Bad Influence

Hey kids (and fine folks of the interwebs)!
Today on our blogspot, we are to share to you our comic influences. Our humble beginnings so to speak.
This would be the folks that inspired us to be who we are today.

This was supposed to be part of a presentation for our
art talk that unfortunately did not push through due to the lack of USB slots/computers/projectors/internet.
Hence we are uploading the entire material here and now, just in case the need for it arises.
This be a short and sweet list so bear with us.
Can you do that?
GOOD!
Let's begin!

Although we look young (ang kapal!!!), we aren't exactly "Millenials"
For we are indeed a product of both the late 80's and the early 90's.

Let's pause for a second and enjoy our democracy.
For we are now able to make Martial Law jokes without fear of being arrested/executed.

Ahh, the 80's!

Tis a fun time to be a kid.
Hand in hand with the cartoon shows were action figures.
From semi-naked barbarian to overzealous american soldiers with unrealistic assault vehicles to
interconnecting robot/mechas.
You name it, we got it!
And ohh, mini He-Man comics by Alfredo Alcala.

The 80's were also high times for Tokusatsu & Sentai characters like
Shaider, Machine Man, BioMan etc. This trend would carry on to the early 90's
with prominent figures like Mask Rider Black, Ultraman, Magmaman, Jiban, etc.

Fast forward to the 90's!

Then we had shows like Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z.
Still going strong till the present with a new chapter entitled Dragon Ball Super.

Yuyu Hakusho or as locally referred to as "Ghost Fighter".
All of this ball sweat and machismo would be counter balanced by a more girl friendly title that
goes by the name of Sailor Moon.

Real life spoiler alert: The mangaka of Yuyu Hakusho (Yoshihiro Togashi) and the mangaka of Sailor Moon (Naoko Takeuchi)would later on hook
up. And as magical as the stories they weave would be as magical as their own love story. They were blessed with two kids and a steady career . Oh, chestpains! Oh, hiatus!

In addition to the anime titles that were undeniably everywhere.
Thank you AXN and GMA7 and IBC 13 and RPN9.
Were the games that were produced on that said decade.

Everybody was Kung-Fu Fighthing, on the STREETS and on OUTWORLD.
There were even a FATALITY or TWO.

In addition to video games, there were also more traditional pinoy games like: Sipa, Chinese Garter, Jackstone, Agawan Base, etc.
Much to the delight of active kids.
But for the more passive and "hikain" kids there was Komiks collecting.

A fun past time that spanned from generations and generations.
An affordable hobby and just as long as you collect the right books!

Ahahaha, too real!
For me, at least!

But if you must idolized someone from Sonic Triangle, let it be Lui Antonio.
He had worked for Dark Horse Comics/Dynamite Entertainment and a REAL success story.
See kids, dreams do come true.
You just REALLY need to work hard to attain them.

While we're on the subject of influential comic artists.
Can anyone tell me the name of the artist for the following artworks?

Anyone?
No one??
C'mon, this is super easy!
For me at least!
Bow your heads, royal subjects & peons!
For we are not worthy to witness his royal inking skills.
Ok, raise them up again because we're not done yet!
We are in the presence of the one true KING of comics, Mr. Jack "King" Kirby.

Mr. Kirby here would be the co-creator of almost all of your beloved characters such as
Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, The Fantastic Four and many others.
You have never heard about him because Stan Lee's stealing his thunder and claiming this and that

about the Marvel Universe. Bad Stan Lee, BAD STAN LEE!
Salbahe talaga yang tatay ni Jim Lee!

And how about this one?

You've seen and heard about his creation but do you really know the person behind this anime/manga masterpiece?
The answer is simple.

That would be none other than Stephen Chow!

I'm kidding, It's Akira Toriyama.

And even though Dragon Ball would be his most popular title, he actually started out with a lesser known gag series entitled: Dr. Slump. Lesser known locally (at least!) for the anime series wasn't dubbed and Dr. Slump mangas were rarely sold in stores.

Similar to the earlier chapters of Dragon Ball(Batang Goku Days at least), Dr. Slump also featured a rambunctious tyke named Arale.

So remember folks, before there were Super Saiyans,

there was Suppaman 

and poking anything with a stick(including poop) is the norm.

But then again, Arale ain't no pushover either. As seen here:


We've mentioned semi-naked barbarians before.

But this next artist would embody the heart and soul of every fantasy art in existence.
The highfather (*snerk* New Gods reference *snerk*) of fantasy art.
Ladies and germs, we present to you: Mr. Frank Frazetta.

Still looking handsome at any age. Mr. Frazetta's artworks would adorn
album covers, magazines, artbooks, movie houses, etc.

He had won the hearts of fanboys and hardcore bikers gangs alike.
His vision was never made clearer than the 1983's hit movie: Fire And Ice.

A rotoscope masterpiece and a collaboration with legendary director Ralph Bakshi.
There is a documentary of it on youtube that you could search for.
(And since we currently ARE online, here is that said video now!)

Painstakingly produced with live actors, sets and frame by frame animation cells/photographs.
This was production value at it's highest.

This next artist needs no introduction!
He had produced everything you see here.

The various titles under his belt were:
Metal Man
SSM! Jet Komiks
Mona: Queen Of The Babes
Secret Arkadia
Enjuriki
&
the mega hit:
KUYUGUN-Z!

That next artist is none other than me!

Applause are unnecessary but please do so if you feel like it.
Joke lang!
Enough of this douchey attitude and let's continue with our slides.

There's no picture of us available because it is our fervent wish to make our talks extra intimate/special. We treat it like a classy date. Rather than the usual selfies, we usually take pictures of the crowd and of the people that supports our product. As a way of giving thanks to them and immortalizing them online.

There weren't any regrets in the past decades we've been making comics.
We made friends ,enemies, and ever more enemies, gained a stalker, caught MEW.

ate free pizza,

(to this day, this would still be my memorablest moment being a Komikero.)
took home free comics/free shirts, sold numerous copies of our own books and
met the world's quirkiest customers.

And in addition to that, we were also fortunate enough to have been  part of numerous books

that were both sold here and abroad,
had our very first "BRA MONEY",

been invited to do art talks like these,

been part of an art exhibition,
and numerous Reading Comics/Komiks

performances.

We really are living the dream and I'd advise you to do the same!
Success is paved by hard work and determination.

So the next time you see a popular title, think about their humble beginnings.
Life is unfair, nobody starts of at the top right away.
Idolize but don't imitate. Strive to be better than your predecessors for that has been
their very goal to begin with.

So with that in mind, the million dollar question would be:

MAY PERA BA TALAGA SA PAGKOKOMIKS?

Aba'y meron!
Observe:

If you're smart and have legal knowledge (take note!) you could really make it happen.
Your titles could be the next big thing and soon enough Hollywood would take notice and would be
more than willing enough to throw money at your general direction.
We did mention legal knowledge and creator rights and for a good reason. For countless creators had been duped out of their royalties. More often than not, these settlement takes years/decades to process and more often than not, the said artist would no longer be alive to reap the benefits of his/her own hardwork.

Artist and money..... or lack of it I guess?
If only we had enough:

Ansarap na siguro ng buhay namin!

But more importantly, at whatever you do e i-enjoy mo na lang to!

Deym Aga Mulach!
ENJOY, hindi Chickenjoy!

Anyways, that's that!
And that had been our family friendly presentation.
Join us again on our next entry where we could possibly share something else of educational value.
YEY FOR KNOWLEDGE!