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Jul

9

Alamat 101, December 1995

Filed Under My Art, My Comics, Philippine Comics, Timawa | 18 Comments

This is the back cover to Alamat 101, the follow up of sorts to Comics 101. When Comics 101 came out and Wasted #1 came with it, it was sort of expected that Wasted #2 would come with the second issue of Comics 101. There was still some hesitation in me to share Wasted so I asked Budjette if I could replace Wasted with something else. Besides, I was already done with the second issue of Wasted, and I wanted to release it right away as a photocopied mini comic book, and the second issue of Comics 101 was a bit in question.

Turns out that Budjette’s efforts were going into producing Alamat 101 instead, which is great because then I could propose another story for inclusion while continuing to do Wasted on my own. I came up with TIMAWA, my attempt at doing a superhero, something that nearly everyone was doing at the time. I didn’t want super powers with costumes. I wanted a normal human with extraordinary skills and intelligence. I had already been thinking of Timawa for after a couple of years, having first scribbled him on paper two years earlier. Sketches of Timawa were the only things I ever drew for a one year period when I was too affected by a break up to do anything.

I had been very impressed by the writing of David Hontiveros on Flashpoint (feature to follow) that I asked him to script a plot that I had written for an 8 page first Timawa story entitled “Kalinangan” for inclusion into Alamat 101. Having been caught unprepared for the sudden publication of Wasted, caught with badly drawn art like I had been caught with my pants down, I approached the art of Timawa like someone with something to prove.

That back cover (the front cover was illustrated by Bow Guerrero) was done on illustration board using pen and ink and colored pencils. Timawa having a very very slight likeness to Budjette Tan was unintentional. I was probably just thinking of him when I was drawing it.

The list of stories and contributors include Budjette Tan, Bow Guerrero and Mike Fernando for “The Fying Phantom”, a carry over from Comics 101. Also included are Aris Lim, Rommel Tamayo and Mack Wyman (Tony Bucu) for “Anino”, then it was myself and David Hontiveros on Timawa.

The issue was also dedicated to Nick Manabat, who had passed away a few months earlier.

The centerpiece of my 8 page Timawa story is a two page spread of Timawa jumping over the squatters area beside the railroads tracks near the Blumentritt station of the LRT.

I did this two page spread over a period of two weeks, including a journey to Blumentritt to take a lot of photographs. 1995 was also the last year I ever practiced as an Architect so I was still wrapping up a project. I didn’t want to rush Timawa, but there was a time in which I had to finish it so it could make Budjette’s deadline.

I remember asking my parents to loan me a several thousand pesos as contribution to the printing of the comic book. When it came out, I was ecstatic. At the same time, I was a bit disappointed that the 2 page spread wasn’t reproduced in print as well as I would have liked. As I understand it, it had been scanned not from the original but from a reduced photocopy.

Over the years, I learned of a lot of mistakes that I made in illustrating that spread, including several that had been pointed out to me by one of my idols, Barry Windsor Smith, when I showed it to him in 1999 at the San Diego Convention. In our 10 or so minute conversation, I have learned a lot about the art of comic book illustration. Meeting him was just so awesome, and I appreciated the the savage critique from him that I got. He was concerned that I might be offended, but I was actually having the time of my life.

I’ve since corrected many of the errors in the drawing and used it again when I was finally able to come out with Timawa big time on the pages of The Buzz Magasin beginning September of last year. The redrawn and colored spread appeared again in Part 3, in a collage with several other Timawa illustrations I’ve made through the years.

When I began Timawa in the Buzz Magasin, I knew I had to return to Blumentritt for Part 1, and completely redrew the spread, without the LRT station and without Timawa jumping, but updated the environment using new photographs, just to establish for the entire series the location in which the story will be happening.

As for Alamat 101, Budjette recently gave me a box of issues to sell at conventions. And yes, I still have lots of copies! You can get one from me whenever there’s a next Komikon.

