PilipinoKomiks

Jose Rizal: Komikero

2011-06-14T17:03:00.000-07:00

Jose Rizal (1861-1896)

In 1884, Dr. Reinhold Rost, editor of Trubner’s Record, a magazine devoted to Eastern literature, asked Jose Rizal to contribute some Asian fables. Rizal was more than delighted to comply and he submitted to Dr. Rost “Two Eastern Fables." One of the fables was titled “Matsing at Pagong”, which Dr. Rost published in Trubner’s Record issue No. 245 in 1885.

To complement his article, Rizal created the “Matsing at Pagong” in comic form, using the back of Paz Pardo de Tavera’s notebook to draw the originals. The original drawings still exist to this day, owned by the descendants of Paz Pardo de Tavera. If you must know, Paz was the wife of Juan Luna, and Rizal used to “tambay” in Luna’s atelier in Paris.

To my knowledge, this “Matsing at Pagong” comic strip was the very first known comic strip created by a Filipino—prompting the historian Ambeth Ocampo to regard Rizal as the Father of Philippine Comics.

I recently browsed my library and pulled out a 1913 book called Lineage, Life and Labors of Jose Rizal, authored by the American historian Austin Craig. Considered the first English biography of the National Hero, the book is illustrated throughout with many drawings and sketches by Rizal. Towards the very end of the book is found the complete “Matsing at Pagong” comic strip as reprinted directly from the originals, and with the original letterings of Rizal.

In this comic strip, Rizal did not use talk balloons for the dialogues of Matsing and Pagong. He instead wrote their “talks” below each of the panels, which was standard practice among comic artists during the 19th century. It seemed that the early cartoonists avoided talk balloons because they too often clutter in the panel and get in the way of the drawings. Although invented as early as 17th century, talk balloons came into general use only in the 20th century.

Interestingly, very much later, Rizal adopted talk balloons in his “Mangkukulam” cartoon strip, although this remained unpublished during his lifetime. It was finally put out by the Jose Rizal Centennial Commission in the 2-volume Facsimiles delos Escritos de Rizal in 1961.

Undoubtedly, Rizal was a genius. He was a poet, novelist, a humorist, songwriter, linguist, sculptor, inventor, an illustrator, and maybe more than a hundred more things that we even do not know of. He was a polymath, a curious man who was into trying everything. Inactivity and complacency bored him and he used his tremendous talent to satisfy his desire to understand the world he lived in.

Drawing was a favorite past time of our national hero. He wanted to keep a visual record of the things he saw or the people he met. There were no portable cameras during the 19th century, so Rizal just drew scenes and views while standing on ships’ decks or while idly waiting for trains’ arrivals.

One could only imagine how lonely our hero had been during his travels to Europe and America. To escape boredom and homesickness, he carried notebooks which he filled with drawings and sketches: a view of the Manila coastline as it receded from view, a picture of a funny man, Voltaire’s head, a Chinese man, or just about anything that caught his attention and piqued his interest. Rizal would spend days and nights drawing humorous panels we now called comics. Fortunately for us, many of these drawings still exist and can give us a view of what Rizal may have seen at a given time.

In Germany, Rizal illustrated a hilarious panel in which he showed a gentleman curtsying to a lovely woman. While doing so, the gentleman accidentally emitted a fart resulting in chaos all around him!

While Rizal was staying with the Ullmer family in Wilhelmsfeld, he created a comic strip called “The Two Brothers,”which he gave Friedrich "Fritz" Ullmer as a gift. Fritz was the young son of his friend and host Pastor Ullmer. These comic strips, along with several other drawings and sketches done by Rizal during his stay with the Ullmers, are intact to this day. The Ullmer descendants kept these precious mementoes and were eventually discovered by Mrs. Paz Mendez (of then Jose Rizal National Centennial Commission), while she was traveling to Germany to retrace Rizal’s footsteps.

By a stroke of good fortune, the grandsons of Pastor Ullmer—Fritz and Hans Hack—generously donated the drawings to the Filipino people during their visit to the Philippines in March 1960 (upon invitation of the Philippine government), a year prior to Rizal’s centenary in 1961. These drawings are now part of the precious Rizaliana collection in the National Library.

While living as an exile in Dapitan in 1892, Rizal was asked by his friend Benito Francia to write something about Visayan witchcraft. In compliance, Rizal wrote an excellent article entitled “Notes on Witchcraft in the Philippines,” and even created a four-paneled comic strip to accompany the article. When looking at the originals, I noticed some bluish tint on the drawings. Rizal may have used a blue pen to make his work more attractive—making it the first comics in thePhilippines with color (so what if it is only one color?).

Now, I am not sure if this comic strip is to be read horizontally or vertically, since Rizal did not provide a number guide on the panels. I believe though that the panels do not conform to a continuing story. They are more of vignettes that have relation to witchcraft.

What is fascinating about this comic strip is that it was the only one written by Rizal in Tagalog. Rizal knew at least 22 languages, and he was fluent in some twelve of them, including, of course, Tagalog. Not only was Rizal the first Filipino to create a comic strip, he was also the very first one to create a Tagalog komiks!

I had the rare chance to examine many Rizal original drawings kept in the National Library. Seeing them close was such a thrilling experience that I when I went to sleep that night, I dreamed Rizal was drawing for Aliwan Komiks!

Meanwhile let us see what we can understand from these panels. Notes within parentheses are my translations as well as some of my own comments:

FIRST PANEL: -Ay inang mamatay aco! (Oh, mother!, I’m dying!) -Huag po cayo matacot at aco man ay bata, ay isang bantog na hilot (Be not afraid, I maybe a child but I am a good healer)

SECOND PANEL: -Itong cuto na ipinunla sa aquin toong malago ang pagdame (The lice planted on my hair are rapidly multiplying) -Tag-anas namang pirit(?) pati mga cuto mo a (Your lice are all like birds!)

THIRD PANEL: -Caeng, at cayo calvo!! (Caeng, you are bald!!) -Aa aa! Puga, puga ca! (the Tagalog word Puga means escape. The bald man may be saying to the boy to get lost for teasing him as bald!)

FOURTH PANEL: -Jesus! Aco’y nanglalata. Cung ano po ang naroroon sa loob, aswang yata (Jesus, I’m very weak. Whatever thing is that inside, maybe a vampire.)

In retrospect, Rizal’s drawings may be amateurish by today’s standards (although I found them cute). But one should remember that Rizal was not a professional illustrator. Also, he drew cartoons more as a hobby and distraction, in between doing several things of national importance such as writing his immortal novels and defending our country against the Spanish oppressors. The important thing was that he was the very first known Filipino to have drawn comic strips.

These drawings, sketches and comic strips are all proof of Rizal’s universal talent, which led the historian Ambeth Ocampo to marvel: "No wonder Rizal is the Father of this or the father of that. Rizal was into everything”. Yes indeed, except that Rizal was not the father of Hitler.

Rizal's self-portrait circa early 1880s

**This article was originally published by the author Dennis Villegas in the website MyRizal150.com. Please visit our web tribute to our national Hero here.

Malang's Kosme the Cop (Retired)

2011-04-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

One of my favorites in my original comic art collection by Malang is this Kosme the Cop (retired) original from early 1950s. Published daily in the Manila Chronicle (from 1947 to 1963), Kosme the Cop was the most popular cartoon character of Malang even before he became one of the most acclaimed Filipino painters.

In this particular comic strip, Kosme moonlighted as a beat photographer, knowing exactly when to click the shutter to capture the moment.

Chnaged my email

2010-08-23T16:51:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone!

Just to let you know guys, that I no longer use my dennis_villegas@skydsl.com.ph email. Please ignore any emails coming from this.

My old and reliable philippinecollectibles@yahoo.com is my official communications email. If you have any inquiries, kindly forward it to this mail.

Many thanks,

Dennis Villegas

Vibal Foundation Launches Botong/Coching Art Books

2009-12-12T07:52:00.001-08:00

The long wait is finally over! Philippine art lovers and connoisseurs will definitely treasure the two art books recently launched by Vibal Foundation, Inc., about two of the Philippines' greatest visual artists: Carlos "Botong" Francisco, and Francisco V. Coching.

The hitherto dearth of written and visual materials about these two contemporary towering giants of Philippine art scene has finally been solved by Vibal Foundation's authoritative biographies in the lavishly-illustrated art books The Life and Art of Botong Francisco and The Life and Art of Francisco V. Coching, both launched last Friday, December 11, 2009, at the National Museum of the Filipino People. Both books contain scholarly essays by renowned Philippine art historians, and contain hundreds of many never-before seen artworks of Botong and Coching. The books were edited by art historian Patrick Flores, Ph.D, of the University of the Philippines.

The launching of these two important books was highlighted by a visual presentation about Botong and Coching's immense contribution to Philippine culture and art, as well as a retrospective exhibit of their original works at the third floor of the National Museum. Among the hundreds of guests who attended the launch were the families of Botong Francisco and Francisco Coching.

The books are presently available at Vibal Foundation, Vibal Publishing House, Inc., located at Araneta Avenue, Quezon City, but both will soon be available at your favorite bookstores nationwide. Both books have limited runs only so be sure to buy your copies as soon as you can.

The Life and Art of Botong Francisco

The Life and Art of Francisco V. Coching

Gus Vibal, Executive Director and Publisher of Vibal Foundation, Inc.

Dr. Patrick Flores, edited the art books

The family of Carlos Botong Francisco. The man in red polo is Rodolfo Francisco, the son of Botong.

The family of Arnel Coching, son of Francisco Coching

Cultural icon Danny Dolor, Coching daughter Lulu Coching, almost National Artist Cecille Guidote-Alvarez, writer Virgie Moreno, writer Buenaventura Medina, Jr., society matriarch Esther Vibal, playwright Alberto Florentino, and Vibal Executive Director Gus Vibal

Bebe Gandanghari and Delia Razon

Komikeros hannibal and Randy Valiente enjoying the cocktails that were served

Maridel Coching

Manuel Rodriguez Sr., the Father of Philippine Printmaking, attended the launch. He is only 98 years old.

The great Jess Jodloman, legendary Philippine komiks illustrator

Michael De Leon and Gemma Cruz-Araneta

Alfredo Alcala, Jr.

Bebe Gandanghari, Gus Vibal, Joyce Taylor

Rodolfo Francisco, son of Botong, and Mrs. Filomena Coching, wife of Coching, cut the ribbon of the exhibit. Gus Vibal and mother Esther Vibal happily look on

Congressman Roilo Golez and Maridel Coching

Viewing of the Botong Francisco Coching Art Exhibit

The 2009 Philippine Blog Awards

2009-10-16T18:51:00.001-07:00

I just would like to take a short moment to announce (belatedly) that my photoblog dennisvillegas.blogspot.com and this blog Pilipino Komiks made it to the finals of the recently held 2009 Philippine Blog Awards. This blog emerged as Special Award Winner for Best Filipiniana Blog. This was my very first blog established way back in 2004.

Meanwhile my blogpost in this blog The Diving Boys of Quezon Bridge was chosen as one of the Top Ten Blog Posts of the Year, out of the hundreds that had competed. I actually submitted a few posts including my Suicidal Jeepney Ride to Miagao, The Street Sleepers of Downtown Manila, Master Anos: The Exorcist, Petron Gonzales: Faith Healer and Rugby Sessions. But of them all, I thought that my Palito interview would have the best chance of winning. I still consider it as the best piece of writing and reportage I have ever done. But alas, the judges did not think it was my best post!

Honestly, I had not expected to win anything but I attended the event just the same so I can finally meet the people behind the blogs that I truly admired. Some of them are Sidney Snoeck of My Sari-Sari Store (Winner of Best Foreign Blog), Dong of Dong's Eskapo, Lino of Lino Photography, Ferdz of Ironwulf.net, and Allan Barredo of Lantaw.com.

Lastly, I would like to thank you my dear readers, followers, and fellow bloggers for visiting my site often. I would also like to thank the lurkers who sometimes email me (rather than post comments) that they like this post and that. You all give me me more inspiration and drive to write and report more about people, places, events and chismis.

*For the complete list of PBA 2009 winners, please click here

For the Love of the Tagalog Komiks

2009-08-25T05:40:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember, I have loved komiks and the entire experience of reading Tagalog komiks. When I was growing up, to help me in my reading, my father always bought me komiks. Our old house in Cubao was near the GASI offices in 18th Avenue, and there my father would buy back issues of Pinoy Komiks, Aliwan, Pinoy Klasiks, Pioneer, and those horde of komiks magazines being published by GASI.

There were plenty of horror komiks magazines during those times, with prices ranging from 75 centavos to 1 peso. I was very attracted to komiks with horrifying drawings. I remember quite clearly Devil Car by Vic Poblete, Cannibal by Jim Fernandez, Goomboo Roomboo by Mars Ravelo, and The Hands by Hal Santiago.

Yet, the beauty of Tagalog Komiks is the diversity it offered its readers. In an issue of Aliwan Komiks, for instance, the pages are alternately filled with horror serials, love shorts, fun page, cartoon strips, action, melodrama, etc. It catered to all people of different tastes and ages. Nothing is limited in the imagination and the komiks provide the reader to navigate their fantasies with them.

Tony Velasquez, Father of the Tagalog Komiks.
He created Kenkoy in 1929--the very first cartoon character in Asia.

(Dennis Villegas collection)

Sometimes when we didn't have enough money, we just rented komiks from a Sari-sari store in the neighborhood. The komiks were all lined up like sinampay in front of the store, and there we would rent for 20 centavos each for the latest issues. The rent time was only three hours so we better read immediately.

In the 1980s, with some money saved from my school allowance, I began buying komiks on my own. There really wasn't any value on them, but I thought I would like to put into folders my favorite komiks magazines. What fascinated me was the idea of having something tangible to be able to browse on rainy afternoons, rather than make them into pambalot ng tinapa or fuel for our cooking stove. I didn't realize then that I was starting a collection.

Ang Alipin ni Hogarta
(Dennis Villegas collection)

Basahang Ginto by Mars Ravelo and Elpidio Torres.
The 1950s komiks were excellent reading and visual materials

(Dennis Villegas collection)

Ironically, I stopped buying komiks during the mid 1980s. I may have been occupied with school, and certainly during those times, my interest in komiks somewhat waned, possibly due to the fact that there were other hobbies I could concentrate on. My father went to Saudi Arabia (and back then, it seemed that all other fathers were in Saudi Arabia). When my father came back, he brought with him chocolates, a stereo component, several cassette tapes, and a very interesting toy called Game and Watch, a pocket game in which a helicopter drops a marine solder into the sea and my task is to catch the guy in my boat or he drowns or eaten by an octopus. The game was the start of the computer craze that was to dominate the youth's interest in those times.

When I finally had a regular job, I went back into collecting komiks. As far as I know, very few people collected Tagalog komiks, and so I was challenged to collect only Tagalog komiks. I never cared for Batman, Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, or Superman. I wanted Darna, Bondying, Kenkoy, Tsikiting Gubat, Ponyang Halobaybay, Panthomanok, Kalabog en Bosyo, Zuma, or Mahimud Ali. My main objective was to collect the oldest possible komiks magazines.

Bomba Komiks: Adult-oriented komiks

(Dennis Villegas collection)

Since our house was just very near the GASI and ATLAS compound, I started inquiring if they had back issues willing to sell. But the General Manager Deo Alvarez bluntly told me that their back issues were not for sale. I was allowed to see the collection, though, and to my horror, I found that their great collection of komiks was stored in a damp and humid warehouse without proper ventilation. And so up to this day, Atlas compound has the largest un-inventorized Tagalog komiks collection in the world, where the komiks are already in a state of decomposition. I give a few years and this magnificent collection will be destroyed by the elements if not given proper care.

But then, fortunately, I had other sources of komiks.

Vir Redondo was a friend of my father's, and at that time, he was frequenting GASI to sell some of his old komiks. He sold me some of his collections before he died. I also purchased many bound komiks from the late Tony Velasquez, Tony Tenorio and Pablo S. Gomez. People told me I was crazy because I was spending all my salary into all these komiks magazines. Yet I give thanks to my parents who supported my passion and even loaned me money to purchase collections.

In the late 1990s, I discovered that some komiks were being sold in local auctions for 100-200 pesos each. I couldn't afford many but I thought this was my chance to build my collection. Thankfully, auction prices never went high than their initial prices simply because nobody, back then, was buying komiks. I was the only crazy one.

This general lack of interest in komiks has what led me to take interest in preserving this cultural richness of this unique literary and visual artform. As far as I'm concerned, the Philippines has the richest komiks culture in Asia, and possibly in the whole world. No country had a richer comics culture than the Philippines. Our komiks was not only a reflection of our people's fantasies, but a mirror of our mores, our sufferings, our history, our beliefs, and our religion.

By the start of the year 2000, I had accumulated so much komiks materials that I decided to sell the duplicates, and I used the money to buy more komiks and, this time, original art. In time I was able to open a komiks gallery in Cubao, was able to reprint the first comic book in the Philippines, and opened this blog--all for the benefit of cultural awareness of the importance of Tagalog komiks.

Anastacio Caedo, Sculptor Par Excellence

2008-07-09T20:33:00.001-07:00

Anastacio Caedo (14 August 1907 - 12 May 1990) was one of the Philippines' greatest sculptors. Professor Caedo served as the long-time assistant and protege of the late GUILLERMO TOLENTINO. He assisted Professor Tolentino in executing the famous U.P Oblation statue in 1932, in which Caedo himself was the model. This was because the young Caedo possessed a lean and muscular physique. Tolentino later relegated the task of building the other Oblation figures in U.P. Baguio, Los Banos, and Manila, to Caedo. Professor Caedo became head of the Sculpture division of the UP College of Fine Arts for the longest time from 1957 up to early 1980s. His students included Eduardo Castrillo, Abdulmari Imao, and Jose Arcilla. Professor Caedo is well-known as a monument builder, and he created more monuments around the world than any other Filipino sculptor. These include: The MacArthur Landing site in Leyte, the Mabini Monument in Manila, the Bonifacio monument in Pugad Lawin (near the Balintawak-EDSA intersection), the Juan Luna Monument in Madrid, The Quezon monument inside the Quezon City Hall, the Aguinaldo monument in Malolos, the Ninoy Aquino monument in Ayala, The Chief Kipua monument in Guam, Raha Sulayman monument at the UP Vargas Museum, the Rizal monuments in Heidelberg and Wilhelmsfeld, the Rizal busts in the Philippine embassies, the Death March memorial in Tarlac, and many many others. Original Rizal bust in white marble, found at Anastacio Caedo's original atelier Professor Caedo is also known as a meticulous portrait sculptor. His clients included Presidents Aguinaldo, Osmena, Quirino, Quezon, Aquino, and Marcos. He also created several statues of saints like St. Joseph the Carpenter, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Grace, St. Thomas Moore. Among his many commissioned works are several portrait busts of famous movie stars (Vilma Santos, Fernando Poe, Sr., Nestor De Villa, Jess Lapid, etc.), as well as politicians, clergymen, and businessmen. His fine sculptures have been collected by museums, galleries, and art connoisseurs around the world. A marble Our Lady of Lourdes Sculpture by Professor Caedo A humble and self-effacing man, Professor Caedo refused several times the nomination to become a National Artist in 1983, 1984, and 1986. He died in 1990 at the age of 83.

The Risen Christ by Anastacio Caedo

2008-06-28T08:42:00.001-07:00

The Risen Christ is a long lost work of the late noted sculptor Anastacio Caedo (1900-1986), protege and long-time assistant of Guillermo Tolentino. This was awarded Gold Medal in the Art Exposition (sculpture category) of 1966 held at The Plaza.

The Risen Christ sculpture is made of marble dust and stands at 1 and 1/2 feet tall. I think that it is one of the most beautiful Christ sculptures I have ever seen. I do not always collect sculptures, but when Caedo's heirs finally decided to let it have a new home, I knew exactly that it would be mine. It had brought great blessings in my life thereafter.

Professor Anastacio Caedo is also known as the sculptor of several important historical monuments around the world, a few of which are the MacArthur Landing site in Leyte, the Death March Memorial in Capas Tarlac, the Jose Rizal monuments in Heidelberg and Wilhelmsfeld Germany, and the Juan Luna monument in Madrid, Spain.

Early Philippine Cartoons

2008-03-15T08:38:00.000-07:00

Jorge Pineda and Fernando Amorsolo belonged to the first generation of Filipino cartoonists to have emerged during the early years of the American occupation. Most of their cartoons were published in popular news magazines like the Free Press, The Independent, Lipang Kalabaw, and Telembang. Amorsolo and Pineda, of course, eventually developed into great painters that somehow overshadowed their massive body of cartoon works.

When art patronage became a fashion among the elite during the 1920s, Amorsolo and Pineda eventually gave up doing caricatures and concentrated on painting portraits of rich people and commissioned landscapes, which was of course, more profitable. This shift in art, though, can hardly deny the fact that in the 1920s, the Philippines may have the two most talented batch of cartoonists ever to have graced the pages of news and comic magazines.

The cartoon strips shown below are a typical example of elegant Philippine cartoons from these two great cartoonists. The first is by Fernando Amorsolo, and the second by Jorge Pineda.

Simbang Tanan by F. Amorsolo

Balasubas sa Diario by J. Pineda

Early Ruben Yandoc Work (1951)

2008-03-14T07:19:00.001-07:00

Here is one of Ruben Yandoc's early works in Hiwaga Komiks dating back to 1951. I consider Yandoc to be one of the most interesting illustrators during the Golden Age of Komiks in the Philippines. His unique style was earlier influenced by Redondo, but he managed to develop the style into uniquely his own.

Yandoc was at his best when illustrating fantasy and horror stories, the kind of which I consider Philippine gothic. It was a very popular genre in the early years of komiks in the Philippines.

The story below is an example of the beautifully rendered art and storytelling abilities of Ruben Yandoc. (Please click on the images to view the larger images)

Early Floro Dery Work from 1964

2008-03-09T05:57:00.000-07:00

I recently unearthed from my old Bulaklak komiks collection this 1964 work of Filipino illustrator Floro Dery. Dery is one of my favorite komiks illustrators. I was surprised that Dery was also illustrating for Bulaklak during the time when Alex Nino was also starting his career there as apprentice to the great Jess Jodloman, who was then Bulaklak's chief artist.

Looking back to 1964, this comics illustration by Dery(see below), is done in the Redondoesque style of drawing that was popular during those times, a style created, of course, by Nestor Redondo.

By the way, Dr. Dery has a wonderful website in which he showcases his recent drawings and illustrations. These beautiful illustrations manifest Mr. Dery's passion for exaggeration and depth in his drawings, a point he repeatedly expounds as the basis for his unique style. You can visit his website here.

(Click images below to enlarge)

Spot the Difference

2008-03-07T19:32:00.001-08:00

Oh no, I've been browsing my old piles of komiks and saw these:

Pilipino Komiks #47, 1949. Cover art by Francisco V. Coching

Pilipino Komiks #195, 1954. Cover art by Alfredo Alcala

Super Action Komiks#169, 1988. Cover art by Franklin Batolinao.

My only question is: is it really possible to rescue a woman in that position while riding in a horseback? My personal opinion is that it would cause injuries to the woman.

Pilipino Funny Komiks (1978-2004)

2008-02-25T07:44:00.000-08:00

Pilipino Funny Komiks started me into collecting Tagalog komiks. Back in the 1970s, my father used to buy all sorts of Bugs Bunny and Batman comics being poorly reprinted by National Bookstore, hoping I could easily learn to read English. But I never liked reading them. In fact I have a bunch of them in my bookshelf now which I will gladly give away to anyone who will take care of them.

On the other hand, I liked Pilipino Funny Komiks because it is written in Tagalog, and I can easily relate with it. I feel lucky that our family did not have the habit of throwing away things. We just keep everything in our old bauls and bookshelves. Some of our collections have been destroyed due to frequent typhoons, but still most have survived. When I got a job in the late 1980s, I started augmenting our collection, trying to find the objects that were part of our childhood. And this included Pilipino Funny Komiks.

Pilipino Funny Komiks is a full color komiks first published in 1978 by Islas Filipinas Publications, Inc., a division of Atlas Publications, owned by Don Ramon Roces. Back then, Atlas was located at Scout Reyes Street, in Quezon City. (The company was later purchased by Mrs. Socorro Ramos of National Bookstore, and the company transferred to 20th Avenue in Cubao, just right across where I was living.)

For those who grew up reading Pilipino Funny Komiks, reading them now could bring echoes of nostalgia of the simpler days when children were just complacent reading a colored comic book, filled with beautiful stories about animal superheroes and endearing characters. Back then, there were no video games, internet, MP3, and home video. All we had then was a black and white television where we watch children's programs like Kuskos Balungos and Sesame Street.

And then appeared Pilipino Funny Komiks, which changed the way we Filipino children lived at that time. It was only a comic book, but it was still a comic book. And we loved it.

Let us travel back in time revisit those good old days by viewing once more the most endearingly memorable characters we grew up with in Pilipino Funny Komiks. Pilipino Funny Komiks was last published in 2004.. What I can show you now are the older copies I found in my komiks library.

It's good to be a child once in a while to momentarily escape the boredom of being grown-ups.

Pilipino Funny Komiks#1

#2

Tsikiting Gubat written by Tony Velasquez and illustrated by L.S. Martinez

Batute by Rene Villaroman and Vic Geronimo

Bulol at Tangak by L.S. Martinez

Roni Santiago's Planet op Di Eyps

Bim, Bam, Bung by Larry Alcala

Superkat by L.S. Martinez

Superkat versus Mighty Rat

Before Pupung, there was Lilit Bulilit by Tonton Young

The Fun Page!

Superdog!

Niknok! Our own version of Dennis D'Menace.

The lovable Mahimud Ali

Growing Up 1970s Style

2008-02-25T05:09:00.000-08:00

It was the 1970s, and I miss those times.

Like most Filipino children growing up during the Martial Law years under the Marcos regime, I grew up a complacent child, learned early proper discipline, and enjoyed afternoons watching Sesame Street, a beloved program which is sometimes cut to give way to an impromptu Marcos speech. Back then, we as children understood what was authority, and we know how to keep quiet whenever someone older than us has something important today.

Although our family disliked Marcos, we respected his authority, and my father forbade us to say anything against Marcos. My father knew that Marcos was a powerful man and we understood it. It would be inviting trouble to say anything against the dictator. Everyone seemed to be spying on everyone.

Right now I see how many children become so unruly that their parents become so frustrated disciplining them. I should say that I was still fortunate growing up as I did, respecting authority. Perhaps Marcos wasn't really so bad. Certainly he did a lot of bad things, but the discipline that he instilled in the minds of the people is admirable.

Nowadays, children are not so afraid of authorities. They have learned the word freedom, which is very dangerous. They hurl threats to authorities, to teachers, to parents. You spank a child to discipline and you can end up being sued in the Bantay Bata. These children will eventually grow up and then their own children will do the same to them. That is because they were not as disciplined as we were during our time. And so they just passed what they learned in childhood to their own children.

The new media of the internet and home videos contribute to the current degeneration of today's children. Some parents let their children use the internet not knowing that a lot of hazardous things are in store for their children to learn. Children today kill each other all over the internet, in dangerous games like Ragnarok, Diablo, and the like. In between they can watch porno, which is all over the internet. There is one Filipino eight-year old child discovered by his parents masturbating in front of the computer screen, watching hentai. Apparently, his favorite anime hero, Goku (of Dragonball Z) was featured in the movie having sex with Sailor Moon! Parents should be careful of giving their child gifts of laptops, cellphone, and mp4 as these can easily be downloaded with sex movies.

