The Top 4 Most Successful Komiks of this Generation (Part 4 of 4)

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The Top 4 Most Successful Komiks of this Generation (Part 4 of 4)

January 31, 2009

*Read from the start: (Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4)

1999

As any artist/nerd does, I carried some of my drawings with me in school. I had my komiks strips neatly tucked in my clear holder, ready for viewing to anyone who would bother. One day, a buddy (God, forgive me, I can’t even remember his name) saw and liked them. He asked if he could borrow the whole thing to show to his landlord, who was a komiks artist. I was hesitant of course. That binder was my life!

Then he told me his landlord was Pol Medina Jr., you know, the creator of Pugad Baboy? I said: “Why didn’t you say so?” and I pushed my samples to his chest, gave him Jeepney fare, and brisk walked him to the PUV stop. Well, maybe I didn’t.

2001

I got my binder back already. After more than a year after PMJR first reviewed my work, he finally called for me thru the same friend. (Even if I forget his name, he’s still my friend. LOL!)

To make the long story short, I was hired and I got to work with the man on a couple of books (Polgas Comics 1 and 2) –the first couple of times I got published. Back during those days, it just felt really, really… WOW!

Present

Sorry, I just had to share that experience. I can never write this article without mentioning that chapter in my life. It started my career (if I have one) in making komiks and it is to say the least, very much cherished.

Now that it’s done and over with, let us finally complete this list of Pinoy Komiks greats.

Now what stupid person would caption a title? Oops! I just did. Brr…

Back in Komikon 2007, as I scoured the UP Bahay ng Alumni for the best komiks buys, I noticed a long line of people over a booth in one corner of the facility. The crowd was so thick that I couldn’t see past through it to know what booth it was. I said to myself, wow! Whoever was on that booth surely was selling his stuff! I didn’t bother getting a closer look as I got excited more by the exhibits.

I made a couple more rounds in the place; stopping over at the stalls to check out amazing displays; and meeting friends, old and new. It probably took another hour before I finally stopped to relax and get some refreshments over at Chocolate Kiss on the balcony.

From up there, I looked at the crowd below. It was awesome. Yet still, most noticeable was the pile of people lining up on that certain booth. Even after hours passed, the number of fans hasn’t diminished, but instead grew even more. I finally got curious about what it was all about, so I stood up to find a better angle to spot whoever was on that booth.

I almost spanked my head when I saw the man signing the books. Who else it would be? At first I thought maybe it was Leinil Yu, or maybe even better –the usual powerhouse panel composed of maybe Arnold Arre, Gerry Alanguilan, Leinil, et al. But no! It was Pol Medina Jr. –a cartoonist. And he finally graced the Komikon for the first time.

From that day on, I knew, and it was proven, that he is the Philippines’ biggest komiks superstar of this generation –not the famous pinoy artists of Marvel, DC or any other foreign title. Our number one guy makes local komiks! Ain’t it good to know?

Say, “keps!”

For a while, I got lost in the idea that our best komiks artist works abroad (choose your pick in our awesome internationally famed talents). I completely overlooked Pugad Baboy. For a while, I only thought about komiks as the ones that come in the sequenced pages format, and forgot about the unambiguous daily strips that adorn the papers.

Contest it or agree to it, Pol Medina Jr. is the reigning king of Filipino Komiks today. I’m sorry Carlo J. Caparas, it’s not you. The early days had Francisco Coching and Larry Alcala, the 60’s had Nestor Redondo, Alex Niño and Alfredo Alcala, THIS generation has Pol Medina Jr.

From the humble beginnings of a directionally misled cartoonist, and a little help from a student with thesis problems, Pugad Baboy measures its dominance not in years, but in the decades now. Its latest compilation Pugad Baboy XX marks its twentieth anniversary.

Twenty compilations, several side stories and specials, other related titles, novelty items like shirts and figurines, a TV show, and product endorsements; ask anyone that reads a paper and he knows the strip.

In terms of popularity and productivity, no komiks contemporary comes close to Medina and his band of smart ass, obese, characters and their amazing pet dog, Polgas.

Hod-lu thought simultaneously watching DVD’s that make three “X’s” would turn any movie into porn. He was last seen alive arguing in the Muslim DVD peddler’s stall.

Despite having no online presence himself and being randomly seen in conventions, he still has attracted hordes of fans from all over the archipelago and Filipinos all over the world. Some fans even created their own unofficial fan sites and forums dedicated to the komiks strip.

His influence has a tremendous impact to the pinoy komiks strips culture. Such that, hints of PB can be traced in most pinoy cartoonists’ komiks; from the way they are drawn, down to the way the punch lines are delivered. There’s always a bit of Pol Medina in there somewhere

Maritess also once served as househelp for the villain, Blob. (Polgas comics 2, J. Dorado)

Twenty years! …And no signs of stopping anytime soon. That’s quite an achievement! I had a serialized komiks strip that ran in a paper before, and hardly was I able to maintain the cartoons going for two years before I completely stopped doing it. Twenty to me is already phenomenal.

As a kid, I used to wonder why Pugad Baboy strips effortlessly make me laugh, while the others hardly made me smile. So, the young I studied Pugad Baboy to find out. I’m happy to say that I learned a thing or two, which I’m going to share in this blog soon. (Watch out for it. It’s going to be great, I promise.)

Literally a photo of a Pugad Baboy fan. (photo from walangkwenta’s flickr)

On a different note; having known the guy, laughed with him, and having entered his home allowed me to see what’s even more admirable in him than his daily strips. The man is a very dedicated family man who attends to all his family’s needs. I remember coming along with him in his van to personally send his kids to school. We even dropped by to a convenience store along the way to buy them their baons in one occasion.

I saw an image that was completely different than what I expected him to be. I thought he’d be loud and would be making jokes all the time, but that change immediately once you hear how soft spoken he really is. I thought he’d be the beer-drinking, bully/bum type like his characters, Igno, Bab and Tomas, and not a gentle and caring father.

Maybe that’s why he doesn’t spend much time promoting his cartoons and waste his time doing this internet folly called blogging. It‘s not as if he needs it anyway. Apparently, for our Number One guy in the Pinoy Komiks hierarchy –his family comes first and foremost.