58 Responses to “The Thing About Creating Comics”

1. Jose Mari Lee on April 4th, 2010 3:30 am

   Gerry:

   Generally, people think that making comics is easy because they’ve been used to the old RP comics industry, where the quality went down the drain from the mid 1970s onwards until its demise. In those days, we heard of artists who would finish 6-10 pages a day. But look at the quality and you’d faint from disgust. I called them chicken feet art (because the effect was like scratchings on the soil by a chicken). That also applied to the so-called “800+ komiks novelist” who thought that 30 or so serialized stories written simultaneously was a brilliant showcase of his talent. Read them, however, and you’ll realize how pedestrian, nonsense, and even EMBARRASSING – the poor quality of his work.

   What you have described here is the current situation where you guys are trying to uplift (again) the quality of your work just like in the 1950s when RP komiks were tremendously beautiful, the reader can see how they were painstakingly done.

   Let me put it this way: RP komiks enjoyed at least 20 years of glory (not in terms of sales, but of beautiful illustration) from 1950 until 1970. From mid 1970s until they disappeared in the early 90s, the drawings simply became pedestrian and both the publisher and the artists’ outlook became more profit-oriented. While it was true that the sales of the komiks skyrocketed from 1970 till mid-1980s, the quality continued to slide down, way down, into the gutter.

   Despite the unfair criticism that some Filipino compatriots are hurling towards the indie Filipino comics practitioners of today, these critics are quite too young and smart-alecky and they don’t seem to know what they are saying. The works you guys are doing for the country’s komiks are truly commendable and I guess people who were once upon a time were part of the old industry, can see this fact and appreciate it.

   When I challenged these young critics in my blog to “show me the money” and “put their money where their mouth is” – despite the fact they are already using fictitious names, they still COULDN’T SAY ANYTHING. Instead, they ended critiquing the most obscure indie works (the ones done by adolescent comic artist wannabes and boys and girls trying to make their own comic book for fun), but not even one critique was done for the ones who were self-publishing their books.

   Everybody’s a critic. I don’t question this. But, a critic should have a solid base where his criticism should come from. Unfortunately, many younger critics are not equipped with enough knowledge and “insider” experience to support their twaddling.

   And yes, I dare call it TWADDLING, because that’s exactly what it is.

2. Ed on April 4th, 2010 12:51 pm

   We always get this experience a lot, huh? My wife realized this when she finally saw me work straight more or less 20 hrs like you mentioned. She agreed it is not easy. I even let her try inking my sketches and she thought it was easy.

   Maybe we should make a video time lapse showing us working, also the clock just to know the time is really moving.

   I tried it once using a webcam, 12 hrs of inking a page over Philip Tan’s. Imagine how detail his work is. :)

3. Gerry Alanguilan on April 4th, 2010 7:14 pm

   Thanks JM! I really appreciate your input into this blog. I learn something new every time!

4. Flor on April 5th, 2010 4:55 am

   Si Alcala ang balita ko ay hindi na natutulog ito sa pagguhit, at ang trabahong 20 horas deretso kung gagawin ninyo ito palagi ay magkakasakit kayo sa huli. Ito ang tinatawag kung HANAP-PATAY, pero madalas naman bigyan kayo ng trabaho dito.

   Sa isang parte, ang tinatawag ko naman na HANAP-BUHAY ay paspasan gawa ito, inis dito si JM sa hanap-buhay na ito na pinasikat ko nuon sa atin.

   Ang record ko pala nuon sa hanap-buhay style ko ay isang page sa isang oras na walang sketch na lapis at deretso ang tinta habang nag-iinom ng beer sa beerhouse, hhhhhhh. Tapos ang limang pahinang drawings sa loob ng limang oras. Talagang ang resulta naman ng drawings ay parang ngang kinahig ng lasing na manok.

   Pero ito naman ang obserbasyon ko, bakit iyong mga pulido ang mga gawa nila nuon ay UMATRAS ang mga gawa nila ngayon? Para bagang mga kotse silang umarankada nuon ng husto pero ngayon ay nawalan na sila ng gasolina? Isang halimbawa ay si Juan luna, magaling ito nuong bata pa pero sa huli ay parang kahig-manok na ang mga pinta niya.

   Pag-isipan ninyo ito ng malalim dahil ito ang mangyayari sa huli sa karamihan sa mga kabataan dibuhista ngayon.

5. Jose Mari Lee on April 5th, 2010 11:43 am

   Supremong Kapre:

   Inis lang ako doon sa mga magagaling na tunay, pero binababoy ang gawa nila at pinababagsak ang kalidad ng komiks. Yung huling TOTOY BATO, grabe iyon. Tuloy, lalong DINUSTA ng mga KRITIKO ang komiks na pambalot lang ng tinapa.

   Alam ko, minsan ay nagbabad ako sa bahay ni Alcala, at tunay ngang halos di na ito natutulog, pero that day, naka-15 pages ito ng lapis at tinta. Medyo rush ang itsura ng drawing, pero kita mo pa rin ang tamang anatomy, nagkukulang sa story-telling, pero acceptable pa rin.

   Ang drawing mo, alam ko rin ang style, na walang tigil sa pag-evolve at bawa’t evolution nito ay paganda nang paganda. Totoo nga’t may mga ginawa ka noon sa El Dorado na PANG-DILIS style, pero kung sisususog ko ito ng lapis, PANG-LECHON pa rin ang anatomy. Siguradong maiinis ka sa akin dahil ayaw mong pinupuri ka sa harapan, puwes, ito eksakto ang gagawin ko. Puriin ang drawing mo nang harapan (habang naka-amba ang dos por dos. Hhhhh) dahil talagang may sinasabi ka sa drawing. Actually ang drawing mong pang-dilis ay hindi kinahig ng chicken feet. Pinuputol mo lang ang ibang linya, pero naroon ang suggestion kung saan patungo ang mga nawawalang parte. Hindi ito tulad ng iba na pinuputol ang linya, paglagpas sa frame, disastrous ang anatomy because the lines do not go anywhere. Hindi ko isinama sa listahan ng mga chicken feet sina Alcala, Redondo at Dery. Pero marami akong mababanggit na pangalan na talagang kinahig manok, kaya lang karamihan sa kanila ay mga yumao na kaya let’s just let sleeping dogs lie.

   Tutal, sala rin naman talaga ito ng mga publihers. They were not paying the artists the right amount of talent fee, at doon sa mga naghahanap buhay na komiks illustration ang main livelihood, ano ang gagawin nila kundi magtrabaho ng pamatay, at tuloy, napakarami sa kanila ang namatay nang maaga.

   Let’s hope that this tragedy does not happen again to the young komiks practitioners of today. It would be unacceptable, even immoral – to drive artists into despair, like the way the old industry treated a lot of talented Filipino artists so badly.

