World-famous Pinoy comic book artist comes home to inspire new wave of talent

On January 4, at the newly-opened comic book store in San Juan, it felt as if the hands of time were turned back a couple of decades. 

 

Fans of all ages were buzzing around excitedly, carrying polybagged copies of X-Factor, Uncanny X-Men, and Wetworks – big comic book hits of the ‘90s – all ready to be autographed.

Some were looking through the various longboxes, sifting through back issues and looking for hidden gems. Some even started falling in line hours before the event.

 

The store fell silent, however, when he walked in.

 

Wearing a black Three Stars and a Sun shirt – a simple testament to how much the man cherishes his lineage – Whilce Portacio was greeted by smiles, handshakes, and beaming admiration.
 

For comics fans, Portacio is equal parts father figure and rock star. After all, he was one of the seven major artistic talents of the ‘90s who helped spawn one of today’s biggest comic book publishers, Image Comics.

 

 

An Image of talent (and taking risks)

 

In an interview with local pop culture site FlipGeeks, Portacio, who started out as an inker for Marvel Comics, attributed his career partly to being at the right place, at the right time. “I was just fortunate to live in San Diego,” said Portacio.

“But back then, [the San Diego Comic Con] was just a convention – it wasn’t too spectacular. It just so happened that that year, [the editors] from Marvel were there, so I brought my portfolio.”

 

The Filipino-American artist quickly made a name for himself by lending his dynamic penciling skills to titles such as The Punisher, X-Factor, and Uncanny X-Men.

Eventually, Portacio joined fellow artists Todd McFarlane, Rob Liefeld, Jim Lee, Marc Silvestri, Erik Larsen, Jim Valentino, and writer Chris Claremont when they left Marvel en masse after growing frustration with the company’s policies on work-for-hire output and royalties.

They went on to form Image Comics, a publishing house that promised creators full ownership and control of their work.

 

“There was no time to think,” revealed Portacio. “No time to plan. It was just, ‘There’s a window there. There’s a door there. There’s an opportunity there. Sige na, tira na, let’s start, let’s do it. And let’s take it to where it would go.’”

 

Portacio is proud of what Image has accomplished for aspiring creators. “We’re not the Number 1 company that sells, but we’re the Number 1 company that, if you have your ideas, and you want to take it somewhere, you come to us, because we’ll help you publish it, distribute it, get it out there, get people to see it...and guess what? Beyond the initial small fee for every issue for printing costs, we don’t take any money.”

 

“[Image is,] to this day, still what we wanted it to be.”
 

X-treme Pinoy pride

 

Portacio’s most notable contribution to the X-Men mythos is the character Lucas Bishop – a co-creation with writer John Byrne and artist Jim Lee. An energy-manipulating mutant policeman from a dystopian future, Bishop was allegedly intended to be the first Filipino X-Man.

 

The character will soon make the jump from Marvel’s bleak tomorrow to the present-day silver screen, as he joins Wolverine and the rest of Marvel’s mutant movie stars in X-Men: Days of Future Past.

 

Portacio, who held a “how to draw comics” workshop in Taguig the day after the signing event, believes it’s time for Filipinos to make a mark on the global comics landscape.

 

“[We] have to get up right now with all the indie groups, all the investors and businessmen, all the creators [in all the different fields]. We have to start right now in getting that stuff out there. Because, again, there’s going to be another spot again pretty soon. And if we wait, there’s no way... That’s not how the game is. The game is anticipating and getting in there. 'Cause there’s a possibility that the Philippines could be like Japan.”

 

Of singers, boxers, and lumpia

 

Portacio observed that, thanks to Pinoy celebrities like Black Eyed Peas member apl.de.ap. and boxing champion Manny Pacquiao, everyone in the US “knows a Filipino. Everybody knows what ‘Pinoy’ is.”

 

It seems the old adage “you are what you eat” holds true in this case, albeit in a more literal sense.

 

“Yung definition na alam [ng mga Amerikano sa mga Pilipino], ‘lumpia’,” shared Portacio playfully. “Because every party they go to, there’s lumpia. That’s all they know. What? They’re curious. I don’t know about you, but I don’t wanna be known as lumpia. I love lumpia.”

 

“But I don’t just wanna be known as ‘lumpia’,” Portacio stressed, shifting to a more serious tone.

 

Getting into comics? Get your stuff out

 

“Now, what you should do is post yourself online – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, anywhere – just to get yourself noticed,” affirmed Portacio. “Do your versions of popular characters, but also create your own stuff. Get that stuff out. People are always looking[…] everybody wants new stuff.”

 

The artist is currently working on establishing his own studio here in the Philippines.

 

“The Philippines has a better chance, because we already speak English,” said Portacio.

“We already speak in English stories and terms. So we have a better chance than the Japanese and the Koreans. We could be bigger than them, because we already understand international markets. So I’m really excited about that, and I’m really excited about talking to people.”

 

Still, Portacio emphasized that the most vital part of being a creative success is the process of actually creating.

 

“Do it. Invest. Take a leap of faith. Take the gamble. Create it, and make it now. The world is waiting and open for something new.” — JDS, GMA News