Back in the 1970s, our family owned a black and white TV set called Zenith. It had dial knobs to change channels and volumes. On afternoons we watch Speedy Gonzales, Sesame Street, and endless reruns of black and white old Tagalog movies. On evenings we watch Wild Wild West, Six Million Dollar Man, Starsky and Hutch, the Incredible Hulk and Charlie's Angels. I later learned that these series were all filmed in color and the reason why they appear black and white was that our TV was black and white...

The closest thing that I can ever come up to watching porno was when Gloria Diaz starred in the movie Pinakamagandang Hayop sa Balat ng Lupa, and it was shown on TV, and even the scene when she didn't have a bra was cut. To my dismay. All our neighbors were flocking to our house because we were one of the few who happened to own a TV set in the entire neighborhood.

I remember curfew. No one was allowed to loiter in the streets from 12 am to 4 am. From that time on you can secretly look from the window through a small opening of the curtains, and you see a very quiet neighborhood. Every barrio was like a ghost town. Even the stray dogs were herded into the city pound. The vagrants had to stay out of the streets. The result was that the crime was lessened. Everyone was afraid of Marcos.

Now, I still think I'm fortunate growing up in the Martial Law years. It was a relatively peaceful time. And we respect our elders.

It was the 1970s, and I miss those times.

Hoy Komiks, Pinoy Version of Mad

2008-02-24T02:39:00.000-08:00

At last, I'm finally able rediscover the long lost Hoy Komiks magazines I bought many many years ago. I somehow lost hope that they may have been included in the garage sale initiated by my sister some years ago, but fortunately they showed up stacked neatly among piles of old magazines in my grandfather's library.

For those old enough who still remember it, Hoy Komiks was first released in 1986 shortly after the People Power Revolution that toppled the Marcoses from political power. As such, most of the Hoy's contents reflected the era of the times: cartoons and caricatures that lambasted the arrogance and the indulgence of the Marcoses. The komiks-magazine proved to be non-partisan, though, as Cory and Doy also got their share of critical caricatures.

Hoy was patterned after the popular American comic-magazine Mad. It is about the same size and the same number of pages. Unlike Mad, however, Hoy was only short-lived with only about less than seven issues published, I believe. It was published by Wahoo Guerrero (grandson of Ramon Roces), and published by Image Enterprises, Inc., which its offices located in 18th Ave., Murphy, Cubao, Quezon City. Of course, GASI was also located in the same compound.

I am fortunate to be able to keep a few copies of this rare Hoy Komiks-Magazine. I'm sure many among you remember this komiks, but back then (twenty years ago), spending 7 pesos for a komiks magazine was not really very affordable, especially when the country was experiencing one of the worst post-Marcos recessions in Asia. Well, that is unless you're also a rabid komiks collector like me. And so, not many people were able to hoard copies. Some copies may have have suffered the same fate as the old Tagalog komiks--pambalot ng tinapa (dried fish wrapper).

Of course, comics is just one way to catch a glimpse of the realities of a nation's struggle to freedom, and just liked the short-lived Lipang Kalabaw and Telembang komiks-magazines during the Philippine-American period, the Hoy Komiks-Magazine was also the cartoonists' inspired and albeit hilarious view of the social, political, and cultural events of its times. It maybe short-lived, but it had lived its life fully.

Hoy#1

Hoy#2

The Barcoses at Halacanang. Illustrations by Vicatan.

Hoy#4

Ulyanin na si Mako

Mars Ravelo: The Original Komiks King

2007-08-19T16:13:00.000-07:00

I have been following with keen interest the news about the so-called campaign to revive the komiks industry in the Philippines led by Carlo J. Caparas, whom the media named as the Komiks King.

I didn't know that Carlo J. Caparas is now regarded as the King of Komiks. This makes me look back on the Golden years of Tagalog komiks, when Mars Ravelo was hailed as the Komiks King.

Now, I don't have anything against Carlo J. He is one of our great komiks writers, maybe even second only to Mars Ravelo (and only if you neglect the great writings of Clodualdo del Mundo, Jim Fernandez and Pablo S. Gomez) . Caparas' output is still so far behind that of Ravelo. His stories barely influenced the industry as had Mars'.

Yet, now, Carlo J. is at the forefront of the campaign that may revive the komiks industry. His efforts are commendable for spearheading this important movement. He lent his prestige and personal money in this, and it is very important. Well, if he succeeds in this, he may well deserve the title, and will not be regarded as just a "pretender to the throne".

Because way back in the heyday of the komiks in the Philippines in the 1950s and 1960s, Mars Ravelo was the original undisputed Komiks King.

During that time the komiks greats had their own monickers, not unlike movie stars today who get the title of Superstar (Nora Aunor} "Megastar"(Sharon Cuneta}, "Diamond Star"(Maricel Soriano), "Star for All Seaons" (Vilma Santos).

In komiks the title holders were:

Tony Velasquez: "Father of Tagalog Komiks"; Francisco V. Coching "Dean of Filipino Illustrators", and Larry Alcala was the "Dean of Filipino Cartoonists".

The King of Komiks title was usually applied to only one man: Mars Ravelo

Mars Ravelo, the original Komiks King

People today barely have any knowledge about Ravelo. He died in 1988 and most of his works can no longer be read due to the rarity of old komiks materials.

The closest thing that the people had been able to relate to his works was watch GMA 7's fantaseryes like Captain barbell and Darna, which are way too different from Mars Ravelo's original versions. Many of the scenes in both series were so ridiculous, it alarmed me that people create an impression that Ravelo was a nonsense writer contented with creating superficial heroic characters who fought absurd and ridiculous nemesis.

In truth, Mars Ravelo was a great writer, arguably the most talented popular writer the Philippines ever had. Some may argue with me, especially those "scholarly" writers who thought komiks was just crap. Indeed Ravelo himself experienced it, in a symposium designed to teach komiks writers the art of komiks writing . Ravelo recounts:

"There was a meeting [in 1979], at the Philippine International Convention Center. The meeting was composed of "legitimate" writers and komiks writers. I had been invited by [fellow komiks writer] Ramon Marcelino. Before the meeting opened, we were formally briefed by Marcelino who told us not to question any of the speakers, who were all "legitimate writers". And these writers started to lambast us the komiks writers. I remember one of the speakers very well because he was the one who got my goat, a certain Bienvenido Lumbrera. When I couldn't take what he was saying anymore, I raised up my hand to ask him questions. And my questions brought home the fact that his knowledge of komiks writing was at best superficial. Marcelino's face was red. And so was Lumbrera's. I ended up by telling the audience that we, the komiks writers, know the komiks best. And that we do not need the advice of people who do not know anything about it, to tell us how to do our work. I got a long applause from the komiks writers present"
(source: Matienzo, Ross ed. "The Philippine Comics Review" 1980, Manila Philippines)

In all his career as komiks writer, Ravelo broke grounds and established new ones. He was a master storyteller. His writings were lucid, straight and without any verbosity.

He understood that the primary consideration in komiks writing is to captivate the attention of the reader at once. His more than 500 successful komiks creations are proof that he mastered it. No doubt, Ravelo is the greatest writer the komiks industry had produced.

Our grandparents knew Ravelo's masterpieces: Maruja, Mambo Dyambo, Bondying, Dyesebel, Jack en Jill, Rebecca, Pomposa, Roberta, Goomboo Roomboo, and hundreds more. I was younger but am fortunate to read them in my musty old bound Tagalog komiks sets.

When you read Mars Ravelo comedy, you end up with stomach and jaw aching due to so much laughter. His tearjerkers can make you melancholy for days. His adventures can make you leave momentarily the boring plane of existence you are currently in.

Truth is, when you read Mars Ravelo, you forget everything and become a spectator to a unique world he had created, be it the world seen from an abused child (Roberta), or the brokenhearted (Maruja). That's why I prefer reading his komiks than reading Harry Potter.

Only when one takes a survey of most of the komiks writing of the last fifty years, one can truly appreciate how Mars Ravelo became the original King of Komiks

GASI:The Rise and Fall of a Komiks Giant

2007-08-19T02:55:00.000-07:00

Note: I had to rewrite this essay completely due to some new discovery of materials pertinent to the history of GASI. This updated essay contains new information as a result of further interviews to those who worked in GASI, especially with Pablo S. Gomez, Hal santiago, and Ramon Marcelino. I would like to thank them for their unbiased insights -Dennis Villegas

Immediately after the fall of the giant Ace Publications in 1962, Don Ramon Roces (its publisher) met with Tony S. Velasquez, Damy Velasquez, and Ramon Marcelino, to discuss the future of the komiks industry in the Philippines.

The aging magnate decided to retire but he still wanted to continue the family tradition of mass media publications which he inherited from his father, the late Don Alejandro Roces, Sr.
Specifically, Roces still wanted to pursue the comics industry which he and Tony Velasquez started in 1947.

But since Ace had folded up due to laborer’s strike a few months before, Don Ramon wanted to create a new comics publications which would grab back the market lost to small competitors like GMS Publishing Corporation, PSG Publications, Extra Publishing, Bookman, Sosayti, and the CRAF Publications.

Indeed, the comics industry was too profitable industry, that it would be unimaginable the rich Roces clan would suddenly withdraw from this business.

Roces did not want the company named for him though, or even carrying the Roces name, since it was just too recent that his Ace Publications closed down, lest Ace’s former employees file claims in court.

Hence, from that meeting between Don Ramon, the Velasquez brothers and Ramon Marcelino, was born the Graphic Arts Service, Incorporated or as it became more popularly known, the GASI. The company was formally launched on August 1, 1962, with Damy Velasquez acting as publisher, Tony Velasquez as General Manager, and Ramon Marcelino as editor. GASI’s offices and printing press were located in Gen. Solano St., San Miguel, Manila.

The first comicbook of GASI was called Kislap Komiks, first published in September 1962. In October of the same year, GASI produced its second comicbook, the Pioneer Komiks. In January 1963, the Aliwan Komiks was born, followed in May by the Pinoy Komiks, and in August by Pinoy Klasiks, and one month later, Holiday Komiks. The last baby of GASI was Teens Weekly Komiks, which first saw publication in 1968.

A Gallery of Early GASI Komiks-Magazines

Kislap Komiks

Pioneer Komiks

Pinoy Komiks

Pinoy Klasiks

Aliwan Komiks

GASI: Restructuring

In June 1968, a major revamp on the top management of GASI was implemented by Don Ramon, who now decided that it was time to put the Roces name on GASI. Hence, Ramon Marcelino resigned from GASI to organize the new Ace Publications (also under the Roces clan) and Damy Velasquez replaced him in the editorship.

Tony Velasquez remained as General Manager of GASI. The position of publisher was given to Dona Elena Roces-Guerrero, one of Don Ramon’s two daughters. The other daughter, Dona Carmen Roces-Davila took charge of the new Ace Publications founded by Ramon Marcelino.

By the end of the 1960s, the Roceses were once again on the top of the comics publishing business in the Philippines. Their competitors either sold their comic titles to the Roceses (like PSG’s United Komiks, Kidlat Komiks and Universal Komiks) or closed down permanently (like CRAF Publications and Sosayti). Others held on until well into the early 1970s, until heavy censorship under the Martial Law regime forced them to fold up too.

In 1972, Tony Velasquez retired as General Manager of GASI, and was replaced by Mrs. C.P. Paguio, a protege of Dona Elena Roces. In gratitude to his long service to the Roceses, and his immense contributions to the Philippine comics industry, Roces gave Tony Velasquez lifetime royalties to the sales of GASI comic books. In addition, Roces gave Tony Velasquez a big apartment inside the GASI property (located in 18th Avenue, Cubao, Quezon City) lifetime free of rent.

Velasquez refused this generosity, thinking "delicadeza" that other editors might regard it as favoritism. But the old man insisted, saying that he would not accept no as an answer. Hence, from that time until Velasquez death in 1997, he and his wife Pilar lived in that big house in GASI. After Roces' death in 1993, Velasquez was pressured by the heirs to vacate the house.

The Martial Law Years

On September 21, 1972 President Marcos placed the entire country under Martial rule. The komiks, as well as other mass media, was heavily censored. The content of komiks must strictly adhere to the moral regeneration program of President Marcos' New Society.

The economic policy of Martial Law also affected the physical look of the komiks. To support local paper manufacturers, Marcos ordered that the publishers use cheap local paper materials instead of the more durable imported paper they were used to print their magazines . It was actually a patriotic move, but the look of the komiks became also cheap.

With komiks printed in cheap paper, and writers forced to write stories that only adhered to the social program of President Marcos , the komiks inevitably lost its appeal to the mass readers. Even Tony Velasquez, shortly prior to his retirement in GASI, was forced to lend his prestige to the kind of komiks approved by Marcos.

At Marcos' insistence, he wrote a novel entitled "The Green Thing" a fantasy novel that encouraged the Filipinos to support Imelda Marcos' program of 'Green Revolution"

A Komiks Resurgence

It was only after the lifting of Martial Law that the komiks somewhat regained life, regaining most of its lost mass-readership. Yet, in all those years of censorship under Martial Law, the Roceses' GASI and Atlas still dominated the field of komiks publishing.

As proof that it was still going strong, three more titles were added in 1982 to the GASI comics fleet: Nobela Klasiks, Kuwento Komiks and Damdamin Komiks. The GASI (and Atlas) had all but monopolized the komiks industry in the Philippines. Their market share account for more than 70 percent of the total sales of komiks in the Philippines. The remaining 30 percent shared by small publishers like Rex, Bookman, and GMS.

The early1980s also saw a rise in mass readership of komiks, such that millions of komiks copies were being printed for distribution not only in the Philippines but abroad, particularly countries with large Filipino population.

The surge in readership may be due to the lifting of Martial Law in 1981 by President Marcos. More writers became bolder in their chosen themes, and the komiks was no longer dominated by fantasy adventure fare about caped superheroes, talking horses, and the like.

The more relevant social themes became a major genre in komiks. This field was dominated by such talented writers as Elena Patron, Nerissa Cabral, Gilda Olvidado, Carlo Caparas, and Pablo S. Gomez. Their serials of drama set in the local theme of poverty and/or oppression ( a hint of Marcos dictatorship) became favorites. Themes of poor people succeeding in life because of their kindheartedness were also favorites. Hence the success of such titles as "Bukas Luluhod ang mga tala" and "Bituing Walang Ningning", and many more.

The Decline and Fall of GASI

This resurgence in komiks interest was short-lived, however, for other factors began to affect the komiks industry once more. The advent of other alternative entertainment hurt the komiks industry.

Even in the early 1970s, the television had already been accessible to many Filipino homes. Reruns of old black and white Tagalog movies were frequently aired on the televisions, as well as game and entertainment shows like Student Canteen and Tawag ng Tanghalan. Also Japanese anime started to creep into Filipino TV screens at this time, with Voltes V, Daimos, and Mazinger Z being most popular.

But perhaps the biggest rival of komiks entertainment was the importation of American TV shows in Filipino television. They captured the attention of the Filipinos in the mid and late 1970s. The Incredible Hulk (starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno), Six Million Dollar Man, Wild Wild West, Combat, Charlie’s Angels, were the biggest shows on Filipino television.

Meanwhile, the arrival of the telenovelas in the 1980s (most notably Ana Liza and Flordeluna) sealed the fate of the Philippine comis industry. Now, entertainment is no longer the monopoly of komiks, and Filipinos even did not have to pay to watch television. There was no problem even in the barrios where most people cannot afford televisions. One TV set was enough in one neighborhood; it was a tradition among Filipinos to let neighbors watch on your TV.

By the 1990s, the comics industry was in such a bad state that Tony Velasquez, living in retirement, refused to comment on an interview about the prospects of the future of Philippine komiks industry. The advent of the video games, the Romance pocketbooks, all contributed to the decline of the Philippine comis industry, not to mention the later arrival of gadgets like pages and cellphones, and the birth of the internet.

GASI one by one cancelled their titles, and shifted more in publishing movie-magazines, the gossip type where popular with movie fans. More and more, the komiks was relegated as the “other publication”, being published only for the sake of tradition. In 1997, Tony Velasquez, founder of the old Ace Publications and GASI, and the recognized “Father of Philippine Comics” died in GASI compound. He never saw the re-emergence of the industry he loved and founded, and died of a broken heart.

His death saved him from further hurt, though, for later that year, GASI was finally dissolved as a publisher of comics.

A curtain was therefore lowered down on one of the great publications company in Philippine comics history.

Bomba Komiks

2007-08-15T17:44:00.000-07:00

Bomba Komiks is a generic term applied to any Philippine komiks magazines that contain adult-oriented materials especially those that contain graphic nudity and sexual themes. In Tagalog, the word Bomba means "nude" or "naked"

It is not known exactly when the first Bomba Komiks appeared in the Philippines. In the early 1960s, some fly-by-night publishers began issuing underground komiks with adult contents. One of these was Akda Komiks, first published in 1964. Although this komiks did not contain any frontal nudity, it nevertheless contained stories about illicit affairs and suggestive sexual themes.

By the end of the 1960s, there were already numerous Bomba Komiks sold in the streets of Manila, most containing frontal nudity. Many veteran komiks writers and illustrators were lured into the additional income offered by the Bomba Komiks. Many of them illustrated in Bomba Komiks although they somewhat changed their drawing styles.
Understandably though, they rarely used their real names in writing or drawing, preferring to use pen names instead.

Maybe the most successful of the Bomba Komiks publishers was Cil Evangelista, a movie talent manager. His komiks gained a following for portraying movie stars in the nude. For sometime Cil almost gained cult status, somewhat a Filipino version of Hugh Heffner.

The years 1967-72 were the peak years of the Bomba Komiks. They were sold like hotcakes by middle aged men and maybe women as well. Though they were not sold openly in newstands, they were however hidden beneath the clean-type komiks ,and only a suggestive ask can make the salesman offer it discreetly.

Understandably, many legitimate komiks publishers complain about the proliferation of Bomba Komiks. It was a just complaint. Religious and feminist organizations were rallying against the Bomba Komiks. Many people thought that all komiks-magazines contained sexual contents, and so even the clean-type komiks suffered a decline in sales. The stigma of the Bomba Komiks affected the wholesome ones, and it contributed to the decline of the komiks industry in the early 1970s.

When President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law in 1972, the Bomba Komiks was finally suppressed. This does not mean though that Marcos was in any way a moral person. It was an open secret that Marcos was himself involved in many illicit sexual affairs.

The Bomba Komiks surged back to life after the lifting of martial law in 1981. In the mid-1980s, after the EDSA Revolution that overthrew Marcos, a few titles began to appear, also clandestinely. These included Betamax Komiks, Seksi Komiks, and Sizzling Hot Komiks.
In the 1990s up to the present, many Bomba Komiks titles were stiull being sold in Recto and Quiapo area with such titles as L na L, Super Hot, and Xerex Xaviera, and numerous others.

As long as there are people wanting to deviate from reading the ordinary komiks, and as well as men in general are fascinated by sex, the Bomba Komiks will still be around. Even if society and religion consider it taboo.

FOR ADULTS ONLY! The following is my collection of Bomba Komiks from ancient times to the present:
Akda Komiks, one of the earliest Bomba Komiks in the Philippines. The cover shows a priest following the woman he desires.

Cil Evangelista's Uhaw Komiks gained cult folowing in the early 1970s. It not only portrayed nude illustratios but nude photos of movie starlets as well.

A sample page from Bomba Komiks

Cil Evangelista's Censored Komiks

BF Comics Vol.1 No.1

A Sample of pin-up page for the movie starlets

Game Komiks (subtitled: with clean drawings and moral lessons)

Exclusive Komiks

Cil Evangelista's Exclusive Komiks

VIP Komiks Vol.1 No.1

Amazona Komiks Vol.1 No.1 1970

Leo Zapata's Topless Komiks Vol.1 No.1

Another Exclusive Komiks by Cil Evangelista

Premium For Adults Only Komiks Vol.1 No.10

Super Hot Komiks #187, 1995

Mga Kuwento Ni Lola Basyang: Classic Tagalog Tales in Komiks

2007-03-12T21:38:00.000-07:00

I have been re-reading old issues of the Liwayway recently, the oldest existing Tagalog magazine in the Philippines. I am a big fan of the Liwayway, especially the older issues from the prewar up to the early 1970s.

It's really hard nowadays to find vintage copies of old Liwayway. Like Tagalog komiks, Liwayway was very popular back then, but very few Filipinos managed to collect them; the old Liwayway copies have suffered the same fate of the old komiks: pambalot ng tinapa (dried fish wrapper).

I liked the Liwayway not only because I enjoyed the stories in it, but also because I learn so much from it, the most important of which is my understanding of the Tagalog language. I have a deep admiration for the Tagalog language, and by reading Liwayway, my own Tagalog communication skills are enriched.

Yesterday, while browsing an old copy of Liwayway, I found one of the classic anthologies in Tagalog literature: "Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang".
Don Severino Reyes, the famous Tagalog playwright of the early 1900s-who wrote the immortal "Walang Sugat" play- was the man behind the Lola Basyang stories.

"Ang Hari sa Bundok na Ginto" Tagalog Klasiks #7. Written by Severino Reyes, comics adaptation by Pedrito Reyes, illustrations by Jesus Ramos. Cover art by Maning De Leon.

Popularly known as Mang Binoy, Don Severino Reyes, was also the co-founder and editor of the Liwayway in 1923. The very first years of the Liwayway was a struggle, and there was scarcity of literature to include in its contents, so Mang Binoy created the "Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang" in 1925 as filler. He did not sign it with his name though because he thought it was unethical, while still serving as editor of the magazine.

And so Mang Binoy used the byline "Lola Basyang" after a friend's neighbor named Gervacia Guzman de Zamora, who was known as "Tandang Basyang". It was from her where Mang Binoy took the inspiration to create"Lola Basyang".

In real life, Tandang Basyang was described as an old bespectacled woman in baro't saya, seated in her famous silyon, and reading her timeless classic stories- dug from her ancient baul- to her fascinated grandchildren.

The grandchildren were more than eager to hear stories about faraway castles, heroic princes, lovely maidens, giants, and elves. Always, at the end of each story is a moral lesson to be learned.

The first story of the "Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang" was entitled ang "Plautin ni Periking", a wonderful story of a kindhearted kid who has a magical flute and flying carpet.

It was the first of the more than 400 "Lola Basyang" stories to have graced the Liwayway, and only discontinued because of Mang Binoy's death in 1942.

Ang Sirena sa Ilog Pasig. Tagalog Klasiks #5.

In 1949, Mang Binoy's son, Pedrito Reyes, decided to revive the "Lola Basyang" stories. Working on the original scripts of his father, Pedrito transformed Lola Basyang's stories into komiks form, appearing in the earliest isuues of the Tagalog Klasiks. The illustrations were done by Maning De Leon, Jesus Ramos, and later on Ruben Yandoc and Jess Jodloman.

Ang Sinsing na Tanso. Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang. Illustrated by Jess Jodloman.

The "Lola Basyang" stories became more popular with its komiks versions, because now, Filipinos can visualize the stories by means of the illustrations. Later on, in the early 1950s, based on the komiks versions, a succesful movie adaptation was created. Now, GMA Channel 7 is adapting the stories into a television series.

Well, that's just goes on to say that a classic never goes out of style.

And the Liwayway and "Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang" never will.

Haring Tulisan. Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang. Illustrated by Ruben Yandoc.

Ang Prinsipeng Unggoy.Tagalog Klasiks #3.1949. Author's collection.

2007-01-04T16:43:00.000-08:00

Hi. Happy New Year to all of you!

I'm very sorry for not being able to update regularly this "other" blog of mine. But no, this is not yet a dead blog..I will keep on writing about Philippine komiks history here so I hope you will drop by from time to time for updates and new discoveries.

The holidays, instead of giving me ample time for research, kept me busy more than ever. As you may have read in my previous entries, I am researching on the early Philippine cartoons from the Spanish era to the pre-war period.

I was able to discover so many interesting materials like an old comic strip from the Philippine Revolution era, as well as some turn-of-the-century comic strips from period newspapers. I am not sure if luck or serendipity kept me on unearthing some of these very important materials, but I will eventually share them here with you, just like what I did in the past.

Last night, as I was browsing through some of my old komiks files, I was able to find this inserted one of the pages of a very old komik book:

The world's smallest Tagalog Komiks, a free comic book inside a Bubble Gum wrapper. Cool!

Well, as far as I know, this is the smallest Tagalog komik book ever published. Actually, it was never published at all in a regular manner. During the 1950s and 1960s, a Bubble Gum factory called Columbia Candy, sold bubble gums with this miniature komik book (created by Tony Velasquez) inside as a freebie. It is very possible that the previous owner of the komiks bought a Columbia chewing gum and got this miniature komiks free. He then inserted this small komiks to the komiks he was reading(now my komiks), as a page marker.

Anyway, that's what just came to my mind, but maybe there are other circumstances behind. What is more important was that I was able to discover this. This miniature komiks is just a very exciting dicovery for me. The only other person I know who has one like this is my friend and fellow komiks collector Architect Alex Villaflor. But instead of Kenkoy, he has got the title "Kulafu" the character created by pioneer comics illustrator Francisco Reyes.

Well, all these materials I am gathering will find their place in the komiks museum I am envisioning in the near future.

Tony Velasquez Photo Gallery 3

2006-12-08T16:35:00.000-08:00

Tony Velasquez, age 3, with the bike that was a gift to him by his father, Eusebio Velasquez, circa 1913.

Tony Velasquez, age 5, circa 1916. Unknown to many, Tony Velasquez was a vistuoso violinist who studied under the great Filipino composer, Bonifacio Abdon.

Studio Portrait, taken the year Kenkoy was born in the pages of the Liwayway in 1929.

The Don Ramon Roces Swimming Team, circa 1936.

The very first Kenkoy greeting card sent by Tony Velasquez to Ms. Pilar Tongco, during the Japanese Occupation, 1943. Tony Velasquez was employed as graphic artist by the HODOBU, a Japanese information service bureau located in Escolta. Ms. Pilar Tongco was employed as librarian there.

A Kenkoy Birthday Card sent to Ms. Pilar Tongco during the last year of the Japanese Occupation, 1944.

Velasquez in 1946, right after the founding of Ace Publications and Pilipino Komiks, 1947.

GRUAGA: The Fantasy World of Alex Nino

2006-11-14T21:04:00.000-08:00

Gruaga: The Fifth Corner of the Earth, was ALEX NINO's first attempt at writing fantasy novel. Although a relative beginner in the comics industry in the 1960s, Nino proved that he was a master not only of fantasy illustration, but writing as well.

Here in Gruaga, a young Nino attempts to enter the select class of great Filipino artists who not only write but also illustrate his stories. It was a bold attempt, at a time when some of the best artist-writers in Filipino comics were still at their heyday, including Nestor Redondo, FV Coching, and Fred Alcala.
Nino, however, succeded well and even the great Redodndo was able to remark "He is someone we must watch".

A few years later, Nino was on his way to international stardom as American comics publishers discovered his rare talent in fantasy and horror illustration.

I have several issues of Pioneer Komiks that contained several installments of GRUAGA, and I would regularly feature these rare pages here as part of my attempt to give due honor to one of the greatest illustrators of all time. Cover of Pioneer Komiks #113 by the great Filipino international illustrator Alex Nino.

Philippine Vintage Cartoon Strips

2006-10-30T04:38:00.000-08:00

I have a liking for vintage cartoons and have spent a lot of time hunting for them in vintage magazines and newspapers, where they usually reisde prior to the birth of the komiks form. IThrough the years , I have acquired hundreds of interesting titles and I would like to share some with you from time to time (or if my time would permit me).

