About Nick
About Nick
| Born Nicholas Anthony Manabat in 1972,
Nick passed away in 1995 from lymphoma. He is best known for his
work on Cybernary, which he co created with Steve Gerber.
Nick was able to complete 4 installments of Cybernary, which appeared as
a flip book to Jim Lee's Deathblow, published by Wildstorm from 1993-1994.
Nick continued to work for Wildstorm on various trading cards and on the Wetworks Sourcebook #1, published in October 1994. I can't say I knew Nick very well, but he, among all other artists, Filipino or otherwise, had the greatest impact on me. I met Nick around December of 1991 at Mister Donut in Greenhills in a meeting organized by Whilce Portacio to gather young Filipino artists to create a comic book. I was 23 years old and Nick was 19. Being young and full of myself, I sauntered into the place like I was the greatest artist who ever lived. Seeing Nick's incredible work for the first time felt like being smacked in the face with a baseball bat and hurled into outer space and beyond. And then afterwards, I came crashing down to the earth in flames humbled and shamed. I grew up as an artist that day, and I still grow every single day, knowing I will always have much to learn. And what I learn will always never be enough. I can never be content with my work, and I will always keep working to keep getting better. And all this came as a result of meeting Nick Manabat on that fateful day in 1991. I knew Nick to be very quiet. When he spoke, he
spoke in whispers. But when he drew, it sounded larger and louder than
anything I have heard before. The way I heard it from his family, specially
his father Alex, Nick was a born talent. He was already an incredible artist
as soon as he was old enough to hold a pencil. He was a true prodigy and
back then I can't even imagine what kind of artist he will be like in the
years to come.
The sketches in this gallery is only a small portion of a stack of photocopies lent to me by Oliver Pulumbarit, who along with John Toledo and myself, we considered Nick our friend and a great inspiration to us all. Hopefully, I can add more to this gallery in the future.
Nick Manabat 1972-1995
Article written by Oliver Pulumbarit: Nick Manabat 1972-1995
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