GERRY ALANGUILAN INTERVIEW 1/3
April 2008
I would be always grateful to Gerry Alanguilan to leave me as much freedom and time to share his passion and his art.
Sébastien Lecocq (SL) : 1 - Can you tell us a little bit about you for our visitors who don't know who you are ?
Gerry Alanguilan (GA) : Hello! My name is Gerry Alanguilan. I was an inker for Marvel, DC and Image for 10 years, working on titles like Superman: Birthright, Batman: Danger Girl, Wolverine, X-men, X-Force, Darkness and many more. I also pencilled and inked comics adaptations for Graphic Classics, adapting short stories by the likes of Bram Stoker, O. Henry, Rafael Sabatini, and Edgar Allan Poe.
In the Philippines, I write, draw, color and occasionally publish my own comics. I've created titles like Wasted, Humanis Rex! Johnny Balbona, Dead Heart Stories, and currently ELMER and The Marvelous Adventures of the Amazing Dr. Rizal.
I also create an online museum of classic Philippine comics art, showcasing art and artists from the golden age of Philippine comics, which can be found here.
I also teach Comics Illustration and give lectures about the history and art of Philippine comics all over the Philippines.
SL : 2 - Well, it's makes you a very occupied person... Do you publish some of your own work in the Philippines because it'll be difficult to be published in the Us market, or by choice, because you think it's an obligation to perpetuate your art in your own country ? With i think also more freedom in every aspect of the your production ?
GA : The reason for my publishing comics in the Philippines comes more from my own love of our local comics industry. I have great respect and love for our history and legacy of comic book art (why else would I devote so much time collecting and archiving artwork from our comics published from the 1940's to the 1970's). Our local industry has been struggling and it's been very frustrating for me that very little was being done. I decided to try and contribute whatever I can and publishing comics here is one of those things.
I love getting a lot of freedom creating comics. And when I get that freedom, I do the best I can so I can show people that I do my best work when I'm free to do what I want. I normally avoid jobs that has a lot of restrictions, even if they pay well because I simply can't do my best work in that kind of atmosphere. Because of things I self publish like ELMER, people look for that kind of work when they hire me to do comics for their publications, and they pretty much leave me alone to do what I want. It's a freedom that's hard won, and it's something I couldn't have had if I didn't stick to my guns and fought for what I wanted.
I'm also practical. ELMER is written in English because I do plan on looking for a publisher for it in the US when it's done. It's tactically and financially difficult to distribute to the US directly so it's better to just look for a publisher. A couple already expressed some interest in it, so that's at least hopeful.
SL : 3 - Do this mean you cannot have this freedom if you'll directly published your work in USA ? and the reading audience in your country is very different. So now you worked more specifically for you and wanted to tell your stories ?
GA : I'm not sure if I won't have the same kind of freedom had I looked for a publisher in the US first. My intention was to really establish my own publishing company and publish comics here in the Philippines. But just like here in the Philippines, I have to prove and show to people that I know how to create comics, hopefully GOOD comics. That way, they can trust me to do good comics when they give me that freedom. Publishing my own comics allows me the create that evidence that I can do those kinds of comics. I don't have to just promise them that I know how to do it, I can show them that I know how to do it, and do it well.
There's not much difference in how I do comics, specifically ELMER whether it's here in the Philippines or abroad. I just do the best job that I can. I try to create comics that hopefully doesn't insult the intelligence of the reader. ELMER is a basically a generic comic book in that its not really set anywhere specific in the world. It could happen anywhere. There's no overt representation of any particular culture so people from anywhere in the world can read it and not feel that it's too "exotic".
SL : 4 - Was It always a dream since your childhood to be an artist and why do you choose the Inking finally ?
GA : I've always wanted to draw comics but when it came to working for US comics, inking was chosen for me by Whilce Portacio, who felt my inking was stronger than my pencilling at that point. It wasn't what I wanted, but I grew to like it. But after 10 years of doing it, I thought I've had enough because I felt my creatively was being severely hampered. I retired from inking and started to create my own comics.