Here are some vintage cartoon strips from the early 1920s. Published in an obscure news-magazine called "Telembang" these strips are entitled "Si Kiko at Si Angge", a husband and wife comedy which antedates Kenkoy at Rosing for about seven years.

A cartoon strip which satirized the political issues of its era, the "Kiko and Angge" comic strip was written by Tagalog novelist Inigo Ed Regalado, and hilariously illustrated by the young Fernando Amorsolo, National Artist for the Fine Arts. it also reflected the life of the Filipinos during that era when the Philippines was still occupied by the United States.

Here are some of the earliest ones found in my collection:

You can see here that even at that early time of Philippine politics, many politicians are already making into campaign "fever" for their respective candidates against their opponents. Some Filipinos, however, like Kiko, are too naive to even notice this. (It should be noted that Filipinos were allowed then to vote only for Senators and Representatives. The country was still ruled then by the American Governor General)

To understand this period cartoon, one must first know the context of socio-political background of the 1920s era. During that time, the Filipinos longed to have the United States grant Philippine independence. The Filipino leaders at that time, such as Quezon, Osmena and Aguinaldo, were sent to the United States to discuss hilippine independence from the the U.S. with the American PresidentHarding. Funded by public donations, these travels of Filipino leaders to the United States were known as "The Philippine Mission", the mission to acquire our independence. Yet, as this cartoon shows, some Filipinos believed that it would just be a waste of time, and that the "mission" will just spend the public fund for their personal luxuries and sightseeing.

This is a typical cartoon cover of the Telembang, a biting satirical Tagalog newsmagazine of the 1920s. No wonder it was hounded by libel suits so that a few years later, it was forced to close down.

BEMBOY: Ravelo's First Comic Strip, 1939

2006-10-27T21:21:00.000-07:00

I recently purchased an old 1939 magazine called MABUHAY EXTRA from my local antique dealer, and while I was reading the magazine, I was stunned to see this:

All the while everyone thought that Mars Ravelo started cartooning in Bulaklak magazine in 1947, with his supposedly "first" comic strip Rita Kasinghot. He had applied earlier that year in Ace Publications but then Ace editor Clodualdo del Mundo rejected him.

It was a bruise on the confidence of the young Ravelo, but being a fighter(as he always say he was), he shrugged his shoulder and went straight to Dona Bating, publisher of Bulaklak Publications. Maybe Ravelo was lucky, since he found Dona Bating in a serene mood: she was lazily seated on one of the steps of the stair, her hair being removed of lice.

The old lady liked Rita Kasinghot, and there and then hired Ravelo as a regular cartoonist of Bulaklak. Ravelo's Rita Kasinghot comic strip gave a new life to Bulaklak which was until then a no match to the popularity of Ace's komiks-magazines. For Ravelo, it was a sweet success, because afterwards, it was Del Mundo who wanted to recruit him back to Ace. He did, and the rest was history.

I re-read the classic "History of Komiks in the Philippines", and there it definitely says that Ravelo's first comic strip was Rita Kasinghot. I suppose R.R. Marcelino interviewed Ravelo and it could be possible that Ravelo himself confirmed this.

Now, a rewriting of this portion of history is needed. It was not Bulaklak who gave Mars Ravelo his first job as cartoonist, it was Mabuhay.

I can therefore safely say that Bemboy, and not Rita Kasinghot, is the very first cartoon strip of the great Mars Ravelo.

KOMIKON 2006

2006-10-26T09:04:00.000-07:00

I was fortunate to have a free afternoon last Saturday (october 21), to attend the 2nd annual KOMIKON, a local mini version of the San Diego Comics Convention.
I really did plan to set a booth there to sell some old komiks and original arts but at the last minute i decided to just be a spectator, so I can visit my friends' respective booths and give support to their comics creations.
I arrived almost 3 O'clock in the afternoon, so I already missed some activities in the morning. But I was glad to see some of my friends there like Erwin Cruz(Cruzifix), Gerry Alanguilan, Randy Valiente, and the illustrator Mario Macalindong.
I also purchased several new comic books like Alanguilan's ELMER, Manix Abrera's KIKO MACHINE 2, KC Cordero's Filipino Komiks #1, as well as some indie comics by young comics creators. It is important for me to support their efforts to continue the tradition of comics making in the Philippines.
I am very impressed with the enthusiasm and the energy manifested by these people when it comes to local comics. With them leading the way, it would come as no surprise if the once glorious era of Philippine comics will be revived, which is a sort of Renaissance.
I am very enthusiastic with Gerry's Elmer, a modern fable about chickens freely interacting, living, and even marrying with humans. Whoa..if you haven't read it yet, go buy one from your local comics dealer (ComicQuest or Filbars), and you'll certainly like the poignancy of the story(even if it's not yet complete..parts 3 and 4 are still in the making).
I salute Gerry for having the courage to come out with his own publishing company at a time when the comics industry is at its ebb. Will it take a chicken to revive the industry? Hehe that is a great great possibility since Elmer is a great great comic book.
I also commend the efforts of former Atlas Editor KC Cordero for spearheading the publication of Filipino Komiks#1, an attempt to revive the comics industry from its very roots. Some of the contributors to this comics are veterans of the Philippine comics industry like writer Joemari Lee, and illustrators Randy Valiente, Carl Comendador, Gibert Monsanto, Dante Barreno, Rico Rival, Nar Castro, and many others.
I am also very pleasantly surprised to find out that once again the ALCALA LEGACY has an exhibit of Alfredo Alcala's original works. I marvelled at the artworks of Voltar, Ukala, Yamato, and some other very rare pieces of comic art from the master's personal collection. What a great collection it is and deserves a permanent place in a museum devoted to comic art.
I didn't have enough time though to visit everyone like Reno Maniquis, who is managing the Mars Ravelo booth, Gilbert Monsanto, and Carlo Vergara. I have wanted to see them but it was already getting late, and I know they're very busy, too.
Lastly, I was very pleased to meet some of the veterans from the Golden Age of Philippine comics. It is very heartwarming that they went there to show that the love for comics is always in their blood. I didn't want to go without a picture of all of us..so it's here:

Left to Right: Nar Castro, Yong Montano, Jess Jodloman(Alex Nino's teacher!), Mar Macalindong, Me(as in, me), and collector and comics archivist Orvy Jundis (Thanks to Erwin Cruz for this photo)

Blog Update

2006-09-04T09:28:00.000-07:00

AN UPDATE FINALLY/AND NOTE TO STUDENTS WHO EMAIL ME FOR INTERVIEWS

I would like to apologize to regular visitors of this blog for not being able to update it as regularly as I had wanted to. I've been quite busy lately scanning originals and old komiks materials for the future home of this blog..which is PilipinoKomiks.com.
Yes, I have decided to expand this blogsite into a website so that it will be more comprehensive and more accessible. So I hope you will understand my silence for a while..

Anyway, during the last few months I received emails and invitations for talks, interviews by various organizations, students with thesis, as well as Channel 7 ( for their Bakekang series). From this time on, however, I am no longer accepting any of these requests for interviews.

I think it is because I felt used by Channel 7 production crews who interviewed me three times in one week two months ago. All the while I was made to believe that they were going to present a nationally televised presentation of Philippine komiks history, so I generously welcomed them to my home where they interviewed me about the history of komiks, and let me haul from my shelves my old komiks collections for them to shoot and photograph. My neighbors were alarmed why Channel 7 crews kept visiting my house and they thought that I'm already a celebrity...duh???
And then when the production was shown on Tv, not a significant portion on komiks history was included...all that was included was about Captain Barbell, and his new costumes etc..obviously geared to promoting their Captain Barbell series...And to think that they interviewed me close to two hours about komiks history...

I am not assuming that students will do such thing...but no I cannot accomodate all of you for interviews...So I am making it clear and simple..send no more emails asking for interviews as I will not answer them.

If you want to know something about the history of Philippine komiks, you can go to my previous posts in the archive section of this blog. Those articles are by no means complete of course, ..(hint you have to research further in libraries or just google them).. Plus you can also browse GerryAlanguilan's wonderful website Komikero.com, which offers a fascinating section on komiks history in his Philippine Komiks Art Museum, as well as his previous wonderful articles on komiks history.

I also recommend you to read the classic "History of Komiks in the Philippines and other Countries" by Cynthia Arevalo, et al, as it offers a fascinating, albeit biased, overview of the komiks tradition in the Philippines.

As for libraries...well, I don't know any library that has a wide selection of Tagalog komiks materials but you can try the Lopez Memorial Museum located in Benpres Buiding in Ortigas Avenue.. They have a large inventory of rare Philippine cartoons from 1800s to 1930s, as well as complete set of the Liwayway from the earliest issues to the 1950s. They may also have a few pieces of Ace komiks materials.

The National Library has two or three tomes of bookbound komiks but do not expect to find rare ones..as they have disappeared long time ago because librarians usually discard komiks tomes annually because they felt komiks have no "research value".

FOR PEOPLE ASKING FOR XEROX COPIES OF OLD KOMIKS

I also receive frequent emails regarding photocopying of old komiks. I'm sorry but I only entertain illustrators(or writers) or their families to xerox their or their relatives' works...So if you are an artist who want to search for your early works and they happen to exist in my collection..I can photocopy with only a minimum charge, i.e. xerox and paper expenses..

Tony Velasquez: Photo Gallery 2

2006-08-24T22:29:00.000-07:00

Class Portrait: Sta. Ana Elementary School 1917. Young Velasquez is third boy from left in the third row.

Studio Portrait 1929, around the time of the birth of Kenkoy

Ms. Pilar Tongco, the real-life Rosing of the Kenkoy Album, circa 1943

The long-awaited marriage finally happened in 1967

When they were kings...the kings of komiks in a rare photograph taken while on a beach holiday, circa 1958. Tony Velasquez is second from left, first row.

Tony Velasquez: Photo Gallery

2006-08-07T18:04:00.000-07:00

Self-Portrait, 1946
Acceptance Speech, Gawad CCP Grand Award for the Culture and Arts, 1993
Tony Velasquez(1910-1997), Educator, Editor, Publisher, Storyteller, Cartoonist, Illustrator, Poet, Essayist, Fine Artist, Founder of the Pilipino Komiks, and the recognized Father of The Tagalog Comics Magazines.
The last known portrait..celebrating his 86th birthday on October 29, 1996.

A Gallery of Philippine Original Cartoon Art

2006-07-12T18:33:00.000-07:00

Bing Bigotilyo is Francisco V. Coching's first cartoon character. It first appeared in the Silahis Magazine in late 1930s, was censored during the Japanese occupation, and continued after the war. Although Coching was more well known for his serious comic art, which by the way influenced generations of Philippine comics artists, yet unknown to many, he started out his career as a cartoonist in the Silahis Magazine. His style of cartooning was different from the style of Tony Velasquez or Francisco Reyes, but more in the vein of style by Mauro Malang and Romeo Tabuena.
I happen to keep an extant, although badly damaged original of Bing Bigotilyo from the 1930s. Yet this in itself is a proof of Coching superior cartooning technique, as well as his hilarious sense of humor.

Mars Ravelo's BUHAY PILIPINO may well be the master's greatest work, and for a reason. It was Ravelo's most popular and enduring work. I really think that Ravelo was at the height of his writing prowess when he created Buhay Pilipino. It was more than a comic strip, it reflected the very life of the typical Filipino family of those golden years. More than any other cartoon strip, Ravelo manifested his deep knowledge of sociology and psychology in Buhay Pilipino.

Even Ravelo's former critic, the veteran writer Clodualdo del Mundo, was forced to admit that "Buhay Pilipino" amused him. "Ravelo's writing is admirable, his Tagalog is deep, and he has a great sense of humor".. "Buhay Pilipino" satirized Philippine life during the 1940s and the 1950s. The older generation of Filipinos will never forget its immortal characters Tekla, Gorio, Lola Belay, the spinster Kety, and a whole lot of others that Ravelo added to its roster as it made its success through the hearts of the Filipinos. Quite simply put BUHAY PILIPINO is a tour de force. If you can find an old copy of the Liwayway containg this strip, you will see what I mean.

When Ravelo left the Liwayway to concentrate on his own comic publishing, he could not bring with him his Buhay Pilipino because of legal reasons. It was continued under different titles by other writers like Pat Justimbate (who was a student of Mars Ravelo) and Andres Cristobal Cruz. The above featured originals are the only two known extant originals of Buhay Pilipino from the 1951 series.

One of Larry Alcala's most famous cartoon characters, Asyong Aksaya dubuted in the Tagalog Komiks in the 1970s. It was later adapted into a movie starring Chiquito in the extravagant title role.
Perhaps no other duo in Philippine cartoon history is more memorable than Larry Alcala's Kalabog en Bosyo, who debuted in the Pilipino Komiks in 1947 under the original title ANG KALABOG and the now famous byline "Kalambogesyones ni Larry". Made into several movie adaptations, kalabog en Bosyo is our everyday fumbling detectives who solves the crimes.....accidentally. Other duos that have been partially influenced by Kalabog en Bosyo include Bert Sarile's Ping at Pong and Max en Jess.

A contemporary of Tony Velasquez, Jose Zabala-Santos and J.M. Perez, Francisco Reyes great contribution to Philippine cartoon art is his immortal KULAFU. Of course, none of us younger geneartion living today will know that, because Kulafu existed only during the pre-war years of Philippine cartooning.

Influenced by Rice Borrough's Tarzan, Kulafu was the first ever cartoon strip to cover two whole pages of the Liwayway, and in full color! It was a very popular cartoon at that time, even competing with Kenkoy in terms of mass readership, yet after the war, Reyes surprisingly did not continue Kulafu, but instead created Talahib, another Tarzan-like character in the Halakhak Komiks. Yet despite his early demise, KULAFU will always be remembered as The Lord of the Philippine Jungles.

TO BE CONTINUED....

Kenkoy: The Beginnings

2006-07-10T07:51:00.000-07:00

In the 1930s up to the 1960s Kenkoy entertained our lolos and lolas with his wit and humor, as well as his crazy antics, colonial mindset, and carabao english.

Wrote Tony Velasquez in his memoirs "It was all pure coincidence that I created Kenkoy in 1928. The original cartoonist assigned to create the character, Procopio Borromeo, was approached by writer Romualdo Ramos to start a series of cartoons for the Liwayway magazine. But Borromeo, busy with his other deadlines, could not come up with the character, so the job was given to me"

Where did Tony velasquez get his inspiration for Kenkoy's character?
"During those times (the 1920s), in our neighborhood in Paco, there was a group of ukelele-weilding young lads who called themselves Kalatog Pinggan. They would roam the streets up to the early morning hours, searching for wakes(lamayan), and beautiful girls to serenade(harana). They were quite naughty boys but they were all well-dressed in the style of the Jazz Age, what you would call today as "maporma". It was from them that I got the inspiration to create the character of Kenkoy".

So it is not true that Kenkoy was influenced by Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse?
"No, Kenkoy was not influenced by Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse and Kenkoy were born on the same year(1928), possibly Kenkoy was even older because I created him sometime in the mid of 1928, but the first issue did not come out until the January 11, 1929 issue of the Liwayway"

How much was he paid during his first years as cartoonist of Kenkoy?
"Romualdo Ramos (who wrote the earliest Kenkoy stories) and I received 20 pesos each for every issue of Kenkoy. And since Kenkoy appeared in the Liwayway four times a month, that means we have 80 pesos each every month..not bad for a beginner cartoonist like me, at a time when the daily wage was only one peso a day".

The first issue of the Kabalbalan ni Kenkoy consisted only of four frames. But later on, due to is success with the readers, the strip was expanded into six frames, and much later, half page. After three years, it already occupied a whole page of the Liwayway, with four colors to boot. A few years later, Kenkoy appeared in translation in all of the magazines of the Roceses including the Ilocano Bannawag, the Bicolano Bikolnon, and the Hiligaynon's Bisaya.
Thus Kenkoy was also the first character to transcend the language barrier of the Philippines, with his presence in some of the major dialects in the Philippines.

Unfortunately, after two years, Romualdo Ramos died, and Tony Velasquez was left to create the scripts as well. "Yet, I still gave the half of my earnings to Romualdo's widow for a full two years afterwards. It must be that way. Yan ang utang na loob, dapat lahat ng tao nakakaalam niyan".

Kenkoy, the first Filipino cartoon character, with his creator Tony Velasquez (aged 19) in the background, the recognized Father of the Tagalog Comics. (This is actually an old Kenkoy figurine doll from the collection of Tony Velasquez, and I placed his vintage picture from 1929 as a background)

A Gallery of Rare Komiks

2006-07-05T08:05:00.000-07:00

As an identification guide, I will regularly feature in this blog some of the rare pieces in my collection of Philippine comics.
"Komiks" from the 1950s and 1960s are especially hard to come by, as even local antique shops do not carry an inventory of them. Unlike in America, where they have catalogues of all their known published comic books, the Philippines has no such publication in existence.
The closest publication I know that features only a partial list of Philippine comics-magazines is the book "Catalogue of Philippine Periodicals", published sometime in the 1950s. And even that book only lists some three or four titles of komiks.

Through the years, the komiks has gained a somewhat nostalgic value, a look back from the time when Filipinos regard it as their "national book". Sad to say, only a few people in the Philippines have managed to save komiks in their collection. I remember that the National Library had a few nice bound komiks sets that included some of the early issues of Pilipino Komiks, but over time, these somewhat had been lost, or became part of the "discarded" books the National Library regularly sells to the junk shops. Of course, this is because the librarians there regard komiks as publications "without any research value".

Why the rarity? Some important factors led to the rarity of komiks materials: Human neglect, termites, floods, fires, and the humid tropical climate easily destroy the pulp paper of komiks.

People who visit my house often wonder why I collect these things, and the reactions I usually hear from them are "how have you managed to collect them?", "have you read them all?", "My goodness, this komiks is older than me", or "Your collection is unique and weird" hehe...

So for those who had been emailing me to start a continuing gallery of old komiks, here it is. Enjoy!

The Essential Guide to World Comics

2006-06-23T06:03:00.000-07:00

I finally bought a copy of "Essential Guide to World Comics" after being tipped by my friend Reno Maniquis that it is already available in Powerbooks.
I think this book is very important since it is the first book to examine in relative detail the comparative comics culture of the different countries of the world.
I am very glad that the rich Philippine comics tradition, hitherto neglected by international comic historians, has earned a generous space in this book, as it relates the unique contributions of the Filipinos to world comics.

Tony Velasquez, the Father of Philippine Comics, was also chosen by authors Tim Pilcher and Brad Brooks, as one of their choices for world class comics creators, together with Japan's Ozamu Tezuka, Argentinian Alberto Breccia, India's Anant Pai, and Belgian Herge, among the few selected others.

A special two-page spread tribute to Tony Velasquez, father of Philippine Comics.

I am also happy to find on the cover of the book our very own Kenkoy(as well as on the back), happily at home among the world's immortal cartoon characters like Astroboy, Dennis the Menace, Captain Marvel, and Tintin.
Interestingly, the book focuses more on the other lesser-known comics industries of Thailand, Vietnam, Hongkong, India, and many other Asian countries.

The Philippines occupies some six pages in the book (including the two-page tribute to Tony Velasquez), as well as some mention on the other sections of the book.

Also noteworthy are the sections on Africa, Europe, and the rest of the so-called "non-manga" and "non-superhero" comics industries.
Perhaps comics researchers and scholars may find the book to be disappointingly too brief and general, but I think the authors succeded in putting together in one compact, fascinating, and lavishly illustrated book a real essential guide to world comics, for the comics enthusiasts and collectors. Or for just anyone with even the slightest interest in comics.

So go ahead and treat yourself a tasteful of a book, and don't expect to borrow someone else's copy, I bet they will never lend their own copy :-)

Book details:
THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO WORLD COMICS
by Tim Pilcher and Brad Brooks
Illustrated, 319 pp.
A Chrysalis Publication, 2005

A Gallery of Francisco V. Coching's Early Cover Art

2006-06-21T20:33:00.000-07:00

Finally, here's a gallery of some of the earliest komiks covers of the great Francisco V. Coching from my collection. For your viewing pleasure.

Halakhak Komiks #9, 1946. This is the only Coching cover for the extremely rare Halakhak Komiks, featuring Bulalakaw, one of his early komiks characters.

Liwayway Cover, Issue for October 9, 1947

Hiwaga Komiks#47, July 16, 1952

Pilipino Komiks#22, April 3, 1947 . Unknown to many, Coching was also a master of the cartoons, as shown in these following covers for the early issues of Pilipino Komiks. Actually his first comic strip in the Pilipino Komiks was Paloma, a cartoon character about a worldly and hilarious young Filipina who was possibly influenced by Tony Velasquez' Ponyang Halobaybay cartoons in the 1930s.

Paloma, the first cartoon character of Coching in Pilipino Komiks, 1947.

Pilipino Komiks#35, October 2, 1948

Pilipino Komiks#31, August 7, 1948

Pilipino Komiks#41, December 25, 1948

Pilipino Komiks #47, March 19, 1949

Pilipino Komiks #51, May 14, 1949

Silangan Komiks #10, September 28, 1950

Tagalog Klasiks #33, October 7, 1950

Silangan Komiks #5 July 13, 1950. This is one of my favorite Coching covers.

The First Pinoy Komiks Superheroes

2006-06-01T06:40:00.000-07:00

The very first Pinoy komiks superheroes appeared in 1946, right at the birth of the Philippine comics industry. Incidentally, that year also marked the independence of the Philippines from the United States, after surviving the destructive three-year Japanese Occupation.

After the war, a few enterprising individuals started the very first komiks-magazines in the Philippines: Halakhak Komiks and Pilipino Komiks. Although Halakhak Komiks did not contain any serious superhero story, it had, on the other hand, a Pinoy funny superhero called Siopawman, created by a young cartoonist named Larry Alcala. Siopawman by Larry Alcala may be the first, albeit fumbling, Pinoy komiks superhero.

IPO-IPO

The first true Pinoy komiks superhero was Ipo-ipo, a character created by Lib Abrena and Oscar del Rosario in 1946 in a Tagalog magazine called Magasin ng Pagsilang.
Ipo-Ipo is an interesting character, he gets his superpowers from the whirlwind. He acquires the speed of the wind and bullets fired into him just pass through his body.
Fresh from the horrors of the Japanese invasion, Abrena and Del Rosario pitted Ipo-ipo against the ruthless Japanese soldiers who refused to surrender, even after the unconditional capitulation of Japan in 1945.

Ipo-Ipo, the very first true Pinoy superhero: how can you beat a superhero that you cannot hit?

LAGIM

Lagim first appeared in Pilipino Komiks #1 in 1947, created by Cris Caguintuan. Like Ipo-ipo, Lagim battles the Japanese forces who would not surrender. Lagim gets his power from a headgear given to him by a scientist named Dr. Malasakit. The headgear makes Lagim's strength twice that of a man. Unlike Ipo-ipo, Lagim is vulnerable, he could be hit by bullets. Yet, luck and his double-strength was enough to defend people from the evil forces.
He later saved a boy named Levy who became his sidekick. Possibly influenced by Batman, Lagim even had a sidekick named Levy, whose costume was similar to Robin.

VARGA

In July of 1947, Mars Ravelo created Varga in Bulaklak Maazine. Varga was actually the first Darna, and she also had an alter-ego named Narda. When Ravelo left Bulaklak and was hired in Ace Publications, he re-created Varga and renamed her Darna. Yes, the original Darna was named Varga

In 1950, Darna appeared in Pilipino Komiks, re-created by Mars Ravelo and superbly illustrated by Nestor Redondo. The first story of Darna tells of her battles against the evil Valentina.

A TRADITION OF PINOY KOMIKS SUPERHEROES

More than any other superhero, Darna opened the floodgates of superhero stuff in Philippine comics. Aside from being the first komiks superhero to capture the attention of Pinoy komiks readers, Darna also lay claim as the first superhero to appear in the movies, with Rosa del Rosario in the lead role.

Indeed, throughout the years, Darna's commercial appeal proved her ultimate strength. In the 1970s, there were more movies about her, the top female stars of Philippine movies personifying her like Vilma Santos, Liza Moreno,Anjanette Abayari, to name a few. In mid-1970s, there was even a komiks named solely after her:Darna Komiks.

ENTER CAPTAIN BARBELL

Captain Barbell is another creation of Mars Ravelo, suited for the masculine readers of his komiks. Captain Barbell first appeared in Pinoy Komiks in 1963, and was superbly illustrated by Jim Fernandez.
Captain Barbell Versus Captain Bakal, Pinoy Komiks 1964

Like Darna, Captain Barbell also had an alter-ego named "Tenteng", who is socially disavantaged,i.e., poor, and not very good looking. In the beginning issues of the komiks series, we see Tenteng being maligned by people above his social class, rejected by the woman he loves because he was ugly.
In a society in which the poor outnumbers the rich, Captain Barbell struck a chord among Pinoy komiks readers. Finally, here is a superhero whom they can identify with. Someone whose kindness at heart had blessed him with a superpower, the superior strength and the ability to fly, to help those who are poor and dowtrodden.

Captain Barbell also had his fair share in the movies; his character was personified in the screen by Dolphy, Bob Soler, Herbert Bautista, Edu Manzano, Bong Revilla, and Richard Gutierrez, being the latest.

MARS RAVELO: A KOMIKS SUPERHERO

More than any other komiks writer, it was Mars Ravelo who entrenched the tradition of superheroes in Philippine komiks. He had created more superheroes than any other Filipino comics writer. Yet, one can see that most of his superheroes were rooted from the poor and the disadvantaged, yet gifted with the values that are truly Filipinos. His superheroes are humans too, after all, they have their weaknesses, their human traits, and most of all compassion even for their enemies.

Why would Mars Ravelo concentrate so much on superheroes whose alter-egos are poor and downtrodden? Perhaps the answer lies within his own personal experiences. Mars grew up poor in a poor society. He tells of his experiences that he was so poor he was barely able to go to school. He never finished schooling though. "My teachers never liked me", he said, "And I never liked my teachers".

His first job was a janitor. Ravelo said "In everything I do I wanted to be #1, and when I became a janitor, well, I wanted to become the number 1 janitor"
Well, he did. It was in his personality to give his best in his every endeavor. And so, when he became a komiks writer, he was damned the best among them. Wether it was superhero stuff like Darna, or comedy like Buhay Pilipino, or heavy drama like Roberta, Ravelo was peerless.
I think Ravelo can truly personify his superheroes. He had lived like one.

Mang Mars with wife and kids. Circa 1960s.

A barefooted Mars Ravelo, with two of his children, walking towards his fish pens in Cavite. Circa 1960s.

Captain Barbell

2006-05-29T05:56:00.000-07:00

Okay, I accidentally watched last Monday evening the first episode of GMA-7's much-publicized Captain Barbell TV series. I said "accidentally" because I did not have any plan at all to watch it.

I was deeply disappointed by their Darna tele-version, and I pre-judged that now, GMA-7 will not be able to come up with even a satisfactory rendition of Mars Ravelo's most famous superhero.

I was watching 24 Oras, dozed off a little during Pia Guano's report on Kapuso stars ( plus Mike Enriquez' overacting intro of her) , I was awakened to find myself already watching Captain Barbell. Well, since I'm very comfortable lying on my sofa, why not give it a chance and perhaps see just what GMA-7 has stored for the first episode.

Frankly and honestly, I am very impressed with the first showing. It is fast-paced and superbly edited. But the real strength lies on its special effects. It is not unexpected though, as GMA-7 had repeatedly boasted that they really poured big money towards the production. It is also a strategy to make a big first impression so that the viewers will be sure to come back each evening.

Superman Copy

It is only deplorable that GMA7's Captain Barbell deviated from its original storyline, even though it claimed it is Mars Ravelos' Captain Barbell. Plotwise, there is little similarity to the original Captain Barbell who first debuted in Pinoy Komiks in 1963.

