraviolents!, updates Tuesdays and Thursdays, early updates (and extra sexy illustrations, and other comics, and and and-) on Patreon.
Where else can readers find you online?
My website is https://itsnero.com – there’s links to all the social media I’m on in the About section! I also have a blog at https://blog.itsnero.com.