Comments

18 Responses to “Alamat 101, December 1995”

  1. Ed on July 9th, 2008 11:45 pm

    You should have posted the reference pictures you used on that spread. I think you showed it to me before, they were like two or three photos taped together. :D

    I was stunned when I saw that spread the first time I saw it, Gerry. :)

  2. Gerry Alanguilan on July 9th, 2008 11:55 pm

    Salamat Ed! Ito link dun sa photo reference ko…
    http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v70/Komikero/timawarefbig.jpg

    May konting water damage na… actually di lang konti. :D

  3. Jonas Diego on July 10th, 2008 3:00 am

    This was the book that inspired me to actually go into comics! :D

  4. PJ Magalhaes on July 10th, 2008 12:11 pm

    Man i hate illustration board but that spread is just insane! :) Awesome stuff Gerry!

  5. Gerry Alanguilan on July 10th, 2008 12:17 pm

    Hey PJ! Nice to see you here. :D

  6. Jun Roxas on July 10th, 2008 4:57 pm

    I know this is long ago — but I am just finding out now why Nick Manabat never went on to stardom.

    I will try to find that video I shot of the Unified Mega store in Tandang Sora where we had his artwork displayed.

    Budjette and I are peers — we saw each other quite a lot during breaktimes at the Ateneo HS. Then more during the fan events of the mid-90s for Aster.

    Can someone send me an email on what happened to Nick — I stopped reading comicbooks when I acquired 7 out of the 13 branches then of CATS.

    I really love comics and anime — but after it became my business, at some point I gagged at the thought of watching an anime vid or comicbook.

    Now I do read comics again, but I still can’t stand anime.

    In fact, I don’t know what to do with this huge VHS archive that eats up half of my home.

    Cheers / Jun

  7. Jun Roxas on July 10th, 2008 5:02 pm

    By the way, this is going to sound stupid, but I need to read the Aster second volume because I’ve lost my archive copies. I have the Aster TPB which covers the first half.

    I need it badly, as I don’t have a clue what I wrote in that second volume ages ago.

    Today is 10 July 2008, so if you are reading this within a few days within that, can you dial my office at stag at 4219500 and ask for me.

    I will gladly sign any Fractal Universe / Entity books that I wrote in exchange.

  8. Rod Samonte on July 11th, 2008 2:07 am

    Gerry,
    I’ve seen this Timawa Chapter One spread, before of course and indeed it is an awesome illustration. However, I think, it left a promise that’s quite tough to follow through. Would you show the redrawn Timawa spread (I don’t have the first issue of Buzz), and I would also be interested if you point out exactly what BWS thought were the mistakes. Thanks.
    Rod

  9. Gerry Alanguilan on July 11th, 2008 7:39 am

    Hello Rod! The redrawn scene is here: http://gerry.alanguilan.com/archives/200

    Barry taught me about tangents, something I never knew before. Like the line of the smoke touching the line of the railroad. He said the smoke should either not touch it, or cover it altogether. Several other tangents occur throughout.

    The small van in the back crossing the tracks looks like it’s stopped in the middle of the tracks. He said that it should be either in the process of crossing the tracks or just crossed it to convey movement.

    He also said it would have been better to have the white posts on the right to be black or darker so it contrasts with the sky.

    He also thought Timawa was a woman. :D

    The fixed page is here:
    http://www.alanguilan.com/sanpablo/art/timawa01.jpg
    I couldn’t fix everything though….

  10. Ed on July 11th, 2008 9:58 am

    Minsan pag ginagawa mo na lahat ng alam mo sa drawing, nagiging instict na and you won’t notice; like contrasting objects to one other.

    Swerte mo pa rin, BWS ang nagbigay ng tips sa yo. Hehe.

  11. Chummy on July 11th, 2008 10:17 am

    hello sir,

    Ive already ordered alamat 101 together with your elmer 1 and 2 last year and your work rocks then and is stronger now. Rakenrol!

