FILIPINO COMIC BOOK ARTISTS UNITE FOR HEROIC CAUSE

Filipino comic book artists unite for heroic cause
By John Geddes, USA TODAY

Comic book artist Whilce Portacio is a man on a mission. Actually, he's a man on several missions.

As one of the co-founders of Image Comics and a participating creator in the Image United comic-book series, Portacio has a schedule filled with daily artistic duties and deadlines. He is one of the most well-known and sought-after artists in the comics industry today. He's successful, has a wonderful family, and loves the work that he does. Portacio, however, is compelled these days by a higher calling.

Whilce Portacio was born and currently resides in the Philippines. He is immensely proud of his Filipino heritage and is delighted to talk in lengthy detail about the country, its history, and — most importantly to him — its people; specifically, its artistic community. Within this community, Portacio has, at various stages of his career, been a student, teacher, mentor, pioneer, and now, benefactor.

Portacio has two parallel missions: one, to establish the first professional network of Filipino artists and two, to activate this network for charitable causes. The network's main goal is to unite Filipino artists in order to gain recognition within the creative industries while, at the same time, creating career paths for future generations of art professionals.

In order to advance careers, Portacio insists, roots have to be planted and a legacy of respect has to be established. That respect begins with taking care of influential yet under-recognized Filipino artists of the past. Many of these artists were at the top of their fields in the '60s, '70s and '80s but are now living without insurance, sick, poverty-stricken, and in homes that were ravaged by floods in 2008 and 2009.

"This whole thing started from a charity effort that (Image co-founder) Marc Silvestri and I were involved in for an event called KomiKon back in October," Portacio explains. "Marc and I did a jam (collaborative drawing) for a charity auction. The money that was raised went directly to flood relief in the Philippines."

The event had a profound impact on the artist. "It got the gears clicking in my mind and I thought to myself, why can't we get all the veteran and current Filipino artists together to do things like this on a regular basis?"

Portacio is spearheading the development of this network. He sees it as a necessity if the Philippines ever wants to put itself on the map as being the significant hotbed for artistic talent that it is. "There are professional Filipino artists working in almost every creative industry, from movies to gaming to comics to graphic design. And I'm not just talking at the hands-on production level but really high up in major studios and corporations."

All too often, he contends, once many of these talented individuals find success, they don't feel a need to provide support for younger artists back in the Philippines who might want to follow in their footsteps.

"Nearly every time a Filipino artist makes it at the professional level, he or she feels like they've just re-created the wheel. We're an isolated country; one that's been conquered many times by empires and nations throughout history. I don't want to call it a defeatist attitude, but for whatever reason, there's a tendency in our professional psyche that says you have to leave the Philippines if you want to be successful on the world stage. That produces a brain-drain, so to speak, and leads to talented Filipino artists leaving without establishing a legacy of success for future artists to look up to. I want to change that cycle; change that perception."

Portacio believes it's high time that the creative core of the Philippines came together to provide inspiration to future artists while showing respect and care to past generations. The network, he believes, will help on both of these fronts.

"These older artists are too often forgotten. After reaching the pinnacle of their careers, being as popular as rock stars, they fall from the spotlight. Their talents aren't demanded any longer. That's not to say their work has diminished at all, it's just that times and styles change. These great artists fade into obscurity."

The charity portion of the network will help these artists live more comfortable lives.

"We're working on an event right now called Renaissance. It's a charity auction that's going to be held on Jan. 9 that will provide money to some of these artists who have fallen on tough times. I got the top Filipino artists together to create pieces for this auction. Their mission was to create a Filipino superhero. I told them, 'You're world-class artists, make a character that kids in the Philippines can look up to, can be inspired by.' I want these kids to see artists creating heroes that look like them and that live and interact in local places that they recognize. It's a key part of establishing that sense of history, pride and legacy. If we can do that while providing support for artists in need, then we're accomplishing two worthy goals at the same time."

Portacio would ultimately like to use the network to set up an artistic academy where the older and contemporary artists can teach rising generations.

"The charity work is a helping hand, it's a short-term fix. I like to look at the long-term, though. I want to give these older artists who have all of this skill and knowledge an opportunity to pass on what they know to the kids. I want the modern-day guys to come back and show kids how to make it in today's creative industries. As teachers, they can provide direction. As mentors, they can provide inspiration."

There's a message that Portacio hopes this professional artists' network will provide to future Filipino artists. "These artists don't have to move away to make it big. The proven talent of today and tomorrow exists here in the Philippines."

If the network is successful, Whilce Portacio will surely be seen by artists in the Philippines as the comic-book creator who became a real-life superhero.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/2009-12-14-filipino-artists-unite_N.htm