A komiks love affair

I was recently fixing books, magazines, files in my small study cum library when I found an old, tattered, but interesting komiks. It’s a collector’s item since you can no longer see any newspaper stand selling komiks today. On the cover is the girl with a golden voice from Iriga, the young Nora Aunor.

I remember the komiks being rented in Aling Maring’s sari-sari store in my hometown in Borongan, Eastern Samar. Everyday, the two long benches in front of the store were occupied by people, young and old, male and female, reading komiks. You couldn’t disturb them and not even stray dogs running after stray cats could disturb them. Komiks was so addictive.

From drama, action, fantasy, love story to horror komiks you would surely find in Aling Maring’s store. If you wanted drama, there were Pilipino Komiks and Tagalog Klasiks; if you wanted to be in-love and tickled pink, there were Lovelife and Beloved; if you wanted to be horrified, you could read True Horror, True Ghost, Shocker, Halimaw and Hiwaga Komiks. If you couldn’t wait for the next chapter of the story, the store had Wakasan Komiks. With just a small amount of money every page and every chapter could bring happiness to the whole neighborhood.

Our own komiks history is ripe with rich and interesting stories that range from the humorous to earth-shaking. During the olden days, we looked forward to the next issue on the love story of Dyesebel and Fredo or the amazing adventures of Flash Bomba, Tiny Tony, Kapitan Boom and Dragonna.

One of the milestones in the komiks history was the character of Roberta who was an instant hit among the readers. Child star Tessie Agana became a household name when the komiks novel was filmed by Sampaguita Pictures. Roberta became a huge success which helped Sampaguita Pictures rebuild its studios which were damaged by a huge fire.

Komiks magazines may no longer be in circulation but the well-loved characters that originated from these pages remain vivid in our memories. Who can forget Darna, Dyesebel, Captain Barbell, Lastikman, Bondying, Varga, Maruja, Mariposa, Roberta, Flash Bomba, Tiny Tony, Kapitan Boom and Dragonna? They will live forever in the hearts of Pinoys.

Raul Sunico is new CCP head

Renowned pianist Raul Sunico is the new president of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP).  He was officially elected by the CCP Board of Trustees on Sept. 21. Sunico has been with the CCP as artistic director since July 2009.  He is also currently dean of the UST Conservatory of Music.

Sunico is a distinguished artist who has earned international recognition as a concert pianist, orchestral soloist and a composer-arranger of Philippine music.  He graduated from the University of the Philippines with degrees in Bachelor of Music (cum laude), Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Master of Statistics.

A scholarship from the Young Artists’ Foundation of the Philippines enabled him to attend the Juilliard School in New York, where he received a Master of Music degree. Further grants from the Amon Foundation and the New York University helped him obtain a Doctor of Philosophy degree, major in Piano Performance. He was also conferred a Doctor of Humanities degree, honoris causa, by the Far Eastern University in March 2006.

“It is a great honor and rare opportunity to serve the country and its many deserving talents from a position of hopeful credibility in instilling the value of the arts as a critical component in our humanity,” he said. 

He also said that during his term as CCP president, he would like “to pursue the artistic and physical development of the Cultural Center to make it a self-sustaining eco-friendly community that will be a welcome haven for those who want to adopt the arts as a way of life.”