Halfway Through 2024

I just got back from the Seven Lakes Komiks Festival. Congratulations to the organizers and thank you so much to An and Boots Alcantara of Casa San Pablo for sharing their space to comics community. Next year ulit!

I'm exhausted from ganaps starting a few weeks ago so just checking in when I saw that the last entry was in 2022! If you have inquiries that I could help you with, you may reach me through any of our social media accounts.

• fb: komiksmuseum
• fb: gerryalanguilanart
• ig: gerryalanguilanart
• email: ilynflorese(at)gmail.com

Or better yet, you may drop by the Komikero Komiks Museum here in San Pablo City, PH.

WE'RE BACK!

 

Dyaraaaannn! Hello everyone! It's the same place as before, we just moved to the bigger room. We're at:

29 Marasigan Street, Lakeside Park Subdivision, San Pablo City

 

If you have questions, please leave a comment or send us a message here. I hope to see you there.

 

Open Wednesdays through Sundays, beginning September 2022. By appointment, for now.

Original Inked Pages for Sale

Hello again!

I'm planning to reprint three of Gerry's books: WASTED, ELMER and Where Bold Stars Go To Die, so, I'm asking if you guys could help me out? Spread the word or purchase a page or two, I'd be very grateful.

I just recently updated the site. Not all of Gerry's works are there, but I'm selling almost all of them while keeping some that Gerry wanted to stay with us. I'm also not a collector myself, so I'm just finding a home for them, with people who would take good care of them. If you'd like something that's not in the list, you could email me at ilynflorese@gmail.com.

Click the image for the link.

Thanks so much! Please take care everyone, and stay safe.

by Ilyn Florese-Alanguilan

Unpublished Stories

After thinking about it for a year, I made the decision last night. I'm going to publish Gerry's five finished stories that he wasn't able to release. The stories are finished but they're not scripted. It feels so wrong that I'm the only one who knows them when they're amazing stories that people should know about.

Is it the right thing to do? I honestly don't know. Would Gerry like it? He wanted to be in control of his stories, that's for sure. When I do this, he'd probably visit me in my sleep and express his disappointment, so I don't know.  But like I said, it feels wrong that I'm the only one, and a few people for a couple of those, who know them. I want people to know that he had these stories; had he the time and energy to do them, they'd be out a long time ago.

But here's the thing. They're unscripted and I would I need to find a match. If I can't find a match, I won't do it. And rest your worries because I won't do it myself. I'm not delusional. I know my place. Besides. You've seen my writing; it's just atrociously all over the place, and not made for telling stories. I was an excellent sounding board, though, there was that.

When he started questioning his place in the industry just a few years after we got married, and trying whatever, he was very sensitive about it. So, I was tentative all like, "Hani, your gift is in storytelling, both in words and pictures. I hope you can embrace that and give it a chance." It was like walking on eggshells, but I had to say it. I wouldn't let his shine dim just because he didn't realize what he's really got. If only you guys know just how much more that light could shine if he had the time. That's why I want these stories out. 

I love how Gerry wrote, and I was very open to him about this. I did verbal reviews of his comics and blog entries to his face. haha! I fell in love with his writing long after we got together, though, because I had never read them until then. It's not really the stories; it's about how he wrote them. He was raw, intense and, as overused as it is, authentic. That certain melancholia to his writing, that's what I connected to. If there's humor, it was never self-deprecating or overcompensating. He never tried to impress or preach. They were just... there. And yeah, it was in his comics that he was most honest.  

And that's what I would need to find to have those stories scripted. I have to do research. I realized last night, as I laid down to sleep, that I'd need to read a lot of other people's works to find a match. And another issue altogether to get them to agree. I'd need to fall in love with someone's writing in the same way I did for his a long time ago, and that'd be quite a feat for me. That's for sure.

As for the artists, I would need to find a match as well. I don't know if that's an easier or harder thing to do than finding a writer, but hey. It's Gerry. In the end, this is about Gerry and telling the world of his stories. But like I said above, if I don't find a match, it's cancelled.

