Thread by @robcham, heard these comments hundreds of times before from all sorts of people [...]

heard these comments hundreds of times before from all sorts of people and places

- 'Pinoy Komiks is dead'
- 'Pinoy komiks pale in comparison to what we get from other countries'
- 'the old days was a better time for pinoy komiks'

ok boomer

Let's discuss

"Pinoy Komiks is Dead"

The comics industry was large for 4 decades (1930s to 1970s) And it was the most popular form of entertainment for a time in the 20th century. Why is this not the case today?

The reason comics died is tied with the movement of new mediums, namely the television, and comics industry changed into specialized comic book shops rather than the entertainment of choice

just as we moved from tvs to computers to smartphones

The pinoy komiks industry died as new mediums rose,

but also because in the context of how we had the Marcos dictatorship that had a stranglehold on media, banning Voltes V, an anime about rebellion against an evil empire, and censoring all cultural work done by Filipinos

Am I saying that the Marcos dictatorship killed the local comic book industry?

I'm saying it's a factor where creators were limited by what stories they could tell along with the changing times where television rose to power

The context of the pinoy komiks industry of the 70s was not that people were making indie arthouse komiks but that people were churning out weekly entertainment at a rapid pace in factory line settings with questionable conditions

we had stories in all different genres like romance, suspense, horror, superhero and much more but that was the 70s and by the 80s lot of comics publishers just closed down

Pinoy Komiks died

Is Pinoy Komiks still dead? yeah.

What we have now is something new altogether. Young filipino creators from the 80s and 90s inspired by the likes of Image and stories of self publishing comic creators the world over started making their own comics

in the 90s and 2000s, people were passionate about making pinoy komiks, stories in a medium they love about us, Filipinos, putting together conventions, starting communities and message boards and yahoo groups, xeroxing what art they had and sharing it with people who'd read

Comic creators started independently publishing, creating work for publishers, making ashcan copies of their work hopeful that this would be a career, and we got some amazing komiks from it like Trese, Mythology Class, Elmer, Wasted, Pugad Baboy, Kikomachine, Zsa Zsa Zatturnah

Yeah, Komiks was dead. but that was a komiks industry that had factory line production working to meet a demand of weekly newsstand entertainment

Something new and better came along instead, and it's the seeds born out of our situation as a country that has a violent history

The Komiks scene was born and with it a lot of independent publishers, comic creators who were free to explore stories that interested them rather than what would be seen as riding foreign trends

'Pinoy komiks pale in comparison to what we get from other countries'

ok boomer

The initial wave of creators from the 90s and 00s in self publishing, independent or otherwise, newspaper cartoonists and webcomics along with readers would compose the komiks scene at that time, inspiring with their work a generation of artists to contribute to pinoy komiks

Comics has changed in this context where the industry at whole was still a hobbyist thing in the 2000s

Comics will never regain its stature as a mass media giant and that has lead creators the world over to approach comics their way, not just in the Philippines

Internet as new media allowed for ease of access and community building

webcomics were now a possible means of reaching an audience and earning a living with examples such as Penny Arcade and Achewood and told stories outside the norm of what is expected of the comic book scene

For Filipino creators growing up in the 00s (my generation) what the internet meant was:

- finding friends in the local and worldwide komiks community
- getting access to resources for creating work
- piracy allowing us to read and be exposed to work we wouldn't have access to

This new komiks scene is composed of people who had internet access and a wider exposure to what comics could be with how different creators were sharing their work online and values and culture changed with the time as well

I bring this all up because when you look at the local komiks scene now, it's diverse as fuck, sensibilities from all over informing what stories are being told, how they are being told, as well as exploring what pinoy comic scould be

'the old days was a better time for pinoy komiks'

no that Pinoy Komiks Industry died

New Komiks Scene came in. New thing. Better thing.

With creators and a community who were passionate, dedicated, and talented as fuck

so time for some hard truths where I have to share how there is an ugly side to the local comics scene and it's that lot of comic creators cannot live off their comics

there are those who try and make it work and I commend them but I point this out for a reason

The Local Komiks Scene has grown over the last 20 years to the biggest it has ever been with diverse creators from all around the Philippines with work that will define us and are important to our collective culture

I bring this up because for all the good work you get to read is a story of someone who wanted to make that comic, someone who has a dayjob to make ends meet who only spent time on their comics after work or on weekends, sacrificing all they can into what they love

When I hear from people that the old times were better for pinoy komiks, that the pinoy komiks pales in comparison to what is out there, or that pinoy komiks is dead

I know they don't know shit.

I know what it costs you when you decide to become a comic book creator, and I see what it's done to my friends, and to choose to stay in it

for people to say this ignorant shit, yeah ok, whatever, man

for everyone else, komiks are awesome, go check em out

Thank you to everyone who came before and put in the work so that we can have the komiks scene we have today

Thank you, Komikon, Komiket, Visprint, Haliya Publishing, Anino Comics, Culture Crash, Filbar's, Comic Oddysey, Agimat, Nautilus, Black Ink and so many more

And you

Latest Threads Unrolled: