Inside the Comics Anthology

New York Times bestselling author Neil Gaiman recently visited the Philippines for the third time to announce the winners of the third Philippine Graphic/Fiction Awards.

Gaiman initiated the contest along with bookstore chain Fully Booked to encourage more fantastic fiction, or what he termed Filipino “unrealism,” after seeing we already had a rich tradition of realism in our literature, but not enough fantasy, horror or science fiction.

In conjunction with the announcement of winners, Fully Booked published two anthologies: one prose and one comics, collecting winning entries over the contest’s three runs.

The Comics Anthology is a hefty volume with over 250 pages and does more than just collect the winning entries. It also includes stories that received honorable mentions or were especially notable from the shortlisted entries. Its foreword is written by Gaiman.

Having finished the book, my first thought was how few science fiction entries there were: a lot of fantasy, a LOT of horror, but science fiction — not much. Future contestants may want to keep that in mind; at the very least, you’ll stand out come judging time.

The second thought I had was I couldn’t remember the last thick anthology of short comics stories published in this country, by a wide range of participants, no less. Some are by professionals, but the majority are new names — something that gives me hope. There’s also a wide range of art styles. I used to worry about the Filipino art style being taken over by a kind of manga look, considering how popular it is, thanks to the influx of comics and anime, but I guess I needn’t have.

There were a few stories that carried that influence — mostly a good variety of very cartoony exaggeration (Richard Valbuena’s Norman Craig: Mr. International Playboy) to dense linework (Bryan Paraiso’s The Salakep) to photo-referenced digital collage (Avid Liongoren’s Why I Wake Up Late).

Just as varied are the plots that drive the stories, as well as the writing styles. Some betray a lack of confidence in their draftsmanship by overwriting. Some inexperience shows when page layouts and panel progressions aren’t smooth or clear.

But some creators seem to arrive fully formed, like Rommel Joson’s Dusk, which has the confidence to be restrained and yet sparse in its use of words. It lets the pictures tell the story; one that is partly fueled by the reader’s imagination, as it is open to interpretation.

Some score a near-hat-trick by appearing twice. Heubert Khan Michael placed third twice in a row, with Absolution and (Love) At Last Sight. The latter concerns a deadly curse that is sight-based, and is very appropriately placed right before I See by Manix Abrera, who placed second in the first contest.

Abrera could have won the third contest if not for the publication of I See in his amazing collection 12 before judging was completed. The version published here is an earlier one, a little more raw and less refined, but still powerful and with words, unlike the final version on 12 that is completely wordless. Also silent is his two-page Splat! which divided the readers when it was awarded.

This impressive collection shows diversity beyond expectations. Hopefully readers will discover their future favorite artists in its pages. It encourages local storytellers to tell their own stories instead of merely servicing the trademarks of bigger, international publications.

Though that can have its own rewards, both monetarily and personally, bringing something forth into the world that is entirely your own creation can have no limits, save what you choose to impose upon yourself.

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Ramon De Veyra blogs at http://www.thesecuriousdays.com