This is where I am right now. I just thought I'd share.

by Ilyn Florese-Alanguilan

By this time last year, I was sitting beside his bed in ICU close to eight hours already. I told him everything I needed to say. Of course, he couldn't answer anymore. Didn't matter. Whatever I told him, he knew already. I just talked on and on while I caressed his left leg and hand. I wanted him to hear and feel me there beside him. I opened up YouTube and played videos we both enjoyed, while running commentaries on them. I scrolled through his FB and Twitter feeds hoping for chismis and scandals to tell him. I gotta tell you, guys, you were all so boring that evening. And I told him that. Everything was so normal. Then, some time after midnight, at 54 beats per minute, it stopped. yeah, so. I kissed him, and bid him good night. That was a year ago, but today, it still feels like it was just yesterday.

Leinil... words are not enough to express our gratitude. You being there, showing up every single time, thank you so, so much for everything, Nil.

Because I couldn't do it, I asked our good friend Jonas, to find me photos that I can post on FB for today to remember Gerry. I planned to do it myself, but as the date approached, I realized I haven't had enough strength do it. I'm glad, he came through. Of course, he did. Thanks, Jonas! This is cross-posted over there as well.

To you all who continue to remember him with fondness, my endless gratitude. He went to those last two conventions for all of you, and for himself. He wanted to see you and talk to you, despite the heaviness he felt. I told him repeatedly that he didn't have to do it, that if he wanted to, we would leave whenever. But he was resolute. He said, he wanted to go; that he needed to do it. Despite me playing devil's advocate, I'm glad he did. He actually had fun, especially during his panel at Komikon. You gave him so much love those days, and he felt that. He didn't say much in public, but you all made him happy. He knew how much he was loved. For that, thank you all so, so much!

Honestly, there was nothing in his mind more than local comics. For comic book creators, you were all always on his mind. There was nothing that excited him more than knowing there were new local titles to come out. To new creators, please know that had he still been around, he'd always have your backs. And to the supporters of local comic book industry, I hope you stay steadfast in your support because we truly need you.

Hani, I love you very much. Not a day goes by that I don't think of you. It's not the same without you around. I miss you, but I'll see you again someday.

-- Ilyn Florese-Alanguilan

Let's Celebrate Four Years of Komikero Komiks Museum

We have a raffle going on at the Komikero Komiks Museum page on Facebook.

Like I said, this is just for fun, and a thank you for following/liking the page.

This is how we do this. Choose an image from the 15 I posted previously. Talk about technique, composition and impact to you personally. I'm not asking for an academic paper, just your thoughts. Leave it as a comment at the post.

Please, no hateful words or phrases. One entry per person. This is limited to those living in the country. I'll take care of shipping. Deadline is on September 22nd, midnight, PH standard time.

By the way, you don't actually have to follow/like the page to join, but that would be nice.

Head on over there for information on the giveaways!

Click here to join!

by Ilyn Florese-Alanguilan

Original Inked Art

 Hello again, everyone!

A lot of people have been contacting me about original inked art pages. Yes, I'm selling them. Actually, I'm selling them all bit by bit... except for those that Gerry didn't want to because they have memories attached to them.

It's taking me a while. Things still feel quite heavy, and it's quite difficult to make decisions and act on them even when I already made one. So please, bear with me. Your patience means a lot.

I'm going to update this site, Original Comic Book Art for Sale, slowly this week until Saturday, 29 August 2020. But please note that international shipping is limited. I am using PHLPost's EPS, and as of today, these are the only countries we can send to right now:

This is true this week. It can change week by week, though, depending on the quarantine situation. So please be reminded of this.

You can browse through the pages on the site what's on offer, or if you have something in mind that's not there, please let me know.

You may email me at ilynflorese@gmail.com.

by Ilyn Florese-Alanguilan

EBAY

Hello everyone.

