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Thursday, January 19, 2006

This post is a reaction to the Pinoy Komix Biz article "How Do You Revive the Filipino Comics Industry?"

Or, more specifically, a reaction to this statement made in the aforementioned article:

"Look what's happening today: almost every kind of Filipino comics that came out in the stands appeared infrequently and irregularly such that we are now left with only four active comics publishers. And we're not even sure if some of them are serious in helping develop the local comics biz. Almost every local comics creator takes his precious time in creating his "work of art" because his "art reputation" and "ego" is at stake. He wants to do it himself and needs no assistants to preserve the purity of his so-called "vision". The printing facilities here in the Philippines are below par? Goodness, then we'd better go and work for the U.S., Hong Kong, Korea, or whatever country's comics industry where we'll get paid better and our work printed better. Improvise? Be resourceful? Work within the limitations? Are you kidding? And ruin my precious artistic vision? You say we're on a tight deadline to come up with a story or drawing? Hey, I know. Let's just copy those obscure American or Japanese works and put some minor alterations in there. No one will ever know. After all, you did say to be resourceful, right? Comics production should be taken as a 'fun activity' with no consideration as to cost. They are oftimes the subject of a "kiddie" school project or thesis by rich kids who lead sheltered lives. Use those slick, glossy pages, and stand-out computer coloring at all times to get that muy perfecto "work of art". We'll price it only for the few, westernized rich market segment who can afford it. Forget the mass market. They are too poor to be a market for our kind of art product anyway. Where's my friend, the vulture collector? Did he sell my original comics pages without informing me or giving me a percentage? Almost anybody can be a comics creator or artist nowadays where mediocre work is passed off as a 'work of art' because there are no objective standards in art. Everything is relative: Art, Love, Morals, so who's to judge? With that kind of passivity, with that kind of bohemian intellectual promiscuity, our local comics scene is now dominated the American and Japanese products such that almost everybody prefers them than comics that are locally produced. Its not a media war, its an "art" war. Good stories and art. These two buddies will save the day. Spare me."

Well, how quick are we to judge.

Does he think that local komiks creators (specifically "indie" creators) are Prima Donnas who take their sweet time making "art" when the whim strikes them? Wrong-O.

There may be a few who think the way he described them above, but most of the creators I know have to put food on the table. Mr. Author (he doesn't even have the balls to identify who he really is) is correct in stating that the komiks industry is dead. There are no paying jobs in komiks locally. That's why these independent creators (myself included) put out their stuff infrequently. We have other jobs that demand our immediate attention. We do komiks because we love to do komiks. Most of us don't profit from it, but by God we do it because we don't want to see local komiks die permanently.

I am of the same thought that the local komiks need businessmen. It can't be revived by artists and/or writers alone. Todd McFarlane's business became successful because he eventually stopped drawing and concentrated on the business side of things. You can't juggle both art and business. That way leads to ruin.

What the local creators are doing are sacrificing their time and money, in the hopes that somehow some risk-taking entrepreneur will take notice. That somehow the businessmen will take a crack at reviving the industry.

Mr. Author, don't be too quick to judge. I agree with some of your points, I disagree with others. But don't attack the selfsame people who want the komiks industry to be "born again," so to speak. We all want the komiks industry to thrive again (at least I hope you do).

And if I may, comments in your blog have to be approved by you first. And I don't see any comments in your blog. I have commented some time ago, but it seems you didn't approve it. Come on, have the balls to put your money where your mouth is. Don't go all high-and-mighty that other people's opinions don't matter.

Anyone interested in reading Pinoy Komix Biz, click here.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello. :)

Nice to hear from you again. :) I was concerned about your comment that you've been posting comments on my blog but that they haven't been appearing.
I've been wondering about that too these past few months. I was advised by Silpanamayant to use word verification to block out the spammers that have been pestering my blog. I did that months ago and now I don't get their spams. But I've been wondering why I haven't been getting comment posts too.
I'm not that well-versed in this computer thing and I just type straight and close. Then I do it all over again. Honest. I never saw those comments either. Its always "0". Believe me. If I hadn't stumbled on this portion, I wouldn't have seen your comment. I also saw Charles Tan's by chance while checking the site lists below my blog. That's why I was able to react to him. And I check these site lists rarely as I always go straight to writing my articles. Believe me I value any and all comments and would love to reply to all of them. I don't screen them unless they contain really graphic insults and the like. Thank you for informing me about this. What should I do? Turn off the word verification? Please advise.

P.S. My identity is not important. What's important are the thoughts and ideas being expressed in my blog. Let's attack them and not the person.

AKLAS ISIP

Gerry Alanguilan said...

Reno, he just doesn't get us. His views on our motivations are so way off base that it's laughable. It certainly casts serious credibility issues about everything else he writes.

Thoughts and ideas of people who refuse to stand by their opinion with their real identiy is pretty useless to me. If you believe your opinions are worthy enough, why not stand by them by who you really are? What's the big deal and whole drama of hiding who you are? Here we are, Gerry Alanguilan, and there he is Reno Maniquis, and this is who we are, and these are our opinions.

WHO are you?

Your thoughts are as useless to me as the comment "gago" written by an anonymous poster on my blog because I know they can't say the same thing to my face. He has no credibility, and neither do you.

Reno said...

Anonymous: Like I said, you make valid points, you even have the hard facts to support most of what you write. But like Gerry said, your judgements regarding our motivations for doing komiks is laughable. I wonder where you got these "hard facts" from.

And yes, Gerry. Why won't he stand by his opinions? I respect Anonymous' opinions, even if they differ from mine, but why hide behind a screen of anonymity if you really do believe in what you are saying?

I continue reading Pinoy Komix Biz because, admittedly, there are a lot of things to be learned there. But please, stick to what you can substantiate.

luperlleny said...

I think he's right on some accounts, but most of them are clearly attacks. Not everyone can appreciate the way things are going right now, and I recpect that, but what we need right now is encouragement and creativity. Not some fella' bitching about glossy paper and riduculing schedules. Truth is if he thinks thatm he's probably not helping the situation any further. Just some rabblerouser babbling and ranting about things he only percieves to be true. Just someone on the sidelines...

Any new word on the next Tabloid comics?

Reno said...

Konting tiis na langmuna sa Tabloid. Sobrang dami kasi ng workload ko. But your story is 90% finished already, so sana before March meron nang new issue ng Tabloid.

macoy said...

a response to aklas isip's response:

http://mcoy.blogspot.com/2006/01/komiks-and-love.html

btw mr isip, if you're reading this, you didn't turn on word verification, you turned on comment moderation, which means you have to approve comments before they appear. check your blogger dashboard.

luperlleny said...

Ayos lang yun, man. Wala lang, nangungulit. Hehe, maglalabas din ako ng comedy comic, medyo high concept at certainly yung art is primitive and childish. Wala lang, baka magfall yun under the Local Crap Category, hehe, pero bili ka din man. Sana maaccept ni Mr. Simbulan, religiuosly offensive e. La lang. hehe

Reno said...

Minsan forgivable ang di masyadong magandang art basta bawi sa storya, o kaya'y complementary yung art as story (tulad ng indie na "Nardong Tae"). Pero kaya nga indie, di para sa mass audience kadalasan.

Anonymous said...

gusto ko ang sinusulat mo.