6. John Amor on April 5th, 2010 1:11 pm

   I completely agree. Granted I’m fairly new to the industry… but even early on, you learn very quickly that there’s nothing “funny” about the work that goes into making “funny books.”

   Ed’s time lapse idea is interesting.

7. Robby Villabona on April 5th, 2010 1:54 pm

   Hi, Guys,

   I just want to warn you about what happened to me. I don’t work 20 hours straight, but for years I’ve been working maybe 8-12 hours a day sitting down drawing on a computer. I’m not a workaholic by nature, but having to financially support a lot of people (mostly kids in school), I’ve had no choice.

   I used to work out at the gym to keep fit, but when my gym closed I lost the momentum and let my attention on keeping fit slip. When I tried getting back into shape mid-2009 by regular swimming, it was apparently too late.

   I’ve been recently diagnosed with thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) by a physical therapist, after 8 months of wrong diagnosis and treatment by 5 doctors. As the word “syndrome” implies, it’s a complex set of conditions and it the causes and symptoms vary a lot. Mine is due to a very tight pectoralis minor on my right side and a tight scalene (neck muscle) on my left. My symptoms are pain and tingling on my hands in varying degrees. Almost all fingers feel “gummy” and tight, and some have pain, some have tingling, and some have both. This is caused by nerves getting compressed by the tight muscles and fascia, affecting the health of the nerves and restricting their normal ‘gliding’ between layers of tissue. It can also affect blood vessels though in my case it appears to be only nerve-related. Relatively, my TOS is not as bad as most TOS cases I’ve read about on the online forums. TOS can be so bad you have constant pain on your neck, shoulders, arms, hands that prevent you from getting enough sleep, much less functioning normally on a daily basis. Some of my attempts to get fit starting late last year were apparently making my condition worse because it is such a sensitive condition. Swimming and some yoga poses and stretching exercises will actually make it worse, unless you know what types of movements to avoid.

   It is generally known by those familiar with this condition that it’s usually mistaken for carpal tunnel syndrome, or other forms of repetitive stress injuries (RSIs). In my experience, it is because most doctors do not have the training, skills, and knowledge about how RSI’s of this kind should be diagnosed. I’ve heard similar, or worse horror stories from TOS patients in the U.S. and elsewhere. Just a google check of what they used to diagnose me showed they were just plain wrong. Specifically, some of my doctors relied on electromyograph and nerve conduction velocity (EMG/NCV) tests to check my nerves to rule out TOS when all literature I read say that EMG/NCV tests do not postively identify or rule out TOS.

   My experience finding a correct diagnosis was similar to many, many others I’d read about on the Internet forums. I’d been diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, osteoarthritis, Dequervain’s tenosynovitis, and myofascial pain syndrome, and went through wrong treatment as a result. I was just incredibly lucky to find a talented physical therapist who knows about these things and she was able to diagnose me correctly. She has been treating me for several weeks now, and the proof that her diagnosis was correct is that my symptoms have greatly been reduced because of the treatment. In the course of the treatment, I have also learned from her and my own research what actions make my symptoms worse. Basically it’s a lifestyle change that I need to do, apart from the bio-mechanical fix being made by the therapy. This includes:

   1. Not sitting and working on a computer for more than 15 mins at a time (I take a cycle of frequent 1 min breaks, less frequent 5 min breaks, and an even lesser number of 10 min breaks).
   2. Drinking lots of water.
   3. Daily aerobic exercise (brisk walking, even if only for 10-15 mins)
   4. Stress-management techniques, such as meditation, yoga, and other forms of mind-body health techniques to prevent your muscles from tensing up
   5. Neuromuscular therapy (therapy that gets the tight muscles loose and getting the nerves unstuck)
   6. Stretching exercises for the affected muscles (to keep them loose)
   7. Postural correction therapy (the forward head, rolled or hunched shoulder posture is a famous cause of TOS)
   8. Working less

   The biggest factor that has contributed to the development of my TOS is sitting for too long. Prior to this experience, I had no idea that sitting too much can cause so much damage to your body. The thing is, even if you’re physically active and into working out and into sports, you can still develop problems like these for as long as you sit too long and not take enough breaks. Sitting too long also tends to encourage bad postural habits. One thing that made me take notice was when I read about how people in old movies appear to stand “taller” and with better posture compared to those in modern movies. Apparently, standing up and sitting up straight, as opposed to slouching, used to be ‘normal’. Today’s modern lifestyle, which includes walking less, watching TV for hours sitting on a couch, working on computers for hours, video games, etc, has made the posture of the typical urban dweller hunched and prone to a lot of health problems.

   I also have other aches and pains on my butt, lower back, groin, knees, feet related to prolonged sitting and not getting enough exercise. Initially I thought this was also arthritis when one of my doctors diagnosed my hand pains were arthritis. Thoughts of growing old and having to have hip joint replacement led to sleepless nights. Using research, however, I’ve found out that most of the problems I have are called “myofascial pain”, or “trigger points” in different parts of my muscles. “Trigger points” are otherwise called “lamig” or “hangin” by local massage therapists. They are the frequent reason behind “knots” in your muscles. Now that I look back, some of the pain, specifically on my groin has been there for over 20 years now, most likely due to bad posture working on computers. Until recently, this pain has not been that bothersome and rarely made itself felt, so I never sought to find treatment. It’s only recently that the pain has become bothersome and has expanded to include my hips, butt, and the side of my leg. Until I did my research, I would never have imagined that this pain was being caused by ‘trigger points’ and a tight muscles in my lumbar area. I’ve used self-massage to treat that pain and it’s been reduced by about 70%. It’s a particularly stubborn trigger point since I’ve had it for a very long time now. Other trigger points I’ve treated myself weren’t as stubborn, and were gone after 2-3 days. This included tight muscles in my forearm and palm that was causing pain on my thumb.

   Since studying these things, I’ve also been able to help some people with chronic pain who otherwise have been taking pain killers for relief. For example, the occasional pain on my wife’s left temple and eye was treated by massage to the back of her shoulders. There’s actually a book I use as a reference for this, called “Trigger Point Therapy Workbook”

   Anyway, I’ve been wanting to put this out for some time now to warn other people who sit too much and are sedentary for many hours a day. I’ve had warnings about the health issues related to a sedentary lifestyle, but most of those warnings had to do with heart disease and problems related to being overweight. I’ve never had high blood pressure and was always slender so I wasn’t so concerned about this. Little did I know other problems had been very slowly building up in my body. I still consider myself lucky though, since I seem to have caught my TOS in an early stage and is now responding to conservative treatment I described above. However it’s going to take a long time, anywhere between 6 months to a year is typical. I’m willing to bet a lot of cases have gone on in the past that have most likely diagnosed as arthritis, which is unfortunate because problems of these kinds are treatable (often without surgery), while arthritis is not (unless you want to kill your liver taking pain medication).

