Aug

29

Let Me Get This One Thing (Actually Several Things) Straight…

Filed Under Filipino Artists, Philippine Comics | 27 Comments

The komiks industry is just about to be revived (just a couple of weeks left), and I have to say I’m really excited at the thought of seeing these komiks again on our streets and in the hands of the Pinoy. This is really what we’ve all wanted from the start, and I think every single person who debated about this thing, argued about this thing, even the cowards who childishly hide who they are, and yet have the most blistering of tounges (matapang lang pag nagtatago), have to agree that this is what we have all wanted to happen.

But in the interest of giving credit where credit is properly due, I really have to set straight a lot of misconceptions, deception, and self serving spin that’s producing a wind that’s stronger than Typhoon Milenyo.

Comics? Komiks?

There is a bit of confusion about the life and death of the Philippine comics industry that can be a bit untangled if a definition of terms can be arrived at. Since no one has really coined such terms, allow me to offer my own, but I leave it to all of you to make the distinction for yourselves.

Komiks can be made to mean the “masa” comic books that are tagalog, inexpensive, produced in mass quantities and distributed in all parts of the Philippines and even to OFWs abroad.

Comics can be made to mean the “new” Philippine comics created by a younger generation of comic book writers and artists which began to appear in the early 90s. They’re not inexpensive, english and tagalog, and distributed to bookstores, malls and independent shops.

But allow me to be clear. I am not proposing this as their true definitions. These are just distinctions I am making only within the context of this article simply for the purpose of discussion and argument so it won’t be confusing. (Thanks Garro.) But yes, there really is no difference between komiks and comics.

Did the Komiks Industry Really Die?

Not really. But it suffered a slow, gradual deterioration, until every single komiks were cancelled. The only thing that really remained was Liwayway, which is not strictly a comic book, but a magazine with komiks. It was the very last bastion of a once great and prosperous industry, and this is where some of creators of the komiks industry still work. Komiks did not die, but it came within an inch of it. Although it did not die, the komiks industry was all but dead.

Before the komiks industry could almost completely die out, a younger generation of comics writers and artists created their own comics, put down their own money to publish comics in the Philippines. This began in the early 90’s and it was the start of a whole new industry of comics in the country.

So anybody who says comics was “DEAD” in the Philippines is seriously misinformed, or completely ignorant of the efforts and accomplishments of a dedicated group of young comic book creators.

So when talk of “REVIVING” an industry is talked about, it is the KOMIKS industry that is being referred to. Because HELLO, Philippine comics as a whole has already been revived long LONG before the Komiks Congress, the Komiks Caravan, and the arrival of Sterling Paper.

Who is Saving the Komiks Industry?

Easy. STERLING PAPER. Regardless of what people say, it is the entry of Sterling Paper into the komiks publishing business is what’s going to save komiks.

Sure they are not doing it alone. Carlo J. Caparas is the one handling the creative side.

But before Sterling Paper came along Carlo J was just another creative entity who “WANTS” to revive komiks, just one entity among many other entities who “WANT” to revive komiks, including of course, myself. Before Sterling, we were all headless chickens going around town, capable of nothing but TALKING about reviving komiks. But sadly, without BIG MONEY, all we can do is really just TALK about it.

It doesn’t take thousands of pesos. It doesn’t take a million pesos. It takes MILLIONS of pesos to revive the komiks industry. It takes millions to print thousands and thousands of copies. It takes millions of pesos to make each comic cheap. Who has it? Carlo J doesn’t have it. Mango Comics doesn’t have it. I don’t have it. Arnold Arre doesn’t have it. Hal Santiago doesn’t have it. Budjette Tan doesn’t have it. Randy Valiente doesn’t have it. Cowardly anonymous morons don’t have it.

Without MILLIONS of pesos, there is nothing any of us can do to save the komiks industry.

So anyone of us lucky enough to partner with someone with BIG MONEY, in this case, Sterling Paper, will be the one to have the opportunity to create the komiks themselves and be considered “saviors of Philippine Komiks.”

Mango Comics initially had that honor, a fact that is ratified by this news report, but Carlo J. swept in and took it from them. Repulsive, but as everyone keeps telling me, “That’s the way it is, it’s BUSINESS”. Everybody can repeat that to themselves till they’re blue in the face, but that still doesn’t make it any less repulsive to me.

