By the time you read this, Comic Con International aka San Diego Comic Con would be well underway. And while reporting for the column won’t be ready until next week, the schedule has been released and there are few panels featuring Filipino talent.
On Friday, “Tales of Deejays and Eraserheads in the Lumpia Deep-Fried Universe” has creators of the “Lumpia” film and comic series talking about their newest work. This includes the latest issue of “The Legendary Lumpia Squad” which features the Eraserheads, described in the CCI program as “the most influential and successful Filipino band in Philippine music history.” Whilce Portacio and Ely Buendia are among the panelists.
‘Tales of Deejays and Eraserheads in the Lumpia Deep-Fried Universe’ has creators of the ‘Lumpia’ film and comic series talking about their newest work. ART BY G. PILARE
Shortly after that, there’s “Camera, Culture, and Combat: Unveiling Filipino Martial Arts Legacy in Comics, Film and Television.” On board for the panel are a Hema (Historic European Martial Arts) world champion, a fight coordinator, a writer and a cybersecurity professional who’ll talk about Filipino Martial Arts on screen as practiced by the likes of Jason Bourne, Sonya Blade, the Lisan al Gaib and Batman.
Whilce Portacio will return on Sunday with Apl.de.Ap and Filipino tech entrepreneurs to launch Halo Halo, an online platform showcasing “diverse voices and stories from the Philippines and beyond.” Hot Tropiks, an independent bookstore carrying Filipino ‘komiks’ will have a booth at the small press section of the convention floor and they’ll be selling dozens of Filipino titles like Zsazsa Zaturnnah, The Black Bestiary, Mythology Class and Alandal.
Just last weekend, the Philippine International Comics Festival had was held at the Podium. The event successfully celebrated local creators from all over, and launched another batch of fresh new titles for the collectors and avid readers.
I tip my hat off to Festival Director Paolo Herras for once again reaching out to our talent, shepherding the release of books and promoting them both here and abroad.
I had the pleasure of working with Budjette Tan, Antonio Bucu and Paolo on “Alamat: Origins” which compiles in one thick volume, the first issues of the artists who banded together under the Alamat banner in the 90’s.
I also got to meet Singapore-based journalist CT Lim who writes about pop culture, music and history. It was so good to hear him talk enthusiastically about Southeast Asian voices in comics.
It’s always a thrill to be surrounded by storytellers and artists who take pride in their work and seeing an audience willing to be taken places via the magic of comics and graphic novels. And it’s great to see so much talent from home have their moment.
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More details on ‘Eraserheads: Combo on the Run’ documentary debut at the San Diego Comic Con
The trailer for the new documentary feature Eraserheads: Combo on the Run will premiere on July 26 (PDT) at the San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC). “Forbes” magazine describes the famed convention as “the largest convention of its kind in the world,” which has transitioned from a specialist comic-book, sci-fi and fantasy hub to a mammoth multi-genre gathering since its inception in 1970.
Eraserheads: Combo on the Run is written and directed by Filpino filmmaker Maria Diane Ventura. It will be her first feature since 2021’s much-lauded “Deine Farbe,” which won Best German Feature at the Berlin Festival and the Best Director award at the International Film Festival Manhattan.
The Eraserheads — Ely Buendia (front center), Buddy Zabala (left), Marcus Adoro (back) and Raimund Marasigan.
Eraserheads members Ely Buendia, Buddy Zabala, Marcus Adoro and Raymund Marasigan — who are currently on their “Huling El Bimbo” concert world tour sweeping cities of the US and Canada — will also be featured in an SDCC-exclusive issue of hit Filipino-American indie comic “The Legendary Lumpia Squad.” At the same time, a panel dedicated to the “Lumpia Universe” is also scheduled for a talk on the same day from 7 to 8 p.m. in Room 6 BCF of the San Diego Convention Center.
Buendia, the Eraserheads’ singer and chief songwriter, will grace the panel alongside Lumpia Squad creator Patricio Ginesla and legendary artist Whilce Portacio (“X-Men,” “Stone”). He will also be at the exclusive autograph signing slated the next day, July 27.
Director Maria Diane Ventura of DVent Pictures and director of ‘Combo on the Run’ with Chuck Gutierrez of Voyage Studios at the Cannes Film Festival, where they presented the documentary.
Known for having lorded over Pinoy Alternative Rock in the ’90s and beyond, Buendia and bandmates Marasigan, Zabala and Adoro are, in a manner of speaking, akin to being music superheroes in the eyes of fans back home, as well as the global Filipino diaspora.
“Combo” first started production during prep work for 2022’s Manila staging of “Huling El Bimbo,” a monumental gathering that provided a reprieve to a nation still reeling from the effects of a divisive political year. The feature ultimately zeroes in on how this “unlikely group of disbanded punks” was able to provide healing while, ironically, grappling for it themselves.
Eraserheads: Combo on the Run is presented by Dvent Pictures and WEU and produced by Buendia and Voyage Studios.
The trailer will be available on July 27 via Eraserheads and DVent Picture’s official YouTube channels.
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