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Dec

27

Pablo S. Gomez, January 25, 1931-December 26, 2010

Filed Under Filipino Artists, Philippine Comics | 8 Comments

It’s sad to wake up to news that one of my komiks heroes, Pablo S. Gomez has passed away. Contrary to what others may claim, Pablo Gomez was to me, unarguably, the most prolific komiks writer in the history of Philippine komiks. Imagine this: he started writing stories in 1949, and he continued writing until his death in December of 2010. That’s a little over 50 years of working professionally in komiks, in a career that is unparalleled by no one else, living or dead.

That’s one of the earliest works of Pablo Gomez in my komiks collection, taken from Tagalog Klasiks #61, from November 3, 1951. Here, his story is illustrated by some early work by another personal favorite, Petronilo Marcelo or “P.Z Marcelo”. Click it for a larger image.

Pablo’s talent was apparent quite early. His first komiks stories earned him a spot as proofreader for Ace Publications, the largest komiks company at the time. Very soon, he was writing his own stories, and sooner than that, he wrote his first komiks novel “Apat Na Taga”, whcih proved so popular that Sampaguita Pictures adapted it into a motion picture in 1953.

Pablo’s early hits included Gilda, Kandilang Bakal, Kurdapya, Petrang Kabayo, MN, Recuerdo and Suanang Daldal.


Kurdapya, Tagalog Klasiks #117, illustrated by Nestor Redondo. Click for larger image.

Not content to write his own stories, Pablo decided to put up his own publishing company in 1963, and named it after himself. P.S.G. Publishing House published komiks titles like United Komiks, Universal Komiks, Kidlat Komiks, Continental Komiks and Planet Komiks.

It is with P.S.G. Publishing that Alex Niño, mistrusted and misunderstood by other editors at other Publishing houses, finally found a home where he was allowed to let his imagination run wild.

Due to an unhealthy economy in the Philippines, Pablo was forced to close down his publishing house in the 1970′s. He continued to work for other komiks publishers, even entering another field working as a movie producer and TV writer.

His last komiks work was still being serialized on the pages of Liwayway Magazine in December 2010 when he passed away.

Pablo S. Gomez, Komiks Writer
by Dennis Villegas
http://pilipinokomiks.blogspot.com/2005/12/pablo-s-gomez-komiks-writer.html

Pablo S. Gomez, Wiki Pilipinas
http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Pablo_S._Gomez

Pablo S. Gomez, Komiklopedia
http://komiklopedia.wordpress.com/2008/01/01/pablo-s-gomez/

Pablo S. Gomez at Video 48
by Simon Santos
http://video48.blogspot.com/2009/10/pablo-s-gomez-mn-komiks-serial-and.html
http://video48.blogspot.com/2010/02/pablo-s-gomez-lupa-sa-lupa-1959-60.html
http://video48.blogspot.com/2010/01/pablo-s-gomez-busabos-1956-57-komiks.html

Pablo S. Gomez at the Film Academy of the Philippines
http://filmacademyphil.org/?page_id=830

Pablo S. Gomez: Kampanerang Kuba
http://alanguilan.com/sanpablo/2005/07/kampanerang-kuba.html

Pablo Gomez RIP
by Randy Valiente
http://usapang-komiks.blogspot.com/2010/12/pablo-gomez-rip.html

Comments

8 Responses to “Pablo S. Gomez, January 25, 1931-December 26, 2010”

  1. Reno on December 27th, 2010 10:07 am

    Sad. :(

  2. plsburydoughboy on December 27th, 2010 11:00 am

    Farewell to a legend among men.

  3. auggie on December 27th, 2010 11:48 am

    One of the last remnant of my boyhood favorites is gone! Thanks for the Memories Pablo!

  4. FLIPGEEKS » Filipino Komiks Veteran, Pablo S. Gomez Dies on December 27th, 2010 10:42 pm

    [...] Gerry Alanguilan: “It’s sad to wake up to news that one of my komiks heroes, Pablo S. Gomez has passed away. Contrary to what others may claim, Pablo Gomez was to me, unarguably, the most prolific komiks writer in the history of Philippine komiks. Imagine this: he started writing stories in 1949, and he continued writing until his death in December of 2010. That’s a little over 50 years of working professionally in komiks, in a career that is unparalleled by no one else, living or dead.” [...]

  5. florencio p jusay jr (fpj jr) on December 27th, 2010 11:58 pm

    I’m so sad about this news, nakilala ko pa naman siya last year. He made his first and last scriptwriting workshop which runs for four saturdays… Also had small talks about his life which made me so interested and liked about him.

    http://krisiskomix.blogspot.com/2010/12/goodbye-and-thank-you-very-much-mang.html

  6. Jose Mari Lee on December 28th, 2010 9:59 am

    When I was in my mid-teen, AS Tenorio introduced me to PSG. Instantly, I knew that he was a beautiful person: humble, soft-spoken, and possessed a wide sense of humor. Like Tony, he was encouraging me to write and draw.

    PSG, Victor Wood (who was a supporting actor of Sampaguita Pictures then), and I – would talk over the phone almost every night, discussing almost every topic under the sun. With Pablo of course, mostly about komiks and writing, and Victor, what else but drawing and painting. It was funny, but sometimes, Victor and PSG would sing over the phone, Karaoke style, to my amusement. Yes, PSG had a good singing voice, that is, if you didn’t know :)

    The last time I saw Pablo S. Gomez was when we were both passengers in Japan Airlines. I was going to California, he was going to Alberta, Canada. Small world, I told him. He was going there to visit some of his friends who have moved to Canada, including Sampaguita Pictures’ actor Eddie Miller and his family. By the way, Eddie’s two daughters are absolutely knock out beautiful, in case you didn’t know :)

    PSG was one of the gems of the old komiks industry. He was refined and down-to-earth, and never fantasized of becoming a National Artist, or calling himself DA KING. He wrote stories about ordinary people, the marginalized, and the underdog. Life-like as if you have known them from somewhere, Gomez’ characters breathed with life. The readers identified their dreams and their hopes, agonized with their trials, celebrated with their triumphs. His story lines were engaging, the characters interesting, and the messages are thought-provoking. Many movie versions of Gomez’ serials were quite good: Donata, Gilda, Deborah, Pitong Gatang, Asyong Salonga, Mga Ligaw na Bulaklak, Anino ni Bathala. Gomez loves stories about family secrets, domestic turmoil and jealousy within the family unit. Some of his works like Bahay na Bato and Lihim na Lihim have the trimmings of Nick Joaquin’s literary writing.

    We will all miss your ingenuity, PSG. Thank you for entertaining and educating us through your stories. Until then, rest in peace.

  7. Tedantz on January 2nd, 2011 1:01 am

    Ngayon ko lang nabalitaan. ‘Maryosep. The other day we were watching Tatak ng Tundo. An FPJ-Erap movie. Story by Pablo S. Gomez! Wala na talaga. Namayapa na ang nakagisnan nating komiks. Wala nang itutuloy. Dumating na sa— WAKAS.

  8. Miguel on January 30th, 2011 2:18 am

    RIP Pablo S Gomez. I actually just interviewed him for my thesis a few weeks before he passed away.