I do give credit to Carlo J Caparas for the Komiks Congress and the Komiks Caravan, which went a long way in spreading awareness for komiks. The thousands of pesos he personally donated for this effort is commendable, and noteworthy, and I won’t take that away from him. Thank you sir, for that.

But once again, regardless of what people say, the entry of Sterling Paper into publishing komiks was in no way a DIRECT result of the Komiks Congress. In plain truth, they were not even aware of it. So to anyone who is giving credit to the Komiks Congress for making this happen, it’s ridiculous so just STOP, because it is not true.

I seriously hope any writers of Philippine comics history gets that right or I’m going to get royally pissed.

In fact, Sterling has ALWAYS wanted to do comics. They first published comics way back in the early 90’s with FLASHPOINT, but it was an effort that did not continue because of some internal problem. But they always wanted to do comics. The time that they decided to do it again simply coincided with events occurring in the local komiks industry.

I give Sterling Paper all the credit it deserves and I really don’t want people to forget it, that they are primarily responsible for saving Philippine komiks right now in 2007. They have the balls to plunk down millions of pesos, risking an enormous amount of money they could easily use elsewhere, into publishing komiks. I’m staggered and awed at the risk they are taking, and I have nothing but gratitude for them. It doesn’t matter at all that I’m not creatively involved anymore. To me, what’s important is that komiks will truly be alive again.

I say this with hopes that it encourages OTHER investors to publish komiks, giving the opportunity for even more creators to share their work, and of course, give a little competition to keep everyone on their toes.

And yeah, Philippine COMICS is alive and well, and has been for the last 15 years, thank you very much. I’m going to go back now and do mine.

Comments

27 Responses to “Let Me Get This One Thing (Actually Several Things) Straight…”

  1. Garro on August 29th, 2007 4:03 pm

    ay ganun, Sir Gerry? akala ko Komiks was the term for all comics produced by Filipinos…

    Sana mag-merge eventually yung Komiks at yung Comics. Comics as a term or brand might be too general to compete with distinctively named genres like Manga, Marvel, and Graphic Novels (yes, compete. mwehehehe) :).

  2. Ricardo on August 29th, 2007 6:14 pm

    mga lumabas na komiks noong early 90s na gawa ng indies ay di naman naramdaman ng masang pinoy na buhay dahil di naman nakarating sa mga kamay nila kaya pakiramdam ng “masa” ay patay ang komiks. kaya tinawag na buhay ang komiks noon dahil nakakaabot sa kamay ng masa ang komiks. di ito nangyari pagkatapos na mawala ang atlas at gasi kundi ngayon pa lang sa paglitaw ng sterling. bago naglakas loob na magpublish ng komiks ang sterling ay lumapit ito kay carlo na alam nilang makakatulong sa pagbebenta ng komiks dahil sa popularidad ng taong ito. kaya nga ipinagpalit ng sterling ang mango kay cjc bilang katuwang sa pagpapublish ng komiks.alam nilang mas kikita sila kapag si cjc ang makakatuwang nila kesa sa mango ang makapartner nila.di pwedeng sterling lang ang bumuhay sa komiks dahil dapat di na nila hinanap si cjc noon sa cebu.

  3. Daniel Ted Feliciano on August 29th, 2007 6:57 pm

    I think the so-called upcoming revival of Philippine comics won’t last very long if comic book artists keep on turning out fantasy comics the likes of Darna. The world has changed and I believe it would be mush better if comic artists focus on more realistic stories like the comics by Harvey Pekar( The American Splendor comic series). They are gritty, funny and a anybody can relate to them. Thanks.

  4. Gerry Alanguilan on August 29th, 2007 7:42 pm

    Garro, I’m not proposing it as THE definition for those terms. I’m just making a distinction, for the purposes of discussion and argument, the difference between the tagalog pang masa komiks and the comics that the younger generation have been producing. Para hindi nakakalito. Pero oo nga, komiks at comics ay pareho lang in the broader sense.

    Ricardo, ang problema ko kasi ay parang MASA lamang ang ginagawang “sukatan” para malaman kung karapat dapat ang komiks o hinde. Kung hindi ito pang “masa”, e hindi ito komiks, at hindi ito WORTHY bilang komiks.

    Hindi lamang ang mga masang Pilipino ang may karapatan sa comics, lahat ng Pilipino… mayaman man, middle class o mahirap. Hindi dahil hindi nakakaabot sa karamihan ang komiks na gawa namin (dahil nga wala kaming pera gumawa ng komiks na kayang kumalat sa buong Pilipinas), ay patay na ang komiks.

