October 24, 2006

CELEBRATING 120 YEARS OF KOMIKS FROM THE PHILIPPINES II: THE FUTURE OF KOMIKS
Mood:  celebratory
by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean

The United States acquired the Philippines from Spain following the Spanish-American War of 1898.

Therefore, it’s undeniable that the Americans had a huge effect on komiks in the Philippines as the nation was under the U.S. rule at the turn of the 20th century.

In the concluding chapter of our 2-part series on Philippines komiks, we take a look at the current state of the industry.

Today, there are new players that get to publish/release new titles on a more frequent basis. “Mango Comics and Nautilus Comics have their bi-monthly comic books,” Budjette Tan explained. “A comic book called Culture Crash also energized the scene with the anime-inspired comic book anthology. The publishers of Culture Crash later organized two comic book/anime/cosplay events that brought thousands of fans together.

“The group Artist’s Den launched the first Manila Komikon last year and already in the works of organizing this year’s event (to be held in Quezon City on October 21). The Komikon successfully brought together generations of comicbook creators.

“A couple of years ago, Adarna Publications, one of the Philippine’s successful publisher of children’s books ventured into publishing graphic novels,” he added. “Their titles: Arnold Arre’s After Eden and Mythology Class have done well, in terms of sales and critical acclaim. Another publisher, Visual Print Publications, also dipped their feet in the comicbook publishing arena with Carlo Vergara's "Ang Kagilagilalas Na Pakikipagsapalaran Ni Zsazsa Zaturnnah" graphic novel. That title was in National Bookstores' Top 20 list a couple of months ago. Its story has already been adopted into a musical and will soon be seen as a full-length feature. Read more!

October 21, 2006

Aftermath
Mood:  chillin'

It's such a wonderful experience to be in the second Philippine comics convention, Komikon 2006. As early as 10:30am, comics enthusiasts were already flocking at the main entrance of UP Diliman Bahay ng Alumni under the scorching heat of the sun, but the patience was all worth it. The first 50 people to register received a slew of goodies from the organizers of the convention, including newsletters, pamphlets, indie comicbooks, magazines, and a LevelUp Games t-shirt.

Some of the big guns in the event include writer/talent agent, David Campiti, who was there for a one-on-one portfolio review, Wilson Tortosa, Jonathan Lau, Gerry Alanguilan, Ed Tadeo, Carlo Pagulayan, some of Philippines local talents, who joined the Lead Slinger Challenge; and last but definitely not the least Leinil Francis Yu, who's kind enough to provide Force2Reckon a quickie Punisher sketch. For more info about the event, just visit here!

October 20, 2006

CELEBRATING 120 YEARS OF KOMIKS FROM THE PHILIPPINES I: THE HISTORY OF KOMIKS
Mood:  celebratory
by Benjamin Ong Pang Kean

If names like Panday, Angel Ace, Flash Bomba, Lastikman, Darna, and Captain Barbell sound unfamiliar to you, it's because they're comicbook characters from the Philippines.

In celebration of the 120th anniversary of komiks (that's the Filipino term for comics), Newsarama spoke with komikeros (i.e. cartoonists or comic artists) from the island nation in Southeast Asia.

Incidentally, October is also the Filipino-American history month, and 2006 marks the 100th year of Filipino migration to the United States.

Also, the second Philippine Komiks Convention, Komikon 2006, is scheduled for Saturday, October 21st in Quezon City.

Just how big is the komiks industry in the Philippines? According to writer/artist/inker, Gerry Alanguilan, komiks in the Philippines has had a very rich history, tracing its roots way back to the late 1800s when national hero Jose Rizal created what would be the very first Filipino-made comic strip, The Monkey and the Tortoise.

"But it wasn't until 1929 on the pages of Liwayway Magazine that the first regularly published comics character was born: Kenkoy, as created by Tony Velasquez," Alanguilan explained to Newsarama. Liwayway Magazine (which is still being published today) is pretty much where the Philippines comics industry was born when the comics section grew to accommodate more short stories and artists. Liwayway is where artists like Fred Carrillo debuted.

"1946 saw the very first regularly published "comic book" via the short-lived Halakhak, and a year or so later, in 1947, saw the birth of ACE Publications, which debuted several comic books that will see publication for many decades. It is in ACE that artists like Tony DeZuniga, Nestor Redondo, Alfredo Alcala, Alex Ni?o, Rudy Florese, Ernie Chan, and many other Filipino artists familiar to people abroad, began to work.

"It's an astounding body of work. To see what kinds of comics those Filipinos were able to do, I've put up an online museum which you can find at Komikero Museum.

"A lot of these artists eventually found work in American comics at the very end of the 1960s, and it was since then and all throughout the 70s did America finally see a huge treasure trove of artists as yet unknown to the western world." Read more!

October 6, 2006

Komikon 2006
Mood:  party time!

September 17, 2006

What demon sleeps inside you?
Mood:  cool

What demon sleeps inside you ?

You shelter a Fire Demon. A very powerful demon. He rules over the world of anger, impulsivity, passion and destruction. Once awaken, even with a very strong will, he is difficult to settle down, so be careful when you awake him or he may enter you and make your life a living hell!
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