As a child, Tom Alvarado learned English from comic books, which ignited his passion for storytelling (and for justice!). He grew up in what was known as the “Murder Capital of the World,” along the Texas-Mexico border in El Paso and Juarez. One Christmas morning he awoke to discover a bullet had blasted through the front door and lodged itself in the living room sofa. He immediately concluded Santa had gone rogue and devised a scheme to take him down using decoy reindeer and smoke bombs. Because that’s how his brain works.

As a young adult, he taught himself screenwriting and moved to LA, where he interned for the Gyllenhaal family. He got to see baby pictures of Jake (adorable) and learned Maggie’s shoe size (9 1/2). Oddly, this information did not help him become a Hollywood screenwriter. He remained undaunted, however, and was eventually hired to write his first film, a low-budget horror movie. The producer loved it but then died abruptly after reading the script (yes, really).

Eventually, Tom’s skill and determination earned him a place on the prestigious Disney/ABC Writers Fellowship. This led to work for Nickelodeon (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Bethesda Games, and several international producers (hooray for being bilingual!). Currently he writes for the loveable weirdos at Rooster Teeth Animation (RWBY Chibi, Red vs Blue), has a fairy tale comedy with Sparkhope Productions, and is developing several features, comic books, and children’s books. Because of his life, he has a knack for creating strange worlds filled with colorful characters who never give up despite overwhelming odds.

These days, Tom calls Austin home. People no longer shoot at or suddenly die around him, although he keeps his reflexes sharp just to be on the safe side.