GERRY ALANGUILAN INTERVIEW 2/3
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) : You'll have a blog where you discuss about your artistic life. Is it for you an obligation to speak about your own experience ?
Gerry Alanguilan (GA) : Nothing I do is done out of obligation because it connotes that I do things because "I have to." I don't want to be put into a position that "I have to" do things rather than just wanting to do things. I have my blog because I like to write and share my experiences. I really don't care if just a few people read it. It's just something I want to do and if someone finds something I write useful, then it's fantastic.
SL : 12 - Do you also often go on fan websites or forums to know what your readers think about your work ?
GA : I do, actually. Feedback is important to me, and it affects the work I do a lot. When I get lots of negative feedback about a certain thing, I consider it and try to analyze what I'm doing wrong and try to fix it. And often I would post on message
boards when I feel I have something to contribute, or give my side about a certain topic.
SL : 13 - When you do conferences or conventions, you have interaction with your fans (or your audience) ? What your main concern when you have these ? Perhaps you have a funny anecdote to share with us ?
GA : The one concern that I've had is not too many people have had the chance to hear me speak. It's a frustration that comes out, not from ego, but from a frustration that certain issues I feel people need to be informed about are not there to hear it.
It's happened previously during one particular comics conference. I was scheduled very early in the day when no one was around yet. Consequently, only a few people got to listen to my lecture about the history of comics in the Philippines and the
negative impression that it has had in our country for many years.
But there have been funny things that happened at one of the conventions I went to. I had a table which I shared with a few artist friends. A friend of mine was sitting by the table and I was standing behind him. Out of the blue, one guy, clearly
nervous, gushed at the sight of my friend, holding up his right hand to shake my friend's hand. "Oh it's so good to meet you, I'm a big fan." Clearly flattered but puzzled, my friend thanked the guy, wondering what it is he did to warrant it. Then
the guy said, "I've long wanted to meet you Mr. Gerry Alanguilan!" I was too embarrassed for the guy to say anything, but I didn't want to be the one to break the news. My friend did it for me.
SL : 14 - Do you already think about doing online comics, webcomics, or "virtual" work ?
GA : Yes. I spend a considerable time in 2007 with webcomics. I attempted to do a daily diary strip at Webcomicsnation and managed to do it for a few months before losing steam. I didn't earn anything at all from it, nor did I get any significant exposure over it. I wouldn't say it was a wasted experience, as I did learn not to put all my eggs in that basket.
I eventually decided to serialize my 1996 comic book Wasted, also on Webcomicsnation, which can be accessed here.
Wasted, after being in print for 4 editions here in the Philippines (Minicomics, published by Alamat, serialized in Pulp Magazine, then lastly, published as a book by Pulp Magazine.), was out of print. I decided to just put it online for everyone to read for free.
And quite recently, I've also put up the first issue of my current comic book ELMER online as a downloadable CBR file which one can download here.
I did this not only because Elmer #1 has been sold out, but because I'm hoping to garner a bit of interest for the rest of the series, #2 and #3 are currently available, with #4, the last issue, on the way.
SL : 15 - So after all these years of ink's jobs, what the most important part about the decision to quit ? Is it a difficult decision to make or the logical one, necessary, at the right time ?
GA : Yes, it was a very difficult decision, but not necessarily a logical one. Many people thought I was stupid. I was letting go good work that paid really well. But having wanted to do comics so I can create stories and illustrate characters and worlds it was incredibly stifling to follow the lead of other artists for so long. I've been an inker for 10 years, and that's long enough to know that our work isn't tracing, but even then, I still couldn't exert my own creativity widely enough to satisfy me. I wanted to CREATE. I wanted to WRITE and I wanted to DRAW. If I didn't do it soon, I knew I would die creatively and spiritually. I knew I would just waste away. I would have money, but I would be very unhappy.
SL : 16 - And do you have a preference on the stories that you want to do ? Super-Heroes stories or more earth grounded ?
GA : No real preference for me. I find I can work on any type of story as long as I feel I can make a good story. Looking through the stuff I've done, I can confidently say that not one of them is similar to the other. All of them have been completely different in theme, setting, and genre.
