Gerry Alanguilan's Blog, page 24

In Case You Need More Convincing To Read "ELMER"

http://www.bdgest.com/news-634-BD-les-20-indispensables-de-l-ete.html

From the list of all the new comics published between 1 November 2010 and June 10, 2011 (2365 titles), the 63 active members of the Association of critics and journalists Love (CALL) have chosen, each 10 albums that they considered essential, in order to select 20 titles Critics Association and journalists Comic highlights for the summer.

Here is the list presented in alphabetical order of titles selected

• Alter Ego T1 and T2 Mathieu Reynes, Benjamin Beneteau, Pierre-Paul Renders and Denis Lapière Editions

Dupuis

• The Adventures of Philip Francis and T2: The Trap Machiavellian Nicolas Barral and Pierre Veys

Dargaud

• Blast T2: The Apocalypse of Saint Jacky Manu Larcenet, Dargaud

• The Singer unnamed Balez and Olivier Arnaud Le Gouëfflec, Glénat

• Romantic comedy pornographic Jimmy Beaulieu, Editions Delcourt

• Elmer Gerry Alanguilan, Editions Ca Et La

• In the kitchen with Alain Passard Christophe Blain, Gallimard

• Children of Jessica T1 Laurent Hirn and Luc Brunschwig, editions Futuropolis

• Island of a hundred thousand deaths of Jason and Fabien Vehlmann, Glénat

• Julia & Roem Enki Bilal, Casterman

• Lomax: collectors of folk songs of Franz Duchazeau, Dargaud

• The long journey of Christian Cailleau and Bernard Giraudeau, Editions Dupuis

• André Juillard Mezek and Yann Le Lombard Editions

• Polina Bastien Vives, Casterman-KSTR

• The Prone Gunman by Jacques Tardi according to Jean-Patrick Cuff, editions Futuropolis

• Renée Ludovic Debeurme, editions Futuropolis

• Too much is not enough Ulli Lust, published here and there

• A long destiny of blood T2: Act 2, Fabien Bedouelle and Frédéric Laurent-Bollée, Editions 12 a

• The Viandier of Polpette T1: wild garlic Julien Neel and Olivier Milhaud, Editions Gallimard

• Travel to the Islands of Desolation by Emmanuel Lepage, published Futuropolis

171 other albums have captured the attention and vote of active members of CALL, but they did not

enough votes to be included among the 20 essential summer.

This list can possibly afford to make a first selection for the Grand Prix de la Critique 2011 that

will be announced in December.

Original Comic Book Art Sale!

Click for larger Image

http://www.comicartfans.com/searchresult.asp?txtsearch=Gerry%20%20Alanguilan

I'm finally letting go some of my Ultimate Avengers and Superior pages, including several covers and some choice pages. I'm not selling them myself though. I've sold original art directly for many years, but it's difficult dealing with that aspect of my comics art. So I'm letting someone else sell them for me. If you have any questions or are interested in buying, please get in touch with Kirk Dilbeck (at the link above). I will be unable to answer any business related questions with regards to sale of my original artwork. Just get in touch with Kirk, he'll answer all your questions. Thank you.

The Comics Projects I Choose

Every once in a while I would receive an email from an individual, company or group asking if I would be interested in creating a comic book for them. The projects would be what their group's advocacy is. And nearly all of those advocacies are respectable, admirable and worthwhile. It could be anything from animal rights to awareness on poverty, awareness on education, or awareness on health issues. Sometimes its to champion the cause of one church or to champion the cause of a political candidate or party.

There's nothing essentially wrong with that, and indeed, if comics are used to educate, raise important issues and save lives, that is an admirable thing indeed. And the fact that the medium of comics is being used to do it (as opposed to or perhaps in addition to TV, radio, broadsheet), then it's a great thing for comics overall. And any comic book creator out there who chooses to be involved in projects like this has my admiration and respect.

However, I do have an advocacy of my own, and unfortunately, it's an advocacy that takes precedence over anything else. Now let me just be clear that this is a personal choice. This is a decision that I have made only for myself. My advocacy is the pursuit of recognition for comics as a legitimate form of art, and not simply "cheap entertainment for the masses". As such, I need to pursue my own stories, and create my own comics in the best possible way that I can, without limits, without censorship. I want to create stories purely out of my own imagination that I hope would have substance and intelligence that would push the boundaries of the medium. All this in the hopes of completely erasing the automatic "CHEAP" reaction whenever Philippine Komiks are mentioned, and to help elevate the impression people have of what Philippine comics are capable of.

Because of this, I only have time to pursue stories I choose to tell. Each project may take years, but that's only because I take great care to come up with the best possible work that I can.

