Drawing on experience

To his players, assistant Lewiston High School tennis coach Jorge Pacheco is “Coach P,” which originally stood for “Coach Pacheco,” but eventually morphed into standing for “Coach Positivity.”

“I tell my players to never give up,” Pacheco said with a warm smile.

Pacheco might be most noticeable to Lewiston-Clarkston Valley residents for his tennis coaching, though some might peg him as the guy who does caricatures at various community events. What they may not know is that Pacheco has spent nearly 40 years as a professional in the world of comic books. This month, he’ll combine his talents as he begins teaching cartooning and comic book illustration.

“I want to spread my joy of art through teaching,” Pacheco said in his home studio in Lewiston. “Hopefully my students will learn something. Maybe they’ll become artists; maybe they won’t. But I hope they enjoy being around me, and I’ll enjoy being around them.”

Pacheco’s passion for art and comics is on full display in his studio, which he’s adorned with artwork and memorabilia from his time in the business.


“I went to the Kubert School in New Jersey. It was the only school for comics in the world,” he said.

The school was named for its founder, comic illustrator legend Joe Kubert, and Pacheco studied under the man himself.

“Joe gave us this assignment: Mimic your favorite comic strip,” Pacheco recalled. “So I mimicked Charlie Brown — ‘Peanuts.’ ”

Kubert was complimentary of his results but hadn’t been entirely forthcoming about the purpose of the assignment.

“It was a test,” Pacheco said. “They were seeing who could help Jim Davis of ‘Garfield,’ who was launching a new strip called ‘U.S. Acres.’ ”

He and another student were chosen to go to Indiana for two weeks to work with Davis and his crew.

“The strip didn’t make it, but it was an incredible experience,” Pacheco said.

On the wall near his studio door is a magazine cover bearing Davis’ picture and some of the characters from “U.S. Acres.” It also bears Davis’ autograph and a personal message to Pacheco.

Inches from the Davis signature is a photograph of “Peanuts” creator Charles Schulz. Though he didn’t work with Schulz, Pacheco has spoken twice at the Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, Calif.


Born in Indiana, Pacheco was very young when his father, an art professor at Purdue University, died.

“I didn’t really know him,” he said.

His mother, an English major with an emphasis in Shakespeare and an art minor, remarried, and they relocated to San Diego. It was there Pacheco was introduced to comics.

“My stepfather ran a liquor store,” he said. “One day he had a couple damaged comics from the spinner rack near the register, and he brought them home. I was 7 or 8 years old.”

The books he brought home were “Where Monsters Dwell” No. 21, a Jack Kirby/Steve Ditko monster book; “Superman” No. 248, drawn by Kurt Swan; and “Creepy” No. 49.

“ ‘Creepy’ was advanced for a 7-8 year old, but that’s how I found Richard Corben, who is probably my all-time favorite comic book artist,” he said.

After graduating from the Kubert School, Pacheco returned home to San Diego and began submitting his work to publishers.

“This was before the internet, so I was FedEx-ing everything,” he said.

After multiple queries, he walked through the doors of Blackthorne Comics near his home in El Cajon, Calif., where “I was hired on the spot.”

Pacheco’s first assignment was on the “Rocky and Bullwinkle” comic book. He then moved on to “The Flintstones.”

“That was the first cover I ever did,” he said, pointing to a black-and-white Bristol board illustration on his studio wall. “Then the comics crash came after the ‘Ninja Turtles’ boom. I was back to mailing out samples.

“I submitted to be Don Martin of MAD magazine’s assistant. I ended up not getting the job, but it was down to me and two other artists. So one of my favorite artists as a child, I almost got a job with him.“

This was a lean period for Pacheco.

“I had a lot of part-time jobs. I worked at the market, the community pool. It was getting a little discouraging because it had been a couple years since I’d had steady work,” he said. “I thought, maybe I should go back to school and become an art teacher like my parents.”

He enrolled in community college, including an art class.

“My first day at community college, I show ’em my ‘Flintstones’ and ‘Bullwinkle’ pages, and the instructor says, ‘What in the hell are you doing?’ ” Pacheco said with a laugh. “So I quit school that day because of my art teacher.

“Right after that, I got a job with NOW Comics in Chicago,” he said. “One of my very best friends also got a job with them, and we became roommates. He picks me up at the airport and takes me to our apartment, and a kid is breaking into our apartment. Here I am, 30 minutes into living in Chicago, and someone’s breaking into our place.
“I work for a week and get sick as a dog. I had the flu. I called the boss and said I can’t come in; I’m very sick. The boss says to come in anyway — we don’t care what the work looks like. So I quit that day.”

Pacheco returned to San Diego and soon entered one of the happiest times in his life.

“Six months later, I got to talk to somebody at Harvey Comics to follow up on sending my sample,” he said. “I had to move to Santa Monica (130 miles from San Diego), and I promised my mom it would only be for a little while. I lived in Santa Monica for 18 years.”

Five of those years were spent at Harvey.

“Harvey was eventually sold to Universal, because they wanted to get into movies, which they did with ‘Casper’ and ‘Richie Rich,’ ” he said.

One of Pacheco’s spinner racks entirely features comics and books of his work, including a striking “ Casper” cover with a background bearing a distinct Dr. Seuss influence.

“That was our highest-selling issue of ‘Casper,’ ” he said.


Pacheco then took to freelancing, which he’s still doing today from his home in Lewiston, where he’s lived with his wife, son and daughter since 2020. His website is a testament to the depth and breadth of his skill, style and experience. He’s done work for DC, Marvel, Dark Horse, IDW and others.

Recently, he’s done covers and stories for American Mythology Productions’ comic book line, including its “Three Stooges” and “Laurel and Hardy” titles. He’s also hard at work on a title of his own creation based on an idea he’s had since high school.
“I’ve got a publisher lined up for that one,” he said. “Contracts are signed, and I can’t say much about it. I plan to finish it in the coming year.”


Pacheco’s teaching experience, which includes cartooning instruction at UCLA, will take center stage as he opens his Little Yellow Cartooning Studio in downtown Lewiston and teaches for Lewis-Clark State College’s Workforce Training and at Artisans at the Dahmen Barn in Uniontown.

As for preparation to be a cartooning student, Pacheco said none is needed.

“I think the joy of wanting to learn and draw is all you’ll need,” he said. “I’ll find out what each student needs based on skill level, but the focus will be on structure and anatomy.

“I’ve been pegged as a humor cartoonist, and that’s fine; it suits me,” he said of his style.

He is, however, ready to help students along whatever path they choose.

“I’m going to put students in the direction they want to go,” he said. “I’m not going to focus on one genre, but I’m going to move toward what the student is interested in, and that includes superheroes. But teaching the class as a whole, I’ll teach the entire spectrum.”

Thompson is on Instagram as @professorvhs; find more of his work at professorvhs.substack.com.

Pacheco’s teaching schedule includes:

The Little Yellow Cartooning Studio

First, four-week session begins Monday in Beautiful Downtown Lewiston offices, 528 Main St., and continues from 5-6 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays. Ages approximately 8-12. Register via email.

Artisans at the Dahmen Barn
Select Saturdays, to be announced. All ages. Register at artisanbarn.org.

LCSC Workforce Training
Saturdays, Jan. 13-Feb. 24., 1-3 p.m. Adults. Register at wftaceweb.lcsc.edu.

Pacheco can be contacted via email at jptoons10@gmail.com and his website, pachecotoons.com.