Cubicle Gangster #1

Written by: Robert Dixon

Illustrated by: Raymond Wood

ERM Comics

2026

Florida’s indie comics scene has always had a little extra personality to it. There is a certain local energy that comes from creators who are not trying to imitate the Big Two, but instead are building stories out of the places, people, jobs, frustrations, and weirdness they know firsthand. Cubicle Gangster #1 from El Rey Madera Comics is a perfect example of that spirit. It is gritty, funny, exaggerated, self-aware, and deeply rooted in a very specific kind of Florida experience.

At first glance, the title alone is enough to make you stop and take a second look. Cubicle Gangster sounds like a punchline, and in the best possible way, it absolutely is. But once you get into the book, it becomes clear that this is more than just a one-joke premise. Creator Raymond Wood, with co-writing and editorial support from Robert Dixon, builds a comic that mashes together mob movie swagger, workplace burnout, streetwise bravado, and blue-collar survival. The result is a comic that feels both over-the-top and weirdly relatable.

The setup is introduced with a blunt, funny, no-nonsense voice that immediately tells readers what kind of world they are stepping into. We meet Randy L. Reyes, born in 1986, “the most gangster office character you will ever meet.” That opening alone sets the tone. This is not a subtle book, and it does not want to be. It proudly embraces a loud, raw style that feels like someone took crime comics, office satire, and Florida street flavor and blended them into one pulpy independent package.

Randy’s backstory is one of the first things that makes the comic memorable. He is not just a guy with attitude in an office chair. He is a man with a past, and the comic introduces him with the kind of exaggerated life history that sounds like it belongs to a street legend who somehow ended up under fluorescent lights and corporate policy memos. After being dishonorably discharged in 2012 following inappropriate relations with a superior officer’s wife and a violent confrontation, Randy eventually lands a corporate job with a company called Paradigm Babylon. That name alone deserves some praise. It sounds exactly like the kind of company where dreams go to die in quarterly reports and breakroom gossip.

The comic’s biggest strength is probably its voice. It knows exactly what it wants to be. There is a confidence in the narration and character presentation that carries the whole issue. This is not polished in a sterile, overproduced way, and that actually works in its favor. The book has attitude. It feels handmade, personal, and deliberately rough around the edges. That gives it charm, especially in a comics landscape where so many books can start feeling visually or tonally interchangeable.

The cover for Cubicle Gangster #1 does a great job selling that energy before you even open the book. Randy sits at his office desk like a crime boss holding court, dressed in black, sunglasses on, calm and dangerous while chaos unfolds around him. It is such a ridiculous and effective image because it tells you everything you need to know. This is office life turned into underworld mythology. The cubicle is now the throne room. Coworkers and workplace interruptions are treated with the same cinematic intensity as a mob drama showdown. It is funny because anyone who has ever worked a draining office job understands that on some level, every desk starts to feel like contested territory.

That is where the comic really works best: turning ordinary work life into exaggerated legend. Cubicles, managers, office politics, and paycheck survival become the battlefield of a modern street fable. There is something instantly accessible about that idea. A lot of readers may not know mob life, but they absolutely know what it feels like to sell a piece of your soul for a steady paycheck that barely keeps you above the bills. That line in the character introduction is probably the most grounded thing in the whole concept, and it is the reason the comic connects.

Stylistically, the artwork leans into a bold indie approach. The linework has a rawness to it, and the black-and-white interior material shown in the intro page gives the story a gritty throwback feel. There is an underground quality to it, like the comic is less interested in slick perfection and more interested in delivering personality. The character art communicates attitude first, realism second, and that is the right call for a book like this. Randy looks like the kind of guy who belongs in a hard-boiled crime story, but placing him in office culture makes the visual contradiction part of the fun.

There is also something admirable about how localized the comic feels. Orlando is not just a random backdrop here. Even in the introduction, there is a distinctly Florida perspective baked into the narration. References to tourism, transplants, local identity, and everyday survival give the comic a flavor that makes it stand apart from generic urban crime books. This is not trying to be New York or Los Angeles. It feels like its own thing. It feels homegrown. For Florida readers especially, that authenticity gives the comic extra appeal.

Another thing that makes Cubicle Gangster #1 enjoyable is that it seems to understand the importance of entertainment first. Indie comics sometimes get so focused on lore, complexity, or seriousness that they forget to just be fun. This comic does not have that problem. Even with its crime-inspired framing and rough-edged character history, there is a playful absurdity to the whole concept that keeps it lively. It wants readers to laugh, nod in recognition, and enjoy the ride. It never feels embarrassed by its own premise. In fact, it doubles down on it, and that confidence is what sells the book.

If there is one thing readers should understand going in, it is that this comic is powered more by style, concept, and energy than by polished mainstream structure. But honestly, that is part of the appeal. This is the kind of book you pick up at a local shop, convention table, or creator signing and remember because it has a strong identity. It feels like it came directly from a creator with a clear vision and a desire to make something cool, weird, and personal rather than market-tested.

That is ultimately what I liked most about Cubicle Gangster #1: it has personality to spare. It is the kind of indie comic that knows its lane and cruises in it with confidence. Randy L. Reyes is a funny, exaggerated central figure, but he also represents something real beneath the satire — the worker trying to survive, hold onto pride, and maintain some sense of power in a world designed to drain him. Turning that idea into a mob-flavored office comic is a smart hook, and from what is presented here, it is one with plenty of room to grow.

Cubicle Gangster #1 is fun, gritty, and proudly offbeat. It feels like a love letter to crime fiction, workplace frustration, and Florida-made indie comics all at once. If you enjoy creator-driven books with attitude, a strong local voice, and a concept that stands out immediately, this is one worth checking out.

In short, Cubicle Gangster #1 earns attention for doing exactly what indie comics should do: giving readers something they are not going to get anywhere else.                                                                              https://elreymaderacomics.com/

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