Spotting something different in PasKom

Today I checked out the Pasko ng Komiks Komiksibit in U.P. which is part of an event co-organized by our group. Along with prints of artwork by icons of Filipino comic art like Nestor Redondo, the exhibit also features a lot of great talent from up and coming local artists.

However I did notice several pieces which particularly struck me because they were so different from everything else in the exhibit, whether classic or contemporary. These pieces were a set of photographs, which, taken together, looked closer to a fashion spread than a comic. I was wondering if it was a CLAMP homage of sorts. It turned out to be something else altogether–images from the gallery of a virtual band named Mistula. The images were very pretty, make no mistake about it. However, I can’t help but think about the photographs’ collective significance as a comic. That is: Is it really a comic or a photo story? In an effort to understand, I checked their website and found more photo stories rather than what I would consider to be traditional comics.

This essay does not dismiss the exhibit of Mistula on Pasko ng Komiks. Professor Vim Nadera has his reasons why these images were placed there. What I want to focus on is an exploration of the possibilities of comics, the boundaries that many follow and the creative freedom that people may sometimes abuse. On one hand, we have comics such as Gerry Alanguilan’s Elmer. On the other end, you have photographs that come with what might be considered dialog, and, for lack of examples, we have this from Mistula.

It is interesting how digital media has transformed the comic art form in different ways. In fact I do find this process interesting, using different media to make an unconventional comic.

Maybe this shot by Mistula would definitely qualify as a comic spread as defined by more traditionalist perspectives. Digitally drawn and colored illustrations have become ubiquitous in the field of graphic arts and design. Comics is in the process of evolution, both as an art and a literary form. I am not quite sure if the combination of graphic design, composition, digital photography, and mascots would constitute a comic, however, or that people who practice this sort of art–and I do believe it is art–would qualify as comic artists, at least not in the way that I think Carlo Vergara and Andrew Drilon are comic artists.

Maybe it’s because I’m a purist. Maybe it’s because having read and listened to many stories of my favorite mangaka and artist friends, I’ve come to internalize the belief that a comic will always be governed by a cohesive and solid narrative, bound by the geography of panels, colors, ink, illustration, and the corresponding limits the confluence of these elements necessarily impose. Tezuka could have just photographed a boy wearing a cone on his head and placed a caption in his photo saying “Hi! I’m Atom”. But Tezuka did it differently. He drew his story of a robot boy with human feelings within the universe of a storyboard.

I think I may be placing undue importance on the intersection between story and illustration and how they fit together in a panel. Without a story, without something resembling an illustration, a comic is not a comic but simply a photo story, or what in Japan would be considered as a light novel. I mean, there must be a valid reason why a light novel in Japan would never receive a Tezuka award despite being gorgeously illustrated. Light novels also contain images that support the narrative, right? What makes the likes of Griffin and Sabine not a comic but an art book? So here’s me trying to understand — what makes Mistula’s work a comic when it’s closer to a photo story? Are graphic design and fashion photography now to be considered as valid forms of comic art? Would you consider a family album that contains artistically executed shots taken in sequence and then placed with captions in flickr as a valid comic?

Scott McCloud defined comic as a “Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in a deliberate sequence, intended to convey information and/or produce an aesthetic response in the viewer.¹ “. With the wealth of sequential images online that produces responses from viewers (just check flickr!), anything could already be the comic that McCloud has defined. I mean, if Mistula did it, why shouldn’t other art forms based on similar premises be considered as comics?

I have a feeling that Pasko ng Komiks and our exhibit have inadvertently run headlong into an old debate regarding the definition of comics. These are my two cents about it, but I’d like to hear your thoughts on what you think. Do you think storybooks or photo stories should be part of a general definition of comics?

This post was done for the regular Comics/Graphic Novel feature of Read or Die. If you have any suggestions on titles to feature, or if you just want me to post about a particular title or topic regarding comics, feel free to contact me at punkednoodle@gmail.com, or visit my manga website, Otaku Champloo.

Understanding Comics. New York: Kitchen Sink Press. 1993. Page 9. [back]

December 10, 2007 | Filed Under Miscellany | 19 Comments

Shoujo and Sumo!?