   I asked my PT if she sees a lot of cases like mine in the call center industry, where people are sitting down for hours doing stressful work. She said there’s not a lot, but that’s probably because people in their 30′s in that industry are getting killed by heart disease and HIV even before they develop repetitive stress injuries.

   Sorry for the long post!

8. Auggie on April 5th, 2010 6:09 pm

   HAPPY EASTER TO YOU GUYS !

   Sabi ng kaibigang kong Hapon na JICA Expert, yung mga Manga Artists daw sa Japan eh ang treatment daw sa kanila eh parang mga Rock Stars, at milyon daw ang kita. Ang kapalit naman daw eh naka-gapos daw sa drawing boards for endless hours, at nag -kakasakit.
   Tama si JM, 20 years of beautiful komiks 1950-70, and downward spiral later. Bakit? dahil masyadong dumami ang titles/publications. Nawalan ng quality control at na- watered down ang talent pool. Sana this time , Let’s do it correctly. Quality Control and ENOUGH TALENT POOL.

9. BCharlesB on April 6th, 2010 6:13 am

   Jack Kirby was capable of turning out…
   3 pages a day of both plotting and solid pencils.
   or
   5-6 pages of layouts for other artists to finish.

   He did an entire issue (20 pages) of pencils (minus solid black areas) in one three-day period when the regular artist on a book failed to meet a deadline!

   And he did this sort of thing on a monthly basis for at least three decades!

   His monthly Fantastic Four run (1 to 102) had NO fill-ins or missed issues!
   While he was doing THAT, he was ALSO…
   Pencilling at least two other books per month (titles varied)!
   Laying out at least one other book!
   Plus pencilling most of the 15-20 covers per month that Marvel published.

   Was his work, by any standard, bad?
   Or is he considered “King of Comics” by many from the 1960s to the present?

10. Auggie on April 6th, 2010 9:26 am

    Personally, malayo ang trabaho ni Kirby, sa gawa nila Alcala, Redondo, Coching, Jodloman, Emil Rodriguez, et al noon. want proof? pagtabihin mo an mga drowing nila. Parang sa tingin ko undisciplined ang banat ni Kirby, kulang sa restraint. Saka hindi siya marunong mag drowing ng six-shooters, at kabayo. Tingnan mo ang drowing niya ng RAWHIDE KID, masama…kumpara mo sa TULISAN, PANGINOON, SA BAWAT PUNGLO ni Redondo, o kaya sa TAGA SA BATO, CONDENADO,ni Coching, malayo…magaling lang si Kirby sa mga Sci-fi, superheroes etc. but again kumpara mo sa trabaho ni ALEX NINO, sa 1984, malayo din. King of Comics nga siguro siya doon sa mga hindi na-expose sa GOLDEN AGE of KOMIKS dito sa atin (1950-1970). Pag nakita mo kasi ang masterworks natin parang mawawalan ka ng gana sa iba….

11. Gilbert Monsanto on April 6th, 2010 12:32 pm

    Simple lang naman kung bakit naging HANAP BUHAY ang artstyle ng komiks noon eh. DI NA TUMAAS ANG PAGE RATE sa GASI at ATLAS dati. 75 pesos per page, kung di ka gagawa ng mabilis, aba magugutom ka. Ang mga mahuhusay naman na nagagalit sa mga gumawa ng mabilis na paraan, well swerte sila marahil at nakapagwork na sa labas ng bansa. Sana wag nila sisihin basta ang mga artist. Alamin muna nila ang sitwasyon ng sikmura namin.

    High art deserves high pay, it is that simple. seventy five pesos deserves what? 75 peso art din.

12. Auggie on April 6th, 2010 1:35 pm

    Exactly,Gilbert. After all is said and done, it all boils down to ECONOMICS. Tama si SUPERKAP, ng ni-revolutionize niya ang ethics ng HANAPBUHAY. Five pesos per page? bakit daw niya bibigyan ng ala Voltar na rendering, kung limang piso lang per page? di ibinigay niya ang worth ng limang piso, PADASKUL-DASKUL style, kaso, gumaya na ang iba, and the rest is history. Kung gusto ng QUALITY, you gotta pay for it. Mag-script man o illustration. pero talagang bumagsak ang industry dahil it succumbed to the HOT PANDESAL SYNDROME. Marami ng pumasok, at wala ng quality control, BARA-BARA Style na lang, at na DILUTE ang talent pool. In short, nawala ang respeto ng mga publishers sa mga mambabasa. Ang rason nila tutal nabibili naman, kahit ano ang ilabas namin. Example ng Mataas Magbayad ng publishing house: WARREN PUBLICATIONS, walang sinabi ang Marvel, DC pag dating sa rates dito, kaya the best ARTISTS IN THE WORLD, including Pinoys ang eager magtrabaho sa kanila. Atkung titingnan mo ang ROSTER ng mga artist nila eh parang NBA ALL-STARS LINE-UP:FRAZETTA, CORBEN, MOEBIUS, WILLIAMSON, SEVERIN, MAROTO,ORTIZ, BERMEJO, ALCALA, NINO, REDONDO, JODLOMAN, BILAL, HEATH, LAXAMANA, LEONIDEZ, SAN JULIAN, ENRICH, etc.etc..Marunong silang magbayad ng maayos…

13. Michael on April 8th, 2010 5:07 pm

    I wonder…

    Are you into comics because you want to put food on the table?…

    Or is it a craft you want to hone because telling visual stories is one of the most exciting hobbies and probably the coolest but not the easiest job in the world whether you be a starving artist or a hotshot creator with an exclusive contract with a big time publisher?

    Don’t complain about the hours you put in the job because every hour spent drawing and figuring out how to make a page look sweet is a reward in itself.

    If you look at the work as a mind-numbing chore then I don’t think you should be doing comics at all.

    Comics shouldn’t be “all about the work.”

    If what you do for a living is “work” then I guess you’re too old for the job.

    The craft is all about playing around and exploring your imagination and capturing that moment on the page and creating a world and characters to share with other comic book geeks and readers. That is a lot of FUN on my book and NOT “work.”

    If you have to do OTHER stuff to have FUN because you don’t have enough fun doing comics then that remark reveals a lot about your state of mind.
    Pressure and stress? I think you should treat the challenge of the job as FUN.

    Personally, just seeing your own stuff on the shelves of a comic book store or at the neighborhood newspaper and magazine stand is elating enough.

    Knowing that a few people go out of their way to check out your book and buy it is a blast.

    Having a gazillion readers of your stuff is just icing on the cake.

    Even if there are people who will sling mud on ya for doing what you do, or think your craft is trivial, or just plain misunderstand what keeps you doing what you do inspite of all the supposed roadblocks to success…You do comics because your soul craves for this way of life…and you shouldn’t bristle if people regard your way of life differently.