This is just an announcement that I closed Gerry's Ebay account. Any selling in the future from a 'komikero' or 'gerry alanguilan' Ebay account will certainly not come from me.

Thanks!

-- Ilyn Florese-Alanguilan

ELMER Website

ELMER has a website that's been around since 2010 but for some reason, it fell by the wayside in the years that followed. Since ELMER has a new edition, I decided to update it and post some relevant stuff in it... build it up. Unfortunately, some of the old links in the blog posts aren't working anymore. Hopefully, I could find similar articles that I could link as a look-back.

So yeah, if you like to take a look or visit, it's here: elmercomics.com

All ELMER-related news, updates, articles and nostalgic write-ups will be posted there.

by Ilyn Florese-Alanguilan

2020 Update

Hello everyone. Ilyn here. I'll be taking over this blog as well from now on to give you updates on anything related to Gerry and Gerry's projects, as well as updates on the Komikero Komiks Museum. All his websites (komikero.com and komikero.ph which are both redirected to this blog, elmercomics.com and komiksmuseum.com); the numerous blogs he ran; and FB pages (Gerry Alanguilan Art and Komikero Komiks Museum) will continue to be updated as long as I'm around. His social media accounts like Twitter, Instagram and YouTube will stay up but won't be updated any longer. His FB account is memorialized.

Regarding Gerry's books, as long as I'm here and able to pay for them, Gerry's works will continue to be in print and will be available from me, and stores like Comic Odyssey and Secret HQ. As soon as I have the strength to push through, I'll slowly be updating the Komikero Shop on here and add some more 'junk' as Gerry mentioned in the Shop introduction. Komikero Publishing is still a go; it's now under my name after making my appeal why I should be able keep the name. Apparently, under the new rule this 2020,  Filipino/Tagalog terms are no longer allowed as business names according to DTI, and there's no option for me to 'inherit' the name. Ridiculous rules, in my opinion.

Also, the new international English version of ELMER is available through Epigram Books of Singapore. Click here to order: https://shop.epigrambooks.sg/products/elmer, and the French version from here: http://www.caetla.fr/Elmer.

I am still selling Gerry's inked original art pages. Click here: http://komikeroinks.blogspot.com/. The blog needs to be updated as well, I know. All in due time. Let me recover even for just a bit. Right now, all I can do is one item at a time. But if you have pages in mind that are not posted there, you may email me and ask. There's no harm in asking.

Gerry and I planned to do a massive collection update at the Komikero Komiks Museum last January because someone generously donated some cash for that. Thanks so much, mister! But obviously, it wasn't possible. So, hopefully, by the time the Fourth Anniversary on August 13, 2020 comes I'll be able to make major additions to the collection over there as well. Gerry really wanted to flood that room with materials (siksik, liglig at umaapaw was what he wanted for that place). So, watch out for my announcement on this blog and the museum's Facebook page. It's still open from Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 6pm.

Komikero Komiks Museum Online will continue to stay online as mentioned. Gerry wasn't able to finish updating it, so hopefully, I'd be able to. Give me a couple of years for this one as I still have a day job. I must admit that I don't have the almost encyclopedic knowledge Gerry had on our komiks history, but I lived it, and I can read, and I can easily pick up things. A friend also offered a mobile version update on the site, so hopefully that also pushes through. One at a time.

If you wish to contact me regarding any of these, please email me at ilynflorese@gmail.com, or send your message to Gerry Alanguilan Art or Komikero Komiks Museum, or slide a direct message to my Twitter here.

Gerry had a lot of things going on in his head. His mind was always so busy. He had so much plans. We had a lot of plans together. At the very least, I'll do what I can to continue his legacy.


