French Komikero
Saturday, February 11th, 2006The gall of the Gaul! Frenchman Ivan Brun attempts to capture Philippine urban life in comics form. And by golly, he’s got it right. Check out a sample of his work at Gerry’s site.
The gall of the Gaul! Frenchman Ivan Brun attempts to capture Philippine urban life in comics form. And by golly, he’s got it right. Check out a sample of his work at Gerry’s site.
The recent riots in France by disenfranchised Muslim youth reminded me of a comic strip by French artist Moebius* called White Nightmare (”Cauchemar Blanc“) that was published in English in the early ’80s by Heavy Metal magazine. In it, inept French racists bungle their attempt to kill an Arab in the middle of the night. Here are three pages I scanned from the 12-page comic:



The story was based on a real event in 1974 wherein an Arab was beaten and killed “in the middle of a building complex of a suburban housing estate without anyone doing anything about it.” This tells me that the tension between Muslim immigrants and French natives has been simmering for many decades now. The comic was adapted into short film by the director of Gothika early in his career.
*My favorite artist. Do you guys see his influence on my drawing style?
Lately, Gerry Alanguilan has been posting on his blog amazing vintage comic book art by Filipino masters. Check it out.

My sister surprised us with some goodies from her trip to the Philippines earlier this month. She got me three Filipino comic books drawn with a decidedly manga flair: Maynilad, Maria Makiling and Alat sa Dagat. The children’s books went to the boys. My wife got a slab of Choc-Nut and a big bag of cornick, which I’ve already brought to work and halfway scarfed down in one afternoon. Thanks, sis!
Pinoy artist Franc Reyes, who drew Tarzan at DC Comics in the 1970s, does visual development for Disney’s Brother Bear. Way to go, bro!
[via Komikero]