    Di ko dinidispute na mas kikita ang Sterling with CJC. Di ba nga sinabi ko na mas magandang business decision ito?

    Ang sinasabi ko lang, kahit alin man na piliin ng Sterling na grupo sa komiks, si CJC man, si Mango man o kung sino pang ibang grupo, mabubuhay pa rin ang komiks kasi pinapasukan ng Sterling ito ng pera.

    Pero si CJC na nga ang nagkampeon sa lahat at wala na tayong magagawa. Yan na yan. Kaya bilhin na lang natin at suportahan ang komiks nila. Kasi tayong lahat din naman ang makikinabang.

    Ang gusto ko lang mangyari ay sa pagpoproklama ng mga tao na si CARLO J CAPARAS ang BUMUBUHAY NG KOMIKS!, ay Hep, teka muna, sa tingin ko wag nating kalilimutan ang STERLING na naglalabas ng pera, at nagdesisyon na maglabas ng komiks sa unang bahagi.

    Kasi kung wala ang Sterling, hanggang ngayon panay daldal, at usap, at meeting, at palabas, at kongress at pakontes at karavan lang ang mapapala natin. At wala tayong maaasahang komiks na lalabas sa susunod na buwan.

  5. Gerry Alanguilan on August 29th, 2007 7:55 pm

    Daniel, I wish that would become true. Fortunately, these kinds of comics are actually being produced by a lot of young Filipinos on their own.

    When the Komiks Congress was held in an effort to revive komiks, I had a distinct feeling that it was like an old boy’s club where us younger guys were tolerated for our presence.

    With Carlo J at the creative helm of the upcoming CJC Komiks, most of the posts for creators were given to veterans. So you can already forsee that although a lot of these artists have been revitalized and are creating the work of their lives, their work is highly reminiscent of old komiks.

    However, I think it’s good that Sterling has already opened the doors for younger writers and artists to participate, and urged artists already working to update their work to have a connection with the current generation. So I think that’s a good thing.

    But I have to point out, even stuff like Harvey Pekar’s work is not the stuff of the mainstream comics in the US. You won’t see Pekar type stories in Marvel or DC, but in independents. And similarly, you can already see similar type of work with local Philippine independents.

  6. Robby Villabona on August 29th, 2007 8:43 pm

    I think the difference between ‘dead’ and ‘barely alive’ in the context of komiks/comics in the Philippines is just splitting hairs. If the industry was averaging millions sold every week, down to just a few dozen a month by the indies, then for all practical (i.e. non-academic) discussions then it’s been dead, regardless of whether it was the masa or the mall crowd who was buying.

    It’s probably too early to debate who’s saving komiks because it’s not succeeded yet.

  7. Josel Nicolas on August 29th, 2007 9:13 pm

    Im wondering how to get in touch with them to pitch a couple of ideas. Im so itchy to get something out that people’ll actually read. :D

    Excited na ako! :D

  8. Ricardo on August 29th, 2007 9:55 pm

    mga lumabas na komiks noong early 90s na gawa ng indies ay di naman naramdaman ng masang pinoy na buhay dahil di naman nakarating sa mga kamay nila kaya pakiramdam ng “masa” ay patay ang komiks.

    correction

    mga lumabas na komiks noong early 90s na gawa ng indies ay di naman naramdaman ng halos lahat ng mga pinoy na buhay dahil di naman nakarating sa mga kamay nila kaya pakiramdam ng mga tao ay patay ang komiks. Mga 3-5% lang ang maaring nakaalam na buhay pa ang komiks noong early 90s. Subukan ninyong magsurvey.

    Kasi kung wala ang Sterling, hanggang ngayon panay daldal, at usap, at meeting, at palabas, at kongress at pakontes at karavan lang ang mapapala natin. At wala tayong maaasahang komiks na lalabas sa susunod na buwan.

    correction
    Isa ako sa dumalo noon sa komiks congress at si donna mismo ang nangako na itataya nila ang pera nila para sa komiks.Si Donna noon pa man ay businessminded at ang pagtatapon nila ng pera para sa pa contest sa comics ay di papayag na ganun na lang. Babawiin at babawiin nila ito sa bandang huli.ano ang naririnig madalas sa bibig ni donna sa asawa? wag kang puro bigay ng bigay, pinaghirapan mo yan at kailagan mong kitain.
    may sterling man o wala, maglalabas si donna ng komiks.
    salamat gerry sa feedback mo at ang sa akin ay paglilinaw lamang.

