KOMIKON 2017, GASI AND THE ALMOST-FADED KOMIKS



       I learned that there’s an upcoming Komikon (November 12, 2017 at Bayanihan Center; click HERE for their Facebook page), and  I found myself rereading my old comics stories, which some pages were almost faded now. I probably wrote more than a thousand short stories and a few novels (probably around thirty) during my writing stint at Graphic Arts Services, Inc (GASI). I was very prolific then (like many of comics artists then, writers and illustrators), there would be times when I would be writing probably five short stories (4-page stories)  a day. My forte then was horror and fantasy stories. I wrote and wrote and wrote that time. I wrote while watching TV or listening to music, I wrote while at work. I would take  a bath and before I could finish, I already had ideas for three short stories. Even a  flea jumping out of my dog or watching somebody cross the street would give me ideas, then. I would even develop a  story while watching a movie or while having a conversation with some people.  I could easily concoct story ideas then that I didn’t mind other writers blatantly (which meant just changing the titles of my stories, the names of my characters and rewriting a few dialogues and captions) stealing my stories.

      And I had the good fortune of my stories/novels being illustrated by topnotch artists, then, like Lan Medina (who works for Marvel Comics now), the late great Vic Catan, Clem Rivera, Toti Cerda (a renowned Filipino painter now) Mar Santana, Rolan Guina (who I think is in animation now), Rey Macutay, Ron-Ron Amatos, Lui Antonio, Ariel Padilla and Mhel Almeda. And I also had the good fortune of knowing some brilliant writers then, some of them I became good friends with (the late Galo Ador, Mars Alvir, Arman Francisco, Jeffrey Ong, Lito Tanseco).

       It has been eons since I last wrote a comics script and GASI may have long been gone now but thank God for Komikon, there’s still an outlet for people (artists and readers) to express their love for Filipino comics, although the last time I went there was 2013, I think. But I was a regular visitor before taking a hiatus, although my love for komiks will never take a hiatus.

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