    At the Joe Kubert School, the attrition rate is close to 50% meaning that half of those who enroll in the three year course for comic book artists drop out because they burn out and can’t handle the regimen…It’s fun but it’s not easy making comic books for a living…

    The challenge for everyone doing this gig is to find out what works best for them…thinking creatively…time management…prayers…peer group support…so that they can enjoy doing their job and not be frustrated by the long hours or be prickly about criticism.

    Lastly, about the comparison between Kirby and supposed Pinoy Masters…

    Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Super-Heroes BEATS any genre. Any time! Anywhere! Kirby lacking restraint? That’s a joke.

    Doing comics should BE about making everything larger than life, dude. King Kirby = X-Men and Fantastic Four, etc…

    I’d prefer Kirby laser gauntlets and mecha over six-shooters and horses anytime!

14. Gerry Alanguilan on April 12th, 2010 11:30 am

    Michael, believe me, I’m where you were at 15 or so years ago. Man, all I wanted was to see my comics on the shelves and I was happy. To have my name in a comic book, it was such a thrill.

    But yes, as you get older, you start to make hard choices. Do you want to continue creating comics or would you forever have it as a “hobby” and just have other day jobs to support your existence and your comics hobby?

    I decided I wanted to do comics all the time. No day job at some ad firm or call center or wherever (not that there’s anything wrong with that). I wanted to do comics literally all the time. But if you want to do comics full time, you have to make a living at it. No less than Whilce Portacio himself told me that yes, comics was a job… specially if you’re doing it on a monthly book. You can’t afford to have “off” days or times when you just don’t feel like working. You have to keep working and you have to keep turning those pages in on time. This is what it means to be a professional in comics.

    No matter how much you love creating comics, there comes a time when it becomes too much. That there are days that it’s not so fun and it’s just stressing you out to come up with something just to meet the deadline. If you’re doing your personal indie which you sell at Komikon, you can afford to take a long break. watch a movie, hang out at the mall, go on a date….and it would be all right. But when you’re doing a monthly for Marvel, you simply don’t always have that luxury.

    Doing Elmer was relatively stress fee and completely fun. But then, it took me more than two years to finish all 145 pages of it. At Marvel, I have to produce up to 24 pages a month (including cover) at the same time I’m also creating my own personal comics here in the Philippines. And yes, it *can* get stressfull, even if you love what you’re doing. You still feel the pressure to create something even if you don’t feel like it. Yes, it’s possible to get stressed and pressured even if it’s your dream job. It only means you are being challenged and tested. It’s always a great feeling when it’s all done and you feel you’ve accomplished something worthwhile.

    Ask anyone who has been doing comics for a long time. Ask Whilce. He himself told us how the Homage Studios gang would just get away and forget comics after beating a deadline. Ask Leinil. Ask Carlo Pagulayan. Ask Wilson Tortosa. Ask Gilbert Monsanto. Ask Edgar Tadeo. Ask Jay Anacleto and Carlo Vergara. Ask even the newer guys like Mico Suayan and Harvey Tolibao. They’ll tell you the same thing. Take a full time monthly comics job and ask yourself this 10 years from now.

    Sometimes you just need a break. Sometimes you hate comics so much that you don’t want to see them anymore. But it passes and you have fun again because the love for comics is so much stronger. It’s a job, but it’s the love for comics that makes you keep on doing it. Because as I’ve said so many times, if you don’t love what you’re doing, if you don’t love comics, you won’t last long in this business.

    Today, it’s still a thrill seeing my comics on the shelves. It’s still a thrill seeing my name (and less of a thrill when they misspell it) on a comic book.

    ****************

    But just to clarify… you seem to get the impression I was complaining about the job. Not at all. The reason for this post is this: I’m simply giving an explanation why I cannot accept all the invites to attend events, talks, seminars, interviews, meetings etc. Why I cannot answer all emails, and why I don’t get to respond often on this blog. It’s because I literally don’t have time as having a full time comics job takes all of my time. Literally. It’s something a lot of people outside of the comics business don’t fully understand. Comics is a time consuming job. But it is a job I love doing.

15. Michael on April 12th, 2010 1:48 pm

    I think I understand now. Even Neil Gaiman had the same problem with Sandman so he quit instead of just writing a pastiche of the book. Thanks for clarifying!!

    But there are also Ironmen like Richard Friend who can do a ton of stuff na sabay sabay and still look for more!

16. auggie on April 12th, 2010 2:54 pm

    Michael,my man:

    how old are you dude? you are lucky because your parents are wealthy and can bankroll your fantasy.It’s quite different in a THIRD WORLD SETTING. Here, most artists has gotta PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE, and that’s the harsh reality.
    As for Kirby and his stuff, I am not really a fan of Kirby. My favorite American artists are:Russ Heath, Al Williamson, John Severin, Richard Corben, Bernie Wrightson,Joe Kubert,Al Mignola…

17. Gilbert Monsanto on April 13th, 2010 10:03 am

    All I can really say now is for anyone to try doing komiks, and after a year doing it… express himself. That should do it. Don’t ask us what we went thru and then speculate or even judge our love for the medium. Experience komiks, then you’ll understand without us saying anything at all.

18. Michael on April 13th, 2010 5:43 pm

    Making comic books for fun isn’t a fantasy at all as emphatically stressed by Auggie.

    You can make comics any way you choose and all methods for doing the gig are legit as long as one does it because you love to create visual stories and create unique characters.

    Even in a 3rd world setting, artists can put food on the table by exploring a lot of options not just work-for-hire…which Mr. Auggie seems to forget.

    It’s a fact that with available technology nowadays, almost anyone can make their dream come true (making comics) even with a low budget.

    No need for rich parents to pay for it.

    One can hone one’s craft even while holding a day job and still do comics on the side. And whether one does it full-time or during their free time isn’t really an issue as long as one can handle the challenge of doing either…the grind for work-for-hire…and irregular release dates for part time commitments…

    Gerry simply explained that you do hit the wall when you have to work with regular deadlines and the grind tends to burn you out, which I perfectly understand. Maybe a better post would have illustrated that a career in comics requires long, long hours doing the same thing over and over and that one should be able to handle the grind and find a way to enjoy the craft even with the long hours and short deadlines…if you do work-for-hire.

    There are a lot of options to do comics, whether work-for-hire like Gerry does…or whether as a hobby like what most of us do…settling for xerox publishing…or small-press publishing which Gerry does too! It isn’t some forbidden fantasy or craft…it’s a way of life! And fun too!

    If the primary reason for doing comics is putting food on the table, it’ll be a chore in the long run because you’ll be looking at the craft as a paying job and not as playing around for fun…and getting paid to play make-believe.

