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Sep

13

The First One Hundred Years of Philippine Komiks and Cartoons

Filed Under Filipino Artists, Philippine Comics | 13 Comments

Aside from EL INDIO and the Life and Art of Francisco Coching books published by The Vibal Foundation this year, a third book on the history of Philippine comics is going to launched on the 2nd day of the PICCA (Philippine International Comics, Cartoons and Animation) Festival on October 16, 2009 at Powerbooks, Megamall, at 6:00pm.

Published by Boboy Yonzon, “The First One Hundred Years of Philippine Komiks and Cartoons” is written by noted world comics historian Dr. John A. Lent with contributing authors Beth Chionglo, Aileen Casis, Glady Gimena, Orvy Jundis, Joy Del Mundo and Boboy Yonzon.

The book will be 160 full color pages on coated paper, 10″X11″ dimensions, and hardcover. It will retail for P1500.

For many years I’ve been writing on this blog about the desperate lack of readily available reference material on the history of Philippine Comics, and it’s looking like at the end of 2009 I will now be considered wrong. And that’s great! Finally, there are books that Filipinos can buy to see the works of Nestor Redondo, Francisco V. Coching, Alex Niño, Alfredo Alcala and all our great masters.

I’ve seen the working layout of the book and it looks fantastic! It’s by no means a complete document as it gives just a glimpse of the remarkable material that’s yet to see the light of day. But what is made available in this book will certainly give readers a taste of how rich our history of comics really is.

Comments

13 Responses to “The First One Hundred Years of Philippine Komiks and Cartoons”

  1. Pinoy Comics USA on September 13th, 2009 7:42 am

    Gerry,
    Hindi kapani-paniwala nguni’t isang banyaga pa yata ang mas nakakaalam tungkol sa Filipino Komiks. Dapat kayo ni Dennis Villegas ay kasama din sa aklat na ito, diba? Magkagayon man, bibili ako ng isang sipi dahil may nabasa na akong katha nitong si Dr. Lent tungkol sa ating komiks.
    Rod

  2. Gerry Alanguilan on September 13th, 2009 8:13 am

    Rod, I had the same view when I saw John’s article “The First 75 Years of Philippine Comics” in Comic Book Artist magazine. I thought, why hasn’t a Filipino done this?

    When I read the article, I was completely amazed at the enormous amount of knowledge he has on this subject. And you know, I eventually met him to give him an account of the recent events in Philippine comics history.
    http://gerry.alanguilan.com/archives/539

    And I was completely impressed by his vast knowledge and insight. He has written and published numerous books on various aspects of Asian comics, and publishes the International Journal of Comic Art.

    I’m of the opinion that at this particular time, there is no one more knowledgeable to write about this subject than him. More importantly, he was the one who actually took the time and effort to write it. And in the interest of coming out with a book that serves the history of Philippine comics the best, I have no problem seeing Dr. Lent write it.

    I’m quite sure that inspired by this book, it would educate many who would eventually become Philippine comic book historians themselves.

    Rod, in all honesty, I don’t consider myself a historian. Meeting John was cause for me to see just how little I actually knew. It’s not actually my objective to be one because if it is, all I would do is research and not actually do comics.

  3. Rafael Kayanan on September 13th, 2009 8:40 am

    A quick search shows that Dr. Lent is also a scholar of Asian Cinema and is on the board of the Asian Cinema Studies Society in Philly. He edits Asian Cinema Journal and the International Journal of Comic Art.

  4. Eman on September 13th, 2009 8:43 am

    Tracing our roots!

    Familiar yung images na naka post, siguro dahil nung elementary ako, we were used to “borrowing” books for our subjects. Mga dilapidated copies passed on from schoolchildren years before. The memory brought back images of the old post-war wood, two-storey, American-designed and built schools sa Paete.

    Ngayon ko lang nalalaman yung part ng history na nakalimutan banggitin ng mga guro namin.

    Thanks for this bit of info.

  5. Pinoy Comics USA on September 13th, 2009 10:02 am

    Gerry,
    I clicked that link to your archives, oo nga pala Dr. Lent was a Manila visitor and you met him. Interesting to read what I wrote then, a long comment on that book with his article.
    Rod

  6. auggie on September 13th, 2009 10:28 am

    Rod,

    Academician itong si Dr.Lent, kaya, RESEARCH, talaga ang Raison D Etre’ ng kaniyang propesyon. Siguro gumawa ito ng Ph.D dissertation niya puro tungkol sa Pop Culture. Iyan ang kulang sa mga Graduate Programs ng ating mga leading universities dito. Hindi nila binibigyan pansin ang Popular Culture natin, hind kaparis sa ibang developed countries walang nakakaligtas sa kanilang Radar, kahit na anong topic sa mundo ang hanapin mo.But from all indications, nagbabago na rin, albeit, it’s terribly slow, but mabuti na sa wala. Sana mag-inspire itong obra-maestra ni Dr.Lent, para sundan ng ating young Academicians/Researchers.

  7. Gerry Alanguilan on September 13th, 2009 11:02 am

    What’s great about Dr. Lent is that every time we spoke, or anytime he spoke with anyone else, he writes everything down on paper. He would just write and write and write everything you’re saying, while his wife documents it with photos.

  8. Erwin on September 13th, 2009 11:37 am

    I agree na very extensive talaga ang research ni Dr. Lent when it comes to Philippine Comics. Meron syang article before in The Comics Journal “Komiks: National Book of the Philippines”

  9. ROMIWORKS® Studios on September 13th, 2009 11:53 am

    WOW! OK to a Ka Gerry mukhang madadagdagan na naman ang mga koleksyon kong libro about KOMIKS, yun bang El Indio at Life & art of Coching nsa P1,500 din ba ang bawat kopya, magtatabi na ako ng pambili. Salamat sa infos na ito. :)

  10. The The First One Hundred Years of Philippine Komiks and Cartoons | The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log on September 14th, 2009 6:50 pm

    [...] Gerry Alanguilan draws our attention to an area of comics I must confess I know little about (and what little I do know is mostly learned from reading Gerry’s excellent blog), the publication of Doctor John A Lent’s The First One Hundred Years of Philippine Komiks and Cartoons: “For many years I’ve been writing on this blog about the desperate lack of readily available reference material on the history of Philippine Comics, and it’s looking like at the end of 2009 I will now be considered wrong. And that’s great! Finally, there are books that Filipinos can buy to see the works of Nestor Redondo, Francisco V. Coching, Alex Niño, Alfredo Alcala and all our great masters.” The book will be launched, appropriately enough, at the PICCA Festival (Philippine International Comics, Cartoons and Animation) on October 16th; PICCA itself runs from October 15th to 18th. [...]

  11. Fermin Salvador on September 23rd, 2009 6:52 am

    At sa mga patuloy na naniniwala sa komiks bilang art form sa Pilipinas/mga Filipino, naniniwala ako na tatagal pa ito ng panibagong isang daang taon at higit pa.

    Komiks may outlast many other arts. High chair poetry, prose fiction/novels, drama, and so on.

  12. David Lai on October 16th, 2009 12:41 pm

    Dear Alan,
    I was wondering how to order a copy of the book 100 year of Phillipine Komiks & Cartoons from Malaysia. I am a Malaysian.
    Thanks & best regards,
    David Lai

  13. Gerry Alanguilan on October 16th, 2009 2:30 pm

    Hello David! The publisher, Mr. Hugo Yonzon, has said they will set up something for International orders of the book. I’m sure once the PICCA Festival/Komikon is over, Mr. Yonzon will be able to set that up. Please keep watching this blog for future announcements. :D