  9. Gerry Alanguilan on August 29th, 2007 11:43 pm

    Salamat sa feedback, Ricardo.

    Di na natin malalaman ngayon kung talagang maglalabas sina CJC ng komiks kung hindi dumating ang Sterling. Tulad ng sabi mo… pangako yun nila. Pero pasensya na, masyado na ako maraming narining na pangakong pinako. Pagdating sa komiks, maniniwala na lang ako pag nakita ko na.

    Pero kung talagang may plano sila, edi maganda diba? Pero curious ako. Bakit hindi na lang sila naglabas ng komiks nila? Bakit pa nila kelangan kunin yung tinatrabaho na ng Mango? Bakit hindi nila pinabayaan na lang maglabas ng komiks ang Sterling-Mango, at maglabas din sila ng sariling komiks nila? Mabagsik sanang competition yun, diba?

  10. Gerry Alanguilan on August 29th, 2007 11:55 pm

    Josel, di ko sure kung ano ang contact info nila… subukan mo tanong kay Dell Barras sa PKMB kasi alam ko nagcocontribute sya. Good luck!

  11. auggie on August 30th, 2007 12:21 am

    Gerry,

    Sa pagkakaalam ko, ang KOMIKS, ay tagalog word ng COMICS, dahil noon walang letter C sa abakada. Hence, pagsinabi mong KOMIKS, ibig sabihin niyan, lokal,mura, pangmasa. Pag COMICS, naman. ibig sabihin English, imported, mas mahal, yun ang mga implications. Pero mas gusto ko yung ginawa ng CRAF publishing noon, KOMIX, iba ang dating, parang punk na new wave pero lokal. Yung ki Jim Fernandez, eh BOLNIKS, naman, very innovative if you ask me.

    Tungkol sa STERLING, what can I say ? Kudos to them for putting the money where their mouth is.

    Oo nga pala, yung mga anonymous writers noon, bakit parang nangawala. Dapat matuwa sila, dahil nandito na ang STERLING na mag-a-address sa interes ng kanilang pinakamamahal na masa.

  12. Gerry Alanguilan on August 30th, 2007 12:31 am

    Agree ako dyan Auggie. Kahit ano pa man ang nararamdaman ko, wala talaga akong masabing masama about Sterling. Kasi alam ko talaga na business ito para sa kanila, pero kahit business motivated sila, ang laki pa rin ng investment na pinasok nila sa komiks. Wala akong duda na mabubuhay muli ang komiks dahil sa pagpasok nila. Kaya malaki na lang ang pasasalamat ko sa kanila.

    Yun din ang nabanggit ko… lahat ng tao na nagcomment dito, pati na rin ang mga anonymous bloggers sa kanilang mga blog, ito talaga ang hinihintay ng lahat mangyari. Sa tingin ko ito ikatutuwa nila kasi ito ang hinahanap nila sa amin noon, pero di talaga namin kaya kasi wala kaming ganung capital.

  13. auggie on August 30th, 2007 12:57 am

    Gerry,

    Very unrealistic ang expectations sa inyo nitong mga anonymous bloggers/writers na ito. In short, they were barking up the wrong tree. Alam naman ng lahat na capital- intensive ang pag-ko-komiks eh, di ba ?

  14. jose mari Lee on August 30th, 2007 1:36 am

    Sana lang, huwag pasukan ito ng mga IMPAKTO at MALIGNO at magsimula na naman ang personal na atakehan.

    Ito lang naman ang maisasabat ko sa topic na ito.

    Ang hindi maganda sa naging reaction (o nang walang reaksiyon) ng mga nagtayo nitong komiks ay ito: Bakit naman parang ang buong pagsisikap ng mga kabataang writers at artist noong 1990s na mga gumawa ng indies ay binale-wala ng mga ito at sila’y NAGMISTULANG LAYAK NA MATISOD MAN AY HINDI PAKUKUNDANGANGAN. As if these young talents who are indeed very talented, were ignored. And when the komiks opened, they didn’t even bother to welcome these young artists.

    This is not a very good PR, STERLING & CJC!