    Again, there are a lot of options available to all artists so they can put food on the table and still do comics for fun. I already mentioned in my earlier post that doing comics ain’t easy but those who rise up to the challenge to find ways to have fun while doing it should share these secrets rather than stress things like..economics!..or 3rd world setting!..all of which reveal what state of mind you have as opposed to us who do the gig for kicks.

    Lastly, if anyone says that King Kirby “lacks restraint and is only good at superheroes and sci-fi” then man, the joke’s on you…whatever excuse you have.

19. auggie on April 14th, 2010 9:48 am

    You seem to have a lot of resources. Would you mind discusssing it here on your MODUS OPERANDI, of how to do comics for fun, without regard for PUTTING FOOD ON THE TABLE? we certainly could pick up some useful ideas from you. hell, maybe I could do it too!

    As for KIRBY, he simply doesn’t EXCITE me! understand? you know the meaning of the phrase: DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS? hope you do….

20. Robby Villabona on April 14th, 2010 1:33 pm

    Michael,

    Your post is a little confusing. On one hand you seem to be saying you can make a living being an independent comic book creator/publisher. OTOH, you seem to look at it as a hobby, not a way to make a living. Not sure what you really want to say in that post.

    On my side, I do not know of anyone who makes a living purely as an indie publisher here (and probably same abroad). Several years ago I asked people on PKMB who was making money purely on self-publishing but nobody could claim such. Most, if not all, have 2nd jobs, are subsidized by other work, or are not making (losing?) money on doing what they love (which probably makes it a hobby).

    Again, I hope the overly-sensitive independent publishers don’t take this to mean I am telling them they should be doing something else. If you love what you do then by all means do it. I am merely pointing out that in this market, I have not seen anyone who lives on independent publishing alone. If ever there were someone who could, he’d likely be more of an exception than a rule.

21. AJ Bernardo on April 15th, 2010 5:44 am

    I think what needs to be established here are the parameters between us HOBBYISTS/AMATEURS and PROFESSIONALS. Clearly, some are speaking in terms of the former while others see it purely in the point of view of the latter. Same goes for delineating the arguments for Kirby versus Filipino masters, and to some extent, Juan Luna’s realist versus expressionist style preferences.

    I think the answer lies somewhere in the middle as Gerry pointed out. Yes, making comics is loads of fun, but once we’ve graduated from its masturbatory practice to relying on it purely as a source of living, then one will have to subject himself under the tyranny of an employer (especially a CORPORATE one, like the big two), which will eventually lend a pleasurable activity its own share of stresses, just like any labor-selling endeavor.

    Reading between the lines, and not to misquote Mike, if the fun of making comics has all been alienated in place of more immediate needs and all that’s left is us bitching about our [American] master’s deadlines and exploitative page rates, then perhaps it’s time to explore other venues aside from the work-for-hire route. I’m not so sure I agree Michael has found the yellow-brick road of comics-making, then again how will we know if no one paves the way?

    Yes in an ideal world (third world notwithstanding) there is an altruistic need to stop gunning for dollars and maybe just focus all our energies in pumping out the most kick-ass komiks ever AS OUR OWN MASTERS. Alas that is not the case, but we shouldn’t let that defeat us.

22. Michael on April 15th, 2010 7:48 am

    Sigh.

    Apparently, Mr. Auggie cannot conceive nor understand that making comics for fun need not be something you do to put food on the table.

    Again this reveals what state of mind he has and what most of the old-timers cling to. It’s all “economics” and “third world setting” and “modus operandi” for him as always and as ever will be.

    For me and most kids who explore self-publishing their creative work, we do it for fun…

    As a way of life…

    As a serious hobby…

    As an experiment to find out if there are readers who like our visual stories…

    As a way to develop various skills- be it artistic skills or even marketing and business skills (and still have FUN at the same time)…

    As an investment of time and creativity hoping that one’s IP can strike gold and be optioned for multimedia projects…

    The last thing on the mind of anyone who has FUN doing comics is “Will this put food on the table?”

    If it does put food on the table then BONANZAAAA!

    If not then intelligent artists are resourceful enough to find options that can put food on the table and still enable them to pursue their creative projects (making comic books).

    Mr. Auggie’s one track mind only envisions that artists do comics primarily to put food on the table…and that everything about comics revolves around “economics” and a “third world setting”. Sheesh.

    This state of mind confuses everyone who embraces it. Because for them, they cannot believe that other artists do comics for FUN first; making a lot of effort finding resourceful ways to make their dream come true. (And today’s technology makes it cheaper for almost anyone to publish a comic book–whether ashcan quality or full-color glossy cover-book paper quality.)

    For Auggie, the mindset and effort of doing comics for fun is a mere fantasy. One that can only be bankrolled by rich parents.

    Resourceful and intelligent comic book artists will always find a way to do comics because they have FUN doing it…

    Look at Gio Paredes, who does Kalayaan…he has a day job but still publishes his own comics on a semi-regular basis…he does it because comics is a way of life for him…

    Mr. Villabona is also confused because he thinks that it’s either comics as “making a living” or comics as a hobby.

    Make no mistake. There is no one over the other.
    You can do either. Or you can do both! Like what Gio does. Or what Gerry does too!

    Comics as a “Way of Life” does not simply mean doing comics as a job to put food on the table…that is a very simplistic way of reading “Way of Life”.

    Watch Kevin Smith’s trilogy of Clerks, Mallrats and Chasing Amy.

    The movie trilogy pokes fun at a comic book geek’s way of life, and if one has a sense of humor and laugh at all the inside jokes about the geek lifestyle then one will enjoy this entertaining portrayal of our ‘Way of Life’.

    Maybe a more lucid explanation is just that. A lifestyle for artists who enjoy creating visual stories and character design.

    We live for comic books.

    And if you still don’t get it, maybe it’s because you don’t like Jack Kirby. That guy had a lot of FUN doing comics. Showed in his art too.

    I don’t mind if you aren’t excited by his art or unappreciative of what he means to comic book fans…

    But to explicitly slag King Kirby for being “undisciplined, lacking restraint, and only good at sci-fi and superheroes” then again, the JOKE is on you forever…

    How sad.

23. auggie on April 15th, 2010 12:52 pm

    Oh, I see. GENERATION GAP eh Michael? I rest my Case. Still, Kirby doesn’t excite me. Have a Life Full of Fun by Doing Comics. As the BEACH BOYS, would sing it: FUN,FUN,FUN….

24. Michael on April 15th, 2010 2:14 pm

    The last retort by Auggie reveals everything…

    Quite obtusely the mindset of someone only concerned about the “economics” of a “3rd world setting.”

    Someone who obviously doesn’t have FUN doing comics unless he GETS A PAYCHECK in exchange for his time, skills and effort. Someone who just thinks of comics as a means of putting food on the table.

    It isn’t even about a generation gap, dude.

