Blog Post: Renaissance

02/24/10

I first read about Renaissance over at Comicology and was wondering what the event was supposed to be about. Bim’s updates really whet my appetite though, with lists of artists and writers that included just about everyone who was anyone in the Philippine comic scene.

Just look at this list of the artists who participated!

And all that is LOCAL talent. It’s awesome.

Myself, I only recently found out how long Pinoys have been in the comic field. Of course, having grown up in the States, one didn’t hear much about people like Alfredo Alcala who did things like Batman and Hellblazer or Adrian Gonzales who helped bring about He-Man. I found out that Philippine artists even had a hand in creating my favorite movie of all time, Transformers (the 1986 animated film NOT the Bay version, children). Rico Rival, one of the artists who was at the Mega Trade Hall on Sunday was a storyboard artist on the film (though unfortunately, he didn’t remember how to draw Optimus Prime any longer when I asked).

Sure Pinoys in the industry may be a little thing, but when you come from a country as small as the Philippines, with our ingrained defeatist attitudes, it’s great to know that there are role models for young kids just now starting to say “when I grow up I want to be…” I’d rather hear a kid finish that sentence with “… a comic book artist like Leinil Francis Yu!” than “… a politician like (insert present presidential candidate here).”

For those who don’t follow Comicology, Renaissance is the brainchild of Whilce Portacio, Philip Tan, and Ernest Hernandez of Hobbylink Productions. It was a charity event that was held to help artists who have fallen on tough times due to the recent flooding caused by Typhoon Ondoy. Aside from getting that amazing roster of artists in one place for book signing and sketches, the organizers put together a book of pinups created by the artists. Each piece shows a Filipino superhero/character fighting to save lives in the midst of the rains on the day of the deluge.

Here’s a sample of some of the art in the book:

The book itself was on sale at a launching price of Php 300.00. Even with the Php 100.00 entrance fee, the book was still cheaper than the price it’ll retail for (Php 500.00). It’s printed by Anvil Publishing and is pretty thick (though lightweight paper was used). It was pretty easy to get the whole thing signed by all the artists at the event if you were there at 1pm onwards. Even Michael V stopped in to say hi to fans who might want him to autograph his page. I decided against trying for the signatures since I knew if I had one, I’d need them all. I like most geeks, suffer from Completist Compulsion Conundrum or C3 as I call it.

Aside from the artists doing autographs and sketches (Php 50.00 each), there were some exhibitors from a few of the faces I usually see at conventions. Budjette Tan was there along with Kajo Baldisimo and Ian St. Maria to promote Alamat comics Trese and Skyworld (I bought more copies of both to get them signed, and conned a friend into buying them as well). Gerry Alanguilan and Komikero Publishing were there with copies of Where Bold Stars Go to Die (another great local comic) and Elmer. Manix Abrera was there with shirts and copies of his Kiko Machine books which were also available at the National Bookstore kiosk. Kalayaan and Bayan Knights and Beerkada, etc, etc.

There was also a great display for the late Alfredo P. Alcala. Like I said, I had very little knowledge of the kind of things Filipinos had done in the comic industry and this little wall made my day.

Also on display were the works of Halimaw Sculptures, The Art Department and Hobbymaster. I always love seeing the work that these guys do. If I had the extra cash lying around, god knows I would have bought that Hulk head from The Art Department a long time back.

There were also the comic and toy vendors that you’ll usually see at events, though they were fewer this time around. I didn’t see the big comic stores like Comic Quest or Comic Odyssey around, and only the only big toy dealer was 2Rats. I hear there were still some pretty good deals.

Early in the morning there was also a panel discussion about Pinoys in comics, though attendance was pretty poor. Probably would have gone off better if it was held later in the day. Bands were also playing, but again, not many people were paying attention to them.

The real draw of course was the artists. The artists table was where most of the people crowded around. You could buy “official” paper for an artist sketch for Php 50.00, but they could only do 10 each. They were also signing books though which was great.

Despite a slow start, I thought it was a great event. I hope to see more of these types of conventions in the future, as well as other collaborative efforts like the Renaissance book.

At the end of the day, this is what I brought home. 2 copies of the Renaissance book, A Kite of Stars by Dean Francis Alfar, Trese: the Mass Murders signed by Budjette Tan, Volumes 1 and 2 of Skyworld signed by Ian St. Maria, 2 other ashcans from the Alamat table, a Playmates T-1 for only Php 100.00 and various other toys from other people I met at the mall:

A pretty good day.