Living The Geek Dream

I would stake my reputation (whatvever’s left of it) and my left testicle in saying that each and every comic book fan has dreamed up a superhero or heroine in whatever setting at some point of their lives. Admit it, it’s okay. I’ve sketched up (very badly) a couple of characters myself. In fact, very recently, a good friend of mine and I had very similar ideas for one character, and it’d be cool to flesh it out somehow. 

Unfortunately, no matter how good our ideas are, it won’t fly past the pages of our sketchpads or our mind’s eyes. Well, for most of us anyway. There are a very bold few who take the leap into their dreams and come out victorious, like a golden warrior demigod who just slew the mighty Grognak.

 One of those brave souls would be Gio Paredes, a man whose claim to fame is his creation, Kalayaan. You got nuthin’ on this guy. Have YOU ever published your own comic book that circulated outside your circle of friends after playing the stereotypical round of DnD? Hells no. This dude has. That gives him auto-cool points. Also, we have him with us today and he was kind enough to give us some of his time and answer some of our questions.

Comicology: Hello Sir Gio!

Gio Paredes: Hello there. Thank you very much for giving me this opportunity to be featured on your site. 

C: First question, how the hell did all of this happen? I mean, a ton of people have characters, but you took it to a whole new level and actually published Kalayaan. What was your thought process that lead to the light bulb moment of “Hey, I’ll publish Kalayaan?”

GP: Well, just like what you have said above. I also believe (without putting any of my testicles on the line) that every comic book fan out there also dreams of making his or her own comics. And I am no exception to that. Ever since college, I already dreamed of being an artist of Marvel, DC or Image. Me and my friends have even created a whole team. But sad to say, that project did not push through.

In my case, there many factors that pushed me to publish my comics. It is a mixture of frustration, tired of being a nobody,  wanting my ideas/stories to be read. I wanted to contribute something to the local comics industry, and I envy those local artists who already have self published their own indie comics. There were years when I would contemplate making comics and always holding back of actually doing it. Self doubts are the voices that comes out from the loser in us. There were many years that voices were saying to me that I could not do it, that I am not good enough to draw and people will just laugh at me and my work. We are all born with wonderful talents, and sometimes fear or self doubts gets the best of us. I see so many people draw way better than me. And yet, they have not created and published a single comic.

 C: How did you come up with the creation of Kalayaan? Was he just a doodle on your fifth grade science notebook that just turned out awesome? Or did you really sit down and go “Okay, I have to create a character to publish?” I assume you did a lot of doodling, as a kid.

GP: Yes, I did a lot of doodling when I was a kid. But that is not where Kalayaan came to be. I got most of my ideas while inside an FX taxi on my everyday commute to our office. But it did not come overnight. It was a work in progress for many years. The common mistakes of some creators is that they have a cool character with a lousy story, and some has no story at all. It is not enough that you have created a bad ass character. You must also create a kick ass story along with it. A story that will get the attention of your readers. In my opinion a cool character with a lousy story is a lousy comic. But a lousy character with a cool story is a cool comic. There are actually no bad characters only bad writers. 

C: Okay. Ouch.

GP: For many years (even up to now), I collect small bits and pieces of what I think is a cool idea that pops up in my head. And when that happens, I always write in down. I also recommend that to every one who has a sudden burst of inspiration. You should write it down. Those are rare moments, so better get the most out of it.

C: Could you describe exactly who and what Kalayaan is? Maybe a brief origin story and a list of his powers. And maybe if you based his design off some other character, who would that be?

GP: Kalayaan was genetically enhanced/altered by Rhea Calalang, a genius in genetic engineering. One day, Vorgon (one of his enemies) tried to kill him by overloading his recharging chamber (which he still needed back then). But instead of killing him, it just made him stronger than he already is. But this new super strength came with a price. The explosion and overload of energy damaged his reproductive system. He could not have anymore kids.

As of this writing, his current list of powers would be

1. Super Strength
2. Power of Flight
2. and the most recently (from issue#8), HEAT BLAST. It is the power of the sun (from an alternate dimension sun which once existed) re-directed through his eyes that could blast through almost anything. But he could not control this power yet. It only comes out every time that he is in grave danger.

As for his costume, Kalayaan went through many costume revisions before I came up with the final one. When I was actually working on it, I wanted it to be the combination of all the characters that I liked. I wanted him to be like Superman, Captain America, Pitt and Hulk roll into one, with a distinct Filipino flavor. If I had based it on another existing superhero costume, it would be actually based from “Guardian” of the Alpha Flight. I really think that the costume of Guardian is cool because of its simplicity and iconic look. For those who want to create their own comic book character, always make it interesting and at the same time, very simple. Because you are going to draw your main character almost every panel in every pages of your comics. 

C: What’s happening currently in the storyline? Just give us a taste.

GP: Okay here goes. (from issue #7 and #8)

Kalayaan’s evil side was brought to life by Salamangkero, an evil sorcerer from an alternate dimension. Kalayaan lost consciousness as all of his powers was transferred to his evil side.  Salamangkero wanted this dark side of Kalayaan to be his slave, thus naming him “Alipin”. But to the surprise of Salamangkero, he could not. Alipin then went to the city and punished (and killed many) everyone that he thinks does not fit his moral values.

