EVENTS: THE STORY BEHIND SUPERMANILA 2019, ONE OF THE LARGEST GATHERINGS OF PHILIPPINE COMIC CREATORS

In the past 10 years or so, the word “super” has been almost inextricably tied with the word “hero,” thanks in large part to films based on comic books. As the source material for some of the most successful motion pictures of all time, comics and the superheroes that are prevalent in their pages have become ubiquitous and have invaded popular culture.

As such, two Filipino comic book stores: Filbar’s and Comic odyssey, have been at the forefront of promoting the medium to a very hungry and receptive Filipino audience. both specialty stores have been selling comics and related merchandise in all of their branches, while also facilitating comic signings and meet-and-greet events with Filipino talents whose work can be seen in American comics.

It would be easy to look at Comic odyssey and Filbar’s as competitors, each hungry to grab the market and keep them away from each other. Yet, during the past few months, Comic odyssey owner sandy sansolis and Filbar’s owners Jacob Cabochan and Ivan Guerrero found themselves working together on some projects. It was this cooperation that led to their most ambitious project to date, superManila 2019.

supermanila secret origins

In an adobo Magazine exclusive, sansolis recently shared that the genesis for the pop culture convention stemmed from Filbar’s and Comic odyssey working jointly on the production of a cover featuring Marvel Comics’s first Filipina superhero, Wave. Cocreated by writer Greg Pak and superstar Filipino artist leinil Yu, Wave a.k.a. Pearl Pangan, hails from Cebu and has recently been featured in titles like New Agents of Atlas. With Wave about to be featured on a variant cover for Aero no.1 with a cover by Yu, Comic odyssey and Filbar’s agreed to release limited numbers of their variants in their stores.

The cooperation between both parties proved to be so successful that when another opportunity came up, both wanted to go even further. With Aero no.3, a cover was going to be made, this time with legendary Filipino artist Whilce Portacio, who made a name for himself drawing The Punisher, X-Factor and Uncanny X-Men in the late 1980s and early 1990s. not only was Wave going to be on the cover, but two other Filipino heroes, Red Feather and sea Hunter, would join her.

Rather than just have one signing event in one or two of their branches, sansolis, Cabochan and Guerrero wanted something bigger to bring Filipino comic lovers together. The result was superManila.

filipino creativity in the spotlight

To shine a light on both current and past Filipino artists who have been making their mark in comics, superManila 2019 was held at The Podium from october 18 to 20, 2019, and organized by the combined resources of Filbar’s and Comic odyssey. since Portacio was already in touch with fellow Filipino artist Rafael Kayanan in the Us, he suggested also bringing the latter home for the first time in decades. Kayanan, who previously provided art for The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Man, Conan the Adventurer and Amazing Spider-Man, has mostly been involved in recent years with teaching the Filipino martial art of sayoc Kali, as well as being a fight coordinator for both TV and movies.

superManila 2019 also allowed Portacio to reunite with some of the Filipino talents that he helped nurture over two decades ago. At a house on #55 balete Drive, Portacio set up starfire Visuals to search for Filipino talents in the hopes of teaching them and getting their art published for a global audience. As one of the cofounders of Image Comics, Portacio’s name carried weight and his experience with American publishers would prove invaluable in tapping the talents of a new generation of artists in Yu, Gerry Alanguilan, Jay Anacleto, Gilbert Monsanto and ed Tadeo.

A panel moderated by filmmaker and comic writer Jay Ignacio of DaPulis fame had these artists reuniting and reminiscing about those days when the fame that would follow was but a mere dream for them. each of these artists has since received a measure of fame both here and abroad thanks to the hard work they put into their craft. Yu and Alanguilan in particular are the current artistic team on the relaunched X-Men title after recent celebrated runs on Captain America, Secret Invasion, Star Wars, Superman: Birthright, Superior and Avengers.