In the 1990s, a group of creators, inspired by Whilce Portacio who had found success in the United States banded together and formed Alamat. This is similar to the literary groups that were formed to promote Philippine literature. Alamat was supposed to promote Philippine comics when the komiks industry was dying and the surging dominance of American comics.

In his discussion of Filipino independent komiks, the Pinoy Komiks Rebyu traces them to the underground punk scene with the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) fanzines such as Herald X. A zine is defined as “a small handmade publication done purely out of passion, rarely making profit or breaking even” as quoted in Diane’s Siriban’s study. While mostly an outlet for self-expression in the form of essays, a number of zines have comics in them. Interestingly enough, the question of the business side of independent komiks is raised. Indeed, many creators would like to earn a living by doing the things they are passionate about. However, if indie komiks should go by the zine DIY philosophy that would be very difficult if not impossible as zine production tends “to run counter to the dominant capitalist-consumerist mode” as Siriban puts it.

With the demise of the major komiks publishers, the various comic conventions in the country have given a new lease on life on the komiks. The grassroots photocopied works particularly have found a venue for display. Most if not all of these indie creators create comics for the love of it and not necessarily for money. A number of self-publishers have gone beyond the convention scene and have gone the mainstream route to the bookstores with varying degrees of success. These creators have ventured into the “risky business” as Colleen Doran puts it by getting involved in “managing inventory and working with printers, distributors and retailers.” The work is still self-financed but the playground is much bigger than the convention circuit.

Still, the chasm between passion and profitability need not be so great. The lack of a mainstream comics mechanism allows for more creativity and the cream does tend rise above the crop. Some works like Wasted are published as parts of magazines just like the days of Liwayway which featured “Kenkoy” by Tony Velasquez. Currently, a number of self-published works have been republished by mainstream book publishers that conservatively add comics to their nonfiction, fiction and children’s books. Just as the book market in the US has broadened the appeal of comics, the same thing can happen here. As noted, literary works do not have a big audience here. But nobody would call them irrelevant. The komiks have even been more successful once upon a time. Thus, this medium and tradition we celebrate today is far from irrelevant.

Pages 1 2 3 4 5 6

2 Comments | No Trackbacks