Cureless

Months ago, I heard the announcement the famed Filipino comics creator and film-director Carlo J. Caparas will be releasing a series of mass-produced newsprint-quality comics, and so I anticipated for it. Some two weeks ago, I passed by Buendia (Gil Puyat) MRT Station and wasn’t quite expecting to see some Caparas Komiks copies on a newsstand. I include circumstances like that to my “rare occasion” moments. That’s when I find something that I’ve been wanting to have but haven’t really planned or acted on getting it.

What I got were 3 Issue #2 prints namely the OFW Super Stories, Gwapo Komiks and Estudyante Komiks. On my way home inside the jeepney, I was excited to look through the pages because something in the cover reminds me of the things that fueled my reading habits and inspired me to appreciate the art that is comics.

The cover art was of Joey D. Celerio (for the Caparas’ story “Beauty Queen”). His and Louie Celerio’s character styles are so distinct that they attracted me more than the rest during the childhood years I spent reading the then regularly published komiks.

I was actually (in the recent times’ vocabulary) fangirling over again. When I opened the pages, familiar names came out of the editorial.

Hal Santiago, whom I remembered working for the now ceased Liwayway Magazine.

Rod Santiago, whose last story I could fuzzily recall was novel serialized by Liwayway. But I’m certain of this one series which he also illustrated that was replaced with the former. Perhaps it was “Anghel na Demoyo“. I’m not sure either if he also authored “Bandanang Itim”, which was illustrated by Mar Santana (one of my favorites).

I remember Karl Comendador and Al Cabral’s illustrations on horror comics. Cabral’s depiction of the horrifying blood suckers and underworld creatures totally terrified my childhood.

I’m still fixated on just admiring the art and feeling the nostalgia of my younger days, that I haven’t planned on purchasing the following issues.