A feature of abs-cbnNEWS.com
by David Dizon
 

Wasted - A recent graphic novel of note, by Filipino writer/artist Gerry Alanguilan. A marvelous little black book of lost love, unhinged hatred for everything everywhere, and making things right using only guns. Early work by a potentially brilliant creator.
-Review by British comic writer Warren Ellis

Once upon a time, the Philippine comic book industry was inundated by seminal pulp classics such as Pilipino, Hiwaga, Thriller and the kiddies' all time favorite Funny Komiks. Filled with fantastical stories of superheroes and strange mythological beings, these followed a standard formula that sought to distract readers from the realities of the outside world.
 

Then came the graphic novel Wasted – a 100-page study on despair and lost love, written and drawn by then-unknown artist Gerry Alanguilan. Released in 1997, the book struck a chord among its readers with its violent portrayal of a struggling musician coming to terms with his girlfriend's infidelity.
 

The violent love story takes more than a few potshots at Philippine society as the main protagonist kills smokers, bus preachers, homosexuals and a small-town mayor that looks suspiciously like a former president. Needless to say, the book quickly sold out its initial 500-issue run and made its artist a phenomenon in the local comic industry. It even inspired popular band Barbie's Cradle to compose a song "The Dance" based on Wasted.
 

Nowadays, Gerry Alanguilan takes less potshots at what annoys him but has yet to lay down his pen. He is also in a more elevated position to do so, having inked several pages of the popular Gen X comic book X-men as well as other mainstream comic books from foreign companies. These include titles such as Wetworks, Grifter, Loner, Hazard, Tales of the Darkness, Stone, Hellcop, and just recently, Marvel's Wolverine and X-Force. Not bad really for a licensed architect who found comics more interesting than a professional career.
 

"Wasted seems like ancient history. People still come up to me about it, thinking I'm this kind of dark weirdo, asking what music I like. When I respond with Aqua or Carpenters, they look at me like I'd betrayed them or something. The person who wrote Wasted is pretty much gone, you know, and has been replaced with this infuriatingly happy person who sings along with Ronan Keating," he explains.
 

Fans of the not so wasted Gerry should check out his latest work Crest Hut Butt Shop 2 in select comic stores (Price: 32 pesoses), and upcoming issues of X-men for his inking job over fellow Filipino artist Leinil Francis Yu. His website http://alanguilan.com/sanpablo/ aloso provides an interesting read on the artist's thoughts on music, politics and the origins of Filipino art.

Finally, Wasted is now being serialized in the Tower Records magazine Pulp.