    Someone just doesn’t understand or accept that doing comics is a labor of love (FUN) and a way of life for most of us who enjoy creating visual stories and designing characters.

    It’s not just toil and trouble for a wage. Never has been. It’s a craft that can reward a dedicated artist in more ways than just putting food on the table.

    I’m glad that everybody reading this thread can associate a name with the comments on this blog and judge for themselves the difference between the state of mind of someone…

    who embraces the craft because it is serious FUN… creative and exciting…and a means for exploring all the imaginative rewards that comic book work can offer.

    and another person who is just concerned that a creator gets paid so that he can eat…

    Not even a generation gap. Just a state of mind of someone who thinks King Kirby is FUN and that of someone who thinks King Kirby isn’t.

25. Auggie on April 15th, 2010 5:26 pm

    Amen….

26. Flor on April 16th, 2010 1:54 am

    Auggie,

    nakatuwaan ka lang, FUN, ni Michael, hhhhhhh.

    Ang anak ko ay HOBBY at FUN lang niya ang pagguhit, wala kasing ibubuga ito, hhhhhhh.

    Sa isang parte, ang mga artists na may ibubuga talaga ay hindi FUN ang pagguhit, SERYOSONG gawain nila ito.

    Tungkol naman kay Kirby ay sa tingin ko sa mga dibuho niya ay ORDINARYO lang ang mga ito. Wala akong nakitang isang katangian sa mga guhit ni Kirby para mangati ang YAGBA ko, hhhhhhh. Nataon lang na isa siya sa nauna sa paggawa ng superheroes sa superpower na US of A kaya sikat ito.

    Kung gusto ng sinumang artist na MABUGOK ang mga dibuho niya ay di gayahin niya ang mga gawa ni Kirby.

    HALA, kayong mga mahihilig sa FUN lang, punta kayo sa blog ko at mag-aral kayo duon para SERYOSOHIN ninyo ang pagguhit. Karamihan kasi sa mga gawa ng mga mahihilig sa KATUWAAN o FUN ay mga BAGITO pa ang mga gawa nila, puro kasi KATUWAAN lang ang mga alam nila. Dapat siguro na paghahatawin sila ng DOS-POR-DOS sa kanilang mga bumbunan para matauhan, hhhhhhh.

27. Michael on April 16th, 2010 6:28 am

    “Kung gusto ng sinumang artist na MABUGOK ang mga dibuho niya ay di gayahin niya ang mga gawa ni Kirby.” quote by Flor

    Translated into English:

    “Any artist who wants his illustrations to turn out lousy should mimic Kirby’s work.”

    Again, this takes the cake.

    Now you know why kids will NEVER have respect for komiks old-timers and their perception of what good comics is and what the craft means to us who live for comics.

    What a mindset, huh?

    Guess that karma has a way of paying back their kind.

    In Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, gods cease to exist when no one worships them anymore.

    I guess that’s exactly what happened to the old-timers.

    Kids who live for comics have better role models to look up to than the old guard of Filipino Komiks.

    Anyway, Jack Kirby is still KING…and immortal for that matter.

    and Flor is just some violent old man who thinks his son has no talent and has nothing to show the world.

    How sad.

    Maybe it IS a generation gap after all.

28. Auggie on April 16th, 2010 10:26 am

    FLOR,

    Hindi ko talaga maintindihan kung bakit DINO-DIYOS ng mga kabataan ngayon si Kirby. SIX-SHOOTERS lang at KABAYO eh hindi maayos-ayos eh, very BASIC. Si PICASSO, bago naging Master painter eh marunong mag drowing iyan.Akala ng iba cubism lang ang alam ni Pablo. Saka bakit ang idolo ng mga kabataan ngayon eh puro puti? HOW SAD!

29. Gerry Alanguilan on April 16th, 2010 12:18 pm

    What I like about Jack Kirby’s work is that it is powerful and huge. His people may be grotesque and his work not exactly anatomically correct, but we’re talking comics here. It doesn’t matter if it’s anatomically correct as long as it looks COOL. And to me Jack Kirby’s cosmic landscapes and alien designs giants and heroes are extraordinarily cool. That may infuriate the fine artist in many of us, but that is a fact of popular comics.

30. Michael on April 16th, 2010 2:03 pm

    I’m a 39 year-old kid who grew up on comics that’s why I love Jack Kirby even if most other younger kids haven’t seen his best work.

    The fact that he co-created X-Men and Fantastic Four and was such an Ironman-Workhorse Page Factory in his prime makes me venerate him because he made comics “Larger than Life” by trailblazing the super-hero craze. His work on DC’s The Losers, a group of World War 2 soldiers in one of DC’s multiple Earths was really cool too, if anyone is looking for a point of reference for Kirby drawing real-life.

    Without Kirby, superhero comics would be less of a phenomenon than we can ever imagine…

    Besides, are six-shooters and horses really MORE inspiring than futuristic scenarios and super-heroes?

    Maybe the kid in older artists was inspired by stories with bandidos riding horses and blasting six-shooters (the most popular action-adventure stuff in the 50s-60s) and their imagination soared whenever they read such adventures…

    For my generation and younger kids: mutant super-hero teams, convoluted mecha armageddons, a modern myth about the Dream King and his spooky siblings, fighting game characters and Japanese / Western fantasy role-playing game analogs are what fuel our love for the medium.

    Well, like what was said earlier…Different strokes for different folks…

31. Michael on April 16th, 2010 2:16 pm

    Also, in this day and age…one’s nationality and race shouldn’t really be a gauge for admiring another person’s art…

    Whilce and Leinil is the bomb for a lot of us.

    Reverse Racism in whatever guise is poor form.

32. Robby Villabona on April 16th, 2010 2:22 pm

    I hated Jack Kirby’s art up to when I was in high school. But I learned to appreciate it when I was much older, especially when I got to see what his contemporaries were doing before he came into the scene. Jack Kirby brought drama, dynamic tension, and exaggeration to a new level that wasn’t there before. I think a lot of credit should also go to Joe Sinnot, who made Jack Kirby’s final art look a lot better than his rough pencils.

    I don’t think it’s a generation gap when it comes to one’s opinion on Kirby. It’s more like Auggie and Flor are probably not representative of their generation. Auggie’s taste is for more realistic rendering and was never a super-hero comic fan. Si Flor naman — walang ibang magaling na artist kay Flor kundi si Flor. Go ask him yourself if you doubt me.

    Kung may gap man akong nakikita dito sa usapang ito, ay EXPERIENCE GAP. Without benefit of actual experience, Michael is absolutely certain that comics making is all FUN.

33. Michael on April 16th, 2010 4:35 pm

    Experience gap? Actual experience?

    Dude, we used to freelance for Funny Komiks and Atlas. Both as writers and illustrators. Work-for-hire.