The original Captain Barbell first appeared in Pinoy Komiks in 1963. Written by the great Mars Ravelo, this series was illustrated by Jim Fernandez.

The plot is obviously copied from Smallville, with all the familiar scenes like a spaceship crashing to Earth, with a farm couple rescuing a small boy inside who would be the future Captain Barbell, plus the boy showing feats of unusual power like lifting a tractor and a tree.

But perhaps the most embarrasing copy is the introduction of the Askobar (Asidong Kontra Barbarium), which is of course, an imitation of Superman's Krypton. Like the Krypton, the Askobar is also a crystalline substance and has the power to make Captain Barbell weak. The most ridiculous part is the fact that the General (more or less a copy or Lex Luthor), can defeat Captain Barbell just by holding a piece of krypton in his hand and showing it in the superhero's face, like saying "in your face, Captain Barbell!"

Perhaps it would have been more slightly original if Commander X( the loyal lieutenant of the General) was given a battle suit made up of Askobar to counter the Barbarium suit worn by Captain Barbell.

Generally, though, with all its faults, I liked the first showing of Captain Barbell. I must admit I enjoyed watching it, and has exceeded my expectations, although I just felt a little uneasy with Snooky's wig; it seemed to be always falling from her head.

I congratulate GMA-7 for resurrecting one of Pinoy Komiks most popular superheroes, and I intend to watch it now every evening.

I just love Pinoy Komiks!

Komiks is a Virtual Time Machine

2006-05-25T19:35:00.000-07:00

Recently, a group of students visited my house to interview me for their thesis regarding Philippine Komiks. I think this has been the fifth time I was interviewed by students to help them in their thesis on komiks.

One of the first questions I had to answer was why I collect komiks and not comics? Komiks, of course, refers to Tagalog comics, and comics--well, any english or American comics.

I collected komiks not because of my patriotism, but rather because of the reason that I enjoy reading them. I loved the Tagalog language, it is beautiful, it is poetic, and it is the language I speak and had grown up with.

I loved the stories about some old Philippine legends, myth, or period stories in old musty komiks. Of course the drawings take the second half of the credit. You can't go wrong in a komiks written by Mars Ravelo, Pablo Gomez, and Clodualdo del Mundo, and illustrated by Coching, Redondo, Alcala, or Carrillo.

I never collected American comics even though they are also magnificently illustrated. I just can't identify myself with X-Men, Superman, Batman or the Fantastic Four. I have never read a single American comic book. Even the only one I bought-The Death of Superman-had to be sold cheap in Ebay because I just did not read it. Of course, there is nothing wrong with American comics, only reading it is not just my cup of tea.

For me Tagalog Komiks is a reflection of our rich cultural heritage. Reading it is like riding a virtual Time Machine where you can choose to travel which period in Philippine history you want to go to. 1940s? Read the earliest issues of the Halakhak and Pilipino Komiks.

You want to feel what it was like to live in the 1950? Then read the Hiwaga, Mabuhay, Silangan, or Tagalog Klasiks, and there not only will you find period stories but period advertisements as well when Pepsi-Cola was just 25 centavos a bottle.

The 1960s will be the years of GASI and PSG Publishing and you can read there stories of the roaring 60s, and learn about the fashion of the period: the Beatles, the baston pants, the elevator shoes, the Elvis hairstyle. You will find it all there including past gossips of Pinoy movie stars like Amalia Fuentes, Nora Aunor, Susan Roces, Tirso Cruz and many more.

I think this is something unique to the Tagalog Komiks, that it is a microcosm of Filipino society in general as it had evolved throught the years. By reading komiks, the young ones can experience the years gone by, while the older ones can reminisce the good old days.

That is only one of the reasons why I enjoy reading Tagalog Komiks.

Ruben "Rubeny" Yandoc Comic Art Sale

2006-05-21T23:16:00.000-07:00

I am currently selling some nice Rubeny Yandoc comic pages from the early 1960s. These pages were published in the short-lived KENKOY KOMIKS, as part of the popular Bible series began by Emil Rodriguez in 1959. When Rodriguez left for the U.S., Yandoc took over the series.

Anyone familiar with Philippine comics will notice that there is a marked similarity between the drawing styles of Emil Rodriguez and Rubeny Yandoc in this Bible series. Apparently, Tony Velasquez wanted Yandoc to illustrate using the the same style of Rodriguez, in order to give a sense of continuity to the series.
A chameleon of an artist, Yandoc managed to imitate the lines of Rodriguez, while at the same time injecting the uniqueness of his own style.

Tony Velasquez was greatly impressed, and he gave Yandoc the permanent job of illustrating the series. Says Velasquez "Those Bible pages by Yandoc were some of the best illustrated artworks I have seen as an editor. I was very proud that these artworks appeared in my very own Kenkoy Komiks" Source: Tony Velasquez, Memoirs(unpublished).

Indeed, many consider Yandoc's work in the Bible as one of the finest works in the history of Philippine comics. It was lavishly illustrated, superbly rendered, and magnificently composed. Perhaps Yandoc may not be that good when illustrating westerns or romances, but when it comes to period stories,like the Bible or those familiar cloak and dagger stories, he was simply peerless.

When Yandoc left for the U.S. in the early 1970s to accept regular illustrating jobs in the U.S., the Philippine comics industry lost one of its truly great artists.

According to Comic Book Artist Magazine#4,(published in Sept.2004 in U.S.), Yandoc "undoubtedly had one of the most peculiar styles of the Filipinos, and apparently was an influence on that other arch-stylist, Alex Nino.

Throughout the 70's, he was a constant presence in DC's horror books, drawing an astonishing 130 strips, as well as squeezing in a handful of war stories like weird war tales and Sgt. Rock. He also moonlighted on Warren and Marvel where he contributed to Unknown Worlds of Science Fiction and Marvel Spotlight. Yandoc was a big favorite among the American readers".

Now, collectors will have a chance to own some of these great pages from those Bible series. I have put a "Buy It Now" option so that collectors may be able to spot which page they liked and purchase it instantly, without having to go through the effort of watching, waiting and bidding, and maybe losing at the last minute.

Kindly copy and paste this to your browser to see the auction:

http://www.ebay.ph/viItem?ItemId=6282455027

Be sure to click on the link that says "View Seller's other Items" to see all the pages I'm selling.

These pages would look great framed in a comics library, office or studio. Or simply as a souvenir from one of the great artists of the Golden Age of Philippine Comics.

Pancho Villa: First Filipino World Boxing Champion

2006-05-09T17:54:00.000-07:00

The great symbol of the 1920s era in the Philippines was Pancho Villa, the most brilliant fighter of the period that bred such great boxers as Cabanela, Young Dencio, Frisco Concepcion, Clever Sencio, and the Flores Brothers.

Pancho Villa placed the Philippines on the map by winning boxing laurels abroad, defeating even the toughest flyweights in the United States. His fighting style was characterized by a relentless attack, a raging bull onslaught, and explosive and devastating punches.

His total fights of 105 (some only weeks in between) was a record in itself, elevating him into one of the great fighters in the history of boxing, and certainly one of the greatest Asian brawlers to step on the ring. The prestigious Ring Magazine, the bible of boxing aficionados, ranked Villa as one of the 100 Greatest Boxers of All Time.

Cover for September 1922 issue of Lipang Kalabaw magazine.
Caricature by Fernando Amorsolo.Dennis Villegas collection.

Born Francisco Guilledo in Negros Occidental on August 1, 1901, he adopted the name Pancho Villa from the name of Mexico's famous revolutionary. Villa fought exclusively in the Philippines from 1919 through April 1922, often facing much larger men. In that period of time, he lost only three fights and captured two Filipino titles. In 1922, the American boxing promoter Frank Churchill discovered Villa in one of the amateur fights in Manila. Impressed by the young man's power punches, Churchill took Villa to the United States. The young Filipino fought two no-decision bouts in New Jersey, losing-according to the newspapers, to Abe Goldstein and Frankie Genaro.

The American press and public were at first slow to take notice of Villa. Churchill had difficulty arranging fights in major venues until, for almost no money, he got Villa and another Filipino, Elino Flores, on a card at Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Each fighter won his bout, and the crowd gave Villa a standing ovation.

Cover for a September 1922 issue of Telembang magazine.
Portrait by Fernando Amorsolo.Dennis Villegas magazine collection

Three months after his arrival in the U.S., Villa knocked out American Flyweight champion Johnny Buff in the eleventh round to win the American flyweight title. To catch a glimpse of Villa's devastating attack, here's a very rare footage from his magnificent fight with Buff:

Genaro took the title back in 1923 in a 15-round decision that most observers believed belonged to Villa. Meanwhile, British flyweight champion Jimmy Wilde had come to New York seeking the world title. Wilde was then considered the best flyweight in the world. Although Genaro was a likely opponent, the now wildly popular Villa was considered a better draw.

In the much-anticipated match at New York's Polo Grounds on June 18, 1923, in front of thousands of spectators, Villa and Wilde set out for one of the most exciting fights in boxing history. Villa started slow, while Wilde started fast, throwing power punches that meant to knock-out the Filipino slugger. Villa defended successfully and threw some power punches of his own in retaliation, most of them landing and almost knocked down Wilde. In the second round and onwards, however,Villa started to display his relentless attacking style, peppering Wilde with punches from both hands. In the seventh round, Villa battered Wilde to a state of helplessness, knocking him flat, face down in canvas, ending the fight --and Wilde's career. The 20,000 spectators were ecstatic with Villa's victory--shouting "Viva Villa!" "Viva Villa!"

Here's a very rare footage of that famous bout, now considered one of the greatest slug fests in boxing history:

Pancho Villa caricature by cartoonist Jorge Pineda, Lipang Kalabaw 1923.
Dennis Villegas magazine collection

Villa was known during his time as being one of the cleanest boxers, always showing concern for his opponents and immediately turning away and walking to neutral corner after knocking down his opponent. This was before there was a rule of going to a neutral corner while the downed opponent is being counted by the referee.

Villa returned to the Philippines in September 1924, amidst jubilant reception (of his countrymen, not unlike the ones we do when Manny Pacquiao returns from a successful fight). He was invited for a parade and reception at the Malacanang Palace by then Governor General Leonard Wood, together with some of the big names in Philippine politics--then Senate President Manuel Quezon and House Speaker Sergio Osmena. It was known that General Wood and Senator Quezon were not in good terms, but the presence of the world champion temporarily set aside the personal differences of the two men.

As World Champion, Villa collected into his person all the swank and swagger of the era and the whole country felt an electrifying pride in his rise from rags to riches, his fetish for the most magnificent wardrobe, his expensive silk shirts and fashionable hats, his pearl buttons and gold cuff links, and his regal servants. He had a servant to massage him, another to towel him, a valet to put on his shoes, another to help him put on his trousers, still another valet to comb his hair, to powder his cheeks, and spray him with the most expensive perfume.

The Filipinos adored his extravagance, treating him almost as their crowned king. For a time, Villa was the most beloved figure in the Philippines--he had captured the heart and admiration of his countrymen, and he well thought he deserved it. He was perhaps more idolized as a showman, than as a boxer, and he was conscious of it. Never before had the Filipinos been electrified by the pride that their own kind had become the Champion of the World.

Villa successfully defended his title several times in the U.S. and the Philippines, and for a time, was considered practically invincible in the ring. Before returning to the United States, Villa defeated in Manila another great Filipino boxer, the mighty Clever Sencio. It was destined to be Villa's final victory in the ring--and no one among the thousands of cheering spectators knew it at that time.

In 1925, Villa fought in a non-title bout with Jimmy McLarnin in Oakland, United States. Weak from the recent extraction of a wisdom tooth, Villa lost the decision. It was destined to be his last fight. Another visit to the dentist resulted in the discovery of an infection and the extraction of three more teeth. Villa ignored the dentist's instructions to rest and return for a follow-up visit, and instead indulged in a week-long party.

The infection worsened, and by the time Villa's trainer, Whitey Ekwert, discovered the fighter's distress and rushed him to the hospital, it was too late. Villa died on July 14, 1925, of Ludwig's Angina, an infection of the throat cavity. He was survived by his wife Gliceria*.

Villa's untimely death at the young age of 24 broke the nation's heart. The hysteria that possessed the masses during his funeral was the most feverish of its era. Filipinos openly wailed in the streets while their hero's casket was being borne to its sad destination.

Such was the brief but shining career of one of the greatest Filipino boxers who ever lived.

Pancho Villa's grave inside the Manila North Cemetery.
The grave is being cleaned everyday by a tomb caretaker.

In 1989, Pancho's widow Gliceria- then 84 - insisted that a gambling syndicate conspired to murder the champion because of big losses in the Villa-McLarnin non-title fight. Pancho was a heavy favorite to beat McLarnin and the syndicate placed huge amount of bet to Villa. Mrs. Guilledo claimed that her husband was injected an overdose of anesthetic on instructions of the syndicate*.

In 1994, Villa was inducted posthumously in the International Boxing Hall of Fame, the second Filipino to earn the recognition--after Gabriel "Flash" Elorde.

*NY Times July 15, 1925: Villa "...died at a hospital here [San Francisco] today while undergoing an operation for an infection of the throat that developed from an infected tooth. Dr. C.E. Hoffman said the boxer suffocated under the anesthetic. Dr. Hoffman was preparing to operate when Villa's heart stopped. Artificial respiration failed to revive the patient."

Searching for Jose Zabala-Santos

2006-04-03T18:18:00.000-07:00

I have never met the great cartoonist Jose Zabala-Santos in person. Everything I knew about him I learned from reading articles written about him, and my interviews of his family, friends, and close students, including the famous artists Mauro Malang and Nonoy Marcelo.

In my conversations with the apostles, I learned a great deal about the master. Mauro Malang, one of Zabala-Santos' most devoted apostles, recounts, "As a young cartoonist in the 1950's, I sought out Mang Pepe to learn the techniques of cartooning. You see, he was my idol, and I insisted on calling him "master". I used to buy comics back then but only to clip the comic strips of Mang Pepe and compile them in my notebook. When I found out where he lived, I became a frequent visitor to his house. I would eat there and sometimes even sleep there. He helped me a lot during my early years as a comic artist"

Fine artist Mauro Malang remembers fondly his teacher Jose Zabala-Santos.

Nonoy Marcelo, was still a young kid when he used to frequent the home of the Jose Zabala-Santos. "He's actually my uncle" he said in my interview of him several years back, "my mother is Tio Pepe's sister. Tio Pepe taught me the basics of drawings when I was still a little boy. I think those years I spent learning from him became the foundation of my art as a cartoonist."

Like Mauro Malang and Nonoy Marcelo, I too am fascinated by the late great Jose Zabala-Santos. I want to know more about the master, even if only through the reminiscences of his family. And so one rainy day I decided to go to Malabon, where the great cartoonist lived all his life.

Jose Zabala-Santos lived in an obscure little place in Malabon called Kuatro Kantos. It was not very difficult to find his house as people still fondly remember Mang Pepe even though more than twenty years had passed since he died.

In front of a nearby Sari-sari store, some people were spending idle time to chat and I asked them where Mang Jose "Pepe" Zabala-Santos lived.

"That's the house of Mang Pepe", said one of the older women.

"Mang Pepe was our Santa Claus here" remembered one of the neighbors "he used to distribute candies, toys and coins to the neighborhood kid. Everybody here felt orphaned by a great father when he died. A very kind man"

Another neighbor said,"We cannot say anything against Mang Pepe. He is one of a kind, a poor philanthropist because whatever he has got on his wallet he would willingly give to those who are in need"

The street where Mang Pepe lived.

The house where Mang Pepe lived was simple and modest, a two-story structure of combined wood and concrete that sometimes gets flooded whenever there is high tide. The house is built near the banks of the Malabon River.

The modest and old Zabala Santos home in Kuatro kantos.

I soon met Aling Menrada Zabala-Santos, widow of Mang Pepe. A petite lady in her eighties, Aling Menrada happily welcomed me to their house. She remembers fondly her husband.

"He was a perfect husband", she smiles, "He goes home straight after work. No vices of any kind. During paydays he would buy and distribute candies to these neighborhood kids. On Sundays, he would bring the whole family to the Luneta and we would have a picnic. Everyone was happy. When he died, many people told me I could not find another person like him. Indeed, Pepe was one-of-a kind. He never had a grudge on anyone. He never complains even when his rights was being abused. He was that kind of person"

Mang Pepe's daughter, Lucy joined in the reminiscences of her great father.

"My Tatay" says Lucy "was a very shy person. He was so much unlike his cartoon characters, like the mischievous "Popoy" or the braggart "Lukas Malakas". He always reminded me and my siblings to be always kind to people, not to say anything against anyone. We grew up with those words of wisdom from a great father. We always keep that in mind"

The Zabala Santos Family in 1958.

For me, an image of Jose Zabala-Santos is starting to emerge, an image of a noble man with a serious countenance but who made the nation laugh through his cartoons and his genius in humor.

Jose Zabala Santos was born on July 20, 1911 in Calumpit, Bulacan. His parents, Severino Santos and Leoncia Zabala were of humble origins. The family migrated to Malabon when the father accepted a factory job there. Young Pepe was a quiet child whose childhood hobby was to draw stick figures in paper.

In college, he entered the U.P School of Fine Arts where he met and befriended another great cartoonist, Francisco Reyes, the creator of "Kulafu". It was the beginning of a life-long friendship. Reyes would also become a frequent visitor in Pepe's home. The hospitality of the Zabala-Santos' household was known throughout Malabon. Not surprisingly, a good number of comic artists frequented it, like Liborio Gatbonton, Lib Abrena, Larry Alcala, Romeo Tabuena, and even Tony Velasquez. Yet it was Reyes who visited most of the time. Reyes even became a godfather to one of Zabala-Santos' children, Jimmy.

Francisco Reyes foreground, with his best friend, Jose Zabala Santos at the background

In 1935, Reyes introduced Pepe to Tony Velasquez who was then the art director of the Liwayway magazine. Tony Velasquez gave Pepe his first job as cartoonist in the comics section of the Liwayway.

In the Liwayway, Zabala-Santos created a series of cartoons about a hilarious but half-witted provinciano named Sianong Sano. During that time, Kenkoy was the most popular cartoon character, followed closely by Kulafu and Sianong Sano.

Velasquez immediately noticed Pepe's genius in humor and cartooning, and encouraged him to create other cartoon characters that would be identified with him. Pepe created some of the most popular characters in the history of Philippine cartoons: Popoy, a mischievous but lovable kid like Kenkoy, Lukas Malakas, a chevalier ready to defend ladies, most especially the beautiful ones.

He was also the originator of the Slice of Life cartoon page that was popularized by Larry Alcala, also a one-time apprentice of Mang Pepe.

A Slice of Life cartoon by Jose Zabala Santos. Larry Alcala later borrowed this panoramic cartoon style, and popularized it in the 1980s.

Having become busy with cartooning, Pepe was not able to finish his course at the U.P., but instead studied cartooning in a correspondence course.

After the war, Zabala-Santos joined the creative team of the Halakhak Komiks, where he contributed covers and a "Popoy-like" character named Pinoy. The komiks did not last though and for a few months, Mang Pepe was jobless.

Fortunately, in 1947, when Tony Velasquez founded the Ace Publications, and one of the first cartoonists he invited to contribute was Jose Zabala-Santos. "Pepe is a cartoonist I admire deeply" said Velasquez "I liked his style."

Pilipino Komiks #3. Cartoon art by Jose Zabala Santos. This revealed the great esteem of Tony Velasquez to Jose Zabala Santos. Velasquez gave Zabala Santos cover job for one of the early issues of Pilipino Komiks.

Jose Zabala Santos cover art for Pilipino Komiks #5 1947

Velasquez and Zabala-Santos truly can relate and connect with each other on so many levels. Both were almost of the same age (Velasquez was only a year older). Both were timid and taciturn by nature, yet both were geniuses in their chosen fields.

Incidentally, Tony Velasquez was also taking up correspondence course in cartooning in almost at the same time that Zabala-Santos was, and Velasquez joked, "Pepe and I were really classmates you know, and we both studied under the guidance of the Postman"

In later years, when Martial Law was imposed in the country by President Marcos, Velasquez and Zabala-Santos(independently of each other) retired from cartooning in comics.

Remembers Velasquez "It was not a great time to be a cartoonist. And then I learned my friend Pepe retired also, so I thought I made a timely decision"

Jose "Pepe" Zabala-Santos, self-portrait 1973.

During the Martial Law, Francisco Reyes invited Zabala-Santos to work in Philippine Manufacturing Company that later became the Procter and Gamble (and still later, Unilever). The pay was meager but it was enough to sustain Mang Pepe's family. Fortunately by this time, Zabala-Santos' six children were already graduated from college so they were able to help in the family finances.

Says Aling Menrada "Pepe struggled hard to send all our children to school through his income as a cartoonist. Look, they are all professionals now!".

Mang Pepe's daughter Lucy, a librarian, was once offered an opportunity to work in the United States. She wanted to go but her father would not want her to.

Remembers Lucy "Tatay said why should I work for another country? It did not matter to him if I would be getting more income working in the U.S than working here. He told me that we should all serve our poor country first before serving other more wealthy countries. We always lived a simple life, but we are very happy together, with what simple things we have. And so I did not go".

Aling Menrada remembers a time during the 1980s when Mang Pepe received a bonus pay from Procter and Gamble. "You know" Aling Menrada tells me, "he came home one day and had this wad of bills in his hand and he told me: 'Look Menring, this money was just given to me. Let's change this into smaller bills and give it to our neighbors kids. And so we distributed the money to these kids and everyone in the neighborhood was happy"

Sometime in the early 1970s , Mang Pepe created for Procter and Gamble an animated cartoon commercial for Purico, the very first animated cartoon TV commercial. It was the first of its kind in the Philippines. Later on he created an animated cartoon about the folk-legend of Juan Tamad. These were the very first animated cartoons created by a Filipino.

All this time, he never left cartooning. He always carried a pencil and blank sheets of paper and he would draw sketches of people inside Jeepneys, markets, streets. One time he was riding in a jeepney and he sketched the face of the woman in front of him. The woman did not recognize him and complained that she did not want her face sketched by a stranger. Fortunately, Mang Pepe was already through with the sketch, signed it and gave it to the woman. When the woman saw the name Jose Zabala Santos, she profusely said her apologies to the master.

In 1984, in recognition of the immense civic and cultural contribution of Zabala-Santos to the town of Malabon, the local government conferred on him the Ginintuang Parangal Award of Malabon, the highest award given to outstanding citizens of Malabon.

When he later retired from Procter and Gamble, Mang Pepe was hired as art director of the Metro Manila Commission under Presidential daughter Imee Marcos. Nonoy Marcelo, his nephew, and a close associate of Imee, recommended him for the post.

The MMC was ill-budgeted though(or more correctly, the budget was corrupted by its officials) so Mang Pepe struggled hard for months commuting from Malabon to Intramuros(where the MMC offices where located) with his own money because the pay was delayed for months. But Mang Pepe always went to work as usual without complain. The everyday stress of commuting took its toll.

One day in 1985, he went to work as usual but felt something badly wrong the whole day. During the evening, at home, he suffered a massive stroke. He was rushed to the hospital but the doctors gave a grim prognosis. Mang Pepe was comatose and the only thing that kept him alive were the tubes and machines inserted through his mouth and nostrils. After two months of this ordeal, the great comic artist passed away on September 7, 1985.

Aling Menrada Zabala-Santos, when the author interviewed her in their house in Kuatro Kantos, Malabon. She says of her husband:"I only have the happiest memories of him. I'm so very fortunate to have had such a loving and devoted husband. I miss him so much".

Komiks and the Movies Update 3

2006-03-30T06:15:00.000-08:00

Vintage Philippine literary and movie magazines are rich references for identifying komiks serials that had been made into the movies.
I am very fortunate to acquire a good number of these old magazines from the 1920s to the 1950s, a rich minefield of information about our rich comics and movie heritage. Reading these vintage magazines provides me with the feeling of travelling through a Time Machine wherin I could get a glimpse of the olden days even decades before I was born.

My project on "Komiks and the Movies" is really getting exciting as I unearth more rare materials long since been considered extinct. As a komiks and magazine collector, I know how difficult it is to find these materials. Yet, through the years, I have not stopped hunting them in antique shops, Ebay auctions, flea markets, etc. Right now, I have more than 2,000 pieces of old Tagalog komiks and original comic art, and some 300 vintage magazines/songhits.

To my knowledge, there is no existing komiks library or gallery of comics and original comic art in the Philippines, or indeed anywhere else in the world. The National Library formerly has a good number of bound tomes of old komiks donated to them by Lope K. Santos, but all of these(save a two or three tomes) have mysteriously disappeared from their shelves.
The remaining two or three tomes are either in bad condition or very bad condition, with several pages torn or missing. It seemed that librarians have a discrimination towards comics, and they tend to treat it as reading materials "without research value". I found otherwise, reading komiks gives me a profound and unique look on Philippine culture I would not normally find on some boring textbooks.

Anyway, here are some more new finds for my project "komiks and the Movies". I will only concentrate on the Golden years of Philippine comics which, incidentally also coincides with the Golden years of Philippine movies (roughly the years 1947-72). It seemed that the fall of the komiks industry also advresely hurt the Philippine movie industry. I hope that this humble project finds itself in a pictorial book that is currently gestating in my mind.

Goldiger by Dominador Ad Castillo and Nestor Redondo. Serialized in the Manila Klasiks 1953

Oops, before we continue, let's give way to a little commercial from Ginebra San Miguel. The man on the ad says:"Ang Ginebra San Miguel at ako ay malaon ng magkaibigan, at ang aming pagsasamahan ay mananatili hanggang sa wakas ng panahon". Hehe Lasenggo pala ito.

Nemesio Caravana's Kambal sa Sinukuan. Serialized in the comics section of Ilang-Ilang Magazine 1951

Rosa Rossini by Mars Ravelo. Serialized in the Espesyal Komiks, 1959

Severino Reyes' Mga Kwento ni Lola Basyang first appeared as prose fiction in the Liwayway in 1923. These wonderful stories were later adapted into comics by Severino Reyes' son, Pedrito Reyes, in the Tagalog Klasiks Komiks.

A commercial from our sponsor, Omega watches. Only 22 pesos in 1923. From the Lipang Kalabaw magazine 1923. Call La Estrella del Norte department store at tel #250 or #251. Offer is good while supplies last. Magkano kaya ang buong tindahan ng La Estrella del Norte noon, gusto ko ng bilhin e sa sobrang mura.

Tumbando Cana by Mars Ravelo. Serialized in the Tagalog Klasiks Komiks, 1956

Double-Cross by Francisco V. Coching. Serialized in the Espesyal Komiks, 1956.

Another advertisement, this time from the old reliable Alhambra Regaliz Mahaba. This cigarillo is a favorite of old women in the provinces who smoke it with the burning end inside their mouths while chewing Nga-nga or playing tong-its, hehe. Only 30 centavos per pack in 1954.

Sawa sa Lumang Simboryo by Amado Yasona and Hugo Yonzon. Serialized in the Mabuhay Komiks 1952. This movie received the first ever FAMAS Best Picture Award in 1952.

Anak ng Bulkan by Jose Domingo Karasig. Serialized in the comics section of the Liwayway, 1959. I have watched this movie several times during its reruns in Channel 5 on afternoon weekends. Starring Fernando Poe Jr. Poignant story of a little boy's friendship with a gentle giant bird. The little boy was Ace Vergel as a kid.

