Art Roots Part 2

I have started appreciating komiks (that's comics in the Philiipines. Mostly in the form of collective 4-pages anthologies with serialized novels) at a very young age. so young that by that time I didn't even know how to read or write. There's a lot of komiks available then and it has a weekly or bi- weekly publication issues. In an era where internet is yet non- existent and televisions were very limited only on affluent households, komiks really were the favourite past time of filipinos young and old. My mother who collects a lot of them were the one who introduced me informally to this media. And before long it has become an instrument and a very important tool for me to persever on reading and understand the galaxy of words written all over the beautifully drawn pictures. and as I grew older and understand the stories, i became hooked unto it and every week I just have to get my next fix. of course it was only in time that i too, would want to do my own komiks and dreamth of becoming these more-than-mortal artists responsible of creating these natural, magical and sometimes surreal kind or illustrations.


*One of the best artist to ever grace the Philippine komiks(and even the world) is Alfredo Alcala. This is a page taken from his serial, "Voltar".

By age ten i began making my own comicbook. In order to achieve this, I often save my 50 centavo allowance then to buy long bond papers (legal sized, as it is called now). I would group at least 7 pieces of these papers and bind them by folding in the middle and fasten them with staplers. After that, I will retire to my drawing board (actually an old table used by my teacher mother before she got a new one) and with my stapled papers, ballpen, ruler and a handfull or komiks i used for references and swiping, I'm off to neverland--drawing and writing at the same time(imprumptu) in my own comicbook. My younger brothers were so influenced by these that they actually learned drawings too by always watching me doing my thing. Especially my fourth brother, who liked to watch intently while I do my stuff.

i have never been a very good keeper of my things. Most of my drawings then were either lost, stolen (yes, the compiled ones) and some were sold (yes, it's true) to classmates who didn't keep it well too. A couple or so left (some drawings i did back in high school are with my brother who i hope still kept them in good shape).