17 Responses to “What Makes Me Say, “It Feels Great To Be Filipino!”?”

1. Rod Samonte on May 28th, 2007 12:59 pm

   Gerry,
   For me personally, I’d include Tony Velasquez (Kenkoy has to be the most famous character created in Philippine comics) and Fred Carrillo in the “greatest.” Nino made his mark only in U.S. comics when he broke through and developed his unique style. But the comics he did in the Philippines were Redondoesque. Fred Carrillo was there along with the other greats in the so-called golden age, Nino was not. Also, Carrillo did the illustrations for some of the greatest comics novels by Pablo Gomez and Clodualdo del Mundo. My own list would be the five greatest with Coching at the top, Tony Velasquez at 2nd, Alcala and Redondo tied at third, then Carrillo. Nino would come in at sixth.
   Rod

2. Gerry Alanguilan on May 28th, 2007 3:44 pm

   Thanks for the input Rod! Everyone’s greatest list will always be different, and in any list I would make, it would include only artists. This is not to say that I don’t respect and consider the writers great, it’s just that the art is what I wish to concentrate on. And artistically, Alex Niño’s influence and impact on other artists locally and internationally is massive, much more than even Coching, who unfortunately never had to chance to influence people abroad. Of course, I do like Fred Carrillo too, who is vastly underrated. I have hundreds of pages of his work which is just amazing. It’s just that I personally rate Niño higher than him.

   In truth, one of the reasons the “Masters of Philippine Comics Art” book that we have begun putting together several years ago is so delayed is really because it’s difficult choosing just who is going into it. I wanted to include only 10 artists because I wanted to give these artists a lot of pages to show their art. However, other people have suggested I put ALL the artists, because if you don’t put in just one, the inevitable comment of “E bakit si ganito, wala dyan?” will start coming.

   In the end, I really would have to decide who goes in, and just duck. :)

3. Rod Samonte on May 28th, 2007 9:35 pm

   Gerry,
   Wait a minute, my list included only artists too. Tony Velasquez of course was an artist and writer too the same as Coching. Velasquez might even have influenced Coching somewhere along the line, particularly Coching’s very early cartoony style in Bing Bigotilyo, but this is pure speculation on my part. But one Pilipino artist who was definitely influenced by Velasquez, and I am making this assessment just by looking at his drawing style is Teny Henson.
   Wow, I didn’t know “Masters of Philippine Comics” is in the works. I am curious, if you would only choose ten, who would those be? I’d definitely put Zuniga in my list too right after Nino. So far I’ve got seven. The last three is gonna be tough. Rod

4. auggie on May 28th, 2007 9:57 pm

   I would include Emil Rodriguez and Jess Jodloman on your ALL-STAR group. Actually, Alex N. was medyo late ng pumasok. He shone brightly sa US comics publications, which accorded him a mega-star status, which his seniors did not achieve, lalo na sa WARREN PUBLISHING. You should read the letter columns in 1984/1994, demi-god ang tingin sa kanya ng fans. And the editor obliged, kada issue, dalawang script ang ki Alex, the rest, tigi-tigisa lang. At sino-sino yun, walang iba kundi sina: Esteban Maroto,Jose Ortiz, Rich Corben, Frank Thorne, Russ Heath, Luis Bermejo, Alcala, Laxamana, Vicatan…. ang bigat ng line-up !

5. Rod Samonte on May 28th, 2007 11:33 pm

   Auggie and Gerry,
   Yeah, I’ll go with that, Emil Rodriguez and Jess Jodloman. Warren, yes, that was where I also discovered Alex Nino and also in Weird War Comics (see my blog link in Gerry’s blogroll called Rod Samonte). Indeed Nino did some of his finest work in Warren. However, I did not know him before that. I have a complete collection of Warren. Rod

6. dennis on May 28th, 2007 11:42 pm

   Hi Rod,
   You are quite right that Teny Henson was heavily influenced by the drawing style of Tony Velasquez. In fact, even Fred Carrillo was influenced by Velasquez.
   According to Coching in an interview in Mirror magazine in the early 1970s, he too was influenced in his cartoon works by Velasquez, particularly in his “Bing Bigotilyo” and “Paloma” comic strips. Says Coching “I was very impressed with the drawings of Tony Velasquez. His women are very voluptuos”

7. auggie on May 29th, 2007 9:17 am

   No offense meant to the fans of Carillo, Velasquez, Henson ,PZ Marcelo, etc. while they were good and professionally rendered, they didn’t deliver the same paroxysm than those on Gerry’s All-Star list. You wait with anticipation with bated breath on every issue. The fact that they were strutting their stuff at the old ACE Publishing, means they were also the best. Altho’ I also like Teny Henson’s clean architectural approach, but I wouldn’t put him on the same league with Gerry’s All-Stars.
   BTW, where did you get your complete collection of Warren Mags ? they were hard to come by. did you have a subscription ? I used to buy my copies at the black market in Dau, Pampanga, nearby Clark Airbase.