SL : 5 - Do you remember and can you tell us more about your first published work ? What do you feel when you see it printed ? (in the Philippines and in USA)
GA : The very first published work I had in the Philippines was in 1990 when a drawing of mine appeared in a local national daily. The very first thing I got published in the US was a painting of Conan which appeared in Wizard #15 in 1992.
It was thrilling seeing my work in print, and it always is. The thrill hasn't really gone away for me. I remember my very first published work in an actual comic book, at least the very first mainstream thing I did, which was Wetworks #14
for Image. It was so awesome seeing my name on the cover that I just couldn't help bragging about it to the pretty salesgirl at the comics store (yes, we have pretty salesgirls at our comic book shops over here.). I told her, look, that's my name?
She didn't believe me until I showed her my ID. I never did it again though, because it was kind of embarrassing. But the thrill really hasn't gone away. I still get very excited when I pass by a newsstand or a comic book shop and I see a
comic book or magazine with my work on it.
SL : 6 - Well i suppose you're also a great reader of comics ? Do you buy a lot of them regularly ? Do you also know european artists and read mangas ?
GA : I used to be a huge comic book reader. My reading has admittedly lessened in recent years because quite simply, there are less and less comics I want to read. In America comics has just gotten too serious and dark. And while there is a place for that, and there's a place for things like Watchmen and Miracleman and Dark Knight...if you apply that sensibility to most comics, even comics that I had enjoyed as a kid like X-Men, Avengers and Spiderman, I find there's something wrong with that.
I have very little access to European comics but I always buy them when I come across them. My collection of Tintin is of course, complete, and I've read a lot of Asterix because they're widely available here. I came across a Spanish edition of a Lewis Trondheim album, which is the only one I've seen of his work locally. I would love to see more. I have a lot of Marvel edition Moebius Graphic Novels.
I do read manga as well, and I could Barefoot Gen, Lone Wolf and Cub, Gon and Blade of the Immortal as favorites.
SL : 7 - Do you have a preference for a genre like science-fiction, super-heroes, polar/thriller or for all because there is good everywhere ? In America, even if all writers seems to write more grim stories, do you have tittles you continue to buy regularly ? Or you don't mind about the characters and it's more an artistic approach and buy tittles because of the artists in command ?
GA : Mostly I follow creators. I generally read anything that Frank Miller, Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore write. Whatever it is, whatever genre it's in.I buy anything that Barry Windsor Smith and David Mazzucchelli illustrate, no matter who writes it and in what genre. Because none of them do comics regularly, I don't buy comics regularly. I want to start buying comics for fun, but I'm 82 kilometers away from the nearest store and I don't get to go to Manila that often.
Recently, I've been buying compilations of comics from the 70's and 80's such as the Showcase editions from DC, Essential books from Marvel. I recently bought the X-Men Omnibus with Claremont, Cockrum and Byrne. I love those comics growing up.
SL : 8 - Which artists (or painters) do you think influence your art or the ones who are always a source of inspiration even today ?
GA : Barry Windsor Smith, David Mazzucchelli and Francisco V. Coching are artists who will always be inspirations to me. I simply can't get tired of looking at, and appreciating their work.
There are a lot of other artists who have inspired me through the years. Not all of them are from comics like Franklin Booth, Salvador Dali, Bob Peak, Fernando Amorsolo, etc.
SL : 9 - Do you have a goal in your life ? A thing you like to be remember for ?
GA : My fixed goal is to always continue to do comics. Early on I thought I'd be happy to just draw. It was terrific having to work on Superman and other popular characters. But beginning with Wasted in 1994, I found great satisfaction in creating my own comic books. I've created a lot of comics that I have been able to distribute here in the Philippines, but like any creator, I would like to have a much wider audience for my stories. I hope to be able to write and draw stories that will be distributed internationally. It's something I'm attempting to do with Elmer. It's been very challenging to get this book out there, and it's the challenge is still ongoing. I'd like to be optimistic and say that it could be the start of something good for me.
SL : 10 - So, What can we expect from you in the (near) future ?
GA : The thing I'm currently working on is the last issue of Elmer, and my continuing strip Timawa for a Philippine magazine. Once I finish Elmer, I'm hoping to be able to find a publisher for it in the US and possibly elsewhere just so I could share this story with a lot more people.