In the past ten years or so, the word “super” has been almost inextricably tied with the word “hero” thanks in large part to films based on comic books. As the source material for some of the most successful motion pictures of all time, comics and the superheroes that are prevalent in their pages have become ubiquitous and have invaded popular culture.
As such, two Filipino comic book stores: Filbar’s and Comic Odyssey, have been at the forefront of promoting the medium to a very hungry and receptive Filipino audience. Both specialty stores have been selling comics and related merchandise in all of their branches while also facilitating comic signings and meet-and-greet events with Filipino talents whose work can be seen in American comics.
It would be easy to look at Comic Odyssey and Filbar’s as competitors, each hungry to grab the market and keep them away from each other. Yet during the past few months, Comic Odyssey owner Sandy Sansolis and Filbar’s owners Jacob Cabochan and Ivan Guerrero found themselves working together on some projects. It was this cooperation that led to their most ambitious project to date, SuperManila 2019.
SuperManila secret origins
In an Adobo Magazine exclusive, Sandy Sansolis recently shared that the genesis for the pop culture convention stemmed from Filbar’s and Comic Odyssey working jointly on the production of a cover featuring Marvel Comics’ first Filipina superhero, Wave. Co-created by writer Greg Pak and superstar Filipino artist Leinil Yu, Wave a.k.a. Pearl Pangan, hails from Cebu and has recently been featured in titles like New Agents of Atlas. With Wave about to be featured on a variant cover for Aero #1 with a cover by Yu, Comic Odyssey and Filbar’s agreed to release limited numbers of their variants in their stores.
The cooperation between both parties proved to be so successful that when another opportunity came up, both wanted to go even further. With Aero #3, a cover was going to be made, this time with legendary Filipino artist Whilce Portacio, who made a name for himself drawing The Punisher, X-Factor, and Uncanny X-Men in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Not only was Wave going to be on the cover, but two other Filipino heroes, Red Feather and Sea Hunter, would join her.
Rather than just have one signing event in one or two of their branches, Sandy, Jacob, and Ivan wanted something bigger to bring Filipino comic lovers together. The result was SuperManila.
Filipino creativity in the spotlight
To shine a light on both current and past Filipino artists who have been making their mark in comics, SuperManila 2019 was held at The Podium from October 18-20, 2019 and organized by the combined resources of Filbar’s and Comic Odyssey. Since Whilce was already in touch with fellow Filipino artist Rafael Kayanan in the US, he suggested also bringing the latter home for the first time in decades. Kayanan, who previously provided art for The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Man, Conan the Adventurer, and Amazing Spider-Man, has mostly been involved in recent years with teaching the Filipino martial art of Sayoc Kali, as well as being a fight coordinator for both TV and movies.
SuperManila 2019 also allowed Portacio to reunite with some of the Filipino talents that he helped nurture over two decades ago. At a house on #55 Balete Drive, Portacio set up Starfire Visuals to search for Filipino talents in the hopes of teaching them and getting their art published for a global audience. As one of the co-founders of Image Comics, Portacio’s name carried weight and his experience with American publishers would prove invaluable in tapping the talents of a new generation of artists in Yu, Gerry Alanguilan, Jay Anacleto, Gilbert Monsanto, and Ed Tadeo.
A panel moderated by filmmaker and comic writer Jay Ignacio of DaPulis fame had these artists reuniting and reminiscing about those days when the fame that would follow was but a mere dream for them. Each of these artists has since received a measure of fame both here and abroad thanks to the hard work they put into their craft. Yu and Alanguilan in particular are the current artistic team on the relaunched X-Men title after recent celebrated runs on Captain America, Secret Invasion, Star Wars, Superman: Birthright, Superior, and Avengers.
Before Portacio, Steve Gan was lending his pencils to Marvel Comics and co-created one of the most prominent characters in the recent spate of Marvel Studios blockbusters. With writer Steve Englehart, Gan co-created Star-Lord, leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy and star of those films, in 1976. Gan also co-created the iconic character Ang Panday with Carlo J. Caparas, which Fernando Poe, Jr. brought to life in several films of his own. Gan’s presence at SuperManila only enhanced the event as he signed autographs and posed for pictures with fans of his art.
Lan Medina is one of only two Eisner Award-winning Filipinos. The Eisner Awards are the most prestigious honors given in the American comics industry and Medina was awarded the Best Serialized Story at the prestigious Eisner Awards in 2003 with writer Bill Willingham for their work on Fables from DC/Vertigo Comics. Medina, who got his start in local komiks has recently penciled for titles as varied as Aquaman, Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love, and currently, Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda.
In Pol Medina, Jr., SuperManila 2019 paid homage to a homegrown talent who became famous for his work over the course of 30 years. The man behind the popular Pugad Baboy strip whose presence has provided satire and a view of Filipino current events since 1988 signed collected volumes of Pugad Baboy while also sharing stories and smiles with fans for all three days of SuperManila 2019. One of the event’s highlights was when Medina and Portacio posed with works they did for each other as a sign of admiration and affection for the other’s work.
The bumper crop of Filipino artists attending SuperManila included Mico Suayan, Harvey Tolibao, Stephen Segovia, Carlo Pagulayan, Jason Paz, Kim Jacinto, Elmer Damaso, and Miguel Mercado, each of whom have been receiving steady work for American publications that are fully aware of the talent base that is the Philippines.
Mercado was also given the spotlight on the third day of SuperManila 2019 as his art was the star of the secret comic cover reveal on that day. Through the efforts of Filbar’s and Comic Odyssey, Mercado provided the cover for a coming issue of Archie and Friends featuring Archie Andrews and his friends in Luneta. After recently penciling a cover of Amazing Spider-Man #33, Miguel’s Archie and Friends is going to be available in limited quantities in both Comic Odyssey and Filbar’s and is already receiving advance orders from non-comic book regulars, according to Sansolis.
The story of Filipinos lending their artistic skills to Filipino comics is not a new one. Though a significant number of current artists in DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Image Comics, and other American publishers are comprised of Filipinos, not a lot of our countrymen know this to be fact. From its modest plans as just an event for an artist or two to sign comics for fans, the cooperation of two entities that are actual competitors instead birthed something bigger for the Filipino audience in the form of SuperManila 2019. Amazing how a little cooperation can lead to such amazing things.
About the Author:
Jason Inocencio was once the Digital Editor of adobo magazine who still loves seeing great campaigns from all over the world. He proudly shows off his love for all kinds of geeky things, whether it be movies, TV shows, comics, sports, or trivia.