    Now we’re doing comics as our own studio. As self publishers on our own time and with a bit more resources. If we didn’t have a BLAST as freelancers, we wouldn’t be going it solo.

    Had a lot of serious, serious FUN doing the gig either way.

    Absolutely certain!

    We still live for comics!

34. Flor on April 16th, 2010 5:11 pm

    Ang anak ko ay iba ang talent, scholar ito sa Loyola Law school dito sa US, pero wala siyang ibubuga sa pagguhit kaya hindi ko siya hinikayat na maging komiks artist. Kanya-kanya ang abilidad, ang iba ay magaling sa ganito at ang iba naman ay magaling sa ganuon. At iyong mga walang kahit na anong talent ay maging KUBITERO na lang.

    Naintendihan mo na ba, Michael? Tiningnan ko pala ang mga dibuho mo sa deviantART, basado sa idad mo ngayon ay MEDIOCRE lang ang abilidad mo sa pag-drawing. Tama ka, dapat FUN o KATUWAAN lang sa’yo ang pag-drawing. Talagang hindi mo dapat seryosohin ang pagguhit dahil wala kang kinabukasan dito.

    Ang simpleng sekreto pala sa mga gawa ni Kirby ay EXAGGERATION kaya lang kulang ang mga ito sa dynamic tension. Ang tagal ko ng sinasabi itong EXAGGERATION sa blog ko pero hanggan ngayon ay marami pa rin ang natataranta dito.

    Ito ang pinagtataka ko pala sa maraming kabataan artists ngayon, kung bilib sila sa mga gawa ni Kirby na puti ay bakit mga manga ng hapon ang ginagaya nila? Iyon naman iba, bilib sa mga gawa ng hapon ay bakit gawa naman ng mga puti ang ginagaya nila? At iyon naman iba pa, bilib kuno sila sa mga gawa ng mga matatandang dibuhista sa atin ay bakit ang ginagaya nila ay ang mga gawa ng mga puti at hapon? PARANG MGA NATATARANTA SILA, di ba? Pag-isipan ninyo ito.

35. Flor on April 16th, 2010 5:30 pm

    Dumale na naman itong si Robby, hanggan ngayon ay pumuputok pa rin ang butsi nito sa akin.

    Gusto nitong si Robby na bigyan ko ng kritiko ang gawa niya kaya posted niya ito sa thread ko nuon sa PKMB, iyon pala gusto niyang PURIHIN ko ang gawa niya. Ng sabihin kung parang DINOSAUR ang drawing niyang babae ay nagtatarang na palagi ito sa galit sa akin.

    Robby, hindi mo pa rin binabago ang drawing mong babae, parang DINOSAUR pa rin.

36. Michael on April 16th, 2010 5:34 pm

    By the way, I think Gerry just answered the conundrum about the need for criticism with his post about Jack Kirby.

    If someone does something that looks COOL to one’s intended audience…then that’s all that matters!

    Differences of opinion by peers about aesthetics don’t mean squat anymore.

    A neat fact about popular comics!

37. Michael on April 16th, 2010 6:01 pm

    My last 2 cents on this thread…

    Everyone who gripes about the downside of making comic books for a living or as a hobby can look at it this way…

    Would you rather be pumping gas or working at a fast food joint instead of being in your shoes facing a creative challenge doing visual stories?

    Yes, it takes a day or two to do a page but would you trade that time for a stint at a call center during peak hours of call traffic?

    If creating comic books were as easy as ping-pong then it wouldn’t be any FUN at all.

    Doing comics isn’t easy. It’s a tremendous challenge. That’s why every moment you spend dealing with those challenges makes it all worth it. Have a blast and stop complaining. Have FUN!

38. AJ Bernardo on April 16th, 2010 7:18 pm

    WOOOOOOOOOOOW ANG INIIIIIIIIIIIIIT

    Guys takits sa komikon bukas!

    Don’t forget your Kirby-cannons and Redondo-volvers! Not to mention your name tags.

39. Gerry Alanguilan on April 16th, 2010 7:19 pm

    May I add that while it is true that in comics, you don’t need to draw anatomically correct as long as it looks cool, there is still a line that separates amateur work from the stylings of a truly talented artist. I count Jack Kirby in the latter. In the former, I count Rob Liefeld. To many people, even to me when I was younger, thought his art was uber cool. There is a reason after all, why Rob is so popular. While he is no Kirby, his art is extraordinarily kinetic and vibrant, and held a lot of appeal, never mind if his drawings had 10 zillion teeth, muscles that had no business being there, and poses that can kill real people.

    Both Kirby and Liefeld are still popular today, but for different reasons. People find their art very cool, but Liefeld is no Jack Kirby.

    There is still a limit by which amateurish work can prosper and endure. And people can easily spot the difference between “style” and simply amateurish. Which artists defy the laws of anatomy and yet cannot be considered amateurs or bad artists?

    There’s Alex Niño and Barry Windsor Smith. It may seem ridiculous to put these men in this league as their art looks spectacular, but yes, even they bend the laws of anatomy to suit their own unique styles. But no one can even come close to calling their art amateurish.

    I still maintain that all artists need to learn the basics of comics art from perspective to anatomy to storytelling. It is only by mastering these basics can an artist afford to stylize, because now he actually knows what he’s doing.

40. Gilbert Monsanto on April 16th, 2010 8:52 pm

    I still think Jack Kirby is still king. If we are to read most of the comics he’s done? We can still learn a lot from it. Concepts to designs and camera angles? He’s the best. He does a lot of ugly faces, yes but it usually suits the characters right. It brings a lot of flavor to each page.

    Making comics is fun, always will be for me. I take 4-5 jobs just to produce my books and support my family. Don’t have mouch sleep. But each day, my brain always finds new things to create, write and draw. I am a superhero guy. I have some non-superhero stories to tell, I just need someone else to draw them. I know my weaknesses and my strenghts. I work wise and hard. I came from a very hard life, all that I have now, I think I earned a simple but great life. I owe all this to comics.

    So, I guess, Mike is right. Comics is serious fun.

41. Auggie on April 16th, 2010 10:23 pm

    Aj Bernardo,

    KIRBY CANNONS & REDONDO-VOLVERS ? LOL! yeah…

    Gerry,

    In the same vein, I would put Philipp Druillet of METAL HURLANT. Ang galing sa flourishes and far out universes, but look closely. Judge for yourself. Sumikat siya dahil barkada niya si Moebius, a true genius!

42. Robby Villabona on April 16th, 2010 10:57 pm

    “Dumale na naman itong si Robby, hanggan ngayon ay pumuputok pa rin ang butsi nito sa akin. ”

    Hehe, peace tayo, Flor! My dinosaur women cannot possibly beat your angels on steroids.