So if you or your group has a comic project in mind, know now that my own projects would keep me busy from doing yours, but if you like, I have a lot of people, talented, able and willing to do those projects for you, and I'll gladly refer you.

Elmer Nominated at the 2011 Prix Asie-ACBD

I only found out about it while browsing websites, when I came upon this site. Since the site was in French, I didn't know exactly what it meant, even when I translated it through Google. I really don't trust robot translators all that much. It wasn't until Budjette Tan and my French publisher confirmed what it meant and I saw it mentioned on the Comics Reporter site, did I finally knew what it was.

It's basically an award given to Asian works translated into the French. Elmer is one of five nominees which includes "Kamui Den" by Sanpei Shirato, "La Plaine du Kantô" by Kazuo Kamimura, "Le Voyage de Ryu" by Shôtarô Ishinomori and "Vinland Saga" Makoto Yukimura.

The winner will be announced at the Japan Expo awards on June 30.

I wish I was going! :D

Exactly Where I Want To Be

Designing houses, that's what I should have been doing. Not my first choice, but that could have been the career I've had. In my life I've designed several houses, a couple of restaurant interiors, an apartment, and a resort. Some of them are still standing. But even while I was an active practitioner of Architecture, I escaped as often as I could to Filbars to get my weekly fix of comic books.

I should have seen the signs. Even as I attended high school my notebooks were filled with little doodles and comic strips. In college, my Architecture presentations were filled with comic book people straight out from New Mutants and Daredevil.

Even as I supervised the construction of residential condos in Escolta and restaurant interiors in Robinson's Galleria, I always carried a portfolio of my comic book art with me.

My only failing was perhaps I was too young and too immature to realize what I really wanted. I wanted to be a comic book artist. I wanted to be IN comics. I wanted to be involved in it as a reader, and as a creator. I didn't fully realize in those younger days that comics could have been a career as early as I wanted it.

I had blamed my parents for steering me to Architecture, but ultimately, it was my choice and I could have insisted on what I really wanted. But as I said, I was too young. I didn't know better.

I started to have a sense that I could do comics for real when I met Whilce Portacio. Something just clicked. I realized I could do this. That this was what I really wanted.

In the meantime an old classmate of mine who was working in Makati invited me to apply at an animation company over there. He reasoned that since I was into drawing cartoons, drawing for an animation company is probably a good fit for me.

Yes, there is a perception that animation and comics are similar, but they're completely different things. They're completely different discplines and completely different sensibilities. I didn't want animation, I wanted comics.

Other people have told me to go ahead and enter animation since it's supposedly a natural progression from comics. After all, many active animators today have come from comics. I respect that it is a belief that many artists may have, but that is not what I believe. To me animation is not a progression from comics. To me they're different but equal things. One is not a stepping stone to the other. I'm in comics because I love the medium of comics, not the medium of animation. I love telling stories in comics form, not in animated form.

Other people have also told me to move on to film. Once again, I'm told it's a natural progression from comics. I wish them all the best of luck in their cinematic endeavors, but no, I'm not here to create film. I'm here to create comics. I don't believe comics is a stepping stone to film, and I don't believe film is in any way a step up, a progression or any way superior in telling stories than comics. To me they're completely different but yes, equal things.

I can sense eyebrows raising, aching to disagree, but please feel free to do so. I don't expect anyone else to agree. But as far as I go, that's what I believe.

The pattern is repeated over and over with other fields of art. Painting, music, sculpture, architecture, literature, etc.

Many artists seem to feel that every other art is a natural progression from comics. As if comics is something a child would do before they grow up to be adults. They feel other art is finer, more lofty, more important and more culturally significant. And they may all nod their heads in acceptance and agreement.

But I'm here to say…. "Not for THIS artist."

I respect the opinion and regard that other artists may have for their chosen field of specialization, but I hope they offer me the same respect when I say that comics is not substandard to any of these, that comics is a true art form that is as important, as culturally relevant and significant and is not in any way inferior to any other form of art.

Comic book pages (including balloons, letters, captions, drawings, panels and all), and not simply pinups, are in themselves works of art and are worthy of exhibit and appreciation as any painting, mural, sculpture, illustration, engraving or print. It takes keen artistic insight to create stories told through consecutive panels, and history has now proven that these can be windows through which our very history and culture can be expressed and perceived.

Just look at the numerous comics pages I have displayed in this blog for the past several years. Each komiks page can take you back in time be it the 50s, 60s or 70s, and you can see how Filipinos lived, how they talked, what they wore, what they rode on, how the dressed. Through the stories you can see what lives we have had, what traditions, customs, and beliefs we held on to. What issues we faced, what distractions we had in our daily lives. If this is not art, if this is not TRUE art at its most fundamental, I don't know what is.

