“Ding angbato!”
“Gudmoning, Miss Byutipul.”
“Bondying.”
Who does not know these lines? I bet if you were reading this for the sake of your interest, you have heard this line over and over again in the television and even been called like that in your town in your daily Filipino life. If you haven’t encountered these lines and comical words, try asking your parents who said these lines and make them tell you where they’ve encountered it. Here’s another bet: they’ll make a “really-kid-who’s-your-mother/father-that-never-told-you-the-magic-of-komiks?-oh-right-it’s-me” face and tell you they’re Darna, Kenkoy, or Bondying –a big kid who is still too much childish. Your parents would probably tell you not just about where they’ve first met the three famous names, they might also tell how Komiks affected their childhood and how much they learned from it— prepare for a long flashback and story-telling there.
Okay, then, for the sake of those who are interested in the Filipino culture and who are so patronizingly incredible for a foreigner –komiks are comic books in the Filipino language. However, if you are wondering about the American influence, just keep your curiosity and read on.
Since this article is generally about the E-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N of Komiks, let’s start first with the first komik artist. Meet Pepe, he’ll tell you the first komiks recognized by the Filipinos:
See how Pepe’s komiks were influenced by the hardship of the Spanish Era? You really could tell how very popular revolutionary thoughts were that time. This renowned komiks by the great Jose Rizal is just a beginning of other satirical characteristics of Komiks.
When the Americans came and colonized the Philippines aka the American Era, the iconic character Kenkoy was popularized; this famous character was known for his English Carabao (or a non-native English speaker, specifically a Filipino, who speaks in broken English), and clumsiness, which made his name ‘Kenkoy’ defined as a ‘funny person’. He was a satirical portrait of a Filipino who always tries to be “in” with the Americans; going with the latest fashion, slang, and all the other aspects of American culture that were popular into our society at the time.
Kenkoy! You’re so kenkoy. Kenkoy you are really kenkoy –funny yet phoniness is relevant of you acting like an American though you know you won’t be one. Haha. But don’t worry it’s okay, you’re still funny. (Really?)
Kenkoy’s character proved that Filipinos did everything just to fit in the society that the colonizers imposed. Filipinos did not only stop by imitating the fashion, lifestyle, and language, the influence was also evident in the next generation of Komiks. Even when those Americans went away and the Japanese came to invade us, the Americans left us with an inheritance of strength and courage in believing that in the midst of war, there are superheroes that will save the day however fictional they are, these characters still give hope. In 1946 HALAKHAK KOMIKS, a serialized comic book format that displayed American influence, suddenly entered the industry. This new breed of comics released new adventures every week or month included Mars Ravelo’s Darna, our premiere superhero, along with her friends, Flash Bomba, LastikMan, Tiny Tony, Captain Barbell, Dyesebel, and Varga.
These beloved heroes remained in the Filipino’s young hearts until now. However, their creators stopped making their adventures which hinted the downfall of the Filipino komiks industry. The downfall was caused by the massive exodus of our komik artists, especially the creators of these idolized superheroes of the masses –namely Alfredo Alcala, Nestor Redondo,Erni Chan and many more artists. These artists were invited by the Americans to continue their superlative talents in their country which were not ignored by our komik artists for many reasons. The foremost reason was the Martial law where the main reason for their leaving came up called the Comics Code in 1972. In the Comics Code, local comics companies forbid too much horror, sex and violence in the works of the artists. So, our komik artists had all the reasons to fly off the country because those themes were mostly seen in their works at that time.
Fast forward after the Martial Law and the Philippine government had gained its stability, our komik artists came back. According to Steve Gan (one of the most celebrated komik artists as the co-creator of Ang Panday before and during Martial Law) to his interview with Malou Mangahas in the documentary special featuring Filipino Komiks, the problem now is technological innovation which made komiks less favored by the new generation of Filipinos because watching cartoons and/or dramas or movies are more engaging and cheaper than buying an expensive 15 pages colored books. So now, how is our Philippine Komiks keeping up? Do you still see komiks in our bookstores today? If you are a Filipino who care about the world and read newspapers, you’d probably say “Yes, I could still see comic strips in the entertainment section of the newspaper I bought from the local bangketa of newspaper stands.” Well you have a point, but what we mean is that, do you still see a real komiks? The answer is probably no. But, maybe you haven’t just seen the changes in our komiks today.
You would have passed by the Filipino Section in bookstores and came across the series of komiks called Kiko Machine Komix. You got it right, Komix—that’s how Manix Abrera calls his creations. These komix look like the usual komiks published years before, but each volume is composed of more than 80 pages not 15, it usually centers on students and college life. Unfortunately, Kikomachine is not as famous as it ought to be. When you ask students if they know Manix Abrera and his creations, few may answer yes, but a lot would say that they know more about famous mangas, animes and some other graphic novels, because beside the black and white komix, colorful and bigger Japanese inspired graphic novels are placed in the Filipino section. With its art style, these graphic novels are similar with Japanese Mangas. These kinds of novels are in demand in bookstores nowadays. Blackink, the known publisher of this emerging graphic literature, released the list of top ten best sellers last February 2016. Take a look at these covers and see how they were influenced by the foreign Mangas.
You see, komiks is not yet dead though big changes make it seem so. There are still young artists who are pursuing for its revolutionary revival again. They hold Comic Convention (Komikon) twice a year –one during summer and the other at the end of the year. Young komik artists across the country are encouraged in participating in these Komikon events by making and selling their own works.
From Jose Rizal’s Pagong at Matsing to Blackink graphic novels, evolution is really evident with our Komiks. And with this evolution we don’t even know whether we’ll call it Komiks or Comics, perhaps we’ll adapt Sir Manix’s word and call it Komix instead. Since its first publication, Filipino Komix were influenced by foreign countries, culture, and ideologies, ergo it’s not just Filipino komiks, but Filipino Ko-Mix; a mixture of different cultures from the creatures and ideologies our invaders told us to embrace. This is how Pop Culture works now here in the Philippines. Some other countries will be proud because they alone hold influence of their Pop Culture, but this country is influenced by foreign Pop Culture. For short, we’re losing the definition of “originality”. But it’s not yet time to lose hope. Pop Culture is still young and we can still save it in the Philippines, as long as there are Filipinos and Filipino artists who are willing to support and patronize our own products, there is still hope.
Writers
Mancilla, Sagal, Catadman, Reyes Z.
Writers
Mancilla, Sagal, Catadman, Reyes Z.
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