Even Mr. Gilbert Monsanto announced it to the world---to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, in fact. Although I wasn't able to secure a copy because it was shown on the same day the test results for the nurses' exam were released, and thus, the copies of the broadsheets sold out pretty quickly. But take a look at the last part where he mentioned our comix. Hmm, now I got to move my lazy ass to make that a reality.
Make way for the Bayan Knights!
By Ruel S. De Vera
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Last updated 19:22:00 02/20/2009
LIKE any epic tale, this story begins with a secret—a secret stash, that is.
When Gilbert Monsanto was young, his older brother George kept those prismatic treasures—comic books—hidden away.
“Which is actually a good thing because it made me more curious about comics,” Monsanto explains. George taught him how to draw, giving Monsanto a piece of advice he never forgot: “Drawing is about dots and spaces.”
Those dots and spaces came into play early as Monsanto actually got his work published in second year high school, a superhero tale he created with George called “Midgard” for the weekly title For Children Only. “But after just two outings, I decided to stop since I was still just too young, at 16, to seriously think about work,” he says.
In time, Monsanto would work in komiks like Super Fantasy Komiks, lend his art to covers for Psicom’s Philippine Ghost Stories and oversee the art chores for Mango Comics’ Darna revival.
He also worked behind the scenes for foreign comic titles. He self-published titles such as “Exodus: Revelations” and, recently, rolled out his most ambitious project yet through his Sacred Mountain Publications.
Monsanto, 36, has been toying with the title “Bayan Knights” for a while. Coming home from San Diego Comicon last year, Monsanto was on Deviantart.com when he noticed that someone wanted to create a Filipino superhero database.
Reading the entries, he realized this was what he was seeking.
“I actually said to myself, only if there’s a publisher who would have faith in these characters and give these creators a chance to get their stories out there.”
He invited the creators to join him and formed a team of Pinoy superheroes called the Bayan Knights, the focal point of a comic book series that took three months to construct.
Quarterly
Its second issue out soon, “Bayan Knights” is a quarterly series at P60 an issue, about a group led by Monsanto’s own creation, the former cop Sarhento Sagrado who has lost all his brave men.
“He realized he can’t trust anyone at this point, not even the government,” Monsanto explains. “His last hope is to seek aid from a different kind of hero—superheroes.”
Enter the Bayan Knights. “I placed them all in a single scenario or threat that anyone of them can relate to—their extinction. Their purpose in life, to be heroes, is suddenly being challenged. As Bayan Knights, they might stand a chance to get through this alive.”
From Manila Man and Luzviminda to Maskarado and Boy Ipis, it is clear these are Filipino heroes in a team unlike any other.
“It is all about character,” says Monsanto. “Anyone of us can don a superman costume or wear imported clothing, but when we speak, we are Pinoy to the core.”
The jokes and the dialogue—a mixture of English and Filipino—are authentically Pinoy as well. There are the ingenious, myth-based concepts of the Barong Tagalog as armor, the cockroach as terror bug, even a flying banana leaf. “If you look closely, you’ll find yourself in each of these characters, diverse and full of color.”
Flagship
“Bayan Knights” is the flagship in the expansion of the Sacred Mountain line, including the horror anthology Bubog and perhaps even individual Bayan Knights titles. But for Monsanto, it is the first strike in his own knight’s quest, where he seeks to empower a new pantheon of young Filipino creative powers.
“They (the respective creators) get to keep the rights to their original characters and create their own titles without hindrances,” he says. “I hope by giving them the right help, they’ll turn into the next generation of comics makers who will usher new readers into the future of comics entertainment in our country.”
“Bayan Knights” is available at National Book Store, Comic Odyssey and Comic Quest. For more information, visit http://bayanknights.blogspot.com.
here's the link to the article
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