If monkeys can draw manga then shoujo heroines can do sumo!? Seriously. Upon the recommendation of many friends who are fans of manga, I had to get my hands on the book “Even a Monkey can Draw Manga” a series of ‘columns’ written by two men trying to explain to readers the formula needed to create a successful manga. And since many RoD people are into shoujo, check out what he has to say about Shoujo comics and Sumo wrestling.

Even a Monkey Can Draw Manga v01 p070

This piece was probably written during the early 90s, when girls were still in a daze over their high school captains and rock stars. And sumo aside, this formula is still being followed in many manga titles today (Mayu Shinjo and Watase Yuu at the front, yo!). There are only a few authors who broke this formula (Tomoko Ninomya?), but I guess pubescent girls like their sumo in their shoujo.

This is just a teaser for this extremely funny book. It even covers other manga genres such as gag and shounen. I’ll be looking into this in a few weeks and see the practical applications of this insane manga manual. For those who aspire to become manga artists, this could be the only book you’ll ever need.

October 23, 2007 | Filed Under Reviews, Reading | 1 Comment

Manga rising from the dead

It’s a rare for us to have a chance to understand the world of manga. Many manga studies in English are available only in comic journals or as expensive books in bookstores. Fortunately, Comipress came up with a translation project for one of the most interesting books on manga studies, Manga Zombie. It’s written by Udagawa Takeo and it details the downward spiral of manga during the 80’s and the lives of the artists who struggled to keep the industry dynamic.

The translation is still in its infancy. The preface gives a primer on manga history and how the level of creativity began to subside and then level out with the emergence of formulaic magazines such as Shounen Jump*. He describes Shounen Jump’s formula as the “Great Two System”, wherein artists are placed in a bind with Shounen Jump and have to perform well in the extremely competitive readers’ survey at the risk of getting fired. Udagawa even adds,

“Their system has leeched the art out of manga. The artists are interchangeable, like spare parts in a machine. But the ‘Great Two’ system offers publishers stability, and all the major companies have adopted it.”

It’s really interesting isn’t it? Many Filipinos have been hooked line and sinker by many stories in Shounen Jump. For us, these stories are refreshing and creative. So for a critic like Udagawa to say that Shounen Jump has killed creativity in the manga industry shows us that there is much more to the industry than the casual reader might think. Udagawa implies the promise of a new world of manga, one emerging from the decay brought on by Jump.

* Note: Shounen Jump is a weekly magazine in Japan that publishes popular mangas such as Yu Yu Hakusho (Ghost Fighter), Dragon Ball, Slam Dunk, and Bleach.

October 16, 2007 | Filed Under Reviews, Reading | Leave a Comment

Live from the Manila International Bookfair!!!

Hello! We’re towards our last stretch and we’re grateful that we don’t look like this yet! Yesterday, I managed to go around the area and managed to visit lots of bookstalls, met lots of people, and basically oggled and drooled over the tons of books found in the area.

Anvil started the day by holding a storytelling session at their booth. They read Lola Puti, a cute tale of a Lola teaching her grandson a bit of mathematics. Well okay, it wasn’t a bit of mathematics. They were adding and multiplying digits and my mathematically poor brain couldn’t even catch up to speed. The kids though were eager ones and they managed to come up with answers, regardless if they were correct or not.

Sometime in the middle of the day, I also overheard a funny conversation between some young girls. One girl rants to her friend saying “Hey! Lets find those publishers!” Her friend answers, “Yeah, they make our lives hard, ESPECIALLY THOSE MATH BOOKS!”. The girl then replies “WHERE THE HELL IS VIBAL!?!” ;p lol. I swear, these school kids.

School kids must have been encouraged by their school to attend the Bookfair. There were a couple of Art Angel sessions and some kids were taught how to make their own story books. There were poetry and storybook readings all over the place, so there was never a lack of activities in the bookfair.

To check out more of the happenings in the book fair, check out my Read or Die Photo set.