As far as my life and my career are concerned, comics is the ultimate goal. It is the pinnacle to which I've always aspired to reach. Now that I'm here, creating better stories and art for better comics is what I've set out to do. I never aspire to be an animator, filmmaker, painter, book writer or sculptor. I am exactly where I want to be.

Underpass #1 by A.S. Vel and Nestor Redondo

I've been remiss in updating this page with classic Pinoy komiks art. Since I have a bit of a break, I thought I'd go and scan a few pages from Tagalog Klasiks #338, cover dated June 16, 1962. As with any Filipino comic book of this era, it's a bi-weekly anthology containing 5-6 four to five page installments of on-going serials or one shots. In this particular issue, "Underpass" by writer A.S. Vel and illustrator Nestor Redondo debuts.

Click for larger images.

One can immediately see the quality and detail of the art, and one would think that it's a story that would carry the entire comic book. And yet, this story is tucked in the back, just one among many quality stories from the likes of Clodualdo Del Mundo and Ruben Yandoc, Pablo Gomez and Fred Carrillo, and another Nestor Redondo story with his brother Virgilio.

I chose to feature Underpass to showcase the artwork of Nestor Redondo, who did a particularly spectacular job in this story. In 1962, he was still in the process of refining and simplifying his work, and you can see extraordinarily detailed faces and backgrounds. It's also a bit of a time machine as well, as we see the story told in the backdrop of the construction of the historical Quiapo underpass. We can see how Quiapo church and its surroundings and how they looked like in 1962. We can see what people wore, what they rode on, and other little details that shed light on popular culture at the time. I find it interesting seeing a swastika in one of the panels of page 5.

If one of the purposes of art is to give expression and representation to a country's identity, culture and history, then this particular comics story has been successful in doing just that.

"Nothing Can Be Original Anymore" -Don't You Believe It!

"Nothing Can Be Original Anymore" is a mantra that's often recited in creative circles. I hear it so often that I just want to scream. Supposedly, all ideas have already been thought of, all stories have already been written, and nothing original can be made up anymore. And people seem to so readily accept it.

The thing is, I most indignantly disagree. Truth be told, I think it's bullshit. To believe it and to accept it is to surrender your very creativity. It's an excuse to simply copy. It's an excuse to do what other artists are doing. It's an excuse to plagiarize, to steal, and to swipe.

"Why should I even try to be original? People say nothing can be original anymore." That's the death of creativity right there. The death of adventure, of discovery, the death of artistry.

Do I know for a fact that original things can be created? No. But do I let that stop me from trying? No. And that shouldn't stop you either.

I refuse to accept that we know for sure that nothing original can ever be created again. We just don't know. And not knowing shouldn't stop us looking for it. And it is this journey that ensures that we will always try to find something new and something fresh. It ensures that we can discover new ways of looking at things, new perspectives to approach creative problems.

And if one day I die having achieved nothing original, then I have nothing to be ashamed of because not once in my life have I ever given up.

But what if I do find something? What if WE do? Won't that be fantastic?

UNWANTED: The Komikero Artists Group Podcast #1: All By Myself

Due to some unfortunate technical difficulties, I'm all by myself in the premiere podcast of UNWANTED: Ang Podcast ng Komikero Artists Group. Johnny Danganan, Jonas Diego and I recorded the podcast a few days ago, but the recording turned out to be crap. Since we were recording separately through Skype, the audio was ridiculously uneven. Jonnny's part was practically unusable. Jonas's part was slightly better, but was rather unusable as well. Since we were all set to premiere today, but didn't have time to record together, I decided to go to it on my own. I did, however, have a special guest in the form of Edgar Tadeo.

Ed talks about his current work, his side business, and the taggers on Facebook.

In this podcast I also review Carlo Vergara's ZsaZsa Zaturnnah: Sa Kalakhang Maynila: Special Preview, as well as Andrew Villar's Hari. I also talk about Free Comic Book Day, Metro Comic-Con as well as the hot flaming topic of the day: The National Artist Issue.

For a backgrounder of the National Artist Issue, click here.

Download audio file (komikeropodcast01.mp3)

36 Minutes. 33MB Download mp3 here.

Podcast is in Tagalog and English.

Free Comic Book Day and Why It is Important

We've been having Free Comic Book Day in the Philippines for many years now, and many local comic book stores and major book stores in the past have participated in it. By far the biggest supporter of Free Comic Book Day in the country is Sandy Sansolis of Comic Odyssey. For several years now he's given away thousands upon thousands of free comic books at his store on this day, and gathered the country's most popular comic book creators to stay and sign.

It's kind of a big deal and I'm frustrated that it's not getting more exposure on a more mainstream level.