All the best,
Ilyn Florese-Alanguilan

Struggles

It probably would be a lie to say that I'm doing OK. Well, physically that is. It's such a constant struggle everyday. I have to admit it's really difficult. Thankfully, it hasn't gotten in the way of me thinking creatively. As long as I stay in my room and not have to go out for interviews and events and things, I will have enough energy to do the work of creating comics. But sometimes it's so hard. Sometimes I have to lie down. But when I have to do that, I think of stories. I think of things to write down. I create characters. All this has really forced me to live a simpler life. Which I never thought I wanted or needed in my life. Not having to go to Manila and meet people, even here in San Pablo. Just staying home with me and my creativity. It's what I need. And I'm really starting to enjoy it.

My Last Convention

Komikon Grande 2019 was what would be the last time I attend a convention. This pretty much includes Komiket, Komikon and Supermanila. People have speculated that it's for health reasons and to be honest, they'd be 30% right. The major reason is that I have to prioritize work, the heaviest concentration of which weirdly occurs during such events. To prevent future conflicts, I decided to stop going to conventions. And yeah, it's gotten to be quite exhausting for someone like me.

I will continue to release new books of my own of course, but I will be selling them via Comic Odyssey, Paolo Herras and through the generosity of my other few friends. I will also be selling them at the museum and I can possibly sign your copies there. I don't work at the museum though, so you'll have to set an appointment ahead of time. As in a week before. From now until January though, I might not be able to meet with anyone. So maybe after that. I will continue to sell original art, also at the museum. It is entirely possible that Komikero Publishing can still be at conventions, but just not with me. It will be manned (or womanned) by either Zara or Ilyn, or both.

Thanks to the organizers of KOMIKON for the wonderful time I've had in every single event I attended, which is probably most of them. Thanks also to Komiket for being so accommodating and to Supermanila and Sandy Solis for making sure I got all that I needed and made it so easy for me.

Attending Conventions

I think I need to write about comics conventions and my somewhat limited participation in them. This year I am involved in two conventions. The first has already come and gone (SuperManila) and the second is later this month, Komikon. I wish I could attend many conventions in one year, but my health isn't very good anymore, plus the fact that I'm a registered PWD (Person with Disability), I simply cannot attend that many conventions anymore. I have decided to attend only one a year and that is Komikon in November. I said yes to Supermanila because I feel a close friendship with Comic Odyssey owner Sandy Sansolis. He understands my situation, and he bends over backward to make it very easy for me to attend. He pays for my accommodation, my transportation and takes care of everything else. It takes months of preparation to attend a convention so I just can't attend something you invited me to the following week. It's just not possible.

What do I mean by "preparation"? I mean that since I have poor health, I make sure I'm feeling my best when the time of the convention comes. I make sure to eat right and exercise the months before the event. I make sure all my blood tests show the best results. I make sure with my doctor that I'm in tip top shape by the time of the convention. And because of my physical condition, I can no longer ride public transportation. The trip will exhaust me, if not kill me. So I have to spend at the very least 4K to rent a van back and forth from San Pablo to Manila. Sandy took care of that for his event. I would also need accommodation because I can't go back and forth in one day from home to Manila and back. The trip would exhaust me. I need to stay a night at least in Manila, specially if the event will take all day. Sandy also took care of that, booking me at a nearby hotel near the venue. I don't ask the same from Komikon because they're not a for profit event. I have great affinity for Komikon because they're organized by my peers and I practically grew up with them in this industry. Nevertheless, they too make it a point to make it easy for me, specially when it comes to paying for my table and for putting me in a spot that wouldn't stress me out too much.

Now if you're an organizer and would like me to attend your event, you now know what to do. And one thing you can't do is invite me today for an event that's happening next week. You have to give me months to prepare, plus the other things. Now if you think this is such a hassle and you don't want to deal with someone like me, then by all means don't invite me. It's OK. There are plenty of healthy comics pros to invite without much hassle. Also, I don't attend conventions that are organized by groups with political or religious agenda. Or any kind of agenda that I don't agree with. I really don't want to get into that too much, but I thought I'd just throw it out there.