    The veterans are now in the twilight years of their lives. If your intention is to see the the traditional komiks thrive, then you better wake up and smell the BARAKO COFFEE! You have to welcome these young talents to your fold.

    I’m glad that the komiks is coming back. But sad – for giving the young talents the cold shoulder treatment.

    Sterling/CJC – don’t you have eyes? Or are you all wearing DARK GLASSES that your vision are all OBFUSCATED? I mean, just look at the works done by these younger komikeros and you’ll see what they are all about.

    I won’t be surprised if one of these days, these young komikeros will bring some honor to the Philippines for what they’re doing. Nuff said!

  15. Ricardo on August 30th, 2007 8:51 am

    Agree ako diyan gerry na mas malaki pa sa iniisip ng mga tao ang ginastos ng sterling.sa usaping “inagaw” ay wala akong alam sa intrigang iyan. ang nasagap kong balita sa loob ay pakana din iyan ng sterling. sa pagkakaalam ko base sa narinig ko sa kasamahan tungkol sa declaracion ng rate sa sterling, hindi sa mga gumagawa sa comics.mukang dito sila nasira. wag na lang nating detalyehin dahil baka mademanda pa tayo.saka di ko rin naman alam ang talagang detalye.
    di na importante iyan.ang mahalaga ay nabuhay ang comics at malaki talaga ang dapat ipagpasalamat sa sterling.pasalamat din naman tayo sa mga yonzon na may puso sila sa comics. darating din ang panahon na naririyan sila at magpa publish pa rin ng comics. isa rin silang mabuting publisher para sa akin.

    -peace

  16. Ricardo on August 30th, 2007 9:07 am

    Mr Jose Mari Lee,

    totoo ang sinabi mo na nagsikap ang mga batang manlilikha ng comics at dapat magpasalamat tayo sa kanila pero dapat nating tingnan ang realidad na di ganoon kalakas ang comics sa pilipinas. akala lang natin ay malakas dahil may likhang ingay sa internet. kung titingnan natin ay kakaunti lamang ang gumagamit ng internet noong 90s sa pilipinas. tindahan naman ng comics kagaya ng nasa sm megamall at iba pa,sa nbs ay makikita mong mga may kaya lang ang bumibili ng komiks. ang iba naman bumibili ay mismong comics illustrator dahil gagamitin nila iyon bilang references. iyan ang relidad. lalo na itong magiging totoo kapag nagsurvey tayo. ngayon ang importante ay buhay ang komiks at lahat ay mabibigyan ng trabaho lalo na ang mga bata ngayon.iyan ang ipagpasalamat natin.

    -peace

  17. Reno on August 30th, 2007 9:44 am

    Josel…

    Ang office address nila…

    Sterling Publications
    5th Floor, Raffles Building
    Emerald Street, Ortigas Center

    Alam ko tuwing Friday at 3pm ay may weekly meeting sila. Open naman ang doors nila sa kung sinuman ang gustong pumunta.

    Sana nga ay open na sila sa mga bagong ideas. Pagkakaalam ko kasi ang editor ay si Andy Beltran, isang editor dati sa GASI (Lovelife komiks ang naaalala kong ine-edit niya noon). Di ko alam kung old school pa rin ang thinking niya or nagbago na. Pero subukan mo pa rin.

  18. Jim Arroyo on August 30th, 2007 1:59 pm

    Wow…a really, really healthy discussion going on here.Allow me to throw in my ninety centavos’ worth (two cents at the current exchange rate):

    I skimmed a photo of CJC captioned with the whole komiks event thing, and I confess I didn’t pay it much heed as I thought it had to do with one of his upcoming movies :p

    Having learned a little bit more about the whole initiative now (hehe parang ‘Civil War’ ba?) I have to say that I think it’s a big mistake to shunt the younger talent and their contributions off to the sidelines.

    No one is going to take away the value of the work of the classic, old-time komiks creators, but to simply try to bring back the oldies without any sort of attempt to infuse some kind of freshness into the industry may well be consigning the whole enterprise to oblivion.

    You can say what you want about the 90s comics of the younger Filipino creators raised on Marvel, DC and Image not being “pangmasa” but you can’t change the fact that these were the guys who kept the whole concept afloat while the more traditional ‘komiks’ were sinking like a stone. Rather than signal a breakaway from the komiks of old, these guys even went so far as to champion them way before this latest media blitz of CJC.