  12. adam! on July 11th, 2008 11:59 am

    tangina. BWS. tangina lang talaga.

  13. Rod Samonte on July 11th, 2008 12:15 pm

    Gerry,
    Hmmm, really quite interesting, BWS comments that is. I think you should not even have tried to retouch the original drawing. Looks to me like everything he said are minor. I can’t even find the lines you’re referring to, about tangents meeting. Maybe I didn’t learn that in art school either, hehehe. Actually, I am sure, because tangents is a geometrical term, one that you learn if you’re studying mathematics, or since Architecture actually require a lot of mathematics, you must have learned that. However, I think there is an art term for what he calls tangents, I just can’t put my finger on it right now. The white posts are a little tricky because the bottom half is in the dark area of the roofs and houses where you’ve done a lot of line work. I don’t think making it black will work, but a simple thickening on the shadow side of the vertical lines of the post, I think, should do the trick. Wait a minute, I do see the smoke now, running parallel with that railroad tracks. I see what he’s saying now. What BWS calls tangents, I would just call overlapping elements. The way to correct this of course is to simply overlap the smoke more over the tracks.

    While you’re on a nostalgia binge here, showing your old illustrations, here’s a bit of a find: I just picked up a mint copy of SIGLO, at a used book store here. There’s a short story inside, written and illustrated by you, titled SAN DIG. I will read the book tonight.
    Rod

  14. Gerry Alanguilan on July 11th, 2008 12:23 pm

    Adam! PI talaga! Naihi at napatili ako the first time ko sya nakita. he.he.

    Rod! The original 2 page spread is untouched. I just did the fixing on the computer. :D

  15. Myke08 on July 11th, 2008 2:19 pm

    1st ko nakita ito spread na ito was..1995 or 96 ba yun…UP COMIC CONVENTION na ginawa sa FACULTY CENTER. Magkakasama kami nila IAN STA MARIA at Ka’Jo BAUTISTA ang name ng grupo namin noon was BLOCK COMICS (Kasi block section kami) Hindi kami makalapit sa grupo nyo, kasi tingin namin sa inyo noon, mga diyos! Tulo laway ako nun nakita ko yan.. pro may tissue nman ako para punasan un tumulong laway ko. hehhee.

    GALING!

  16. Budjette on July 12th, 2008 2:52 am

    Did you and Dave plot out that whole TIMAWA story arc?

    Were those scripts ever written?

  17. Gerry Alanguilan on July 12th, 2008 8:06 am

    Budj!

    I pretty much wrote an entire origin to Timawa, and David quite expertly summarized it into a few sentences which I used in to describe what the comic book is about in the mini comic version and online.

    I got Dave to just pretty much write the dialogue to a plot I’ve done, and that’s only because I was so impressed by his writing and I was as yet not quite confident with my own. I don’t remember us doing anything beyond the first part.

  18. Budjette on July 14th, 2008 7:14 pm

    “Timawa, Anino and the Flying Phantom”
    Sunday Inquirer Magazine, January 21, 1996

    In the 1960’s, there was Kulafu, a local Tarzan of sorts, all abs, decked in ethnic threads and skilled at throwing spears and arrows. In spite of Lagalag, Superman, the Ninja Turtles, the Power Rangers, the Alex Boncayao Brigade and the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission, Filipinos still hanker for heroes who are larger than life but as Pinoy as themselves.

    Enter Timawa, the Last Apolaki Warrior, Anino the Mysterious Crimefighter, and the Flying Phantom. The threesome, who would give the Kuratong Baleleng a scare in a real shoot-out, are, alas, only comic characters from Alamat Comics.

    A one-year old venture, Alamat has released three titles so far, including Indigo Valley/P-Noise #1 and Shadow Comics/Scions #1. The company’s latest is the action-packed anthology Alamat 101, now available in most comic outlets.

    http://komix101.blogspot.com/2002/04/timawa-anino-and-flying-phantom-by-pac.html