Tony Velasquez' Kalibapi Family Cartoons

2006-03-28T17:08:00.000-08:00

During the Japanese occupation (1942-44), Tony Velasquez created a series of cartoons called “The Kalibapi Family” published weekly in the Japanese-controlled Tribune newspaper. These cartoons told the everyday life of a typical Filipino family in Manila during the Japanese occupation, and as such, should supposedly portray the new social order of the Philippines under the aegis of the Japanese Empire. The Japanese knew well the influence of cartoons on the mind of people, and they intend to utilize it to propagandize their occupation agenda.

The Kalibapi Family’s title was derived from the KALIBAPI or the Kapisanan ng Paglilingkod sa Bagong Pilipinas (Society for the service to the New Philippines), a Japanese sponsored socio-cultural-political party for serving the new Philippines under the aegis of Japan’s Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. It was founded in November 19, 1942, under Executive Order No. 109, issued by Jorge Vargas, the Chairman of the Philippine Executive Commission. All other political parties were dissolved.

The party’s ultimate aim was to “unify the Filipinos, regardless of social class, sex, rank, or religion, in order to achieve, with the cooperation of the Japanese Military Administration, the reconstruction of the country and to reinvigorate in the people oriental values such as faith, self-reliance, respect and hard work” Source: A.V.H. Hartendorp, The Japanese Occupation of the Philippines, Bookmark, 1969

Like all others employed by the Japanese, Velasquez became member of the Kalibapi party. By 1943, there were already some 500,000 members of the Kalibapi. Source: Augusto De Viana, Kulaburetor! UST Press, 2003

The Kalibapi Family cartoons first appeared on a January 1943 issue of the Tribune. As earlier mentioned, these cartoons were supposed to be a propaganda material to serve the Japanese purposes, but Velasquez wisely managed to evade portraying it to be such.

In my readings of the Kalibapi cartoons, I have not seen anything that would make it appear as pro-Japanese or even remotely a propaganda material.

The first cartoon depicts the Japanese policy o "Philippinizing" the country, an attempt to throw away the acquired materialistic values we inhereted from the Americans. It is an attempt by the Japanese to empahsize on their propaganda "Asia for Asians, and Philippines for Filipinos"
The second cartoon show what can possibly happen if one is to hoard things to make profits in the future.

Actually, Velasquez “cheated” the Japanese Censors in this comic strip--and he got away with it. Instead of creating propaganda cartoons that portrayed the moral justification of the Japanese occupation, he portrayed the inherent qualities of the Filipino people in times of distress.

This cartoon escaped the supposedly keen eye of the Japanese military censors. By using an analogy to a captive bird, this cartoon plainly stated the Filipinos' desire for freedom. Had the Japanese noticed this, Velasquez would surely have been incarcerated in the Fort santiago.

Filipino values like pagtitiis, pagtitipid, and pagiging magalang were recurring themes in the cartoons. These, of course, did not conflict with the original aims of the Kalibapi Party, which only vaguely benefited the interests of the Japanese.

Another frequent theme in the comic strip focused on the malicious profiteering of some greedy Filipinos who took advantage of the current scarcity of basic necessities.

These two cartoon strips depicted the malicious profiteering of some Filipinos' during the hardest days of the Second World War.

It was remarkable that this strip was able to pass the approval of the Japanese censors. In fact, had it not been a time of war, the Kalibapi Family may well have passed for an educational comic strip intended for Filipino school children.

Velasquez’ fellow writers in Liwayway also tricked the Japanese. They would weave stories of heroism of Filipino guerrillas in between lines and pages that contained Japanese propaganda. Since these stories were written in Tagalog, the unwary Japanese thought they were publishing “excellent” propaganda materials.

Working for the Japanese was not particularly pleasant to Velasquez, and he still harbored hopes that the Americans would soon return to liberate the Philippines.

He admitted though that the Japanese showed some deference to him presumably because of his reputation as an artist, and not the least because of his popularity with the reading masses. For the meantime, he decided that it was best to serve the country in the best way he could, without compromising his patriotism. The complete originals of the Kalibapi Family that were published in the Japanese-controlled Tribune newspaper. Author's collection.

Alfredo Alcala's Voltar

2006-03-25T04:48:00.000-08:00

Whenever I gaze at the pages of Voltar, I often wonder at the sheer magnitude of Alfredo Alcala's power. I would then shake my head in utter disbelief of how an illustrator could be able to capture so dramatic a composition even the most talented photographer could fail to capture in real life.

From my conversations with several of Alcala's friends and contemporaries, I gathered that Alcala often preferred to be alone while drawing his comics. He would shut himself for several days, often with only a few hours of sleep in between, in order to create the comics masterpieces that he became famous for.

In those days, Alcala was known as the most indefatigable Filipino illustrator. He would churn out at least eighty pages of comics pages in a week's time. The quality never suffers though, as evidenced by the innumerable classic artworks that have come out from his brush and ink in almost the same time.

Alcala's classic works in Philippine comics like Voltar, Guerrero, Barracuda, Tres Ojos, Okleng, Cuatro Vidas, Kasaysayan ng Paglipad, Battleship Yamato, and so many more bore the real essence of the master's idiosyncrasies. He could put himself into any era and for sure there will be no mistake in costumes, atmosphere and ambience. The drawings are so all intricately rendered you wondered wether they were in fact, artworks of Gustave Dore's engravers.

Certainly no other Filipino artist could duplicate the great energy of Alfredo Alcala. Indeed, he is a loner, as some of his contemporaries may say, but it is because he was the only one who could do what he was able to do.

For your viewing pleasure, here are some of his immortal pages from the Voltar serialized novel that was published in his own comic book, Alcala Fight Komix in 1964. Alcala's Voltar predates Howard's Conan in comics form, and it is, according to the Comic Book Artist Magazine "one of the most magnificent adventures to have been written and drawn in comics".

I would like to thank my friend Manuel Auad of Auad Publishing for the gift of several original Alcala pages, including a very nice original Voltar page shown in the last image below. Manuel Auad is the writer of Alcala's Voltar (and the Buccaneers of the Skull Planet) that had been published by Magic Carpet in 1977. Thanks so much for your thoughtfulness, Noli!

A gift from Mr. Manuel Auad, publisher of Auad Publishing. Thanks so much Noli!

Komiks and the Movies Update (2)

2006-03-22T23:53:00.000-08:00

Here are some more new finds for my pet project Komiks and Movies:

Guwapo by Carlos Gonda(Pablo S. Gomez). Serialized in Espesyal Komiks 1954.

Ifugao by Cirio H. Santiago and Alfredo Alcala. Serialized in the Hiwaga Komiks 1956.

Ooops, just a little advertisement from our dear sponsor Pepsi-Cola. Only 15 centavos per bottle in 1949. Ang Lugod ko..Mabuhay! Hehe

Pulot-Gata by Francisco V. Coching. Serialized in Pilipino Komiks 1954

Mariang Sinukuan by Narciso Asistio. Serialized in the Bulaklak 1953

Another commercial, this time from our dear sponsor Lifebuoy, the soap of the stars! 1955

Salabusab by Francisco V. Coching. Serialized in the Liwayway 1956

Jimmy Boy by Manuel Ramirez. Serialized in Pilipino Komiks 1956

Known as the "Great Profile", Leopoldo Salcedo was the King of Philippine Movies during the Golden Years of Philippine Cinema. He was also known as the Rudolph Valentino of the Philippines. Es muy guapito y simpatico.

Zafra by Conde Val Pierre. Serialized in Bulaklak Express Komiks 1958

Hagad by Amado Yasona. Serialized in the Mabuhay Komiks 1954

Time out for a little advertisement from our friendly sponsor, Cashmere Bouquet. Only 25 centavos in 1954.

Asintado by Clodualdo del Mundo and Fred Carrillo. Espesyal Komiks 1958

Vintage Magazines from the 1940s and the 1950s.

Alex Nino Comic Art Gallery 4

2006-03-20T20:36:00.000-08:00

La Bamba is a serialized comics novel written by Pablo S. Gomez( who used the pseudonym Rene Rosales) and illustrated by Alex Nino in Planet Komiks in 1972.

The story revolves around the fierce rivalry of twin sisters (one is fat, the other is thin) for the love of Dante, a policeman. The twin sisters (known as the La Bamba sisters) kill for money in order to lavish gifts for Dante, who did not like them nor accept their gifts. Moreover, he long suspects that the twin sisters were responsible for the number of killings that have mysttified the police. When Dante had gathered enough proof to arrest the two, it was already too late, because the twin sisters already killed each other out of jealousy.

These originals and all the others that I have posted in this blog, are from my own collection of original comic art. I do not have yet a large scanner capable of scanning large originals such as these ones, so what I did was just to photograph them indoors using a compact digital camera, which explains why some portions of the images may look dark, or out of line. The originals themselves are well-preserved in a smoke-free environment.

To my numerous friends and blog neighbors who sent emails requesting for large scans, I have to decline because I have no time really scanning large artworks with my small scanner, and stitching them with one another. However, you can borrow any image you may want from this site. When I'm able to purchase a big scanner, I'd be more than happy to share with you my collection. I really intend to make this website a humble contribution to a better appreaciation and understanding of Filipino comic art heritage.

LA BAMBA: First Issue, Planet Komiks #104 1972

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Page 5

Detail of Page 1

Nestor Redondo: Illustrator Par Excellence

2006-03-17T18:00:00.000-08:00

As an admirer of comic art, I have familiarized myself with the drawing styles of great Filipino comics artists. These Filipino comics artists have made a name not only in the Philippines but also throughout the world where their names grace some of the most popular comics in the United States.

One of the greatest Filipino illustrators to have graced the pages of American comics was the brilliant Nestor Redondo.

Nestor Redondo's earlier works in Philippine comics had established a multitude of following among Filipino comics illustrators and fans. Although it would be in the Darna series where Redondo first gained prominence as an artist, yet I believe that the years 1952-57 were the peak years of his illustrative prowess.

Original cover art of Hiwaga Komiks #29 by Nestor Redondo, for the graphic serial "Raul Roldan", written by Mars Ravelo. From the author's collection.

His works on Ang Signo, Raul Roldan, and Serafin Arkangel during these years are perhaps some of the best comic arts to have graced the pages of Philippine comics.

His further works in the United States established him as one of the world's finest illustrators.

NESTOR REDONDO IN THE UNITED STATES

Nestor Redondo's first major work in the United States was the Swamp Thing, where he took over illustrating the mysterious mossy giant when the equally talented Berni Wrightson left the series.

While regular Swampy readers are still divided over which artist is the better between the two, it is clear from the start that Redondo was the best Wightson replacement. Comic Guide reviews the stark difference between Wrigthson's evocative drawing style against Redondo's realistic renditions of human figures. "Redondo's style was in complete contrast with Wrightson's" says editor Frank Plowright, "yet Redondo's style was also very accomplished".

The Comic Guide, edited by Frank Plowright. A critical refrence guide to collectable comics.

A couple of issues later, it was Len Wein who left the creative team (apparently out of difference with DC management) and David Michelinie took over as Swamp Thing writer. The new team of David Michelinie and Redondo had their classic moments in the continuing saga of the Swamp Thing, and Redondo would remain Swampy's illustrator for a total of 12 issues.

Cover: Swamp Thing #13, Nestor Redondo

After Swamp Thing, Redondo illustrated the Rima the Jungle Girl, which according to Comic Guide is Nestor Redondo's finest work. "Redondo's version of the South American jungles is a terra incognita full of sinous big cats and snakes, his Rima a ghostly figure of who is both majestic and innocence"
To top it all, Rima's covers were graced by none other than Joe Kubert, who had since then become one of Redondo's great admirers. Says Plowright, "Rima is one of DC's great, yet overlooked masterpieces"

The Comic Book Artist Magazine described Redondo's first double splash page of Rima as one of Redondo's finest examples of illustrative prowess.

"It is one of the most beautiful beginnings of any comic books to have been published", says the magazine. There were all in all seven Rima comic books that had been published.

A panel page from Rima the Jungle Girl. The series lasted seven issues.

Perhaps privy to Joe Orlando and Joe Kubert( yet of course, unknown to American comics readers) was the fact that even more than twenty years before, Redondo had already created a similar character to Rima, in the character of Diwani, published in the Hiwaga Komiks in 1951. It was a popular serial in the Hiwaga Komiks, so popular it had been made into a movie starring Alicia Vergel, then one of the Philippine's most popular actresses.

Diwani, the first jungle-girl created by Nestor and Virgilio Redondo in the Hiwaga Komiks.
Another cover by Redondo in Hiwaga Komiks #35 for the popular Diwani serial.

Redondo's next project with DC was the comics adaptation of the Bible, as scripted by Sheldon Mayer and edited by Joe Kubert.

Working on the lay-outs of Kubert, Redondo presented the Bible into "a wholly engaging panoramic scale of spectacular proportions. Redondo excelled himself in providing page after page of detailed, almost baroquely intricate tableux, making full use of thje comic's large format...for fans of great art, this is a must".(source: Comic Guide, edited by Frank Plowright)

After the Bible, Redondo engaged in numerous drawing assignments for several U.S. comics companies including Marvel and Warren. One of his best works was a portfolio of Conan paintings that have been much admired internationally.

The great contributions of Nestor Redondo as illustrator par excellence was fully recognized by the Americans when he was honored with the Inkpot Award during the 1979 San Diego Comics Convention. He was, so far, one of the only four Filipinos to have been honored with this prestigious award. The other two, of course, were Alex Nino, Alfredo Alcala, and Ernie Chan.

Nestor Redondo is undoubtedly ranks among the world's finest illustrators, and although he had been honored several times in the Philippines and the United States, yet he always remained humble and meek as an artist and gentleman, a fact that doubly endeared him to so many of his friends and admirers.

He passed away in 1995.

Sonny Trinidad Gallery of Original Comic Art

2006-03-16T16:43:00.000-08:00

Sonny Trinidad is one of the all-time great illustrators in Philippine comics history. As one of Marvel Comics' mainstay Conan artists in the early 1970s, Trinidad proved himself one of the favorite Filipino artists of the great John Romita Sr.(then editor of Marvel Comics) and John Buscema, whose pencils he frequently inked over.
This present gallery of Conan pin-ups, Sarkhan, barbarians, and women warriors, is actually a preview of the forthcoming portfolio of Trinidad comic art to be published later this year.
/>Super Double splash page: Conan to the rescue

Barbarian women

After the drinking spree

Battling the Turks

Barbarian Queen

Conan the Barbarian in a classic pose

Sarkhan rescuing the slaves

Duel to the Death

Sonny Trinidad: Self-Portrait

Emilio Rodriguez' Moses:Elevating the Art of the Comics

2006-03-12T18:08:00.000-08:00

I consider Emilio Rodriguez' comic adaptation of Ang Kasaysayan ni Moises(The Story of Moses) one of the finest illustrations in the history of Philippine comics. Indeed, even Tony Velasquez, the Father of Philippine Comics, said that he considered Rodriguez at the top of his form when illustrating the Moses series.
All in all, Rodriguez illustrated eleven Bible series, Kasaysayan ni Abraham, Isaac at Jacob, Noe, Haring David, Ruth, Sta. Maria, Samson, Propeta Eliseo, Samuel, Moises, and Josue. All of these were brilliantly illustrated, but in Moses, he simply surpassed himself.
In fact, Rodriguez entered one of the splash pages of Moses (the page where Moses parted the Red Sea) as entry in the first art contest of SPIC( Society of Philippine Illustrators and Cartoonists), and won unanimously against some of the more veteran Filipino comic artists, including the greats Nestor Redondo and Fred Alcala.

Although Rodriguez was unable to complete the Bible series because of his going abroad, yet this series would be the one true mark of his genius as an artist.
Born in Sorsogon, in the Philippines, Rodriguez attended the University of the Philippines' School of Fine Arts where he graduated Summa Cum laude. Upon graduation, Larry Alcala, then Dean of the UP College of Fine Arts, hired Rodriguez as professor in the college. During this time, Rodriguez experimented with abstract paintings which he mainly give as gifts to friends and colleagues. Sometime in the late 1950s, Alcala recommended Rodriguez to Velasquez to work in comics.
Impressed by the young man's superior drawing skills, Velasquez assigned him with the Bible series being adapted into comics by Angel Ad Santos. The Bible series was a hark back into the olden days of making comics, devoid of conversation ballons that too often clutter in the panel.
In the middle of the series, however, Rodriguez was granted Fulbright scholarship, which involved further studies to the United States.
Unable to finish the Bible series, the job was handed over to Rubeny Yandoc, who was highly influenced by the drawing style of Rodriguez. Rubeny, for his part, excelled in his own way in this remarkable series, a can be seen in my previous post on him.

In the United States, Rodriguez worked for Gold Key and Treasure Chest publications, but soon found other more high-paying jobs in car companies like Chrysler and Rolls Royce, where he designed cars. He then retired from drawing comics. (source: Tony Velasquez' memoirs; and my interview with Rico Rival, Sonny Trinidad, and Hal Santiago, Rodriguez' friends, fellow artists, and contemporaries in the Philippines).

Joemarie Lee, a veteran Filipino comics writer and a compatriot of Rodriguez, informed me that Rodriguez became increasingly reclusive and was not heard of again even by some of his friends in the Philippines. Even now, some friends are still trying to get in touch with him but no one knew where he lives.

Reprinting the Originals in Graphic Book Form

I am planning to publish these original works as complete graphic adaptations of the Bible if my finances allow it in the near future, or if I can strike a deal with some interested publisher, who can market it in schools. The originals of Moses are complete (50 pages)and each page is in a high state of preservation.
I will feature in this blog the complete Moses series as illustrated by Emil Rodriguez at the height of his drawing prowess. His lines are simple yet beautiful and dynamic, his renderings intricate, and his compositions peerless. Indeed, this is comic art at its best.

Splash page of Moses

Detail of the Splash Page

Detail II

Page 2

Page 3

Detail of Page 3

Page 4

Detail of Page 4

Last Page

TO BE CONTINUED

Alex Nino Comic Art Gallery 3

2006-03-11T17:35:00.000-08:00

Malagim na Wakas (Horrific End) Writer: Tennessee Francel(pseudonym of Dadie S. Gomez); Illustrator: Alex Nino. These are original comic art pages. Complete story.

Published in the United Komiks #139, 1969 as part of the very popular series “Mga Kuwento ni Bruhilda” (Tales of Bruhilda the Witch).

Synopsys: The setting is the town fair or “Perya” or “Karnabal” in the Philippines. A holdupper kills a man and he is chased by the police. He finds that the best way to hide is to mix himself with the throng of people in the karnabal. The police still managed to see him though and the chase is resumed.
The holdupper finds a perfect hiding place in a storage room of the circus magician. He hides inside a chest used by the magician for one of his tricks, the one being pierced by several swords.
As the holdupper felt he was perfectly safe in his hiding place, two men enter the storage room, discussing the magician’s superb trick. One of the men, mystified how the chest trick was done, raised a sword and inserted it into the chest instantly killing the holdupper. They heard a scream but thought it came from the karnabal, never knowing that they have accidentally killed an evil man.

Page 1: The setting of the story is the town fair or "Karnabal"

Page 2: A holdupper kills a man and is chased by the police. The holdupper finds that the best place to hide is the karnabal where he can mix with throngs of people.

Page 3. The police managed to see him though, and the chase is resumed. The holdupper finds a perfect hiding place in a magician's storage room. He hides inside the magician's chest, the one being used with the sword trick. The police did not see him.

Page 4: Two men enter the storage room, discussing how the magician was able to insert several swords into the chest without killing the apprentice. Mystified by the trick, one of the men raised a sword and struck it in the chest, not knowing that there is an evil man inside. The holdupper is instantly killed. A horrific end for an evil man.

Ruben "Rubeny" Yandoc Comic Art Gallery

2006-03-09T17:28:00.000-08:00

All the images that appear herein and my earlier posts on are photographed from my collection of original comic art. I still don't have a big scanner that would fit originals with the size of 11 inches by 14 inches. Some of my Yandoc originals are super double splash pages (14x23 inches) that would take a lot of scanning to produce the whole image. So if you see that some of the images are a bit cropped or badly lighted, please let it be known that these images are not scans, but photographs of comic art originals. The originals themselves are well preserved and taken cared of in a smoke-free environment.

Cover art for Manila Klasiks Komiks #64, 1953.

Splash Page for issue #2 of the Bible series "Prophet Daniel". I consider this series as one of the best output of Yandoc as illustrator.

Barbarians in the thick of the battle.

Meshach, Shadrach and Abed Nego-friends of Daniels's- are ordered thrown into the pit of burning fire and sulfur by King Nebuchadnezzar. The angel of the Lord rescued them and not a hair or skin of them were singed by the fire. The King ordered them out, recognized the Lord's awesome power, and gave the three high positions in his government.

Ruben Yandoc's superior composition make him into one of the most exciting illustrators in the history of Philippine comics. Indeed, when it comes to period pieces such as the Bible series in Kenkoy Komiks, Rubeny Yandoc is simply peerless.

A super double splash page from "Prophet Daniel" series in Kenkoy Komiks. 1961.

Another super double splash page, this time from the book of "Eliseo".

Alex Nino Comic Art Gallery 2

2006-03-09T11:34:00.000-08:00

Si Dante at ang Kapre(Dante and the Kapre). Written by Carlo J. Caparas, illustrated by Alex Nino. This story was published in the United Komiks in 1968, and was part of the very popular series called "Mga Kuwento ni Bruhilda"(The Tales of Bruhilda).

Note: In Philippine lower mythology, the Kapre is portrayed as a gigantic tobacco-smoking creature that usually resides in large bushy trees, terrorizing people who happens to come close during nightime. People who go into wake or haranas are usually the ones who see Kapre at night.

Synopsis: Barrio X is being terrorized by a Kapre who demanded that they give him a monthly tribute of tobacco or he would wreak havoc in town.
The townsfolk reported the Kapre to the local authorities but the Kapre was clever to hide when the police came to town. After the police had left, the Kapre kidnaps Biday, the daughter of the Barrio captain and made her his slave.
Dante, Biday's fiance, was determined to rescue Biday, even if it meant risking his own life. One moonlit night, he intrepidly sought the Kapre's hideout, and made a pact with the Kapre that he would bring the latter a monthly supply of good-tasting tobacco, in exchange for his permission to visit Biday in captivity.
The Kapre loved the tobacco presented to him by Dante, and he demanded more, not knowing that Dante's tobacco was filled with opium. In short, Dante plans to make the Kapre a dope addict, and thereby making him slave to his every wish.

Page 1. The Kapre terrorizes Barrio X, demanding a monthly tribute of Tobacco from the townsfolk

Page2. The townsfolk reports the Kapre to local police authorities, but the clever Kapre did not let himself be seen during the police's arrival. After the police left, the Kapre kidnaps Biday. Dante plans to rescue Biday.

Page 3. Dante makes a pact with the Kapre that he would bring the latter a monthly supply of tobacco in excahnge for his permission to visit Biday regularly. The Kapre loves Dante's tobacco which, unknown to him, were filled with opium as a clever plan of Dante to destroy the Kapre.

Last Page. The Kapre becomes a dope addict.... hehe. Dante knows that it is only a matter of time before the Kapre succumbs to self-destruction.

Published in the United Komiks, 1968.

Alex Nino Gallery of Philippine Comic Art

2006-03-09T10:25:00.000-08:00

Agwat ng Pag-Ibig (Love Differences) written and illustrated by Alex Nino. One of the few Alex Nino stories to have been published in Philippine comics, this story proves that Nino is also a great story teller. The art has the usual flair and impressive rendering which is a hallmark of a Nino artwork. Published in the Planet Komiks, 1968.

Synopsis of the story: Pekto long suspects that his wife Lucia is having an affair with another man(Delfin). It was proven one day when, upon arriving arriving at their house, he found that Lucia had eloped with Delfin.
He discovered that the two were hiding in a villa owned by Lucia's sister Magda, who explained to Pekto that he and Lucia are really not suited for each other because of the great difference between them. The difference lie not in material wealth (as was wexpectd by the reader) but in the fact that Pekto was aswang, while Lucia(and her sister Magda and bethrothed Delfin) was a vampire.

Page 1. Pekto discovers that his wife Lucia had eloped with Delfin

Page 2: Lucia and Delfin seek shelter in Lucia's sister Magda's villa

Page 3. Pekto confronts Magda and demanded Lucia return to her. Magda explains that even in the beginning Pekto should have known that he and Lucia were really not suited to one another.

Last Page. Indeed, Pekto and Lucia are not suited for one another because he is an aswang, while Lucia (as well as Magda and Delfin) was a vampire.

Komiks and the Movies Update

2006-03-07T12:29:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the new finds for my ongoing research on Philippine comics and movies. Some are Filipino movie posters, ads, and flyers. I found that the best sources for these things are old Filipino movie-magazines called "Ilang-Ilang", "Silahis" and "Literary Song-Movie Magazine". All these magazines are now defunct, but my old folks told me they were very popular reading materials during their younger years.
Anyway, I got a bunch of these vintage magazines from my antique sources in Cubao. Browsing them revealed some of the most exciting finds a researcher like me could only dream to rediscover. Here are some of them:

Mariposa by Mars Ravelo, 1956. Gloria Romero and Ric Rodrigo were considered one of the most succeful love-teams during the Golden Years of philippine Movies.

Eskrimador by Clodualdo del Mundo Sr. 1956

Ukala by Alfredo Alcala, 1954

Kalabog and Bosyo by Larry Alcala 1959

Eva Dragon by Pablo S. Gomez. According to Gomez, Eva Dragon is the first starring role of Fernando Poe Jr. 1959

Tanikalang Apoy by Pablo S. Gomez. 1959

Ramir by Jess Jodloman 1959

Vintage magazines like these provide us not only of the knowledge of our past movie stars, they also provide us with a glimpse of the beautiful olden days.

A Note on a Francisco V. Coching Cover Art

2006-03-07T09:29:00.000-08:00

I have recently been looking through my files of old Tagalog comics when I came across an old copy of Pilipino Komiks from the year 1956. The cover featured an artwork by my favorite illustrator, the great Francisco V. Coching, for his serialized graphic novel Gigolo.I felt that this cover looked somewhat familiar, that I’ve seen this before. I checked my original files and I found this cover art for a 1946 Silahis Magazine.

Curious, I had shown this original cover to Mrs. Filomena Coching (Coching’s wife), and she told me that this cover actually portrays her and her husband, although they did not let the editor of the magazine know that it was them. Then this cover art is actually one of the few Coching self-portraits (plus a portrait of his wife) that the master did during his prolific years in comics.

Looking back at the Pilipino Komiks cover, it is obvious that this is a remake of the 1946 Silahis cover drawn exactly ten years before. Yet, this really puzzles me because the two figures in the Pilipino Komiks cover no longer resembled Coching and his wife. Then two figures look to me more like a young Fernando Poe Jr., and Susan Roces, years before they first met!

An added mystery is the fact that Coching later became a close friend of Fernando Poe, the latter even starring in the former’s movie adaptation of Pusakal.

A Tradition of Great Filipino Comic Art

2006-02-26T19:17:00.000-08:00

The comics pages that we hold in our hands are literally artworks that have been printed on paper. Prior to printing, these comics pages are known as original comic art, expertly drawn by the illustrator to visualize the writer’s story.

The standard original art is a bristol board with the usual size of 11x14 inches. In Philippine comics, a story (wakasan) is usually four to five pages in length (The serial-or itutuloy- is also usually divided into four or five-page parts)

The cover art is usually the most special page in the comics. The great Francisco V. Coching was a favorite cover illustrator because of his dynamic compositional skills.A Francisco V. Coching Original Cover Art for a 1948 issue of the Liwayway Magazine

The only known surviving original cover art of Pilipino Komiks. Tony Velasquez, Pilipino Komiks#4, 1947.