    I say let the old work hand in hand with the young to bring a nice, fresh face to Filipino komics; tell stories with a nice updated sensibility. In fact, if they put their heads together they may come up with something that, down the line will be more distinct and revered than what these guys may be able to churn out separately.

    The old can represent the standards of excellence and workmanship of the industry, while the new can bring in the fresh ideas and “re-imaginings” of classic ideas. It’s always a waste to toss any talent, old or new, to the periphery, and an industry that’s trying to build new momentum for itself could use all of the help it can get.

  19. Jim Arroyo on August 30th, 2007 2:01 pm

    he he…komics…a spelling error on my part, but it may inadvertently be an apt way to describe the direction the industry should take…

  20. Robby Villabona on August 30th, 2007 7:32 pm

    JM and Jim,

    I don’t think Sterling has shut out younger talents. In fact their VP has actually stated that if you have good art samples and scripts then you’re free to take them to their office in Ortigas on Fridays (I’ve seen this mentioned in Randy Valiente’s blog). Kahit ako inimbitahan nung nakita nila ang sample art ko, pero hindi ko lang priority gumawa ng trabaho ngayon sa komiks. Siguro sa future pag masmaluwag na ang mga schedule ko (at mas malaki na ang bayad nila, hehehe — it’s easier to ask that if the business is already making money, not before).

    I think what’s happened is that in most important endeavors, you work with people you know and trust. Since the creative side was spearheaded by CJC, then he started working with people he used to work with, which happened to be mostly the veterans. Otherwise, as is stated over at Randy’s blog, people are free to go and show their work and make story proposals, whether you’re a veteran or not.

  21. jose mari Lee on August 31st, 2007 8:13 am

    Robby V:

    Actually, the message FROM Martin came to pass AFTER we made a lot of noise. If we didn’t, probably they wouldn’t have done it. Well, at least, CONSUELO DE BOBO.

    Bayad. That’s another thing. In th 70s, I refused to contribute to GMS because they were so CHEAPSKATES. I’m not going to waste my time if I’d be dealing with some PENNY-PINCHER publishers. Though I could have contributed for FREE. At least they can’t turn around and demand things (even if they have paid me for peanuts).

  22. Ed on August 31st, 2007 9:19 am

    Bibili ako nito…I just wonder kung makakabili pa rin ako ng komiks nila pag may mga apo na ako? :)

    -ed

  23. Robby Villabona on September 1st, 2007 1:45 am

    JM,

    Yes, but even before that message was posted, and even before the noise was made, people like Randy (whom I consider young) had already submitted a script and got paid, right? And AFAIK, Marboy (also young) had been in on it too early in the game. So, yes, the publicity is around the work of the veterans, but that’s proof they weren’t shutting out young blood.

    I’m sure some people did feel shut out — but from the news it looks like it includes other vets, too.

  24. Gerry Alanguilan on September 1st, 2007 7:30 am

    “…but that’s proof they weren’t shutting out young blood…”

    If we’re talking about the pre-Sterling days, I think you can ask John Becaro, who was at the time very active in the Komiks Congress, instances how exactly the younger guys were being shut out. He was after all, right at the front line and he should know. About how the younger guys, as a whole, were treated with suspicion and by some.

    About how, even others were skeptical of the accomplishments of the younger guys, incredulous that we were able to do this and that, even in the face of evidence.

    In the early days, the competition was open to everyone certainly, but the younger guys were not eligible to the money prizes, just trophies and certificates. I remember raising a stink about it with fellow artists back then. I was even more incensed when a prominent veteran in the committee, probably the most prominent one, told one of the younger guys, “Bigay nyo na lang sa amin ito ha?” “Sa Amin” meaning the veterans in reference to the contest. The attitude might probably have changed later on. But I have no proof of that.

    That’s all I need to say with certainty that there was quite a bit of shutting out going on, but there were certainly more. But it was not wholesale, and absolute, as yeah, there were also instances where they did let us in on things. But I get the distinct feeling that we were simply “saling pusa”.

    There are a lot of other veterans who did welcome us with open arms, specially the artists, not involved in the organizing committee, who were just as excited that there was an effort to revive komiks, but who were as equally disappointed that there was no real discussion about how to do it at the congress, just a lot of grandstanding.

    That’s why it’s a good thing that Martin is opening the doors very widely for younger guys to come aboard. And I think that’s a great thing. I think a new generation has to come aboard to revitalize the industry. But it’s still great to see people like Hal Santiago really cut loose.

