May

2

Free Comic Book Day 2010

Filed Under COMICS CONVENTIONS, Comics Artists, Filipino Artists | 5 Comments

This is probably my fourth or fifth time to participate in Free Comic Book Day, and it’s always been at this comics shop in Robinson’s Galleria in Ortigas called Comic Odyssey. I’ve maintained good relations with pretty much most of the owners of the different comics shops in the country. It just so happens that Sandy Sansolis of Comic Odyssey always manages to invite me first. I’m always ready to say yes to him because of his incredible support for us creators, and to comics as a whole.

FCBD at the store started at 10:30am, but I’m sure people would have already started lining up as soon as the mall opened at 10 am. Check out the blog below for how long the line went within the mall:
http://freshink.blogspot.com/2010/05/free-comic-book-day-comic-odyssey.html

I arrived at the store at around 12:15 to drop off the promised 25 free copies of my comic book ELMER #4, plus replenish the stock of the Elmer collected book. I grabbed a bite to eat and was back in time for our 1:00pm signing. By this time the crowd was just INSANE. People love comics in this country. They love free comics even more.

In conversations I’ve had with store owner Sandy, he says that FCBD does a lot of good not only in getting comics into the hands of those who wouldn’t normally read them thereby promoting the medium, but he also notes a noticeable rise in business after FCBD. These things do get people hooked into comics and they come back for more, and they are willing to pay for it.

I myself got hooked into reading Green Lantern when I got a free copy of Blackest Night #0 at last year’s FCBD.

Signing with me were Leinil Francis Yu and Edgar Tadeo. The three of us worked on one book several years ago for Wildstorm called “High Roads”. Edgar went on to color other artists, and has inked Whilce Portacio in his return to the X-men. Leinil Yu and I continued to collaborate on various things including Batman/Danger Girl and Silent Dragon. Ultimate Comics Avengers 2 #1 represents my return to inking after a break of three years.

Other comic book creators nevertheless turned up including Jay David Ramos, Harvey Tolibao, Budjette Tan, David Hontiveros, Mark Navarro, Wilson Tortosa, Dennis Crisostomo, etc.

Finally, Jay Anacleto (above) also showed up as well, freaking out a few of his startled fans, who weren’t expecting him to pop up.

Sandy gave me a bag of FCBD goodies including a shirt and a copy each of all the awesome Free comics that are available. After the signing, we headed out for dinner at the local Shakey’s for pizza and chicken. Noticing how sleepy I am (I haven’t been sleeping well because of the heat), Leinil invited the guys for coffee.

I can’t recall the last time Leinil, Ed, Jay and I were together in a room, but that must have been a long time ago. It really is only during events like these do I get to see these people. I’m so holed up in San Pablo for much of the time. Our comics jobs keep us from hanging out together all that often anyway. But I am glad for moments like yesterday.

Comments

5 Responses to “Free Comic Book Day 2010”

  1. Lynx on May 2nd, 2010 1:11 pm

    Thanks Gerry for featuring my blog in your post ^_^…started reading your Elmer comic book and I am now hooked!!!

    Cheers!
    Lynx

  2. Sandy on May 2nd, 2010 2:27 pm

    Thanks for helping make FCBD 2010 an astounding success!!!

  3. Raipo on May 2nd, 2010 6:04 pm

    It was a blast! More free comics!

  4. Nyek! – EdgarTadeo.com - Blog Archive » FCBD 2010 Photos on May 2nd, 2010 9:49 pm

    [...] “Jay” Anacleto, Leinil Yu, Gerry Alanguilan, and myself talking about their art in the [...]

  5. Pinoy Comics USA on May 13th, 2010 4:51 am

    Gerry,
    Sayang na-miss ko ito. I was in Robinson’s Galleria, but didn’t know about this comics place. However, there’s a store in Megamall on the ground floor, on the right side as one enters from EDSA. I asked if they had any Pilipino Komiks. They didn’t have any except for Pugad Baboy. They only had American comics.
    Rod