In fact, one of the things I've been wanting to do (one I've already completely written), is somewhat pornographic in nature, but hopefully tastefully done. The title of this is "Where Bold Stars Go To Die". I've been carrying this story with me for maybe 5 years now. I've asked two other artists to draw it for me, but none came out of it. I decided to draw it myself only recently. I was hesitant to do it because drawing women had been a weakness of mine. But I think there's no better opportunity to face this weakness and improve by doing this.
Another story I'm working on is "The Marvelous Adventures of the Amazing Dr. Rizal", which is basically for younger readers. It's a sci-fi take on the Philippines' National hero.
Right now I have a story running in a local magazine, a story that I can probably consider my stab at a super hero story. I've always had difficulty doing something like that because it was far and away beyond my personal experience. The story is entitled "TIMAWA", a kind of Daredevil-The Phantom type of hero, non-superpowered, but extremely strong, agile and intelligent.
They're all rather different from each other and I really like it I'm not restricted to any particular way of doing comics.
SL : 17 - Where do your inspiration come from ? Real life, own experience or readings ?
GA : All of the above. I get my ideas from anywhere I can get them. I keep a big black book of ideas where I write down ideas as I get them. Sometimes I would an idea about a cool story while I'm sitting down in church listening to the sermon of the priest. Sometimes I'll get an idea when I'm riding in a bus. It can strike me anywhere. Getting that idea is the important thing so I write everything down. Not every idea turns out to be a good one, but once in a while an idea leads to something bigger, and eventually becomes a comic book.
SL : 18 - You also doing adults comics, is this a choice ? Because you have stories you absolutely want to tell about and cannot do it in another way ?
GA : It is a choice, but it's not a pre-meditated choice of doing "adult" comics. The idea really comes first, and the story. That's what's important. If it's an adult story and it would be best told that way, then that is what it's going to be. I don't make a conscious decision to do an adult story, and THEN write the story. No, the story comes first and if it turns out that story is for adults, then that's how I'll do it. That's how it has always been for my comics.
Strangely enough, a lot of my output, at least the more personal ones like WASTED and ELMER had been for older readers. There was a point that a reader of mine wrote to me, "When are you going to do comics that my niece can read?". I answered I really don't know. I couldn't decide that I'll do an all ages story and then do it. In my mind the work would become forced and insincere. So when the idea came to do a fanciful take on our National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal, I realized it can be best told, not as a story for adults only, but for all ages. And that's what I did. I've already done a few pages from it, and was supposed to have been published in a local magazine, but it seems their budget ran out. I'm continuing to do the story, in the hopes of publishing it myself in the future.
SL : 19 - And what is your method of work ? Do you do a lot of research for pictures or art ? Do you prefer working at night when all is calm or in day with music or television ?
GA : Before I start writing or drawing, I do a lot of research. I go online and try to find as much information on the subject I'm going to do. I also buy books and magazines on the subject. For ELMER, I did a lot of research on chickens. I went online, bought books and consulted with a poultry expert just so I can get certain things right.
When I did adaptations of classic stories for Graphics Classics like for example The Black Cat for their Graphic Classics Special Edition (free on Free Comic Book Day), I did a lot of research on 1840 New England clothing, architecture, law enforcement, hairstyles, and so forth. I find it very hard to start drawing until I know what I'm drawing won't be considered inaccurate or wrong.
I can pretty much work at any time of the day. My favorite is actually early in the morning, from 6:00am to 9:00am. Everything is still quiet and the only thing you can hear (at least here in my neighborhood) are birds, people sweeping leaves, chickens and the occassional barking dog. After 9 I do my emails, household chores like cooking breakfast, watering the plants, cooking lunch (I'm the cook in the house).
I start work again after lunch. I usually take a couple of hours or so nap in the afternoon when it's too hot to work. Then I start work again. Cook dinner, and then work throughout the night until around 12-1:00am.
I like the TV to be on. I don't really watch, but just listen. Often I would listen to DVD audio commentaries of favorite movies just so I can have something to listen to while I draw.
When I write however, I prefer total silence.
SL : 20 - So deadlines are not synonyms of stress or changes in your method of work ?
GA : Yes they are. :) Deadlines are always stressful, specially after realizing through my 16 years of working comics, that I'm not as fast as I want to be. Once in a while I'd blow deadlines, which is always awful. But I do try my best and try to start as early as I can. The only change that deadlines make is that I sleep less, work more, and end up not taking a bath all that much. It's terrible. I'd rather just start as soon as I can so I don't end up cramming in the end.