    ******

    I do have to emphasize that I don’t assert anything here in my blog, specially with regards to the comics industry, which I cannot back up. I don’t say anything here against anyone that is unfounded, or lie about something just because I feel like it. As a working comic book professional, I am privy to a lot of information behind the scenes that many other people may not be aware of. I am not someone who opens his mouth and authoritatively asserts things I know nothing about.

    If I say something, rest assured there is a reason for me to say it. If I don’t offer details, it’s because I simply don’t want to betray people who have told me things in confidence, or have forbade me to not to reveal where I got it from. I say as much as I can in the interest of setting things straight, and not perpetuate any misconception that gives undue credit to people who don’t deserve it, and give credit to those who do.

  25. Robby Villabona on September 1st, 2007 10:48 am

    No, I was just talking about the current STERLING efforts — since there’s an impression that there was an effort to shut out the young artists (or just hire veterans). My contention is it’s probably more circumstances and appearances than actual policy. I really have no idea what came before, and at the KOMIKS KONGRESS.

    Outside of the STERLING efforts, I’m not surprised there’s such a thing. When fortunes are not good in komiks (since the 90’s to the present), people begin to form ideas in their heads and focus on bogeymen to protect themselves against. In this case it would be the younger generation who they might be competing with for a share of the measly pie. Hindi naman lahat… I’m sure the vets who were happy and secure in the careers they have formed probably didn’t care.

  26. Andrew Drilon on September 4th, 2007 4:15 am

    Hey Gerry,

    Thanks for the insightful article. I heard about this recent stink-up (and read a couple of annoyingly-imprecise articles in the newspaper) and I must say, I commiserate with you on your frustration at this.

    Just as an aside, regarding ‘Komiks’ versus ‘Comics’, I’d like to propose my own definition:

    ‘Komiks’ as a catch-all term for Filipino-made comics, 100% OPM, not necessarily just in tagalog, but in any language widely-used in the Philippines–just as ‘manga’ has been used for Japanes cartoon and comic art, ‘manhwa’ for the Koreans and ‘manhua’ for the Chinese.

    Obviously, this is just a proposal, but I dunno, from my limited perspective, it seems to be the way that the term is being received in the international scene–and I quite like that.

    I realize that there’s still a somewhat large issue concerning language (English in particular–even in our prose and poetry literary circles) but I’m leaning towards inclusion rather than a separation of terms, as the diversity in Filipino-made sequential art is rich enough that, I feel, a broader evolution of the term would benefit everyone.

  27. Marc Ambrosio on September 12th, 2007 3:44 pm

    *finishes reading said entry after doing a random search on Google with keywords “Alamat” and “Flashpoint” in one search string.*

    The mention of Sterling Paper even by now irks me so much how the entire creative team of Flashpoint felt shafted when we have to deal with backbiting and office politics given how skeptical they are with the project in spite of what we had to put up with in regards to selling the project pitch and adjusting the initial aspects and elements of Flashpoint proper without creating any backlash from certain quarters. We were just grudgingly playing nice with they ask at times, it still stings remembering that back in 1993. 14 years later I find that they now decided to go ahead into this arena of popular culture to revitalize a near extinct area of publishing for the masses.

    I know Carl would say something about letting this particular project lie down and die in spite what the creative team overall poured into the project along with lots of future plots, twists and storylines which got churned out while Image Comics in its early years got ahead of itself with a gimmick of Issue 25 for all its titles back in those years. Carl would prolly try to go about calming me down when I get passionate about these things in spite of Flashpoint fading into obscurity. It just pains me much that such a creation has to be left to die after all of the creative team has seperated ways and get assimilated by the real world to deal with their seperate lives and jobs while others have moved on to other things.

    I felt so betrayed when the project dies while I was told at one time that someday I would be possibly be writing a story or two for it down the line. That never happened. Was it a misplaced encouraged to a struggling creative? I dunno. A falsely implied sense of hope to one who is unsure of his own creative ability? Possibly. All in all, it just plain crushes my soul that such dreams has to be dashed with this corporate world and call centers that most of people today would be assimilated insidiously like a virulent meme or the Borg of Star Trek fame.

    Dang. I’m running myself off more than I holding back on this touchy topic. I better get off this impromptu soapbox for dwelling on this. Sorry for the rant on this one.