There are more activities set for today, and last I heard, there’ll be Storm Troopers walking around the area. <3 <3

September 2, 2007 | Filed Under Latest | Leave a Comment

Ode to Kirihito by Osamu Tezuka

Ode to Kirihito by Osamu Tezuka
Published by Shogakukan
Translated by Vertical

I knew that if I read this book, I would be swept in a heartbeat. But not in the same romantic tale that Tezuka presented to me in Ribon no Kishi. This was way different from what we knew of him. Consider my review a bit dumb and light hearted, but I honestly did not see this in Tezuka. Sure, we’ve seen Kimba, Atom, and Sapphire. In my head, I felt that Tezuka was Disney. Many books on manga said he was Japan’s answer to Disney. So when I grabbed Ode to Kirihito on the shelf the other day, I knew I would have an entire paradigm shift on that old man with a beret. Indeed, I felt like Tezuka struck me with a bat saying “Wake up kid, I’m just as cruel as the other guy.” The man is no Disney, and he will never be one.
My friend Takk was right. This was grim. Far beyond the fairy tales of Ribon no Kishi and the wonder of Atom. Tezuka created a greedy and vengeful world for Kirihito Osanai. And I’m just in awe of his genius.

Just admit that you’ve got it all wrong
Tezuka begins the book with the character of Kirihito Osanai, a young doctor with ambitions to find the source and possibly a cure to a disease that turned humans into dogs. Osanai has a different theory on the rare monmow disease compared to his mentor, Dr. Tatsugaura. Tatsugaura then sends Osanai to the village with the reported case of monmow disease. Osanai leaves without worry of the troubles that would lie ahead in his future. His departure marked the beginning of changes, of which some are truly grim and unbearable. Yes. Not all of Tezuka’s works are nice and fluffy. Ode to Kirihito revolved around the world of medicine, its politics, and its effects on people. The fantastic went as far as the disease that turns you into a dog. This book is beyond Megalopolis and flower beds. The book tackles the darkest of our our emotions.

If I try to encapsulate the entire story of Ode to Kirihito with one word, it would be obstinacy. You have one seasoned doctor who refuses to accept questions about his theories. You have a young doctor who could not deal with the changes in his body. You have a women in deeply and blindly in love. You have a man endlessly atoning for his sins. Each of the characters in this story has a sense of obstinacy and it resonates through out the book. Despite this, you’d never feel annoyed with theme for Tezuka managed to balance them out, presenting them in a more mature light.

When I read this, I honestly didn’t feel that same Tezuka that had written Ribon no Kishi. Some chapters were just too depressing. Just when things were doing along fine, Tezuka whips his pen and creates tragedy upon tragedy. Grim as they were, I still kept on reading. His story and art bridge towards grotesque, yet it was tastefully done that you can still keep on reading. The images were shocking but not traumatizing. Again, I’m just in awe of his genius.

There were still some moments that reminded me of the old Tezuka. His sense of justice was still there. So was his amazing art. There were some moments were the paneling was a bit off, probably an experimentation on his end. But all in all, he drew the story well. An amazing story done by one amazing man.

Aftershock
I am still on a high with Ode to Kirihito. For a moment, while reading, I was thinking “God! This is the stuff that Urasawa is made of!” Then I thought to myself, maybe Urasawa was more like Tezuka. lol. Either way, I’m just amazed with the extent of Urasawa’s talent. Unlike Disney who still keeps children in a dream, Tezuka grew up with his children. He realizes the fact that the same people who loved Atom have now grown up and are looking for an entirely different story altogether. And this was his story for them.

—
Note: This article is crossposted in Otaku Champloo. You can purchase the book in any Powerbooks outlets.

August 26, 2007 | Filed Under Reviews, Reading | Leave a Comment

Teo Antonio’s Poem of Love

Well, if you guys misssed out on the event last Saturday, Arpee took a video of one of our dear poets, Teo Antonio. Last weekend’s Read or Die meet was really fun.

Other poets such as Pete Lacaba, Angelo Suarez, Marra Lanot, Sarge Lacuesta, and Mookie Katigbak also read different love poems for the club. Anvil also sponsored a merienda for all attendees.

To read more about it, you can read the rest from Arpee’s blog.

July 31, 2007 | Filed Under Events | 1 Comment

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