Tales of the Big Gerry
By Linus Velasco Tiu

He doesn’t keep regular working hours, yet he earns in dollar despite the lousy economic slump in our country today. He can take a walk from work at a snap of the fingers, and no anal-retentive boss with a funny tie can stop him from doing so. Best of all, he can sleep on the job just like that (again a snap of the finger) when Morpheus comes tapping him on the shoulder for a beer.

 Yes, he can do all that – provided he meets his deadline – for he’s got one of the coolest jobs anyone, comic book fanboy or not, can only dream about. Meet the country’s very own Gerry Alanguilan, inker for famed Marvel Comics, X-Men and Wolverine, creator of local underground hit, Wasted, and Pulp magazine page-ender comic, Tales of the Big City.

As a freelance artist, what kind of hours do you keep?
 My working time is anywhere from 6am to 12 midnight. I don’t work straight through that, of course unless, it’s deadline time. I make time for walks, a little play, a little TV. Calls to my girlfriend, naps. I make sure I get at least seven hours of sleep a day. Sleep is important, even when there’s a deadline. I think people are only doing themselves a disservice if they go for days without sleep just for work. It will be bad for them in a long run. Yes, I like the hours, and I like the fact that I can sleep when I want to, or go out anytime when I want to, just as long as I finish the job. 

How did you land your job in Marvel as an inker?
 Well, I have to admit that the pencillers have the pretty much dragged me along. I didn’t get the job because Marvel wanted me, but because the pencillers chose me. In the case of X-Force, Whilce (Portatio) chose me, and in the case of X-men and Wolverine, Leinil Yu Chose me.

What it’s like working for Marvel? It must be really cool. Does it beat getting a regular job?
 Working with Whilce was terrific. I had been a fan of his work, and to be able to work with him on his comics was truly an amazing experience. I guess I was pretty star-struck everyday I worked with him. I had lived in the studio for two years, and I guess you could say that I may have gotten used to him, but you know, I never forgot who he was.

Are you involved with any local comic book project right now, say, like your thing with Pulp?
 My run in Pulp has pretty much finished. I had written and illustrated five stories, and have had Wasted serialized. Next, Pulp will reprint Wasted as a whole, with a new cover. I also have two Alamat comics in the works. But it won’t be for a while because I’m so preoccupied with the other jobs I need to do.

What do think of the Filipino comic book scene today?
 Well, it doesn’t look too rosy from where I’m standing. The traditional comics industry is still there, but it is not as widespread or as well-known as it was before. I’m pretty sure some people would be surprised [those traditional comics] still exist.
 By traditional comics, I mean the Atlas Comics, Darna, Love Story and the like. What we have now is but a pale shadow of the gigantic, thriving industry that it was before. The pay is bad and the incentive to do really good work isn’t simply there. To be honest, I believe those comics are really on life support. And most people don’t really care anymore if they come or go.

What is the secret to creating good comics anyway?
 I really can’t answer that question. If we knew that, everyone selling something would be successful at what they do.

What got you started in comics?
 Herge really got me started in comics. Herge of the popular Adventures of Tintin graphic novels. I really love those comics. It inspired me so much that it made me start drawing my own, I was maybe seven years old at that time. I soon discovered Marvels and DCs. I like the X-Men, Incredible Hulk, Fantastic Four, Spiderman, Batman, Superman and Legion of Superheroes.

When did you start drawing comics? And, of course, where did you learn to draw?
 I had been drawing since I could hold a crayon, or a pencil, or whatever it was I was holding back then. The first comic I drew for fun was my version of “Tintin in Tibet.” I hadn’t read the book yet at the time. Professionally, that came many years later, when I was 24. I started drawing for Terror Comics of the now defunct Mass Media Communications. I contributed art (and a story for one) for three stories. I learned drawing mostly on my own really. I have had tutors in the past but never really any formal education. I attended art seminars during the summer, and in school I would draw a comic strips on the backs of my notebooks. I’m still learning today, actually.

Who are your influences?
 Influences I’ve got a lot. Barry Windsor Smith, Frank Miller, Alfredo Alcala, Nestor Redondo, Juan Luna, Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo, Fernando Amorsolo, Francisco Coching, Alex Niño, Jonathan Singer Seargent, Salvador Dali, Norman Rockwell, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Bruce Springsteen, Akira Kurosawa, Mike Kaluta, Berni Wrightson, David Mazzucchelli, Art Adams, Geoff Darrow, and so many more.

Where did you get your drawing style?
 I really can’t pin down my style to just one because I like to draw in many varied ways. But whatever style I choose to use for any given project, what comes out is almost invariably a fusion and distillation of all the work I have seen in my life, filtered through my mind and unto my hand.

I was told that you graduated from architecture; did you think you’d be drawing comics for a living?
 I had been drawing comics for fun for a long time, but I never really thought I could make a career out of it. So I took up architecture, graduated, and got my license. I was all set to start a career as an architect. But a couple of years into the job, I realized that I wasn’t what I really wanted to do. So I went back to what I realized was what I wanted to do all along.

What are the high points in being a comic book artist? At the same time, what are the low points? 
 High points are seeing your work in print, then receiving feedback whether good or bad. The low point as an inker is that many people really don’t understand what an inker does, and because of that, the inker gets blamed for many things that so wrong in a particular comic as a default. But that’s really just a small thing. All the high points beat out any low points anytime.

Is the competition in comics fierce? How about the stress?
 The competition is damn fierce for sure. Out of a hundred aspiring artists, only probably 10 to 15 will get the chance to actually get work. I’m so lucky, I can’t believe it. Stress is okay. I love what I’m doing, so if I feel pressure because I had a lot of things to finish, I take that as a challenge. If I get too stressed out of that it’s affecting me negatively, then it’s time to stop and take a brake. If it continues to become a stressful job for me after that, then boy, it’s time to find another job.

Do you get a lot of feedback from fans? What do they say? Get any annoying ones?
 Yes, I do get a lot of feedback from readers of the books I do. Many of them became my friends actually. I’m pretty open about my email address and have put in artists’ directories all over the place. Many of them are just quite happy that there are Filipinos working on these comics. There are annoying ones, of course, which is always uh…annoying.

And finally, here comes the generic question, what advice can you give to those wishing to get into the comics business?
 Just be sure that it is what you really want to do. Many aspiring artists think it’s fun, and to an extent, it actually is. But it’s also a job. You have to draw even during those times you don’t want to because you have a deadline. There’s no room for prima donna pickle-headed artists who must wait for the mood before they can draw. Those comics have to come out on a regular basis, which includes drawing in average of over 100 fully illustrate panels on 22 pages every month. Another misconception that must be corrected is the idea that when a person is a really good artist, then he makes a really good comic book artist. Comics is a totally different field of art all together. It’s not enough that you can draw robots well. As a comic book artist you must be knowledgeable enough to draw EVERYTHING well. More importantly, you must know how to tell a story with you’re your drawings. That’s it. I hope that they don’t find this discouraging, but willingness to take up this challenge is already an indication of someone who can succeed. Best of luck!