8. Rod Samonte on May 29th, 2007 10:34 pm

   Auggie,
   I live in the U.S., in Burbank, California. I found my Warren’s rummaging through a used book and comic store here. It’s mentioned in my blog listed in Gerry’s Blogroll. They’re still readily available in comics stores and in comic conventions. Also Gerry’s All-Stars and mine are basically the same, except I added Carrillo and Velasquez. Rod

9. auggie on May 30th, 2007 1:08 am

   Yeah, I wasn’table to read your blog. What happened to Warren ? why did it closed shop ?

10. Rod Samonte on May 30th, 2007 9:24 am

    Na-bankrupt.

11. Gerry Alanguilan on May 30th, 2007 11:02 am

    Hello Auggie! Alam mo ba nagkaroon ng sale ng mga Warren mags (CREEPY, 1984, etc) sa Booksale? Ang dami! Panay luma pa! Sobrang luma wala pa yung mga gawa ng mga Pinoy doon. Ang mga cover si Frazetta pa. Nabaliw nga ako e. This was many years ago, sa tingin ko mga 10 years ago na. Pero binili ko lahat ng afford ko. Biruin mo nasa mga 7 to 10 pesos lang ang isa? Grabe!

    Nakakuha pa ako kay Mang Hal Santiago ng mga ibang kopya, sa tingin ko mga 15 ang nakuha ko sa kanyang iba ibang titles. Nagbebenta kasi sya noon e.

    Tapos yung aking ROOK collection (kulang lang ng issue #2) sa Ebay ko nakuha. Andito kasi ang VOLTAR ni Alfredo Alcala.

12. Rod Samonte on May 30th, 2007 11:18 am

    Gerry,
    Kumpleto ako ng ROOK. Lintek talaga yung Voltar ni Alfredo Alcala. That really shook up the U.S. comics world. But sadly, I’m looking at Wikipedia and other articles about the history of Warren Publishing, they only mention American illustrators working for that company. Wow, Gerry, bargain yung bili mo. I think they’re kind of pricey now, especially Vampirella and other older ones. By the way, Auggie when I said kumpleto ako ng Warren, I meant ones with Pinoy illustrators. Rod

13. Gerry Alanguilan on May 30th, 2007 11:32 am

    Rod, pag di ako nagkakamali, nag publish ang TWO MORROWS Publishing ng isang malaking WARREN Companion book I think last year or noong isang taon. Di ko lang sure kung gaano kalaki ang coverage ng mga Pinoys doon.

14. auggie on May 31st, 2007 1:58 pm

    Rod,

    ould you kindly contact me on my email address: asurtida@yahoo.com
    UST Atelier ka rin pala, malamang nagmeet tayo doon sa third floor ng old eng’Arch/Fine Arts Bldg. remember the signage: COLEGIO DE BELLAS ARTES ? Thanks.

15. Witch Girl Pilar on June 1st, 2007 9:28 am

    Indeed, Jose Rizal is the Philippine Idol in my life. Isn’t a bit of a coincidence? I live in RIZAL, Laguna, and I will be studying in UST. Maybe it’s my path of destiny… :D

16. Eusebio Yu on June 2nd, 2007 8:08 pm

    Gerry,

    Still on the subject, was the TWOMORROWS magazine you were referring to, COMIC BOOK ARTIST? In its second volume, issue# 4, I think, it devoted a huge chunk of its articles on Pinoy artists. There were checklists and all, and it even featured an Alex Nino cover! I have a copy stashed away somewhere and I’m pretty sure lots of comic fans do too. It came out around two years ago. But don’t quote me on that.

17. Gerry Alanguilan on June 2nd, 2007 9:21 pm

    Hello Eusebio!

    It’s a different publication. The one was referring to was the “Warren Companion”, also published by TwoMorrows. Here’s a link…
    http://www.amazon.com/Warren-Companion-Jon-B-Cooke/dp/189390508X