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Doroteo Gerardo N. Alanguilan, Jr. (January 20, 1968 – December 20, 2019), also known in the Philippines by his alias Komikero, was a Filipino comic book artist and writer from San Pablo, Laguna. He was known for his graphic novels Wasted and Elmer, and for his inking on American superhero comics such as Wetworks, X-Men, Superman: Birthright, Wolverine, and Fantastic Four. Many of Alanguilan's titles take place in the Philippines or feature Filipino characters, such as Elmer, Johnny Balbona, Humanis Rex!, and Timawa. He incorporated elements of social commentary in his work, especially Elmer, which satirizes racism. The protagonist of Whilce Portacio and Brian Haberlin's comic series Stone, Gerry Alan, is named for him.

Early life

Gerry Alanguilan was born in the city of San Pablo, Laguna in the Philippines. According to family lore, their surname was originally San Gabriel and they trace their origins to the barrio/barangay of Sta. Catalina, now part of San Pablo City and known as "Sandig" before the Spanish conquest. Their surname was changed supposedly because a witch placed a curse that would make them destitute for seven generations. Alanguilan would later use this tale as the basis for his story San Dig 1944 in the Siglo: Freedom anthology. The word "alanguilan" is itself is the tagalog name of Cananga odorata, a flowwering tree now better known by the Spanish variant of its name, "Ylang-ylang."

As a child, he owned a chicken named Solano, which would later become the inspiration for his graphic novel Elmer.

Career

Alanguilan studied to become an architect, but turned his hobby of comic book illustration into a career in order to be with his then-girlfriend. At first, much of Alanguilan's work in comics was on conventional American superhero titles. His first self-written comic was Wasted, originally intended for only his friends to read, and was later embarrassed by the large amounts of violence and profanity in it. Eventually he published Wasted in the Philippines, and from there its popularity spread to the United States, where it was praised by Warren Ellis, and established him as an independent comics creator.

After Wasted, Alanguilan created several other titles which were published in several Filipino publications, such as Johnny Balbona, Humanis Rex!, Elmer, Timawa, and Where Bold Stars go to Die. He also contributed to anthologies like Siglo: Freedom, Siglo: Passion and Filipino Komiks, all published in the Philippines. His self-created titles attracted fans including comic creators Neil Gaiman and Warren Ellis. Alanguilan cited Barry Windsor-Smith, Alfredo Alcala, Frank Miller, Katsuhiro Otomo and Alan Moore as creative influences, in particular Moore's 1980s reinterpretation of Marvelman.

In the United States, he became known as an inker for such titles like Wetworks, X-Men, Superman: Birthright, Wolverine, High Roads, Fantastic Four, and Silent Dragon, sometimes working alongside fellow Filipino comic book creators Leinil Francis Yu and Whilce Portacio.

In 2007, Alanguilan created an autobiographical slice-of-life webcomic called Crest Hut Butt Shop, based on an earlier minicomic of the same name.

After a long sabbatical from mainstream comics, Alanguilan, partnered again with Leinil Yu in 2012 on the art for Mark Millar's Supercrooks.

Video

In 2009, he made a one-minute video titled "Hey, Baby", which consists mainly of him making comically lecherous facial expressions at his webcam. This video became popular on YouTube, and was featured on the January 25, 2011 episode of American television show Tosh.0. Clips from the video were used in several episodes of Russell Howard's Good News, often in response to the host asking questions like "What kind of creepy weirdo would come up with that?" In October 2010, Alanguilan was declared "The Greatest Man On The Internet" by video blogger Ray William Johnson. His creepy smiling face was also a popular meme in Indonesia, known as Ayo sini sama om ("come here to uncle"), usually used for comedic effect combined with other memes. As of 2019, the video had been viewed over 6 million times.

Alanguilan played the role of a human trafficker in Tin-tin,15, a short film created in 2010 to increase awareness of child trafficking in the Philippines.

Legacy

Alanguilan is considered a vanguard of what has been called the "new wave" or "renaissance" of Philippine comics in the 1990s and 2000s. By that time, Philippine publishing industry had gone into decline, resulting in Philippine-made comic books disappearing from newsstands. But the rise of independent publications like Alanguilan's "Wasted" eventually gave rise to a growing culture of "indie" comics.

Awards

• 2011
  • Winner (for Elmer) Quai des Bulles – Ouest France 2011, St. Malo, France
  • Winner, Best Asian Album (for Elmer), Prix-Asie ACBD, France 2011
  • Nominee, Best New Album (for Elmer), Will Eisner Industry Awards, USA, 2011
  • Global Pinoy Awardee, SM Calamba, 2011
• 2010
  • Gawad Pinakamaningnining na Alagad ng Sining (Visual Arts), 2010
  • Outstanding San Pableño for Visual Arts, 2010

References

1. ^ "Gerry Alanguilan Dies at Age 51". Newsarama. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
2. "100 Araw ng Komiks: Siglo Freedom". Archived from the original on 2012-04-20. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
3. I.M. Turner, I.M.; Veldkamp, J.F. (2009). "A History of Cananga (Annonaceae)" (PDF). Gardens’ Bulletin Singapore. 61 (1): 189–204.
4. "Gerry Alanguilan, Writer, Artist and Inker, Dead at 51". Multiversity Comics. 2019-12-20. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
5. "WASTED REVIEW - From the Desk Of Warren Ellis". Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
6. "100 Araw ng Komiks: WASTED, The Comic Book That Saved My Life". Archived from the original on 2011-09-10. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
7. "Neil Gaiman Review". Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
8. "The Filipino Comics Artist and Manga". Archived from the original on 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2012-01-10.
9. "DARNA LIVES! Fan Fiction". Archived from the original on 2011-09-15. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
10. ^ Hey, Baby! (Original Upload) by Komikero, retrieved 2019-12-20
11. Tin-Tin, 15 Screening at Mogwai, Cubao X, retrieved 2019-12-21
12. Southeast Asian cartoon art : history, trends and problems. Jefferson, North Carolina. p. 62. ISBN 978-0-7864-7557-5. OCLC 864676696.
13. "Philippine Comics: Struggling or Not?". www.agimat.net. Archived from the original on 2011-06-23. Retrieved 2019-12-23.

• Myka Santiago (2009-02-06). "Taking Comic Seriously". 88DB.com Philippines Lifestyle Magazine. Archived from the original on 2009-06-07. Retrieved 2009-10-08.

External links

• Komikero - Official website
• Taga San Pablo - deviantART
• - YouTube channel
• Futureal Studio - Interview with Futureal Studio
• The Comics Reporter Interview with Tom Spurgeon at the Comics Reporter blog

• 1968 births
• Filipino artists
• Filipino comics artists
• Tagalog-language writers
• Filipino speculative fiction writers
• People from San Pablo, Laguna
• Artists from Laguna (province)
• Writers from Laguna (province)
• 2019 deaths