Color it dark, very dark
By Troy B

Another Filipino artist makes a mark in Marvel Comics through his work ‘Wasted’

IN THE INTENSE, dramatic graphic novels of Marvel’s “X-Men,” Professor Xavier’s students battled not only the forces of evil as superheroes, but more importantly, the evil forces of discrimination as human beings. They were mutants, after all, despised for being different by the very people they vowed to protect.
 Gerry Alanguilan’s hero in “Wasted,” a graphic novel he both wrote and illustrated, is far from super. In fact, he is disturbingly human. Eric goes from beyond painful – when he is dumped by the love of his life Jenny – to frightening – when he goes on a shooting spree, killing everyone caught in the revolving doors of his madness. His dark love story, delivered through jarring black-and-white images, is replete with foul language, desperation and violence – just like real life. And Eric’s story, the jilted over turned mass murderer, is all too familiar.
 Perhaps this 30-year-old inker wanted to do, show us the reality of love and loss honestly in a venue that’s widely regarded as the domain of fantasy – which is what he now thinks of his life.
 Inspired by the artist Jim Lee, he dumped his architecture background and begun the long process of getting Marvel Comics’ attention. After three years and countless rejection letters, he got his first break drawing for “Aster, The Last Celestial Night” by Entity Comics.
 Today, he joins the rank of Filipinos in the international comic circuit: Warren Ellis, Leinil Yu, Edgar Tadeo, Roy Martinez and Whilce Portacio.
 Purposely, with a bit of irony, Gerry launched “Wasted” on Feb.13, the Friday before Valentine’s. It was another step he took to let us realize just how much more believable he is than people who pretend everything is perfect. By not diluting his work to make it more acceptable, or palatable, to those who don’t really make the effort to understand, he encourages us to think about society, the imperfect one from which he draws inspiration.
 More importantly, he casts light on ourselves, our life choices and how we deal with people, the sweetest peaks of love and the darkest depths of the human soul.
 Is “Wasted” semi-autobiographical?
 Yes. (Laughs)
 I sort of hoped it wasn’t.
 It is. I really wanted to freak out at that time, magwala, but I didn’t know what to do. I can’t do what Eric did, because I might go to jail. So, I put all my frustrations in a comic book.
 Has suicide ever crossed your mind?
 Only fleetingly. I forgot about it right away.
 Violence is all around us. Your graphic novel has so much of it. What was the role of violence in the story?
 When I started “Wasted,” I didn’t really intend it to be violent. Love can drive you crazy. It can mess up your head to the point that you can become violent, even if you’re not a violent person. So if that happens, something like the loss of love, a person can be led to violence.
 How did you feel when you were drawing those series when Eric goes berserk, choking people and shoving their heads into mirrors?
 (Laughs) Before I did those drawings, I really had a heavy feeling, I was so depressed. After finishing the first issue, my feeling became a lot lighter. It worked as a sort of therapy. But whenever I finished one issue, I become so emotionally drained that I get sick for about two days. Then, I’d be okay. When I finished “Wasted” my problem before just disappeared. It didn’t bother me anymore.
 You get your stories from real life.
 I act out my frustrations. For example, your in a jeep and somebody smokes. I want to choke him, but I can’t do it.
 You think we’re desensitized by all exposure to violence?
 Not the real violence. When we see violence on TV or in magazines, it’s okay. Like it’s nothing. But when we see it on the street, it becomes different. You get so affected.
 Why your pieces are often dark, brooding. Why?
 (Laughs) The writer I idolize, Scott McCloud (“Superman Adventures”), once said: Write what you know about. Because if you write about something you don’t know, you’ll just fail. Since these are the stories I know, these are stories I write. The people who’ve read ‘Wasted,” identified with the character, and they realized that they’re not the only ones going through this kind of problem. Even I was realized that I wasn’t alone in feeling like this.
 In your work “Timawa,” that first box showed the hero, Enrique San Gabriel, doing a back flip high above Blumentritt, with the words “Free & Unrestrained” scribbled on top.
 These words belong to David Hontiveros, but I share the sentiment. In my family, I was the fist who grew my hair long, down to the waist. It may not b a big deal, but when I did it, I felt liberated. I wasn’t hampered by anything, no one controlled me, so now I can do anything I want within reason.
 How did you feel that you’re one of the few Filipinos whose work comes out in Marvel Comics?
 Lucky. Sometimes I ask myself: Is this really happening? Is this a dream?
 There are a lot of Filipino artists in comic companies abroad.
 Oh yes, since way back. Filipinos are very talented artists. They’re really hot, winning awards and everything, and they had an American following. Nestor Redondo, Alfredo Alcala, Alex Niño, they used to do work for DC Comics. Mostly horror, we’re good at that.
 Because of all the horror stories we grew up with it?
 Maybe. And “Tarzan,” in Marvel, it was “Conan.” We like those kinds of things.
 Because we’re barbarians. Do we like mythical heroes?
 Sort of. That’s what I noticed about our superheroes. Even Darna has an agimat (amulet). Maybe because we’re all spiritual people. I don’t know. But a lot of those who used to do comics are now into animation, that’s why the Philippines is fast becoming the hub of cartoons. The style that Filipinos established in the States before, graceful brush lines, is not being used anymore. Today, the style is stiff, lots of lines. Before you can tell whether it’s a Filipino who drew something. But now, you can’t tell.
 Are you coming up with something for the Centennial?
 I wanted to, but I don’t have the time. Maybe our contribution to the Centennial will be this comic book called “Stone.” It’s an internationally released comic book with all Filipino characters. Even the setting. There’s even a fight at Megamall. (Laughs) And we want to introduce Filipino words. There use to be a comic book, “WetWorks,” with a Filipino character created by Whilce [Portacio]. They were like military men with super powers, and the character was from Pampanga. 
Ultimate dream?
I want to come up with an international comic series that’s all Filipino. It’ll show how the Philippines really is, how the people are, places that are both good and bad. This isn’t just for foreigners, but for Filipinos abroad as well. There’s just so much to be proud of.

“Wasted” is published by Powerhaus Unlimited Inc. for the Alamat Group of Comics, and is available at all popular comic and book stores.