The opening page, with the story’s title, and wherein the writer’s and artist’s name were written, is known as the splash page. Traditionally, this page contained at least one big panel occupying at least half the size of the page, and two or more smaller panels, or something similar.
Alex Nino Splash Page for "Gamu-Gamo" story by Tony Velasquez, 1966. This is the earliest known existing original of Alex Nino.

Sometimes, the illustrator would utilize two of the opening pages for one spectacular illustration. These two-in-one page is called the double splash page. Alfredo Alcala, Hal Santiago, and Ruben Yandoc are fine examples of artists who had done this particular panoramic page. A super double splash page by Ruben "Rubeny" Yandoc for his memorable "Bible" iseries that appeared in Kenkoy Komiks in early 1960s.

A splash page, however, is not only limited to the opening page. Sometimes an artist would make a splash page from any one of the inner pages to emphasize a particular part of the story. For instance, the page above by the great artist Emil Rodriguez is supposed to be a panel page, but since he wanted to emphasize Samson’s destruction of himself and his enemies, he turned the page into a big one panel splash page.

The following pages after the splash page are called panel pages. They consist, of course, of panel drawings chronologically arranged to tell a story. Francisco V. Coching is one of the first Filipino comic artists to design inner pages with ingeniously designed panels, like this page from his early Marabini serial novel.

Comic Art as a Legitimate Art Form

In the United States and Europe, where comics is regarded as legitimate art form, collecting original comic art is a long and valued tradition. Many collectors even set up festivals and conventions to trade original comic art and comics.

In the Philippines, very few collect original comic art. In my experience as a collector and researcher, I found that these very few collectors are actually comics artists themselves who wanted to get a closer look at the rendering of their favorite fellow illustrator. I found that among artists, two great masters are often collected and imitated: Francisco V. Coching and Nestor P. Redondo. This is not surprising because they are considered the two finest illustrators in the history of Philippine comic art.

In the Philippines where comics is very popular among the lower classes of society, original comic art is considered a virtual no rich collector’s item. Filipino art connoisseurs shun the original comic art as not in their regular collecting menu.
Over the past few years, however, this began to change. The awareness of the Filipinos’ great contribution to comic art led to an increasing appreciation of the original comic art as a legitimate art form. Some art collectors who had collected American comics realized that many several of these comics were illustrated by Filipinos. Conan the Barbarian, Spider-Man, Vampirella, Batman, the Swamp Thing, Superman, have indeed been illustrated at one time or another, by Filipinos, and their names appear on the credit pages: Redondo, Nino, Alcala, Nebres, and many more. This appreciation led to a rediscovery of a vast body of work in Philippine comics hitherto unappreciated by art collectors.

This began a few years ago when I decided to test the market for original art by selling some pages on the internet. To my knowledge, no one had ever sold Filipino comic art before in the internet. Although DC and Marvel originals of Nino, Alcala, and Redondo were known to fetch high prices in auctions, their Filipino comic artworks were virtually unknown among foreign collectors.
I thought that selling a few of my originals in the internet would spark some curiosity, because these artists’ works in Filipino comics are no less masterful than their foreign artworks(in fact I sincerely believed that Nestor Redondo and Alfredo Alcala reached the pinnacle of their drawing prowess even years prior to their first work in DC comics). Perhaps this curiosity would later turn into appreciation of the greatness of Filipino contribution to comic art. The long overdue appreciation for our local comic artists would certainly follow. In a few years, we may be awarding the National Artist award to one of our comics artists.

I am very happy that now, a few serious art collectors are entering the field of collecting original comic art. Now and then, I receive emails from these few collectors asking me if I could sell them an original page each by our great comics artists. Often, I would abide by their request if I see that I could part away with some without my feelings being hurt.

Although during the past years I have been able to collect some 1,500 pages of original comic art, I am by no means a hoard. I wanted to share it with other collectors. I wanted to give way to new collectors.

In fact, I was starting my prices in auction at one dollar per page without reserve because I wanted even the new or average collector to purchase original Filipino comic art at a price he can afford. There are many who made a bargain, winning some pages for as little as four or five dollars each. I am happy whenever I sell an original to an appreciative new collector.

Although there were a few Filipinos who purchased original Filipino comic art in my auctions, the majority of buyers were foreigners, comic art collectors from the United States and Europe. Not surprisingly, a particular favorite in auctions were the works of Alex Nino, Nestor Redondo and Alfredo Alcala, because they were the top three Filipino illustrators in DC and Marvel comics. Could it be that foreigners are more appreciative of our local artists’ works rather than our fellow Filipinos? Or maybe we have a little more to learn to appreciate comic art.

The Pioneer Collectors of Philippine Comic Art

Even prior to the present generation of comic art collectors, there were already a few who valued and collected Filipino comic art. They were Orvy Jundis(comics historian), Manuel Auad (comics writer and publisher), and Steve Gan(comics artist).
Orvy Jundis is known to have specialized in collecting Alex Nino art, while Manuel Auad is known to have specialized in collecting Redondo and Alfredo Alcala. A glimpse of Auad’s magnificent collection can be seen featured in the Comic Book Artist Magazine #4.
Steve Gan’s collection is a veritable archive of Philippine comic art. There are Alex Ninos, Redondos, Cochings, Rodriguezes, Nebres, Alcalas, and many more.

It is only sad that, with the great bulk of original comic art that had been produced in the Philippines because of our rich comics tradition, only very few have survived (or been found, yet). For instance, it is now extremely hard to find an original cover art by Coching, with the exception of the few that had been kept by his family. The same goes for a Redondo or an Alcala.

Yet, with the few that we have been able to save, we must be thankful nevertheless, because they are enough proof of the high point our comics artists achieved in the field of comic art.

Komiks:National Book of the Filipinos

2006-02-15T09:09:00.000-08:00

During the heyday of the komiks industry in the Philippines, the komiks was the Filipinos' national book. It had imbedded its heels, so to speak, in the Filipino consciousness.

Obiquitously present among the poor and middle class homes, the komiks could be found being read almost anywhere: in the ricefield as the farmer enjoys a short relief from his backbreaking work; in the hagdanan(staircase), in the comfort room, or almost everywhere else.

Dubbed as bakya by the elitists, the lowly komiks was patronized in great quantities by the masang Pilipino who could not afford theaters, zarzuelas or vaudevilles.

Aside from serving as an entertainment magazine to aid those who want a quick nap on boring afternoons, the komiks had served a variety of purposes: pangggatong, pambalot ng tinapa, pamaypay, an emergency umbrella on a sudden downpour, or a portable lavatory equipment.

The komiks was disposable item. Filipinos usually did not care for komiks after reading it, letting other members of the household or even the kapitbahay to read it afterwards.
What happens to it later was never a thing to ask about-unless one hasn’t finished yet his reading “hoy, nasaan na ba yung komiks na binabasa ko dito. Umihi lang ako e nawala na?”

Part of the more than 1,000 pieces of old Tagalog Komiks found in the author's collection.

Everyone took the komiks for granted. After all, the komiks was cheap at 25 to 30 centavos a copy, the price of one bottle of Coca Cola, which had a usual weekly advertisement in the back cover of the komiks.One could even throw it away afterwards without feeling guilty.

After this passing of hands, the komiks, printed in pulp, is usually reduced into a torn and creased state, after which it must fulfill its final duty: panggatong (fuel for the fire stoves common among Filipino households during those times), pambalot ng tinapa (salted fish wrapper), an emergency umbrella on a sudden downpour (why not?), or worse, as a portable and convenient lavatory equipment (of course, during the 1950s, only the middle class could afford to build a private toilet. Of course, the poor people’s batalan is usually just a place to shower. The komiks and other similar publications became the pambalot ng t….).

Written in the Tagalog lingua franca, the vernacular language spoken at Filipino homes and gatherings, the komiks had become a kind of “national book”, easily understood by the Filipinos.

“Hindi nakakasakit ng ulo basahin”, “madadala mo kahit saan”, “nakakapagpaantok”, "magaganda mga kuwento", "magaganda mga drowing" “murang bilhin”: these were some of the answers of Filipinos to the survey conducted in 1986, as to why they read komiks.

THE LANGUAGE OF THE KOMIKS

It was indeed fun to read stories with dialogues one uses in everyday conversations. Slang words common among the younger people proliferated in komiks conversations, such as “datung” for money, “askad” for ugly, “bebot” for girlfriend, “datan” for an old man or woman, “repa” for friend, “dyahi” for shy, or “tsokaran” for buddies.

It was thus possible to read dialogues like, “Askad naman repa. Mukhang datan na yung inireto mo sa kin. Dyahi sa mga tsokaran”. The majority of the Filipinos are familiar with this language. It made the komiks so much down-to-earth, life-like, and realistic, so that Filipinos felt they were seeing themselves in this microcosmic society portrayed in the komiks.

CUSS WORDS

Cuss words such as “walanghiya”, “hayup”, “ulol”, “impakto”, “bastos”, and “kiri” were qualitatively allowed, meaning they must appear only in humorous stories and intended as words for teasing. The more serious stories required justification to use these words.
The harsher words like the “F” and “S” words (Putang-ina, anak ng puta, etc.)were restricted and not allowed to be printed. These words belonged to the more fly-by-night publications such as the Bomba Komiks type which were sold clandestinely on the newsstands.

NO TRADITION OF COLLECTING KOMIKS

Inasmuch as the Filipinos loved the komiks, they did not collect it and or have it stored in a shelf for future reading or reference.
Of course there were a relative few who cared about komiks and stored them in wooden bauls or deep drawers in their aparadors. These komiks may survive for years, but a tropical country like the Philippines may not really be a good place to hoard komiks in the long run.

In a few years, humidity, tropical climate, floods, termites, and fires would destroy many of these komiks. The komiks may have escaped human apathy, but not the natural elements. Thus, a good number of these komiks have not survived into the present time and are now considered scarce.

Countless poor Filipinos who could not afford to send their children to schools taught their children reading and values formation through the pages of the komiks. Children found that they easily and happily learn reading through these paneled picture stories. They adored the fumbling escapades of Kalabog, or the latest antic of Kenkoy, or the Phantomanok’s newest adventure. Adult readers likewise eagerly await the continuing saga Coching’s of El Indio, or the latest trick of Redondo’s Palos, or the further adventures of Clodualdo Del Mundo’s Pitong Sagisag.

Indeed, so popular komiks had become that many of its serial novels were frequently made into motion pictures, a sure-fire indication that it will be a box-office hit.

PIRACY AND THE FATE OF THE ORIGINALS

Unbelievable as it may seem, piracy was already prevalent as early as the 1950s. Special victims of piracy were komiks companies with no printing presses of their own, and without an efficient distribution network.

To protect them from this plague, many komiks companies at the time (Quiogue, Virma Press, All-Star, etc.) were forced to destroy to shreds all the precious originals and photo-offsets copies, after printing.

Artists then usually conform to this method as they were paid on a per page basis without any future royalties coming from the sales, and without the condition that the originals will be returned to them.
Certainly, with the growing awareness and vigilance of present day artists, this problem is now being more focused, thanks to the efforts of Gerry Alanguilan, a top komiks artist in the country today.

Ace Publications had its own printing press, and in fact the largest one in the Philippines, which prevented the originals from leaving the company grounds. After printing, the originals were returned to Ace and placed in a storage room behind Tony Velasquez’ office in the second floor of the Ace building in Pioneer street, Mandaluyong.

Whatever happened to these originals is still a mystery to this day. An artist close to Velasquez told me that sometime in 1962, when the company closed down, the originals were destroyed. However, there were some that insist the Roces family still had some of it.

In another story, when the Roceses sold the Pioneer building, they did not bother to recover the originals. In any case, this accounts for the rarity of these originals. Velasquez for his part however, kept his own originals and those illustrated for him by other artists.

THE GROWTH OF THE KOMIKS INDUSTRY

Velasquez had initiated one of the biggest industries in the Philippines at that time, employing thousands of Filipinos: from writers to editors, illustrators to agents, to komiks distributors and sidewalk vendors.

By the end of the 1950s each of Ace's komiks had a print order of some 100,000 issues coming out weekly in the newsstands, and efficiently distributed by the Roceses chain of distributors all over the archipelago.

Velasquez offered agents big discounts off the cover price if they placed advance orders and pay in cash. This way, he had kept printing excess to a minimum, thereby reducing the company’s expenses, and creating a loyal agent base.

The agents were happy with this arrangement; not only would they have more profits, they were also assured they would have enough copies for distribution.

By abolishing credit, Velasquez wisely avoided the major problem of other komiks companies: credit collection. These other komiks companies who lent their komiks to some unscrupulous agents found a hard time collecting payments later. Most of these companies went bankrupt after a few years.

A Gallery of J.M. Perez Cartoons

2006-02-12T05:43:00.000-08:00

J.M. Perez is one of the pioneer and all-time prolific cartoonists of the Philippines. Although he had less work after the war, his cartoon works in the pre-war Liwayway offered a fascinating look at Philippine culture of the roaring 30's. In 1984, he was one of the awardees of the Komopeb's (Komiks Operation Brotherhood) Lifetime Achievement Award. The other awardees were Tony Velasquez, Francisco V. Coching, Mars Ravelo, Francisco Reyes, Jose Zabala-Santos, and Larry Alcala.
I would regularly feature selections of the works of these pioneer Filipino cartoonists in my blog as part of my humble tribute to their immense contributions to our rich comics heritage.

Here are some selections of the numerous cartoons of Perez that have appeared in the Liwayway.

Huwapelo (1933). A comic strip about a wily but kind-hearted Tsinoy Sari-sari store owner, Akong. During the 1930s, Akong enjoyed almost the same popularity as Velasquez' Kenkoy.

In 1935, Perez retitled Huwapelo into Abilitat sa Akong

Tolong at Busia, Liwayway 1935.

Another popular comic strip of J.M. Perez that appeared regularly in the Liwayway was Si Pamboy at Si Osang, a hilarious strip about henpecked husband Pamboy and his domineering wife Osang.

J.M. Perez, a 1977 self-portrait from my collection of original art.

A Note on my Previous Post "On Reviving the Komiks Industry"

2006-02-06T20:34:00.000-08:00

I should have written this as a reply to the comments on my previous post re "On Reviving the Komiks Industry", but I'd rather make it into a new post because of its length.
When I said we should go back to the times when beautiful comics were being produced, I did not mean that all present artists should emulate the style of the old komiks masters. No. My message (although I apologize for not being so clear about it before) is to go back into producing komiks of great quality. That is the reason why I should emphasize the important words mentioned by Tony Velasquez, "ghastly colorings and sloppy drawings" regarding most of the komiks being produced by Atlas and GASI during the 1990s and present.
It should mean that whatever style the artist will follow, be it Manga or Classical or Ninoesque (Alex Nino style), the artist should give his heart and soul to his drawings. Make it the best possible drawing that he could draw.
Here's an anecdote I'd like to tell you: Alex Nino for sure is considered today one of the world's greatest comics artist. Everyone in the komiks circle back then knows that the beginning of Nino's comics career in the Philippines was very discouraging. Most editors never liked his style which was often labeled "weird" or "psychotic" . Even the great Mars Ravelo rejected Nino because back then the prevailing trend in comics stories was drama/action/adventure. Yet because Nino drew figures with elongated heads and blunt arms and feet, his drawings were abhorred by editors.
There were only two editors who accepted Nino's style: Tony Velasquez and Pablo S. Gomez. Why did Velasquez not reject Nino ' s art while the other editors were rejecting it?
Simply becauseVelasquez sincerely thought that Nino's drawings were excellent works of art. Maybe weird but truly the works of a genius. What was the result? It was Velasquez who gave Nino the latter's first assignment in GASI. The short stories Mikrobyo, Gamu-Gamo, and Three Siters were all written by Tony Velasquez and magically illustrated by Nino (they were feautured once in the Komikero website)
Velasquez was very much impressed by these masterpieces of komiks art that he told Nino that someday he would be one of the world's best, which indeed came true. I should know this. I have the Nino originals in my collection as well as the handwritten notes of Velasquez and his original scripts. These originals are some of the earliest known works of Nino as a comics artist, even earlier than his stint as regular artist in the PSG.
Now why did I mention this story? It is to show that Velasquez was open to all other styles of art, provided the artist manifested excellence in following his chosen style. I bet Velasquez could welcome Manga if he see that the artist had done well drawing it. Every artist and writer in GASI knows this. I have talked with several of them, Hal Santiago, Sonny Trinidad, Steve Gan, Virgilio Redondo, Tony tenorio, Vic Poblete, and many others.
Vlasquez will accept your style no matter what it is. But you should excel in it or be rejected outright. Sonny Trinidad, future Marvel artist, experienced it. Velasquez askedhim to draw Araneta Coliseum filled with teeming humanity. "It was the most difficult drawing I have ever done in my entire career" recounts Trinidad when I interviewed him in his Sta. Rosa home. "Boss (velasquez) asked me to draw the inside of Araneta Coliseum just as it is, without alteration, and filled with people. Boss had the habit of rejecting art whe he saw that it has errors, however small, he was that meticulous..One day he accompanied me to Araneta Coliseum and we took pictures of the dome, so that my drawings will be realistic. I finished the drawings in about a week's time and he was very impressed. Yet I was sick after doing those magnificent pages". Those original pages were published in Pinoy Komiks with the title "baby Blue Seal".
I, myself, am not advocating a single style of art, although I am more of an admirer of the Redondo and Coching style rather than Manga or the Jim Lee and company style. Yet I have nothing against Manga or Jim Lee. An artist should follow what he thinks is best suited to his interests and appreciation. If he likes Manga then do so, but he should make it into the best Manga that he could ever draw. He should never follow a particular art style because somebody urged him to, or just because of nostalgia of the past komiks.
Always dedicate yourself to your art because it will be the one thing you could say that truly reflects your personality. To quote Mars Ravelo "I always wanted to be #1. When I was a janitor I wanted to be the #1 janitor, and when I became a komiks artist and writer, I wanted to be the # 1 komiks artist and writer!"
I hope that I have made myself clear on this matter. Reviving the industry did not mean
going back to the style of the old Filipino komiks masters, but rather,emphasizing on producing
the best komiks based on the standards of the old komiks masters.

On Reviving the Filipino Komiks Industry

2006-02-03T13:07:00.000-08:00

As Tony Velasquez lived his retirement years in the 1990s, he witnessed the continuous decline of the komiks industry in the Philippines. It was in such a sad state that he knew he could no longer do anything about it. The task belongs to the new breed of artists, writers, editors, and publishers.

Even in the 1980s, Velasquez foresaw that the coming of new technologies would adversely affect the komiks readership in the Philippines. By the 1990s the rise of consumerism brought about the affordability of television, computer, internet, cellphones and other new technologies that would outdate the komiks. Indeed, it was something inevitable. Velasquez correctly foresaw that if the Filipino komiks industry was to survive, a return to the classical style of making komiks was not only necessary but expedient.
He said “People no longer read komiks because they found its art to be visually unappealling, and the stories only rehashed from the ones that had been written before. People are intelligent, and you cannot force them to buy anything that they know is not even worth their money. This is more than true right now. People have a lot of choices where they want their money to go”.
He detested the quality of komiks that were being published.
“These komiks look like they were half-heartedly produced. You could hardly appreciate them. During our time, which was considered the Golden years of the komiks era in the Philippines, the komiks lorded over the people’s interest and appreciation. Our komiks back then could compete pound for pound with the others being published abroad, even those in the United States. We are very proud of what we have produced then. For instance, in one ACE or GASI komiks magazine, I usually have the collaborative efforts of Coching, Ravelo, Redondo, Del Mundo, Alfredo Alcala, Pablo Gomez, Fred Carrillo, and many other talented artists and writers. The komiks magazines virtually sold out once they came out in the newsstands because the people thought they were buying something that is worth more than their money. Our komiks magazines then were truly beautiful works of art, and we are very proud of them”. These words could not have been more well put indeed.
“Now”, he continued, “the komiks look anemic with their ghastly coloring, sloppy drawings, and rehashed stories. You cannot begin to compare them with what was being produced during the olden days”.
What then was his view in order for the komiks industry to survive?
“Nothing replaces excellence in komiks production. I still believe that people will buy komiks if they see that it is good, that it is equal to their hard-earned money’s worth. Maybe we could no longer bring back the time when there were hundreds of thousands to be printed just for a single issue, but who knows? But I tell you, the industry will still be there, if only diminished. If we only hold on to the relatively few who still buy komiks because they loved the stories and art in them, then I think it would be the starting point".

Pablo S. Gomez' PSG Publications 1963-1972

2006-01-22T18:20:00.000-08:00

In 1963, Pablo S. Gomez, a top komiks writer of the defunct Ace Publications, founded his own komiks publications. He named the company after his initials, the PSG Publications.
When Ace folded up in late 1962, Pablo S. Gomez was already one of the big names in the Philippine komiks industry. He had a big following of readers who anticipated his new stories and serials.
To house his new company, Gomez alloted one portion of his house in Sampaloc as temporary office of the PSG Publications.
As a veteran komiks writer, Gomez knew some of the best komiks illustrators and writers and he hired them as regular contributors to PSG, such as Mars Ravelo (who used his pseudonym Virgo Villa), Francisco Coching, Nestor Redondo, and Alfredo Alcala.

United Komiks #1. Cover art by Francisco V. Coching, by then the most popular artist in Philippine komiks.

The first komiks-magazine of PSG Publications was United Komiks, the first number of which was reeased on January 1964.

As a prolific writer, Gomez could capitalize on his voluminous unpublished scripts (plus the ones brewing in his head) and thus economize on writers 'fees. For instance in one komiks-magazine there were at least two or three stories or serials written by him although he sometimes used Rene Rosales as a pseudonym. The technique worked, and many komiks readers became fans of Rene Rosales as well, not knowing that Rosales and Gomez were just one and the same.
Gomez also tapped the talent of his younger brother Daddie Gomez, who was in his own right also a talented writer. Daddie sometimes used the pen name Tennessee Francel, and D. G. Salonga, which is a play of his actual name Dominador Salonga Gomez.
The United Komiks was a bestseller. It competed fiercely with the numerous komiks titles that proliferated at that time, such as those published by Bulaklak, GMS, Philippine Education Company, and even GASI (the new komiks company of the Roces clan). The only advantage of GASI from its competitors was its komiks-magazines’ efficient distribution even to the very far provinces. Some of the most anticipated serials in the United Komiks were Mars Ravelo’s Optarza, Dyangga, and Gapang sa Lusak, while Gomez contributed with his Timbuktu, Tsandu, Triple, and Danny Boy.

But perhaps the most successful feature that boosted the sales of the United Komiks was “Mga Kuwento ni Bruhilda”, a series magically illustrated by the young Alex Nino. Previously rejected by local komiks editors who could not understand his genius, Nino was rediscovered by Gomez, who gave the former regular assignments in the PSG. Indeed, Gomez saved a genius from anonymity and obscurity.
The over-all sales of the United Komiks were encouraging enough to Gomez, who decided to publish an additional komiks-magazine: the Universal Komiks. It was released on April of 1964

Universal Komiks #1. Cover art by Elpidio Torres.

The Universal Komiks was another PSG bestseller. Some of its popular series were Mars Ravelo’s Devil Boy and Gomez’ Taong Buwaya and Halik sa Apoy and Rico Bello Omagap's Uhaw sa Dugo.

Halik Sa Apoy serial novel in the Universal Komiks. Story by Pablo S. Gomez. Illustrated by Alfredo Alcala.

The third komiks-magazine of PSG Publications was Continental Komiks, launched in 1965. Like the other two titles before it, the Continental Komiks became a bestseller among komiks readers. The Continental featured short stories by such veteran writers as Rene Villaroman, Greg Igna de Dios Tony Tenorio, and Rico Bello Omagap.

Continental Komiks #1. Cover Art by Nestor P. Redondo

Gomez eventually hired Tenorio to take charge of the full editorship of his komiks-magazines.
At around this time, a young man was introduced by Tenorio to Gomez. His name was Carlo J. Caparas, a security guard who showed a talent for writing. Gomez was impressed with the story submitted by Caparas, and from then on the young man became a regular PSG contributor. A few years later and Caparas would make a name for himself for his komiks serials Panday, Pieta, Citadel, and many others that became successful movies. Yet, it should always be remembered that it was Gomez who discovered his talent and gave him a break in the Philippine komiks industry.

Kidlat Komiks #1. Cover Art by Francisco V. Coching.

The success of his earlier titles prompted Gomez to publish another komiks-magazine in 1967. Entitled Kidlat Komiks, this was another bestseller that became a favorite of the masses. At about this time, Gomez transferred his office to a big compound in the corner of Aurora Boulevard and Balete Street in Quezon City. Christened the “White House” because of the big white edifice in the property, this new building was the solid proof of Gomez’ success as a komiks publisher.
Because of his popularity as a movie and komiks writer, Gomez became a close friend of many movie stars among them the young stars Fernando Poe Jr ., and Susan Roces. Gomez and Roces were personal confidants to each other, even before the latter’s engagement to the young Fernando Poe. Gomez even featured the love story of Susan Roces and Fernado Poe Jr, in a section in the United Komiks entitled “Mga Lihim ni Susan Roces”. It was a delight not only to komiks fans but to movie fans as well. Even now some forty years since they first met, the two regularly visit each other.

An early issue of Planet Komiks. Cover art by Alex Nino, who signed the art "Louie Chito", his firstborn son.

In 1968, another PSG komiks-magazine was born entitled Planet Komiks, a komiks-magazine that mostly featured fantasy and science fiction stories and serials. It was a highly artistic komiks-magazine, with some of the big names in komiks art contributing, such as Alex Nino, Alfredo Alcala and Nestor Redondo.
The PSG Publications, however, was hit hard by the decline of komiks readership in the late 1960s. This was partly due to the proliferation of several komiks-magazines that flooded the newsstands. Komiks readers just got somewhat overwhelmed. This decline could be considered as an implosion, a self-destruction. The booming industry killed itself.
Yet, according to Gomez (when I interviewed him), the most significant factor that led to the industry’s decline was the proliferation of the Bomba or smut komiks. This idea was seconded by Hal Santiago, then PSG Komiks’ resident artist. Apparently, the fly-by-night Bomba Komiks which sold as cheap as the clean-type komiks, captured the attention of male local readers.
Most importantly, some people equated the Bomba Komiks to the clean-type ones which got the stigma as well. Komiks was forbidden in many homes because of this stigma.
Says Pablo: “Pati kaming mga malilinis na komiks ay nadamay sa mga Bomba Komiks na yan, kasi ang akala ng mga tao lahat na ng komiks ay may mga litrato o drowing na Bomba”.
Then, in 1972, President Marcos declared Martial Law. Severe censorship followed. Sure it killed the Bomba Komiks, but it also killed the clean-type ones. The regime forced komiks publishers to use cheap and inferior local papers in komiks printing. Hal Santiago laments, “This kind of paper was of the cheapest quality. You could hardly appreciate the komiks after the printing. How can you expect people to buy them?”

PSG Publications indeed suffered irreversible losses after these unfortunate events. Gomez who mostly got his initial funds through personal loans, was forced to sell his titles to his rival komiks company, the Affiliated Publications, Inc., another company of the Roces clan.
Yet, this was not the end of Gomez’ career in komiks, for the best years were still ahead of him. There would be more big novels to come, especially in the late 1970s and the whole of 1980s. Indeed, a good and talented man is very hard to put down.

This then is the story of PSG Publications, one of the most colorful komiks company of the once thriving Philippine komiks industry.