Salamankero went to follow Alipin. And then Grayhorn (the half brother of Salamangkero) appeared. To save Kalayaan’s life. Grayhorn gave Kalayaan the elixir of the power of the sun. With this new untested power. He then went to the city to stop Alipin.  And there he saw that “Servant” and “Pag-Asa” who are also a members of Bayan Knights trying to stop Alipin but with no luck. Kalayaan and Alipin went on a Philippine fight tour while Salamangkero and his half brother Grayhorn have their own mystic/magical fight. And to make the long story short, the good guys win in the pages of issue 8.  

C: I like that the Kalayaan book has supporting characters and I like how there are crossovers with characters from Bayan Knights. Actually, this wasn’t much of a question. I just thought I’d tell you I think that’s pretty cool.

GP: I am very glad that you like that concept. It is actually a sub-plot for a much bigger story line in the coming future issue of Kalayaan. As of this writing, he is just introducing characters that he will later on call for help. He is somehow gathering allies for a much bigger war coming. So stay tuned, there a lot more to come. 

C: Who are your comic book creator idols? Who do you look up to, if there are any?

GP: There are a lot of them actually. I will just separate them into two categories. 

Foreign: Jim Lee, David Finch, Marc Silvestri, Robert Kirkman, Ryan Ottley, Rob Liefield, Todd McFarlain, Allan Moore, Scott Williams, Neil Gaiman, Stan Lee and Dale Keown . 

Local: Lan Medina, Whilce Portacio, Gilbert Monsanto, Mico Suayan, Ed Tadeo, Carlo Pagulayan, Leinil Yu, Harvey Tolibao, Arnold Arre, Reno Maniquis, Gerry Alanguilan, Wilson Tortosa, Carlo Vergara, Gener Pedrina, Budjette Tan and Kajo.

C: If you could have one super power, what would it be? Just one, okay? So don’t pick something like magic, which means you can do practically anything.

GP: That would probably the power of flight. It would save me a lot of transportation money, going back and forth from our office to our house. That power would also give me a part time job as an elite special force of LBC (hari ng padala).   

But seriously, it is the super power that is on top of my list. To have the freedom to touch the clouds above anytime you want. And to go anywhere you want. That is the absolute true freedom for me.

C: Are you friends with everyone from the industry? Is there a way I can be, like, your kabarkada or something? Just so I can say I’m in tight with the local artists?

GP: Well… as much as I want to. I am not really friends with everyone. I try my best to keep my distance away from CJC.

And of course, we can be barkada. Just come at any comics event, I will be happy to hang out with you during and after the event. 

C: I have an idea for a character and you have to tell me your opinion, okay? It’s a villain. His name is the Impregnator. His super power is to impregnate women just by looking at him. His genes will be passed on all the time, and so does his power. So the babies, after they’re born, have the same ability so all they have to do is look at the nurse in the delivery room and she’ll be pregnant, as well. Eventually, the entire world will be related to him and they’d just make him their president. That’s right, president of the WORLD. Ideally, he should look like slack jawed toothless redneck. What do you think?

GP: Wow…. Let me just digest that story for a moment okay. 

First of, your character will have a very dull sex life. He gets a woman pregnant just by look at her? Where is the fun in that? 

Second, that is one power that I would never want to have. Do you know how much a diaper costs now a days?

Third, there is no guarantee that all of his offspring will vote for him. Because some of them might run as president of the world also. If you don’t believe me, just observe the political satire here in the Philippines.

Fourth, what would happen if he looks at his female relatives? His female cousins, sisters, mother and even his daughters? That is just disgusting man. 

And lastly, the most obvious of it all. The over population of the planet. Every inch of the planet will be filled with a person. It is useless to rule a planet that is destined to be doomed.

As a conclusion, I would say that you’re story is … AWSOME … you should make it a comic and publish it.
 
C: Alright, man, that was a fun interview to conduct. I wish your character gains more traction and more followers. You know, I suggest you give Kalayaan a Twitter or Plurk account or something and make him say inane things like “Just viciously fought with the beef steak, which was too tough for me to eat.” or I dunno, something funnier, maybe. Once in a while, sneak in a “Hey, good citizens! My new issue just came out! And so did Sandata. I knew his fashion sense was slightly better than most guys.” I dunno, just a suggestion.

Anyway, before that, you might have a gig or event coming up, go ahead and plug it here, too.

Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us, sir Gio! We hope to see more of Kalayaan and the Bayan Knights (in COLOR please!) in the future!

GP: Kalayaan’s own twitter account? That is a good idea. I will consider making one for him. I always post updates on my comics, gigs and events that I will be going in my blog http://gioparedes.blogspot.com/ just try to visit me there from time to time, Thanks.

If you’ve got any questions for Mr. Gio Paredes, please feel free to leave a comment! You can see more of his work at his deviantart account and his website.

Support local comics, guys! The renaissance of local comic talent is at hand!