100 Araw ng Komiks: One Year Later

Journal Entry #57

It has been a year since the first day of the campaign.

It all started with an incident in Toycon 2011.  At that point, the local Komiks industry has been struggling to keep afloat for years, despite popular notions of its "demise".  A lot of professional and underground independent komiks have been continuing this artform.  A lot of influences popped up, and what's good about this is, more artists are getting interested in making their own publications.  Whether they're newbies, or pros, it doesn't matter, as long as somebody is still interested in making their own comics locally.

Ever since I got myself into making indie comics 16 years ago (you know, the first time I decided to make my own comic), I got immersed in the art of making comics.  I fell in love with the possibilities.  I was already into writing when I was in highschool, and I liked to draw.  Drawing my own stories gives me a sort of high that school plates could never give me.  It was work and play merged into one! But If you put so much effort into drawing something, and your friends somehow gets sucked into the world you created, it gives you a satisfaction that makes all the hardwork really worth it.

So after meeting comic enthusiastic college mates, after joining an indie comic group, after meeting CCCOM, after selling in a shop, after getting criticisms, after joining a big convention (getting amazed by how many of us are actually making comics),  after many KOMIKONs, after meeting the veterans of the Golden Age, komiks historians, meeting more indie artists, participating in exhibits, seeing the real komiks industry... I was already in fray.  And I loved all that creative energy!

And then we met a kid who hardly knows about Panday, or Darna....Or any local komiks title creator,  Despite the TV shows and MMFF adaptations in recent years.  It was sadness at the Komikon booth.

I was already in Indie Komiks Manila group then, and we were all trying to promote our own titles, and helping each other out in comic production.  A year before, it was National elections.  I saw my FB feed fill with campaigns for politicians.  And we're all comic enthusiasts.  Why not campaign for Komiks? So we did.

Early teasers

So many people pitched for 100 Araw ng Komiks, and one of them is the FB page which is now a year old.  It was a campaign filled with infos on the history of komiks from Komiklopedia, from various resource persons and blogs. We promoted new comic artists and new comic titles.  Many komiks enthusiasts participated.  Many responded and shared trivias and posts.  For 100 days, we campaigned for KOMIKS.  

Four months after the 100-day campaign, I shopped for a few indies (during Komikon), and introduced myself to one of the creators of Spanton as one of the admins of the 100 AnK page.  And then the guy mentioned that some of their buyers actually heard of their titles via the page posts. I was really happy to hear that we helped them promote their titles.  We actually did help them!  Wow.

It was a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.

Now a year has passed.  Were' still posting komiks related stuff on the page, now with more than a thousand likes (I have no idea if they all check it regularly).

I really don't know the extent of the campaign, or how many people it actually reached.  I don't know if we made a significant boost for the local industry (or at least for the small komiks community where I belong), but I'm really hoping the ripples of 100 days will reach far...

But it won't become waves, if we only stop at ripples.  It's time for us to build some muscle, and create the waves we've been waiting for...

Time to spread the power of Komiks Art Beybeh!


--Joanah t.c., Member of POINT ZERO, Indie Komiks Manila, and 100 Araw ng Komiks

(P.S.  Indieket is coming up on July 14th.  Preparing for that now...Salamat din sa mga gumawa ng Power of Art docus at Komiks art docus for the inspiration! Trabaho na tayo!)