CRAF Publications

2006-01-16T08:15:00.000-08:00

The fall of the giant Ace Publications in the early 1960s led a group of highly talented Ace illustrators to start their own komiks publishing company.
These illustrators were Nestor and Virgilio Redondo, Alfredo Alcala, Amado Castrillo, Tony Caravana, and Romeo Francisco. They named their company CRAF Publications, which is a combination of their surnames' initials. Later on, another talented artist, by the name of Jim Fernandez, joined CRAF.

In 1963, CRAF held office at the corner of Recto Avenue and T. Alonso St., in Manila, with telephone number 6-22-98.

On May 7, 1963, CRAF's first komiks-magazine, Redondo Komix, was born. The group planned to publish komiks-magazines bearing the names of each of the members. But since they only had limited budget, they decided to publish the other titles on a staggered monthly basis.

On June 1963, Alfredo Alcala's Alcala Fight Komix, was published. After one month, Amado Lovers Komix (Amado Castrillo's namesake komiks)was issued. CRAF's komiks-magazines boasted a full wrap-around cover, the first of its kind in the Philippines.

I am not sure why Romeo Francisco and Tony Caravana did not have their namesake komiks at this time, although Mang Vir told me that Francisco and Caravana were just junior partners of CRAF.

About a year after Redondo Komix's first issue, CRAF published another komiks-magazine: CRAF KLASIX. This cover was iilustrated by Federico Javinal for Francisco Coching's serial "Marko Bandido"

As a komiks fanatic, I am well aware of the contribution of CRAF komiks-magazines to our rich komiks tradition. CRAF elevated Filipino comic art to new heights, unmatched even today.

Yet a few years later, CRAF closed shop. It did not prosper commercially.

When Mang Vir (Virgilio Redondo) was still living, I was able to meet him on some occasions in GASI where he sold xerox copies of his old komiks-magazines. According to him, even at the beginning, there were some misunderstandings between the incorporators.

It seemed that there was some sort of unspoken rivalry that emerged between these highly-talented artists. Small things were source of petty misunderstandings, such as, who will do the cover, which artist will illustrate this or that serial, etc.

Yet the biggest setback of CRAF was on the economics side. Since they only had very limited funds (mostly gathered from their own personal money), printing costs were always a big concern.

CRAF also lacked an effective distribution network, a vital problem of small-time komiks publishers. Indeed, most other small komiks publishers point to this reason for their early demise.

Great artists, in general, are not great businessmen. They are too preoccupied with their art to bother on its commercial side. CRAF took the greatest care to make its komiks-magazines the most artistically superior komiks of that era, yet it is not enough to ensure the companies success or even survival.

CRAF's komiks-magazines are artistically far superior than other komiks-magazines at that time(and that includes those published abroad). Even the great illustrator Fred Alcantara was recruited to grace the pages of CRAF's komiks. Later on, young Alex Nino would join CRAF's creative team.

Yet, CRAF lacked the PR, so to speak, and their komiks pages speak for proof. A Redondo Komix or Alcala Fight Komix, for instance carried some of the most outstanding artworks of that era. Alfredo Alcala with his magnificent Voltar, and his historical ships, and Redondo with his ever popular Gagamba and Palos series. These pages are testaments of the high level of artistry achieved by these greatest Filipino artists. Yet, even these were not enough to make the company survive, much less prosper.

Alfredo Alcala's Voltar in Alcala Fight Komix. This splash page was awarded first prize during the 1963 annual illustrators contest sponsored by the National Press Club and the Society of Philippine Illustrators and Cartoonists. Superior rendering like this had elevated the Philippine comic art to such heights unmatched even today.

The bi problem was that CRAF had virtually no advertisers, the life-blood of the komiks-magazine. In an industry when thousands of komiks-magazines had to be printed weekly, advertisers' funds are vital for survival. Yet, turn the pages of a Redondo Komix or an Alcala Fight Komix, and you wont find any advertiser. Unlike Ace which relied mostly on advertisers' fees to shoulder their printing costs, CRAF and other small publishers lacked the PR to attract the big advertisers.

Fimed several times, the Redondo brothers' Palos was the most popular komiks hero of the era, even for a time surpassing Darna's popularity.

The first incorporator to leave CRAF was Jim Fernandez, who, incidentally, was the last to join. He said he was concentrating on writing stories, which was true. He sold his rights to Amado Castrillo. It was the signal, Caravana was next. He left the company to establish his own komiks-magazine: CARAVANA KLASICS, in 1965.

I am not very sure what happened next. Maybe Alcala left CRAF in 1965, because I have not seen an Alcala Fight Komix after that year.

In 1968, Nestor Redondo founded his own komiks publishing company:ARES, which published Superyor Komiks and Palos Komiks.

It is not very clear when exactly CRAF finally closed shop but I believe it did not reach the year 1969. What is clear, however, is the fact that CRAF will stand out as one of the most artistically (if not economically)succesfull komiks magazines in the Philippines.

This short story that appeared in the issue #12 of Redondo Komix was a unique example of experimentations by CRAF'S creative team. Why? Because this was literally illustrated by CRAF,that is, by Caravana, Castrillo, Redondo, Alcala, and Francisco. Each panel had a touch of ink by each of these artists.

Komiks at Pinilakang Tabing(Komiks and Tagalog Movies)

2006-01-10T10:34:00.000-08:00

The Golden Age of Komiks and Movies in the Philippines (1946-72)

Since Komiks was a popular form of entertainment in the Philippines, several film producers decided to transform many komiks stories and nobelas into movies.
During the golden age of Philippine komiks-which coincided with the golden years of Philippine movies-there were three major film studios in the country: Premiere, Sampaguita, and LVN. These movie producers created some of the greatest box-office blockbusters from komiks materials.
The following is a partial list of such movies. It is not a complete list since there are literally hundreds of komiks stories that have been adapted into the silver screen. I ask knowledgeable readers of this blog to add to this list.
I have undertaken to compile this list because I know of no such list in existence. With the rich komiks tradition that we Filipinos have, I know this will become invaluable someday to researchers of Philippine popular culture. Even today, when the komiks and movie industry are in a desparate state to survive, the television industry had come to the rescue by creating telenovelas out of original komiks stories and serials. I hope that this will be the start of the rejuvenation of the komiks industry in the Philippines.
I have tried with great care to be as accurate as possible with this list. Yet, I know that perfection in research is almost an impossible task, especially to a researcher like me who works without an editor and assistant. Thus, I will gladly acknowledge corrections if the reader felt that there are mistakes in the list. Important: The date given in the list is the year the movie was shown in cinemas, and not the year the comic trip was created.
I am currently writing an essay on the history and relationship of Philippine komiks and movies, and any of your contributions to this project, be it an additional list or information, or an image of a poster of the movie or movie stills, will be most welcomed and gratefully acknowledged.
My email address is philippinecollectibles@yahoo.com and my cellphone number is 09155766643.

Kulafu(Liwayway) Francisco Reyes; 1947 Mario Montenegro

Hagibis(Liwayway) Francisco V. Coching; 1947 Rogelio dela Rosa

Siete Infantes De Lara (Bulaklak Magazine)Manuel Conde/ Carlos V. Francisco; 1950 Mario Montenegro, Romano Castelvi, Eddie Garcia, et al

Prinsipe Amante(Mabuhay Komiks) Clodualdo del Mundo;1950 Rogelio dela Rosa

Kenkoy(Liwayway) Tony Velasquez; 1951 Lopito/Virginia Montes

Kislap Magazine 1951, showing Kenkoy movie on the cover.Author's collection

Prinsipe Amante Sa Rubitanya(Aksiyon Komiks) Manuel Conde/Carlos “Botong” Francisco; 1951 Rogelio dela Rosa

Darna (Pilipino Komiks) Mars Ravelo; 1951 Rosa del Rosario

Roberta (Tagalog Klasiks) Mars Ravelo; 1951 Tessie Agana

Sawa sa Lumang Simboryo(Mabuhay Komiks) Amado Yasona; 1952 Jose Padilla Jr.

Barbaro(Pilipino Komiks)Francisco V. Coching; 1952 Pancho Magalona

Kerubin (Liwayway) Clodualdo del Mundo; 1952 Rebecca Gonzales

Espada (Liwayway)Francsico V. Coching; 1952 Cesar Ramirez

Rebecca (Tagalog Klasiks) Mars Ravelo; 1952 Tessie Agana

Texas:Ang Manok na Nagsasalita (Pilipino Komiks)Clodualdo del Mundo/ Mars Ravelo; 1952 Pancho Magalona

Cumbanchera (Tagalog Klasiks)Mars Ravelo; 1952 Tessie Agana

Basahang Ginto(Pilipino Komiks) Mars Ravelo;1952 Alicia Vergel

Gorio at Tekla (Tagalog Klasiks)Mars Ravelo; 1953 Chichay/Tolindoy/Fred Montilla

Hercules(Pilipino Komiks) Clodualdo del Mundo 1953 Cesar Ramirez

Diwani (Hiwaga Komiks)Redondo Brothers; 1953 Alicia Vergel/Cesar Ramirez

El Indio(Pilipino Komiks)Francisco V. Coching; 1953 Cesar Ramirez

Cofradia (Mabuhay Komiks)Dominador Ad Castillo;1953 Gloria Romero

Munting Koronel (Liwayway) Clodualdo del Mundo; 1953 Tessie Agana

Maldita (Hiwaga Komiks)Francisco V. Coching; 1953 Rita Gomez

Dyesebel (Pilipino Komiks)Mars Ravelo; 1953 Edna Luna

Inspirasiyon (Tagalog Klasiks) Mars Ravelo; 1953 Carmen Rosales

Kiko (Hiwaga Komiks)Mars Ravelo; 1953 Boy Alano

Tulisang Pugot (Tagalog Klasiks)Gemiliano Pineda; 1953 Fred Montilla

Reyna Bandida (Espesyal Komiks)Redondo Brothers; 1953 Rita Gomez/Cesar Ramirez Reyna Bandida by Virgilio and Nestor Redondo

Recuerdo (Tagalog Klasiks)Pablo S. Gomez; 1953 Fred Montilla/Gloria Romero

Vo-da-Vil (Hiwaga komiks)Redondo Brothers; 1953 Pancho Magalona/Tita Duran

Jack and Jill (Tagalog Klasiks)Mars Ravelo; 1954 Rogelio dela Rosa/Dolphy

Bondying(Pilipino Komiks) Mars Ravelo; 1954 Fred Montilla Pilipino Komiks with Bondying Cover by Elpidio Torres

Salabusab(Pilipino Komiks) Francisco V. Coching; 1954

Tres Musketeras(Bulaklak)Fernando Monleon; 1954 Cesar Ramirez

Si Kerubin at si Tulisang Pugot (Liwayway)Clodualdo del Mundo/ Gemiliano Pineda; 1954 Fred Montilla/Tessie Agana

Pilya (Liwayway) Susana de Guzman;1954 Ric Rodrigo/Gloria Romero

Ang Biyenang di Tumatawa (Liwayway)Mars Ravelo; 1954 Gloria Romero/Etang Discher

Luha ng Birhen (Espesyal Komiks) Rico Bello Omagap; 1954 Carmen Rosales

Kurdapya (Tagalog Klasiks)Pablo S. Gomez; 1954 Gloria Romero

MN (Pilipino Komiks)Pablo S. Gomez; 1954 Carmen Rosales

Ukala (Pilipino Komiks)Alfredo Alcala; 1954 Cesar Ramirez/Alicia Vergel

Luha ng Birhen (Espesyal Komiks) Rico Bello Omagap; 1954 Carmen Rosales

Tres Ojos (Pilipino Komiks)Tony Velasquez; 1954 Cesar Ramirez

Lola Sinderala (Tagalog Klasiks)Rico Bello Omagap; 1955 Pancho Magalona/Lolita Rodriguez

DI-13(Pilipino Komiks)Damy Velasquez; 1955 Jose Romulo DI-13 by Damy Velasquez and Jesse Santos

Hootsy Kootsy(Espesyal Komiks)Mars Ravelo; 1955 Gloria Romero/Luis Gonzales

Mambo Dyambo (Pilipino Komiks)Mars Ravelo; 1955 Fred Montilla

Bim, Bam, Bum (Tagalog Klasiks)Pablo S. Gomez; 1955 Gloria Romero/Ramon Revilla

Gigolo (Pilipino Komiks) Francisco V. Coching; (I’m not sure of the date and the actor of the movie)
Prince Charming (Pilipino Komiks)Teresita Arce Cruz;1955 Ric Rodrigo/Myrna Delgado

Gilda(Pilipino Komiks) Pablo S. Gomez; 1956 Lolita Rodriguez

Taga sa Bato(Espeyal Komiks) Francisco V. Coching; 1957 Van de Leon

Pusakal (Liwayway) Francisco V. Coching/Fedrico Javinal; 1957 Zaldy Zshornack (Special thanks to Mr. Dado Dela Cruz for this additional list)

Talipandas(Espeyal Komiks?) Francisco V. Coching; 1958 Rita Gomez

Condenado(Pilipino Komiks) Francisco V. Coching; 1958 Eddie Garcia

Pobresita(Hiwaga Komiks) Rico Bello Omagap; 1958 Lani Oteyza/Zaldy Zshornack

Baby Face(Extra Komiks) Rico Bello Omagap; 1958 Jose Mari/Amalia Fuentes

Kadenang Putik(Pilipino Komiks) Clodualdo del Mundo; 1960 Efren Reyes Sr.

Kalabog en Bosyo(Pilipino Komiks) Larry Alcala; Dolphy/Panchito

TO BE CONTINUED(I'll be posting more images soon)

The Halakhak Komiks 1946-47

2006-01-05T08:14:00.000-08:00

In 1946, the first regularly published Philippine komiks-magazine was born: the Halakhak Komiks.

Onomatopaeic for guffaw, the Halakhak was published out of the initial efforts of Isaac Tolentino and Atty. Jaime Lucas.
At the time of the Halakhak's birth, the Philippines was a devastated nation struggling to rise from the ashes of war. Most of the local publications were still closed because of the shortage of paper. Hence, many cartoonists were temporarily out of work. Understandably, reading cartoons at that critical time seemed a luxury, so that the few newspapers who managed to publish erratic issues carried only news and statements from the government.
One day, an unemployed cartoonist (of the former T-V-T) by the name of Isaac Tolentino was wandering through Azcarraga Avenue (now Claro M. Recto) in search of work. Tolentino chanced upon the newly-established Universal Bookstore owned by Atty. Jaime Lucas.
Atty. Lucas immediately recognized Tolentino because he was a follower of the latter’s satirical cartoons in the Philippines' Free Press. In the ensuing conversation, Tolentino casually suggested to Atty. Lucas the idea of publishing "funnies", a regular comic book, after all, would it not be timely now to make people laugh after the grim destruction brought about by the recent war?
At that time, no one had thought of publishing a regularly-issued comic book before. Since he was an admirer of Tolentino, Atty. Lucas agreed on the spot to publish comic-magazine which they agreed to call Halakhak.
In the next few days, Atty. Lucas gathered enough funds-mostly from his personal money and loans from banks-for the initial printing.
For his part, Tolentino gathered some of his pre-war cartoonist friends, which included the brothers Tony and Damy Velasquez, J.M. Perez, Elmer Abustan, Gene Cabrera, Francisco Coching, Liborio Gatbonton, Fred Carrillo, Francisco Reyes, Jose Zabala-Santos, Hugo Yonzon, Larry Alcala, Pedro Coniconde and Lib Abrena.
Since Tolentino and Atty. Lucas had no printing press, they commissioned Carmelo and Bauermann Company to print the 10,000 initial issues of Halakhak Komiks #1 in 1946. They established the Halakhak's office at #665 Evangelista, Quiapo Manila.

Issue #4 of the Halakhak Komiks. Cover art by Jose Zabala-Santos

Included in the Halakhak were the following comic strips:
Mga Hindi Sukat Akalain, Geslani- Isaac Tolentino
Eto na si Tibo- Gene Cabrera
Si Pino- Jose Zabala-Santos
Talahib- Francisco Reyes
Doon daw sa Langit- Liborio "Gat" Gatbonton
Bulalakaw- Francisco V. Coching
Kidlat- Jesse Santos and Damy Velasquez
Kasikoy- A. I Roullo
Binong Lambanog- Nolasco "Noly" Panaligan
Enyong Bohemyo- Cris Caguintuan
Teryong Alat- Hugo Yonzon (Father of Hugo Yonzon III of Mango Comics)
Indo- Maning de Leon

All in all, the Halakhak had 42 pages and initially priced at 25 centavos (then about the price of one 8oz Coca-Cola). The first issue was printed on a smaller than usual size, about the size of a half of long bond paper, this is because of the shortage of paper, as already mentioned. In its later issues, however, it was made into the regular sized komiks, and was priced at 40 centavos.
Initially,the company prospered but in its later issues, it began to have business troubles; it never recovered stability and the Halakhak lasted only ten issues; the company closed shop after that, financially ruined.
The ultimate reason why Halakhak failed? Uncollected debt.
Since there was no precedent as to how to run a komiks business, Atty. Lucas and Isaac Tolentino failed to understand its economics. Publishing comics for nationwide distribution required an effective distribution network, something Atty. Lucas and Tolentino did not have. They relied heavily on agents who advanced copies without payment. This eventually became the ultimate problem since many agents did not pay their obligations, even when the komiks had been sold out. Since there were only few advertisers in the Halakhak, these were not enough to cover the fees for artists, let alone pay for printing expenses. Atty. Lucas was forced to close the company.
Thus, the Halakhak, which meant laughter, and was highly successful in giving laughter to its readers, failed to give laughter to its publisher.

Issue#8 of the short-lived Halakhak Komiks. Two issues later, it closed publications.

The Beginnings of the Philippine Komiks Industry

2005-12-31T16:55:00.000-08:00

Although Ace Publications dominated the Philippine komiks industry in its early years, it did not monopolized komiks production because other publishers began to venture into komiks publishing as well, inspired by Ace's sucess.
The first publisher to break Ace’s monopoly in komiks publishing was Silangan Publications. In early 1950, it published the Silangan Komiks, the fourth komiks magazine in the Philippines, after Halakhak Komiks (1946), Pilipino Komiks (1947), and Tagalog Klasiks (1949). The Silangan Komiks was a few months older than the Hiwaga Komiks.

Silangan Komiks with a superb cover by Francisco V. Coching. Coching is well-known for his dynamic composition, which became the standard style in those days. Coching was often commissioned by komiks publishers to grace their covers even though Coching himself did not illustrate any of the stories inside them. At that time, Coching commanded the highest pay among Filipino artists, so that small-time publishers could not afford to hire him to illustrate for their regular komiks-nobelas. They were, however, contented to just having him as their cover artist.

Edited by Ben Cabailo, Jr., the Silangan Komiks' first issue appeared on March 15, 1950, and was afterwards published on a regular forthnightly basis. It boasted some of the youngest and most talented Filipino illustrators at the time: Nestor Redondo, Alfredo Alcala, Nolasco "Noly" Panaligan, Elpidio Torres, and Antonio de Zuniga. Of particular interest among the nice stories from Silangan Komiks was Prinsipe Ahmad, Anak ni Aladdin, written and illustrated by the youthful Alfredo P. Alcala. Another rare issue of the Silangan Komiks, this time with cover art by Nestor Redondo. During those times, a Redondo cover art was a sure way to make the komiks saleable.

A few weeks after the first issue of Silangan Komiks, another komikbook entered the komiks scene in 1950, the Aksiyon Komiks, published by Arcade Publications. Like all others before it, Aksiyon Komiks was published forthnightly, with writer Eriberto Tablan as editor, and with Alfredo Alcala and Virgilio Redondo as chief illustrators.

An extremely rare copy of Aksyon Komiks, with cover art by Alfredo Alcala for a komiks-nobela ny Jose L. Santos, Haring Kobra

Since artists and writers were hired on a freelance basis, it was possible for them to contribute to rival publications. Hence, the indefatigable Alfredo Alcala worked as artist in many of these early komikbooks.
A few weeks after Aksiyon Komiks’ first issue, also in the year 1950, three more small time publishers entered the komiks publishing competition: F.J Quioge Publications, Social & Commercial Press, and All-Star Publications.

F.J. Quioge Publications published the first issue of Bituin Komiks sometime in April 1950. Edited by Kulafu creator Francisco Reyes, with Mauro Malang Santos and Menny Martin as his assistants, the Bituin Komiks was issued in an irregular basis.

An extremely rare copy of Bituin Komiks. This is one of the only two issues of Bituin Komiks found in the author's collection.

Owned by Dona Beatriz Guballa, known as "Dona Bating", the Social and Commercial Press later changed its name into Bulaklak Publications. It published three komikbooks: the Bulaklak Komiks in August 1950, Manila Klasiks in 1952, and the Extra Komiks in 1953.

A rare copy of Manila Klasiks with a superior cover art by Tony de Zuniga. Author's collection. As an artist, De Zuniga was like a chameleon, often changing his styles to match his writer's ideas.

All Star Publications meanwhile published the Pantastik Komiks in October 1950, also edited by Ben Cabailo Jr. This was a sister piblication of Silangan Publications which issued Silangan Komiks (FOOTNOTE: I had an initial feeling that Silangan Publications and All-Star Publications were owned by Ben Cabailo although the editorial box did not mention the name of the owner. But in a casual conversation with Frank Redondo (younger brother of Nestor and Virgilio Redondo) sometime in 2004, he confirmed to me that he remembered it was indeed Cabailo who owned these komikbooks.)
Pantastik Komiks#2 with cool cover art by the great Francisco V. Coching. This mermaid komiks-nobela by Hector Rey Arkanghel predates Mars Ravelo's Dyesebel.

Most of these publishers had very small capital, had no printing presses of their own, or lacked the appeal to attract big advertisers. No wonder many of them died a natural death after only a few issues. None of them had equalled the success Ace’s komiks.

Mabuhay Komiks #10 with cover art by Bes Nievera for Teodoro Virrey's classic komiks-nobela, "Borong-Borong".

In fact by the end of the 1950s the Silangan, Bituin, Aksiyon, and Pantastik Komiks had ceased publications. With very little capital and lack of efficient distribution network, these komikbooks suffered the same fate of the Halakhak Komiks. The only saving grace for these komikbboks was that they contained some of the more visually appealing artworks by some of the budding artists at that time, like the Redondo brothers, Alfredo Alcala and Hugo Yonzon.

Aksiyon Komiks, for instance, had some of the greatest komiks novels of its time, like Mario del Mar’s Prinsipe Amante, as superbly illustrated by Alfredo Alcala, and Ang Kamay ni Hugo by Nolasco Panaligan. For a time the Aksiyon Komiks’ Prinsipe Amante series became a serious threat to Pilipino Komiks’ popularity. At about this time, however, a young Mars Ravelo started the popular Darna series, and Prinsipe Amante and Darna became the two most popular series being anticipated by Filipino komiks readers.

The komiks industry continued to grow. Old publishers were closing but more new ones emerged in their place. Some komiks changed ownerships but they continued to be issued.

Atomik Komiks #1 with a gorgeuos cover by Sir Fred Alcala. What a cool title this komiks has!

By 1954, there were at least 20 or so komiks titles that were being sold in the newsstands. The Filipinos passion for komiks had reached an unbelievable peak. Komiks reading had become the Filipinos' national pastime. Marte Komiks#1 by Marte Publications Inc., Manila Philippines. Possibly the first all Sci-Fi komiks-magazine in the Philippines. Cover art by Nestor P. Redondo. I really loved the way Redondo composed this worms-eye view of the lead character! I am very impressed!

Tsampiyon Komiks #4. "Domino" character by Ruben "Rubeny" Yandoc. Champion!

The Story of Ace Publications

2005-12-26T20:29:00.000-08:00

One morning in May of 1947, Tony Velasquez received a call from Don Ramon Roces, publisher of the Liwayway. The publishing magnate wanted to publish comics-magazines, and he wanted Velasquez to manage it.
Said Velasquez: "I did not give him a chance to change his mind. I immediately jumped at his offer. Even before his call, I was already toying with the idea of publishing komiks-magazines. So I thought Don Ramon was heaven's reply to my dream"
However, Don Ramon, was a little apprehensive about its business success, since only a year ago, the first regularly-published Philippine komiks-magazine, the Halakhak Komiks, closed business after only ten issues, its publisher financially ruined.
"I am not sure if this will last, but I want you to give it a try" Don Ramon said to Velasquez, "Just see what you can do about it "
"It will last, Don Ramon. I guarantee you that it will last" replied Velasquez.
The magnate was impressed with the confidence and enthusiasm exuded by his favorite cartoonist, and from then on, he knew he had chosen the right man to handle his pet project.
Don Ramon gave Velasquez 10,000 pesos as initial budget for the company.
A small office in one of the vacant rooms in the old Liwayway building in Sta. Cruz was provided, and there Velasquez started his new company which he called Ace Publications.

"Ace Publications started out with one office table and one typewriter" Velasquez recounted in his memoirs, "We occupied a miserable corner in the ground floor of the Liwayway building in Calero st., Sta. Cruz. It was a one-man enterprise atfirst. I was editor, proofreader, retoucher, illustrator, advertising manager, messenger, and solicitor rolled into one. I don't recall having a janitor then, so I used to clean the office too. I remember working with my pants rolled up to my knees because our little office got flooded when it rained"
Indeed, this was the humble beginning of the future big komiks industry in the Philippines.

Being Ace Publications founder and first employee, Tony Velasquez got I.D. #1. It's the only Ace I.D. that carried his two signatures. The first signature as an employee and the second as General manager. Cool!

"It was just after the war" Velasquez continued in his memoirs, "my cartoonists friends were not so busy then so I recruited them to join me in Ace"

Velasquez appropriately entitled Ace's first komik-magazine Pilipino Komiks, the font for the word komiks, which symbolized only Tagalog komiks, he himself designed. The Pilipino Komiks was destined to be the first of the big komiks magazines that will dominate the mass media entertainment in the Philippines.

The first issue of Pilipino Komiks. A rare copy of this comic-magazine is now being preserved by the author.

The first issue hit the streets on June 14, 1947 with initial print of 10,000 copies. Published forthnightly, at twenty-five centavos a copy, the Pilipino Komiks was easily affordable even by the man on the street and the first issue sold like a hot cake.

Included in the first issue was one of the longest-running serial komiks novels in the Philippines, DI-13 (a take-off of the famous American cartoon Dick Tracy) authored by Tony's brother Damy Velasquez and illustrated by Jesse Santos. Also included were Vicente Manansala's washed paneled story of Prinsesa Urduja, Amadeo Manalad's Makisig, Cris Caguintuan's Lagim, Fred Carillo's Daluyong, Larry Alcala's Kalabog, and Zabala Santos' Lukas Malakas. Velasquez had his own contribution in Nanong Pandak's two-page strip.

As a partial homage to the Liwayway where he started as a story illustrator, Velasquez included a short hilarious prose by E.D. Ramos, called “Si Tibong at si Tibang”.

On the eighth issue of Pilipino Komiks, Francisco V. Coching joined the staff of illustrators with his cartoon strip Paloma, his first comic strip in Ace Publications. Pilipino Komiks #15. Yearender issue 1947-48. Cover art by Tony Velasquez. Author's collection.

THE SUCCESS OF THE KOMIKS

“The Pilipino Komiks prospered and the initial capital of 10,000 was increased up to 100,000 plus a little cash dividend enjoyed by the stockholders. Fortunately, I was one of the original stockholders!” remarked Velasquez.

Ten issues later, the print order for Pilipino Komiks reached 25,000 copies. This, plus the regular whole page advertisement of Pepsi-Cola and several other small advertisers, managed to pull the publication into a height not equaled by the Halakhak Komiks. For sometime Pilipino Komiks monopolized the comic book market, it had no competition.

