The Philippines in Comics

While I’ve always been proud of my Filipino heritage, I have never been one to flag wave about it. I didn’t display emblems or insignias at my workplace. I didn’t put decals or bumper stickers with national symbols on my car. And I never wore clothing with any national designations. At the same time, growing up in this country, I HAVE noticed the lack of our representation in just about every area of popular culture. So, even if I did want to flag wave, it’s hard to find much to wave about. Then I thought about comics

I don’t know if this is something that I ignored (or just didn’t pay particular attention to) in my youth, but when I finally made the conscious effort to really look at that history, I was actually more than a bit stunned to discover just how much of an impact Filipino creators have had in the comics industry. I would bet that you’d all be surprised at the results you get from one simple Google search. I sure was. There were always the same handful of names that I came up with off the top of my head. But with just a little digging, I was instantly reminded of so many other names that I had not thought of, but somehow always knew. And what an impressive list it is. It was at this point that I decided to create a specific gallery room for these incredibly talented artists.

Whie segregating artists by race may come off as divisive, it really is just me waving a flag to honor these deserving individuals. Especially as some are now gone, and many were under appreciated in their time. God willing, I hope to have enough years left in me to populate this gallery with as many wonderful examples as I can find. To add names like Alcala, Alanguilan, Anacleto, Bulanadi, Chan/Chua, DeZuniga, Gan, Kayanan, Manabat, Manapul, Medina, Nebres, Nino, Opena, Pagulayan, Redondo, Tadeo, Talaoc, Tan, Tanghal, Tolibao, Trinidad, Yu, and so many others, both old and new. So even though I'm a Filipino who can’t draw a lick, the very least I can do is wave our flag and maybe help bring more attention to all these great artists and their incredible work.