Pinoys in the Comic Book Industry

I've been reading comic books since I was a kid. With the San Diego Comic Convention coming up in two weeks, I've been reminiscing the days when I engulfed myself in Marvel, DC, even Archie Comics... but my all-time favorite comic book series was X-Men. Imagine my surprise and delight when I found out one of the X-Men, Jubilee, was in fact Asian American! I hoped that one day I'd see a Pilipina/o American comic book character.

So far, I have yet to see one. But it's been a while since I've read comics, so readers, please let me know if there is a Pilipina/o American comic book character out there! What I have discovered is that there are lots of Pinoys in the American comic book industry.

This article features short interviews with a number of Pinoy pencillers, inkers, and writers in the American comic book industry. The article mentions Whilce Portacio (penciller, inker, writer; The Punisher, The Uncanny X-Men, Iron Man, Batman Confidential, Spawn.), Leinil Yu (inker, penciller; Wolverine, X-Men, Fantastic Four, New Avengers.), Ed Tadeo (colorist, inker; Wolverine, Silver Surfer, District X), Gerry Alanguilan (inker; X-Men, Superman: Birthright, Wolverine, Fantastic Four), Francis Manapul (illustrator; Witchblade, G.I. Joe, The Necromancer, Flash), Carlo Pagulayan (illustrator; Elektra, The Incredible Hulk), and Ariel Padilla (penciller, illustrator; Green Hornet, Maze Agency.)

That's a pretty hefty list as it is, but there are many more that the article doesn't mention, such as Lan Medina (artist; The Punisher, District X) Harvey Tolibao (penciller, artist; Star Wars, Emma Frost, X-Men Unlimited), Bong Dazo (penciller, illustrator, inker; Deadpool, New Avengers), Jay Anacleto (illustrator; Aria), Wilson Tortosa (illustrator; Tomb Raider, Battle of the Planets), and Nick Manabat (illustrator; Cybernary)... just to name a few.

And these are just artists in the American comic book industry. The Philippines has its own comic book world - or komiks, as they're called in the Philippines - that has been flourishing for decades, with popular titles like Darna and Sandugan. Jose Rizal is actually credited as one of the first Philippine comic book artists.

What stands out to me most as I look through these artists' works is that many of them have worked together on multiple pieces. The feature image of this article (Logan vs. Wendigo), for example, is pencilled by Leinil Yu and inked by Ed Tadeo. Many of the younger artists broke into the American comic book industry with the help of older Pinoy artists. It appears that there is a strong sense of camaraderie amongst these artists despite the competitive environment of the comic book universe.

I'm still hoping to see a Pilipina/o American comic book hero/ine. And what's also sadly missing from this long list of Pinoy comic book artists is a Pinay artist (correct me if I'm wrong). With comics becoming increasingly mainstream thanks to Hollywood blockbusters like Iron Man, Spider Man, and the X-Men series, I have high hopes that we'll soon see some PilAm spandex-wearing comic book protagonists and some Pinay comic book artists.

ORIGINAL SOURCE:
Inquirer Lifestyle, "Those marvelous super Pinoy comic book creators"