Eventually as Ace Publications expanded and more staff were hired, they got “somewhat cramped up in our little corner at the Liwayway Building. So we acquired temporary accommodations in the sprawling compound of the Capitol Publishing House, Inc. where we paid a rent of P1,900.00 a month”

“As we hired additional personnel, one by one, I lost my job as proofreader, advertising agent, retoucher, and janitor, although fortunately, I still retained my job as General Manager”, smiled Velasquez.

Pilipino Komiks was, and still is, the Philippines best-selling comics magazine. From its pages came the most memorable comics stories and serialized novels the Filipinos had grown familiar with like El Indio, Darna, DI-13, Bondying, Dyesebel, Kalabog en Bosyo, to mention a few.
By 1957, a mere ten years after the initial issue, the Pilipino Komiks had a print order from its distributors of 120,000 copies. Not bad for a once lowly comics that had an initial print of only 10,000.

Two years after its first issue and still the Pilipino Komiks was earning well and increasing its circulation. Indeed, Don Ramon’s apprehension that it would not last long was proven wrong. Certainly, Velasquez had proven to him that this was going to last long.
The success of Pilipino Komiks was brought about by what the previous Halakhak did not have: Big capital, a printing press, and effective distribution network (the nationwide agents of the Liwayway took the job as the Pilipino Komiks distributors).
About two years after, in 1949, inspired by the success of Pilipino Komiks, Velasquez created Tagalog Klasiks, the second komiks-magazine produced by Ace Publications.
Unlike Pilipino Komiks, which spunned original story materials of Philippine komiks writers, the first issue of Tagalog Klasiks contain Tagalog reprints of American comics classics such as the Arabian Nights, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and some other works mostly from stories illustrated by the American king of comics, Jack Kirby.

In its later issues, however, Tagalog Klasiks switched to original materials by such young writers as Clodualdo del Mundo, Pablo S. Gomez, Virgilio Redondo and Mars Ravelo. One of its more memorable runs was the komiks adaptation of Severino Reyes’ Lola Basyang stories, as rewritten by his own son Pedrito Reyes and illustrated by Jesus Ramos, and later on, Ruben Yandoc. Another popular series was Clodualdo del Mundo’s “Buhay ng mga Poon”. Tagalog Klasiks also became the venue for Mars Ravelo’s classic novel, ROBERTA, which went on to become one of the biggest box-office movies in 1951.

The second issue of the Tagalog Klasiks. The most popular series in the Tagalog Klasiks was Don Severino Reyes' "Mga Kwento ni Lola Basyang", as scripted into komiks by his son Pedrito Reyes. Cover art by Maning de Leon.Author's Collection.

In 1950 another Ace Publications komiks was born, entitled Hiwaga Komiks. This komiks featured works by budding artists like Nestor Redondo and Alfredo Alcala. It contained mystery stories, as its title implied, as well as fantasy and horror stories. In this komiks, Virgilio Redondo and his younger brother Nestor would team up for the fantasy novel “Ang Signo” a tale comparable in story to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings.
Another Mars Ravelo hit during the early issues of Hiwaga Komiks was Berdugo ng Mga Anghel, which was marvelously illustrated by Elpidio Torres.

The first issue of the Hiwaga Komiks. The cover features Coching's illustration for Mars Ravelo's Berdugo ng Mga Anghel". Its regular illustrator, however, was the equally talented Elpidio Torres. Author's collection.

In 1952, Velasquez, goaded by the great success of his earlier titles, created the fourth komiks of Ace Publications, which he entitled Espesyal Komiks. This komiks concentrated on action and detective stories. Particularly noteworthy among in its earlier issues was “Reyna Bandida” again by the Redondo brothers, and Binibining Pirata by the perennial team of Clodualdo del Mundo and Fred Carrillo. The cover of the first issue of Espesyal Komiks featured a novel by Virgilio Redondo and illustration by his younger brother Nestor Redondo:"Reyna Bandida"

In 1959, the fifth komiks-magazine of Ace Publications was born, the Kenkoy Komiks. This was published in pocket size, the first of its kind in the Philippines. In its later issues, however, Kenkoy Komiks was enlarged to regular-sized komiks magazine because elederly readers complained they could not read the komiks smaller fonts. Some even joked they could not use it anymore as pambalot ng tinapa (salted fish wrapper), or pambalot ng t--, since most Filipino homes during those times do not have private lavatories. Anyway those were just petty complaints. Tony Velasquez acceded to their request to transform it into a bigger size komiks.

An early issue of the pocket-size Kenkoy Komiks, Don Ramon's tribute to Velasquez' comic hero who made Liwayway a favorite magazine of the Filipinos. Kenkoy Komiks was later transformed into regular sized komiks-magazine.

The five-walled kingdom of Ace Publications was thus formed with the completion of the five komikbooks that Velasquez created for Don Ramon's publishing empire.

Hiwaga Komiks #29, 1951, with a magnificent cover art by Nestor Redondo. Author's collection.

For a time, there was a sixth komiks-magazine by Ace Publications, called Educational Klasiks Komiks, also published in pocket-size. This educational komiks was intended as a supplementary reading komiks magazine for private and public schools (again, the first of its kind to be published in the Philippines). This komiks contained only stories that have relationship to history, health, mathematics, science, and so on. This komiks did not last long, however, as it failed to gain the support of the government to make it a cumpolsory reading material in schools.

Tony Velasquez, the Father of the Philippine Komiks Industry

In 1962, Ace Publications was plunged into a crisis. Office and production staff of the company held strike in front of the Capitol Building. These workers demanded that they be given the same high salaries earned by komiks illustrators and writers. Since writers and illustrators were being paid in a per input manner (writers per story, and illustrators per page), the demand of the office and production staff was highly unacceptable. Don Ramon urged the workers to go back to work, but the latter held their ground.
In the following days, komiks production was virtually stopped, and Don Ramon was forced to close Ace Publications.
Thus was passed into the archives of history the greatest Filipino komiks-publications of all time.

A History of the Liwayway Magazine

2005-12-21T16:22:00.000-08:00

Don Ramon Roces’ figure loomed large in the history of popular publishing in the Philippines. If Tony Velasquez is recognized as the “Father of the Tagalog Komiks”, then Don Ramon Roces should rightfully be called its “Godfather”.

Of Spanish ancestry, Don Ramon came from an illustrious family that became prominent in the publishing business. His father, Don Alejandro Roces, Sr., was the recognized father of modern journalism in the Philippines.

In 1916, Don Alejandro purchased the fledgling Spanish language daily La Vanguardia and the Tagalog Taliba from their original owner Don Martin Ocampo.
The La Vanguardia was the descendant of El Renacimiento, a newspaper edited by Teodoro M. Kalaw, but the latter had to close it in 1923, in relation to the infamous libel suit filed by the American Dean Worcester.

By founding later the English Tribune in 1925(edited by the young Carlos Romulo), Don Alejandro had forged the links that established the newspaper empire in the Philippines. His newspaper triumvirate, Ang Taliba-La Vanguardia-Tribune, widely known as the T-V-T, had monopolized the newspaper industry of the pre war Philippines. The Taliba catered to Tagalog readers, the La Vanguardia to Spanish readers, and the Tribune to the English readers.

The T-V-T’s chief competitor was the DMHM (El Debate, Mabuhay, The Philippines Herald, and Monday Mail) newspaper chain of the Elizaldes, but these newspapers could not cope up with the circulation of the T-V-T, so that critics usually took the DMHM as to mean “Dito Muna Hanggang Meron”, to poke fun of the beatings these papers had to endure in comparison with the very popular T-V-T.

In 1922, Don Alejandro’s eldest son, Don Ramon, entered the reins of his father’s publishing empire. By building upon his father’s accomplishments, Don Ramon established a chain of vernacular magazines beginning with the publication of the Tagalog Liwayway in 1923.

The Liwayway was actually a re-issue of Don Ramon’s first published magazine, the Photo News, a news magazine jointly edited by Don Ramon Roces himself and the Filipino novelist Don Severino Reyes.

Don Severino Reyes, co-founder of the Liwayway. His "Kwento ni Lola Basyang" became the most beloved series in the Liwayway. His son, Pedrito Reyes, later took over the editorship of the Liwayway.

As its title implied, the Photo News was an illustrated magazine that contained news, essays, and prose and poetry.
Published forthnightly at 15 centavos a copy, the Photo News was written in trilingual sections: English, Spanish and Tagalog, presumably to cater to the major three language readers of the Philippines at the time, which were essentially the clientele of the T-V-T. Thus, English readers had only need of the Photo News’ English section; the Spanish readers its Spanish section; and the Tagalog readers its Tagalog section.
The readers who cannot read in any two of the sections thought that it was a waste of money paying for the other three-fourths of the magazine, which they could not understand. Thus the magazine did not sell very well and Don Ramon discontinued the magazine before the year was out. Frustrated, he went to Mindanao as a self-exile, and for a while, contemplated on establishing a coconut plantation there.
Being a vibrant young man, Don Ramon immediately felt homesick, and missed the hustle and bustle of city life. Three months later he was back in Manila. He learned his lesson, and now with a revived interest in publishing, called back Don Severino Reyes to resurrect Photo News, this time in pure Tagalog language. They established its new office in Calero St., a few blocks away from the Don Alejandro’s T-V-T building.

Don Severino adopted Liwayway as the magazine’s new title, which aptly means dawn, a new beginning.

On the front page of the first issue of Liwayway, dated November 18, 1922, Don Binoy greeted his past “patron” readers of the ill-fated Photo News, as well as the new magazine’s prospective sponsors, and announced the new look and contents of their resurrected magazine:

“Katulad ng isang panauhing umalis muna sa bahay niyang tinutuluyan, bago nagbalik na muli, sa aming pagsipot na ito na bago ang bihis at bago na ang gayak, ay muli kaming nagpupugay sa lahat.
Sa Pamahalaang nakatatag ay inihahandog namin ang aming pamimitaganan, sa mga kapamahayagan ay ang malugod na bati at pakikiramay at sa mga tumatangkilik sa amin---ang bayang mambabasa at ang mga bahay kalakal---ay ang lahat ng mabuting nais sa kanilang kabuhayan”.

A 1923 issue of the Liwayway. Author's collection.

Don Ramon and Don Severino made every effort to ensure that the Liwayway would not suffer the same fate of their ill-fated Photo News. Published weekly, the Liwayway’s cover price was tagged at 12 centavos, or 3 centavos cheaper than the forthnightly Photo News. It also had 40 pages, in contrast to the Photo News’ 28 pages, and it carried more pictures and illustrations.

A 1931 original cover art of the Liwayway by Tony Velasquez. One can readily see a heavy influence of Amorsolo on Velasquez early style. Author's collection.

In its early issues, the Liwayway carried the same typeface and overall design of the Photo News, but it was a considerably enlarged magazine. It also featured local and foreign news, as well as an expanded section on essay, short fiction and poetry.

It was in the pages of Liwayway where Don Severino’s “Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang” appeared. The “Lola Basyang” stories eventually became the most-widely read prose feature of Liwayway. For many years, readers mistook the real “Lola Basyang” as an old woman with loadful of ancient stories stuck in her ancient baul, only to find out later that she was actually a he, and a fat and balding one at that. This is the offset print of the original art shown above. Author's collection.

Don Severino recruited some of the literary giants of the time as regular contributors to the Liwayway. They included the poets Jose Corazon De Jesus, Florentino Collantes, Julian Cruz Balmaseda, Cecilio Apostol, and the writers Lope K. Santos, Inigo Ed Regalado, Romualdo Ramos, Francisco Laksamana, Fausto Galauran, and Don Binoy’s own talented son, Pedrito Reyes, who later succeeded his father to the magazine’s editorship.
Thus, even though the Liwayway was basically intended as a magazine for the man on the street, yet its prose and poetry was considered the best Tagalog literary output of the era. Some of the great Tagalog literary novels produced in those years were serialized in the Liwayway, many of which became classics in Tagalog literature.

To make the Liwayway more visually appealing, Don Severino recruited some of the best layout designers and artists of the time, which included among others Procopio Borromeo, Jorge Pineda, Jose V. Pereira, P. V. Coniconde and Antonio Gonzales Dumlao.

The Liwayway also became the vehicle for some of the Philippines early comic strips, like Tony Velasquez' Ang Mga Kabalbalan ni Kenkoy, J.M. Perez' Huapelo and Pamboy at Osang, Francisco Reyes' Kulafu, and Deo Gonzales' Isang Dakot na Kabulastugan. These became the starting point for the comics industry that later flourished in the Philippines/

The Liwayway gained the support of regular sponsors like Coca-Cola, Pepsi Cola, Chesterfield cigarettes, Zamora’s Tiki-tiki, Chrysler-Plymouth cars, Esco shoes, Ang Tibay shoes, and Botica Boie products. These advertisements ensured the magazine’s survival in the future.

A 1931 issue of Liwayway with a beautiful cover art by Tony Velasquez. Looks like Velasquez was influenced here by the American artist Norman Rockwell. Author's collection.

The Liwayway’s commercial triumph prompted Don Ramon to launch a sister Tagalog magazine, Hiwaga, in 1926. A year later, an English weekly, The Graphic, was published. Soon, other vernacular magazines in the other dialects of the Philippines came out in succession: Bisaya in 1932, Hiligaynon (Western Bisaya dialect) in 1934, Bikolnon in 1935, and the Ilocano Bannawag in 1940.

So popular Liwayway had become that Don Ramon decided to publish a thicker monthly supplement called Liwayway Extra beginning in 1936. At this time, Tony Velasquez was already promoted as Chief Artist of the Liwayway. The Liwayway Extra had more pages and more comic strips than the weekly Liwayway.
Original Cover art of the Liwayway Extra for November 1937. Art by Tony Velasquez, this cover features Liwayway's greatest star, Kenkoy, and his pal J.M. Perez' Pamboy. Author's collection.

During the Japanese Occupation, the Japanese Imperial Army confiscated the Liwayway. The Japanese continued Liwayway's weekly publication, knowing how much they could use the magazine to propagandize their occupation agenda. Kenkoy, the most popular comic strip in the Philippines at the time, was allowed to continue, but now the famous funny man would only mouth President Laurel's health and educational policies. In 1945, after the liberation of Manila, the Americans took over for a while the Liwayway, publishing it in pocket form due to the shortage of paper.

Liwayway after the Liberation of Manila. This cover poked fun at an American GI. Regarded by Filipinos as heroes, the GI had won the admiration of the Filipina women.

In 1946, the Liwayway was returned to Don Ramon Roces.

Don Ramon Roces, the "Grand Old Man of Philippine Popular Press"

In 1965, the aging Don Ramon decided to retire from publishing and sold the Liwayway to Hans Menzi, founder of the Manila Bulletin. Since then, it had changed ownership at least two more times, but still the magazine, owing to its popularity with the masses, continued publications. Surprisingly, this year the Manila Bulletin re-purchased the Liwayway. One can only wonder if in the future, the Roceses would also repurchase the Liwayway. Well, anything can happen indeed.

Now, the Liwayway is already 82 years old still going strong even if its already the oldest existing magazine in the Philippines. Throughout its existence it had become an indelible part of Philippine culture.It had witnessed events that are now a major part of Philippine history. If there is only such as a thing as a national award for a magazine, the Liwayway deserves one.

Tagalog Klasiks Komiks #1 1949

2005-12-20T07:36:00.000-08:00

This is a specimen of the earliest issue of Tagalog Klasiks (isinalarawan), dated July 16, 1949.
Contents of this comics include:
-Isang Libo't Isang Gabi sa Arabia (One Thousand and One Nights). Tagalog reprint of the same story appearing in Classics Illustrated #8.
-Walang Laya (looks to me that this was taken from a different american comics, possibly illustrated by Jack Kirby, since the credit box was removed)
-Mga Kwento ni Lola Basyang: Maryang Makiling by Severino Reyes and Maning de Leon
-Pusong Mapangarapin. Looks like another Kirby work.
Total pages:34. Originally priced at 25 philippine centavos.
Published by Ace Publications, Soler St., Manila Philippines.

Christmas Greetings from the Pioneer Filipino Cartoonists

2005-12-17T07:09:00.000-08:00

Here is an all-star caricature of the pioneer cartoonists of Pilipino Komiks. This wonderful page was drawn by Jose Zabala-Santos.

First row: on the upper left corner holding the "K" in Pilipino Komiks is Liborio "Gat" Gatbonton, one of my all-time favorite cartoonists. On the opposite direction was the muralist Amadeo Manalad.

Second row: the man bicycling on the tightrope is Damy Velasquez; next to him is Vicente Manansala (now national Artist for Fine Arts). The fellow on striped sando walking on the tightrope is Mars Ravelo. At the other end of the rope is Jose Zabala-Santos.

Third row: Francisco V. Coching(still holding his brush and bristol); the fellow holding the roasted pig is Mauro Malang Santos; next to him is Deo Gonzales; the fellow with the shades is Lib Abrena.

Last row: Tony Velasquez is the circus impresario (being the founder of Pilipino Komiks!); beneath him is Lagim artist Cris Caguintuan; the man riding the carabao is Fred Carrillo; the fellow on the toy bike is Jessie Santos; last but not the least, the happy fellow walking the dog and holding a camera is none other than Larry Alcala, when he was a little thinner.

Merry Christmas to everyone!! And enjoy the season to the fullest!!

Alex Nino's "Ang Akin ay Para sa Lahat"

2005-12-14T10:05:00.000-08:00

One of the light-hearted illustrations Nino had drawn for Pablo S. Gomez' novel "Ang Akin ay para sa Lahat", during their tandem years in Gomez' PSG Publications. This komiks-novela was filmed starring Fernando Poe Jr. in the lead role as "Emong" who sort of adopted orphans into his care. Ironically, two of his adopted urchins were a twin named Susan and Roces, which makes people think that this novel was really tailored for FPJ and his wife, Susan Roces (who is Pablo's best friend)
Although Nino would be best known in sci-fi and fantasy illustrations, not many people know that he also excelled in humorous drawings, such as the splash page shown above. Published in the Universal Komiks, circa 1960s.

King Kong in Philippine Komiks

2005-12-13T09:01:00.000-08:00

I am such a big fan of King Kong that when a friend offered me an old Tagalog komiks with a King Kong cover, I just couldn't refuse, even if the price is way high on my budget.
This King Kong is different though. In this version, the giant ape is featured as four-armed and two-headed monster. Yet, just like the classic King Kong, the beast is holding his beauty right in his hand! Nice artwork by our very own komiks illustrator, Rudy Nebres.

Pablo S. Gomez, Komiks Writer

2005-12-07T09:36:00.000-08:00

Pablo S. Gomez is one of the Philippines' greatest komiks writers. A prolific writer, he has written innumerable komiks short stories and holds the record for the most komiks-nobelas written by a single author: more than 200 nobelas. (Mars Ravelo once held the record, but he died earlier and Pablo still writes to this day)
Pablo is the last of the great komiks-writers from the Golden Age of Philippine Komiks, an era when komiks writing reached its pinnacle because of Gomez' and his contemporaries (Clodualdo del Mundo, Francisco Coching, Mars Ravelo, and Tony Velasquez)writings.
Gomez' more famous komiks-nobelas were Kurdapya, Eva Fonda, Pitong Gatang, MN, Kamay ni Hilda, Recuerdo, Susanang Daldal, Taong Buwaya, Batang Bangkusay, Pagbabalik ng Lawin, and of course, Kampanerang Kuba.
"I was writing for as long as I can remember it", he smiles. "Komiks writing comes naturally for me, its just like a normal thing to do everyday, just like eating"
In 1963, when Ace Publications closed down due to labor strike, Gomez started his own publications company, the PSG Publications. It published such titles as United Komiks, Continental Komiks, Universal Komiks, Kidlat Komiks, and Planet Komiks. His publications company started the careers of many great komiks artists and writers like Alex Nino and Carlo J. Caparas, to name a few.
For a time, PSG became the biggest rival of GASI, until Pablo was forced to close the company due to the slump in the komiks business because of Martial Law. Yet, he never stopped writing. He has hundreds of stories and scripts still unpublished to this day, all of them he kept stored in his steel file cabinet, or on top of his table, or under his oval bed (which was a gift by his friend Ms. Susan Roces). Up to now, Pablo never gets tired of writing, and everytime I visit him in his home, I usually find him in front of his vintage typewriter creating new stories and plots for the younger generation of komiks readers. One can only wonder at the sheer force of his imagination and the vastness of his knowledge.
Indeed, like his craft, Pablo is ageless, and like his greatest works, he is immortal.

Carlos "Botong" Francisco's Siete Infantes de Lara

2005-12-05T07:15:00.000-08:00

At last, I have found a copy of one of the most important comic strips in the history of Philippine komiks: Carlos "Botong" Francsico's Siete Infantes de Lara!
Serendipity indeed plays a major part in the building of my komiks collection, just as when the times I rediscovered the original first issue of Varga/Darna, (now happily enshrined in the Darna Website), the first issues of Kenkoy (now happily reprinted), Coching's Alamid, or Lib Abrena's Ipu-Ipo.
Now comes the Siete Infantes de Lara comic strip by our National Artist Botong Francisco. I kept hearing about this from my old komiks mentors like Virgilio Redondo (who once owned several of the original pages! He sold them to an unknown Botong admirer for 1000 pesos each during the 1970s!), Tony Tenorio, and Pablo Gomez.
I had been searching for it for the longest time, but could not find any copy: not in the National Library, not even in the Lopez Museum, which is a treasure trove of early Philippine magazines.
Then yesterday, as I was going through my usual rounds of my friends' antique shops in Ermita I saw by chance old copies of Bulaklak magazines stacked in the new arrival inventory. Since I know in the first place that Siete Infantes appeared in Bulaklak from 1948-49, I looked for the magazine corresponding to that year. Luckily, there was one copy for the year 1948, and upon checking the inside pages, uereka! The first issue of Siete Infantes is right in front of me. Botong's komiks nickname was right there: "Boots"
As a komiks collector, a Pinoy movie geek, and a fan of Botong, this find is doubly important for me. Now I am a little closer in making a partial catalogueing of komiks strips by the great masters of the glorious days of komiks.
Being a Pinoy movie fan, I can also relate to Siete Infantes, since it was later made into a movie directed by the great Manuel Conde. During my childhood years, I distinctly remember its numerous reruns in a local TV station during lazy afternoons. Back then, our TV set was a wooden encased 25 inch black and white Zenith with a dial knob to switch channels, and a screen that had a sliding door to boot!
Anyway, I love those Filipino movies about kings, princes and castles like Apat na Alas, Prinsipe Amante, and of course, Siete Infantes de lara.
I still remember that one of the Siete Infantes was Eddie Garcia in his first starring role. The other Infantes were Jaime Castelvi, George Sanderson, Albert Madison, Gil de Leon (dad of Christopher de Leon), Mario Montenegro, and Johnny Monteiro. It also was the first film appearance of Nida Blanca who was cast as a young girl in the movie (she would later get a full starring role in the film Korea, 1952).
Siete Infantes de Lara by Botong Francisco. A comic strip by one of our great National Artists. Next time around, I shall feature comic strips by Vicente Manasala and Fernando Amorsolo. Now, no foolish art critic would say that komiks is an inferior artists' trade, right?

Philippine Cartoons during the Japanese Occupation Part 1

2005-12-02T01:08:00.000-08:00

Philippine Cartoons during the Japanese Occupation

(Note by the author: I have written this essay a few months ago. I have hardly have time to edit it so I beg your compassion if there are errors in grammar and composition. I have tried with great care to avoid errors in historical facts as they could be very hard to correct once read by people. This article is a much-shortened version of the 30 plus page I have originally written. My plan is to make this into a weekly installment article in this blog. People just tend to get tired easily reading long articles in the internet.
It is virtually impossible to trace the copyright owners of the images that will appear herein. What I have in mind is to make this blog a humble contribution to the growing awareness of our rich komiks heritage. Of course, everyone knows that a blogger receives nothing financially, so I ask the indulgence of everyone concerned)

Introduction

Cartoons were put to effective use during the Japanese occupation as a tool of propaganda. The Japanese knew well that cartoons had a wide appeal to people, and they took advantage of its popularity to propagandize their policy of occupation.

A Need for Moral Justification

Throughout history, every conquering nation needs to come up with a moral justification for occupying another nation. In its history, the Philippines had been conquered three times by foreign powers. These conquering nations- Spain, the United States and Japan- need to make a valid and justified moral reason in order to win over the cooperation of the subjugated nation. This is an imperative colonial strategy in order to establish a moral ascendancy to rule, as well as to dissipate any future revolt by the conquered populace.
When Spain conquered the Philippines, the moral justification was that they aimed to spread Catholicism in a pagan country, to make Christians out of heathens. The tools of propaganda were the friars who brought with them religious rites and ceremonies to attract the population.
In the case of the United States’ conquest of the Philippines, its moral justification was the credo of colonial rule: “White Man’s Burden”: that it was the moral duty of the white people, being the superior race, to take care of his less-fortunate “brown” brothers, i.e, the Filipinos.

The Japanese, on their part, had to invent their own moral justification when they attacked the Philippines during the Second World War. They claimed that it was the Americans, and not the Filipinos, they were waging war against. Their propaganda was the credo Asia for Asians, Philippines for the Filipinos. They posed themselves as liberators instead of conquerors.
In order to better convince the Filipinos of their “friendly” invasion, the Japanese had to resort to the use of propaganda. In a propaganda war, the printed word is an effective weapon to convince, to manipulate, and to conquer. More so was the use of graphic images such as cartoons and comic strips, as they have mass appeal and can easily be understood by people.

Cartoons as Propaganda Tool

As soon as Japanese war planes hovered over Philippine skies, the Japanese already began to use propaganda tactics in order to justify their invasion. Japanese pilots dropped hundreds of leaflets from the skies in order to win over the support of the Filipinos against the Americans.

This leaflet portrayed that the Japanese were in fact liberators of the Filipinos from the American colonizers.

This cartoon leaflet was meant to remind the Filipinos of American atrocities during the Filipino-American War of 1899. Although there were indeed atrocities committed by the Americans during the Fil-Am War, yet this cartoon had errors in fact. Leonard Wood was not yet in the Philippine Islands when this war happened.

Dropped by Japanese war planes in the island of Corregidor during the intense bombing of the island fortress, this leaflet was meant to convey the message to the Filipino-American soldiers the futility of fighting, and to surrender, as their resistance was hopeless. The Filipino soldiers at this time were already demoralized by the lack of food and constant bombings by the Japanese, and the cartoons showing plenty of food waiting for them outside Corregidor was meant to take advantage of this weakness.

(to be continued...)

Alfredo Alcala's Zombie

2005-11-30T10:02:00.000-08:00

This original page captures all the classic hallmarks of an Alfredo Alcala comic art. Intricate cross-hatchings, lush brush strokes, superior light and shade treatrment, and over-all magnificent composition. Published in the Universal Komiks, 1971. Story by Pablo S. Gomez.

Alex Nino's Mikrobyo (Detail)

2005-11-29T08:52:00.000-08:00

One of my most favorite pages in my collection of original comic art: Alex Nino's first published artwork in the Graphic Arts Service, Inc.(GASI), circa 1966. In this amazing page Alex had summoned all the dark creatures of Philippine lower mythology for a story concepted by the Father of Philippine Komiks, Tony Velasquez. You can see them all here in this rare grand reunion ocassion: The Kapre, the Manananggal, the Aswang, the Dwende, the Tiyanak, and the Tikbalang. Tony Velasquez' opinion on this artwork: "A work of a genius".