It's a big deal because this is an activity that promotes not only comic books and comic book stores, but more importantly, it encourages reading and therefore promotes literacy. Here in the Philippines, this is very important.

Every year US comic book publishers like Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Image etc., release special comic books published specifically to give away on this day, which always falls on the first Saturday of May. These comic books are generally safe to read for people of all ages. This is a great opportunity to introduce young Filipinos to reading.

Comic Odyssey has ordered a large amount of these comic books, but will also be clearing an extraordinarily large amount of its inventory in the process. All in all, they will be giving away more than thirty thousand (30,000) comic books!

Photos from Comic Odyssey (Click for Larger Images):

Thirty thousand free comics is kind of a big deal.

If you're not doing anything this Saturday, or if what you're doing is not really all that important (in the larger scheme of things), I strongly suggest you go, bring your kids if you have them, get your comic books for yourself and/or introduce your children to reading. It's pretty much a big problem in the country now, since reading doesn't seem to be big on people's priorities, and yet it's one of the most important activities we as people should always indulge in.

If you manage to be the first 600 people in there, you'll get at least 50 free comic books. But don't worry, with the huge amount of comics being given away, you will come away with some free comics no matter what time you come in.

This will be at Comic Odyssey, 3rd Floor Robinson's Galleria (near Kenny Rogers) this Saturday, May 7, 2011. The mall opens at 10am. The store itself opens at 10:30am, but you can stand in line already at 10am. Don't worry about getting lost. Just follow the crowd!

A whole army of Filipino comic book creators including those working for Marvel and DC, along with those creating Philippine Independent Komiks will be on hand to sign your comic books for free. For a list of creators participating, click here.

In support of Free Comic Book Day, the Philippine Independent Komiks community has banded together to give away free comics! Click here for details.

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

Free Comic Book Day is also the first day of the 2-Day Metro Comic-Con, happening in the next door mall, SM Megamall. After getting your free comics from Comic Odyssey and you're still craving for your comic book fix, head on over next door to the Megatrade Hall of SM Megamall for one of the country's biggest comic book conventions. Special Guest is David Lloyd, artist and co-creator of V for Vendetta!

National Book Store will also be having its own Free Comic Book Day event of the year. Also, National Book Store will be finally releasing the Komikero Pubishing edition of ELMER! I will be on hand to sign comic books at this event on the second day, from 3-5pm.

Free Pinoy Indies at Free Comic Book Day, Comic Odyssey! (UPDATED!)

The Philippine Independent komiks community has banded together to create "Indies Maximus", an anthology/sampler comic book to be given away at Free Comic Book Day, May 7, 2011 at Comic Odyssey, Robinson's Galleria! Only 220 copies will be produced so be sure to get there early! Thanks to Sandy Sansolis of Comic Odyssey for helping produce more copies!

UPDATE! Sandy Sansolis of Comic Odyssey will be giving away at the very least 50 (FIFTY) different comic books per person, for the first 600 people in line! So be there early!!

Contributors to this comic book include Ernest John Daryll Fiestan, Rommel Estanislao, Rh Quilantang, Johnny Zamar, Paulo Sorne, Ariel Atienza, Norby Ela, Angelo Corleone, Tepai Pascual, Drew Arca, Wall Push, Gerald L Asbucan, Josel Nicolas, Aha Hule Komiks, Andrew Villar, Carlo Jose San Juan, Quipino Dot Tk, Florencio Jusay Jr., Ronald Tan and myself.

Jonas Diego will also be giving away 100 copies of his just released Pocket Comics #1! Pocket Comics is a 48 page FULL COLOR comic book with stories and art by Jonas Diego, Godfrey Escota, Katrina Mae Hao, Laya Isabelle Garcellano-Florendo, and Andre Mischa Cleofe. Oh yeah, this girl named Alodia Gosiengfiao also wrote a short story in here as well.

I'll also be leaving 100 copies of Elmer #4 to Comic Odyssey to give away on the day itself. Unfortunately, I can't reserve you a copy. You're just going to have to go to Comic Odyssey on the day itself.

I'll be there, along with a multitude of other artists including Leinil Francis Yu, Philip Tan, Edgar Tadeo, Carlo Pagulayan, Harvey Tolibao, Mico Suayan, Stephen Segovia, Lui Antonio, Ariel Atienza, Gio Parades, Freely Abrigo, Jon Zamar, Lyndon Gregorio, Macoy, Mel Casipit, Omeng Estanislao, Sherry Baet-Zamar, Tepai Pascual and many more!

Please don't hesitate to approach me and have your stuff signed. I'll sign whatever and however many you bring.

Feel free to talk and ask me anything. Sa online lang naman ako masungit. :)