My Schedule at SuperManila

SuperManila, the uber-convention thing that I'll be going to starts tomorrow. But I won't be there tomorrow. Here is my schedule:

Saturday: 11am to 6pm
Sunday: 11am to 3pm

I'll be situated where the other Balete guys will be. It's a whole section so you really can't miss it. I'll be selling ELMER, Dead Heart: July 16 and Bakokak.

I'll also be selling a bunch of original inked art from various books I worked on. I'm also accepting offers in case you are interested in buying all the original inked pages from X-men #1 as a set.

See you guys there!!

Super Manila 2019

This blog post is dedicated to Chun Man. Thanks for writing to me and asking how I am and for asking me to continue writing in my blog.

First of all, I would like to announce that I'll be attending Super Manila, a convention event, part of which is reunion with my old Balete Drive studio buddies Whilce Portacio, Leinil Yu, Ed Tadeo, and Gilbert Monsanto. This is going to be next week.

It will also be a signing event for X-men #1, on which Leinil Yu and I worked on. Pretty excited about this one because the writer, Jonathan Hickman, is pretty awesome. The two X-series he wrote as a prequel to X-men, House of X and Powers of X, have been INCREDIBLE.

I'll make sure to announce this event at my other social media hangouts. Too many people have come to me at signings saying "Oh, I wasn't able to bring my copy of ___________ I didn't know you were coming." I don't want to hear that anymore! haha! So I'm announcing it widely and loudly! Bring your Elmers, Wasteds, Rodskis and so on!

As of this writing, I'm already inking X-men #3. A few people have offered to buy the original artworks to X-men #1 as a whole set. I thought wow, that would be great. In that regard, I'm also offering X-men #2 as a set, and every issue after that. After maybe a few months and nobody has shown any interest, then I'll most likely sell them by page. Stay tuned to this blog for updates!

The Fourth San Pablo City Comics Festival INFO

P20 Entrance Fee
P10 For Students

MAP TO THE VENUE: https://www.openstreetmap.org/note/1650360


Guest list and table arrangements:

Seminars:

Also signing at the event is International artist Leinil Francis Yu (X-men, Avengers)!

What an Amazingly Miserable Year 2018 Was. And continues to be....

It's time again for one of my year end review things. Health wise, it's been generally good the entire 2018, punctuated by horror and near death. You don't remember the good things, it's the bad things, specially if they're horrible, that will stay with you.

My dad passed away in February. I don't feel like I'm ready to talk about that. But since my mom had passed on back in 2014, 2018 marks the year I officially became an orphan. When I started making Elmer in 2006, my heart was still full of fear of losing my parents. That actually reflected in the plot of Elmer #1. That entire issue was me expressing my fear of losing my parents. Flash forward to February 2018, I guess I had grown stronger and more mature and I was able to handle it really well.

I was in and out of the ER towards the end of April until I was finally admitted in early May for bloody ulcer. It took a while to diagnose it, so I had been slowly losing blood and steadily getting weaker. Transfusions couldn't keep up with the blood loss. That last night at home I was so weak I thought I was gonna die. I had no idea that I was that close to dying if I had waited much longer. It took Ilyn to iron will me to the hospital. I couldn't walk, literally. They had to carry me. Ilyn saved my life that night. I'm eternally grateful to her. After medications, I started to get better and I was out of the hospital a week later. It took a long time to recover at home. About a month. That's why I wasn't able to ink Captain America #2. My old buddy Leinil Yu really stepped in with help of all kinds. We've known each other for so long. We had fought, we hung out. I watched his concerts. He attended my comics events. I never realized I would be meeting a friend for life. Thanks man. You're the best.

After I got better from my ulcer, everything started to generally get better. I was fearful of the holiday season and the change of weather because that usually brings sickness for me. But in spite of the many activities, meetings, komikons and so forth, I didn't get sick at all. Well, 2018 just won't let me go without a last hit. A few days before the end of 2018 I got fever and I still got fever and I don't know when I'm going to get well from this. On top of this my left foot started hurting really bad. My knees already hurt, my damn left foot had to join the fucking party. I might be admitted tomorrow, depending on my doctor so just in case I do get admitted, I won't be around to write this on New Year's Eve like I usually do.

