'COLLAB' : How Pinoy Comic Book Artists Unite for a Good Cause

"Collab tayo," we often hear our artist friends say, almost like a kind of greeting when they happen to be in the same place at the same time.There's this immediate excitement to share ideas and work on something for the awesome fun of it, with the resulting collaboration -- from teaser pin-ups to collectible anthologies -- turning out to be pretty awesome too.

In the last couple of years, we've also seen the members of the local comics community come together for another kind of 'collab' -- raising funds for a cause.

Just a few years ago, Anvil Publishing released Renaissance: Ang Muling Pagsilang, a compendium of artwork meant to benefit the victims of Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana). The roster of artists who were part of this effort was, simply put, epic. Veterans Jun Lofamia, Rico Rival and the late Tony de Zuñiga joined international fan favorites and prime movers in the Phililppine comics scene in illustrating heroism the way we as a people understand it. Proceeds from the sale of the book as well as the auction of the original works of art were donated to the +Philippine Red Cross.

Then there were the various "sketch for a cause" sessions and art auctions organized to defray the medical expenses of ailing colleagues, the latest of whom was our friend Vergil Espinosa.

We have to say we were _floored_ by the response to the charity auction for Vergil and the victims of the Bohol quake at the +Komikon last Saturday. +Johnny Danganan provides the figures in his blog; but all totaled, the Pinoy Komiks Assemble auction yielded over PhP100K in funds. To quote Johnny, "Whohooh, grabeh talagah!"

Now just a week later, two more fundraisers are going to be held this time for the victims of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). Again, the gathering will be epic and while we wish no more disasters will visit our country, we know these artists won't hesitate to once again join together and freely give of themselves to help others.

Our friend and fellow comics-geek, +Mark Rosario, said it best when he pointed out that Pinoy comic book artists, "like the superheroes that they love, are quick to respond and rescue whenever the need for it arises."

"So proud to be friends with these kind-hearted human beings!" he added, "God bless you all for your goodness."

We were not the only ones who responded with, "Amen." :-)

Pinoy Komiks Assemble: Local, Int'l Artists Contribute to Charity Auction

FILIPINO HEROES,
11.69 X 16.54, by Carlo Vergara

BIDS have started to come in for the artworks included in the Pinoy Komiks Assemble charity auction we wrote about in our last post. One of the early favorites is this inked original by Zsazsa Zaturnnah creator Carlo Vergara. Running bid as of this writing is PhP5,500 and the final bid could be much higher during the live auction on Saturday, the 16th of November, at the KOMIKON.

POLGAS, 9 X 12, by Pol Medina Jr.

Another potential favorite is cartoonist Pol Medina Jr.'s take on a local rite of passage. Pol is among the major crowd-drawers at the Komikon and we've seen his readers lining up to have their books signed even after the official close of the Kon. With a starting bid of PhP1,000, we expect a number of fans to 'outpig' each other for a chance to own this piece.

Original X-TREME X-MEN Issue 7, page 8

We're also seeing artwork being created or donated by Filipino artists who are presently working on international comic book titles. Among the early contributors was Stephen Segovia who donated at least two pages from his run on X-Treme X-Men. 

Joining Stephen is our good friend, Ed Tadeo, whose work recently appeared in Dynamite Entertainment's The Bionic Man. He created two watercolor paintings for this auction and the 9x12 Batman/Superman tribute we're showing here is a steal at the current bid of PhP500.

Original water color by Ed Tadeo

Other artists, including Marvel superstars Mico Suayan, Harvey Tolibao, and Leinil Francis Yu, have pledged their participation, and many more original pieces will be auctioned off on the day of the Komikon itself.
This is heartening news as, now more than ever, every peso counts for the beneficiaries of this fundraiser.

1K Buys Verge a Day, Bohol Quake Victims Not Spared by Supertyphoon

   Last August, Vergil Espinosa's cousin, Etey Buendia, informed us that Verge's supply of dialysis fluids was running low, and from Verge himself we learned that he uses up about PhP1,000 worth of dialysis fluids daily. So quite literally, every thousand buys Verge another day until he is able to get a kidney transplant.

"He is recovering well but still needs a donor for a kidney transplant," according to Etey, "Malaki pa din ang medical bills nya kaya this fundraising project will be such a big help for daVerge. Thank you again for all your support." 

As previously announced, part of the proceeds of the auction will also be going to the victims of the Oct. 15 earthquake in Bohol. The ravages of Supertyphoon Yolanda (Haiyan) last Friday have undone a good part of the previous relief efforts as the entire island is once again without power and the number of homeless has risen. We would like to plead with everyone to please continue to contribute to all relief efforts. A quick round-up of donation centers and a guide to donating via SMS can be found on Johnny Danganan's blog and donations can also be made to Gawad Kalinga's Operation Walang Iwanan.

 Waiting to hear from friends in Leyte 

At the same time, we're anxiously awaiting word from friends in Leyte, especially after seeing how the typhoon has just about obliterated Tacloban City. As another friend pointed out, "It's like Armageddon down there."

Jaybhoi at one of the earliest Bayan Knights meetings.

 We hope and pray that Jay Acosta and Nico Medroso along with all their loved ones are all right. We know that cell sites are still down and it may take days before communication lines are restored, but we would like to believe that we will hear from both of them again soon. 
These young, incredibly talented artists are family to us. Please join us in praying for their safety, and for all of the thousands affected by this new calamity.