43. Michael on April 17th, 2010 8:24 am

    Now that the arguments about Comics as Serious Fun are fairly clear, off to the next issue: mediocrity…hehehe.

    Real MEDIOCRITY comes from living out your last years on this earth slinging mud at other people’s creative work under the guise of critiquing…because you were unable to leave anything memorable behind and lash out at the world because you have a chip on your shoulder…and not even understanding that kids like what they like and draw what they like because they can choose to do so.

    On his deathbed, Robert Jordan was still dictating the chapter outline of the final book of his cult hit Wheel of Time series…

    Frank Herbert was also writing the next book in his Dune series right before he died…

    J.R.R. Tolkien died while on the verge of finishing the Silmarillion…

    Kirby practically died still glued to his drawing board with a pencil in his hand…

    George Perez is in the same gig, still drawing comics because he enjoys the craft more than doing any other thing in the world…and he wants to do the gig until they pry the pencil from his cold fingers…

    Art Adams was a late bloomer and got his gigs when he was quite older.

    Yes, I may be 39…and my own work may not be up to snuff with the best commercial/professional talents in the field… But I enjoy my drawings immensely because I draw what I like and following Whilce’s advice of drawing “by paying attention to structure”, I can develop at my own pace and my own leisure…and choosing to be a self-publisher like James Owen (Starchild, Here there be Dragons), allows me a lot of creative freedom to do infernokrusher and weird…both not really commercially viable genres (not yet, hehehe).

    And if the long tail dictates that I will only have a few infernokrusher fans aside from friends and family then I’ll make it may life’s mission to share the best infernokrusher with those few fans.

    The last thing any comic artist wants to end up as, counting creators from my generation and for all young artists for that matter is to give up the creative process and just settle for a high chair in an ivory tower prison of your own making.

    Anybody can dream and do his best to make his dreams come true…

44. Michael on April 17th, 2010 8:46 am

    Just one aside about Gerry’s comparison between Rob Liefeld and Jack Kirby.

    I don’t think Liefeld is an “amateur” artist.

    Cable and Deadpool, Rob’s characters will forever remain as canon characters of the Marvel Universe.
    That makes Rob immortal. Not an amateur.

    Youngblood when it first came out was a better iteration of a superhero team than Avengers will ever be. If Leinil did Youngblood and had Claremont or Byrne to write the book then it would blast Avengers off the map.

    Rob introduced a lot of stylistic nuances in character design that became canon too. The “nail gun” blaster. battle armor. stylized hair and teeth.

    I guess an artists’ personal aesthetics come into play when deciding what they like and what they don’t like.

45. Robby Villabona on April 17th, 2010 9:15 am

    Michael,

    I stand corrected. You do have some experience. But based on the work experience you’ve listed, and the quality of your art, I don’t think you’ve been doing this for any serious amount of time yet. You’re talking about how one should view work, but speaking largely from a point of view of a hobbyist.

46. Michael on April 18th, 2010 2:59 pm

    Rob,

    You may have been incarcerated longer than I may have been in a work-for-hire situation. But I think my views stand well on their own merit because even when I hit the wall rushing to meet a deadline, I wouldn’t trade any other situation for that time trying to figure out how to resolve that creative challenge.

    You look at it as a paying job…I look at it as the adventure of a lifetime. Different aesthetics. Different motivations for being in the craft.

    Even Gilbert who has also been in both work-for-hire and hobbyist scenarios agrees with my viewpoint that making comics is serious FUN.

    Gilbert is a super-hero guy, I’m an infernokrusher junkie…different aesthetics, but we both regard making comics as serious FUN.

    If you don’t think the life you’ve spent doing comic as a career wasn’t ALL FUN then I won’t argue with you anymore because that’s how you experienced your own journey.

    For us who enjoyed our ride and are still enjoying the journey, we like to encourage everyone else who’s in the same boat with us rather than discourage them with caveats that are fairly trivial compared with the rewards and achievements one gets by doing the gig.

    It may be because I’m crazy to be doing the gig.

    And you might see yourself as the more practical person…between us.

    But hell, anyone who prefers to take the journey you took can do so…

    And anyone who prefers the mindset I choose, well, we’ll be riding the lightning!!

47. AJ on April 20th, 2010 1:31 pm

    Can anyone at least agree that comic-making is 50% fun and 50% work? Even 40/60 or 60/40?

48. Robby Villabona on April 21st, 2010 3:33 pm

    AJ,

    Wasn’t that the point we were trying to make?

49. Michael on April 21st, 2010 5:23 pm

    Maybe these quotes better explain my mindset…

    “If one finds a job he truly enjoys doing, one will never have to work a single day for the rest of his career.”

    “The point is, find something you like and go learn how to do it. Start small. Read books. Talk to people. Learn the basics and then refine your skills. If you keep at it, you will become highly skilled at what you are doing and you will love doing it.”

    “If you try something and get pretty far into it and find that you do not enjoy it as much as you thought, then stop and pick something else.”

    As simple as that folks.

50. AJ on April 22nd, 2010 5:26 am

    That was from that former Microsoft dude who gave that graduation speech wasn’t it?

51. Auggie on April 22nd, 2010 9:58 am

    AJ,

    Which one? the rip-off artists under the payroll of MVP? but tell me, why can’t MVP fire them all? it was a national humiliation, for MVP!

52. Michael on April 22nd, 2010 11:01 am

    Nope, none are from MVP’s speech.

    The first quote is a saying everyone always hears about making work like play…

    The next two are from an educational website that provides advice to teens and young adults how to find a job they’ll enjoy.

53. AJ on April 22nd, 2010 2:08 pm

    Nope that wasn’t from MVP. I read this forwarded email about some former Microsoft dropout dude who started his cottage industry from his garage (much like Bill Gates did). It was a graduation speech in the US and it read very similar to what Mike quoted.

54. Auggie on April 22nd, 2010 2:30 pm

    AJ,

    Could you post some portions about that speech?

55. AJ on April 22nd, 2010 6:16 pm

    I don’t have it anymore. That was a long time ago and read it via forwarded emails, which I deleted immediately after. The statements stuck though.

56. Michael on April 22nd, 2010 6:51 pm

    Apple’s Steve Jobs? Stanford Commencement speech 2005.

    Google Co-Founder Larry Page? Michigan Commencement Speech 2009.

    The first talks about doing something you enjoy, staying hungry, and staying foolish.

    excerpt:

    “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.”

    “Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

    The Google co-founder talks about following your dreams and having a “healthy disregard for the impossible.”

    All very sound advice.

57. Auggie on April 22nd, 2010 9:28 pm

    Very Edifying indeed! but some rip-off artists passed it on as MVP’s speeches. According to Jessica Zafra, MVP’s past speeches might haven been rip-offs also. Minalas lang siya doon ng nahuli siya…

58. AJ on April 25th, 2010 3:50 pm

    yeah yan yun!