The good things I can talk about in this post is I found out who are the friends I can truly count on and they're so few. I will treasure them forever. I also have a new comic book out: "Dead Heart #1" which seems to be doing well. And of course, Ilyn is such a gem. She has truly fulfilled her promise of "through sickeness and in health, for richer or for poorer". There's nobody, nobody I'd be willing to spend the rest of my hopefully long life with.

Original Art Price Adjustment

I have an ongoing Original Inked Art for sale page which can be found here: http://komikeroinks.blogspot.com/

I'm pretty much letting go of all my original inked art. I cannot possibly put them all in the gallery so if there's anything you're looking for, please email my agent (and wife) Ilyn at ilynflorese@gmail.com

For a long time I have offered my pages at a very low price range. Low compared to how pages like this are sold in the US. Many pros have already informed me that I'm selling my pages too low and I reasoned that I really am selling these at those prices so Filipinos can better afford them. Most of those who are buying my pages lately are from outside the country though, and my original reasoning doesn't really make much business sense, in hindsight. I'm happy to have shared a lot of my pages for inexpensive prices for many years, but I think it's time to adjust my prices to reflect the real value of these pages.

I do have to thank all those who have bought pages from me in the past. Your business has been very much appreciated.

Funko, Johnny and Me

I only have one Funko Pop Toy. And that's the Jollibee one. I mean, what red blooded Filipino wouldn't be tempted to get one? Very few I'm sure. I mean, it's JOLLIBEE. One day people will try to explain why that answer is enough.

But as I said, I only have one Funko Pop Toy. I'm not really a fan. If I can avoid it, I will. Why? It's all tied up with memories of my old pal Johnny, who passed away years ago due to a tumor in his brain. He was a big Funko Pop fan. Every time there was a new release, he'd go crazy over it. I would hear him talk about it and I'd just shrug my shoulders. If he's happy, then I'm happy.

And then he got sick. It had come upon him slowly. Not being a fan of Western medicine, he really didn't consult with a doctor until the tumor started giving him strokes. And those little explosions in his brain slowly chipped away at this memory. Jonas and I visited him a couple of months after Johnny had somewhat disappeared from the radar. He had stopped posting on Facebook and we started to get worried. We visited him and we saw that the sickness had already taken its toll. He was very thin and he was struggling to remember things.

Jonas mentioned to Johnny that there was a new batch of Funko Pop toys at Comic Odyssey. Normally, Johnny would be excited at the news but he just furrowed his brow, struggling to remember. "Funko?" he said, as if he didn't know what that was. A moment later, I realized that he had completely forgotten. After a long time he said, "Ah.....!" as if he remembered, but it was gone again.

Jonas and I would visit Johnny one more time before he finally passed. By then we really couldn't talk to him anymore.

I still miss Johnny.

Commissions

Still working on inking Captain America, but once in a while I can do commissions. It's a new level of commissions from what I've done before. Here is a sample of the kind of drawing I'll be doing from now on:

I arrived at my rates by considering the many days I worked on it and the amount of detail that's involved. Here is my table of rates:

Blank Cover. Full detail, Cover side only, Head shot, with backgrounds $70

Blank Cover. Full detail, Cover side only, full figure, with backgrounds: $120, Additional figure $50

(8.5”x11.7”) Acid Free paper. Full Detail, Head shot, with backgrounds: $150

(8.5”x11.7”) Acid Free paper. Full Detail, full figure, with backgrounds: $250, Additional figure $75

11”X17” Acid Free paper. Full detail, full figure, with backgrounds: $500, Additional Figure $100

I realize my rates are on the high side, but I think it would be worth it.

If you are interested, please email me at gerryalanguilan at gmail.com and I'll put you on the list.