KOMIKS INTERVIEW with RH Quilantang, A New Manila Man
Had a short chat with RH Quilantang, the man behind the komiks – Manila Man, about revamping his said local komiks superhero character.
Alvin: Kamusta naman po lately? Any gigs or new projects?
RH Quilantang: Doing great. Currently, tinatapos ko yung komiks ng Manila Man ko.
A: Ah. Ano po ba latest with Manila Man? How is it doing? At belated happy birthday nga po pala.
RH: Well, kasi naglabas na ako dati ng Manila Man na ashcan issue. I felt it didn’t work. So, I wanted to reboot it. Then noong ginagawa ko na ung pages last year, naramdaman ko na parang gusto ko nanaman irevise kasi parang hindi nahit yung gusto kong iparating… so naisip ko na ulitin na nman… [laughter]
A: Pang ilang revamp na po ‘to? And how do you feel now about this revamp?
RH: Second? [laughter]
Ito yung first revamp.
Right now… kasi I wanted the 3rd person perspective about Manila Man… and I wanted it to feel authentic… kasi I made him so parang ako na un… and when I write the story, pakiramdam ko biased lagi so I told myself I better get myself a writer [laughter]. So I made Mike Ignacio, creator of (Ang Astiging) Boy Ipis to write for me. I’m pretty happy of how it turned out
A: Oh, how different is the new Manila Man compared to the previous versions?
RH: Manila Man is the same. but the storytelling is definitely a lot better!
A: Given that you now have someone on the story, how’s the work naman after you did this revamp?
RH: (Do) you mean how’s working on the pages?
A: Ah, yes. Sorry, sir. Pero I’m not sure kasi how things work between writers and artists, eh.
RH: Aaah, its OK. Kasi usually, at least sa akin, when I work on a komiks that I wrote, usually pabago-bago ang isip ko, unlike when you are collaborating with someone. You have to stick to what has been agreed upon.
A: Ah. How do you work with Sir Mike po ba? You still take part in the story writing or is it totally up to him this time? And bukod pa sa new set-up, there’s also being a new dad. How is it and how do you manage? At congrats po pati.
RH: I just give him a general direction of where I want the story to go then he writes in the details and other stuff.
Thanks and yeah, I’m excited to be a dad na. [laughter]
A: Makakaapekto po kaya yun kay Manila Man? Manila Man as a dad? [laughter]
RH: [laughter] I dont know. Let’s see, lets see. [laughter]
A: Well, congrats po and mukhang maaabangan talaga ‘tong bagong Manila Man. Saan po ba kayo next na mahahagilap ng fans at readers? Any event or convention you’ll be attending?
RH: Komikon, November. Nandoon ako for sure. Indieket this August. I’ll be attending as a fan lang. [laughter]
A: [laughter] Fan-mode con-goer din ‘pag may time.
RH: Tama tama!
About Manila Man and RH Quilantang:
Manila Man is a Pinoy Komiks created by Rhoseller Quilantang. It tells the story of John Leysi, a brawler who possesses a mystical barong tagalog that grants him invulnerability and a blindfold that gives him the ability to sense the aura of living beings.
Rhoseller, better known as Rhiver or RH, is well-known as a Bayan Knights member and for his creator-owned comics – Manila Man: Defender of Whatever, Insomnoir, Hipon Gamoy and Goodbye Rubbit.
