there are chickens here

Had to attend two events last Saturday, October 15. Not true-to-the-word ‘had’ like a coercion, but something more like you’ve got to because, deep inside, you really want to. Anyway, forget it, I’m not making sense.

The first one is a book launching of Gerry Alanguilan’s second edition of Elmer, the prize-winning graphic novel about intellectual chickens and how they deal with human society. It is held at the same place where the latest Trese book, Last Seen After Midnight, is launched.

I’ve heard and read Alanguilan back in college with his trangressive work Wasted. It is a complete hairpin-turn of a reading experience for me, especially when my knowledge about the once-maligned works of comics is limited to prints by Marvel, DC, and the usual Snoopy fix in Sunday papers.


That particular work has ushered me into more novel and braver Filipino graphic works, such as the aforementioned Trese series by Budjette Tan and KaJo Baldisimo, Carlo Vergara’s Ang Kagila-gilalas na Pakikipagsapalaran ni Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah, Manix Abrera’s Kikomachine Comix compilations, and Siglo: Freedom and Siglo: Passion edited by Dean Alfar among many others that are mostly found in the internet.


That is why the opportunity to see the man behind Wasted and Elmer is not to be missed. What I sorely miss though during the book launching is signing up my name in the registration booth, thus failing to win any of the raffle prizes, of which it is also the same for dear Tin. (See photo above: I only get to flaunt a copy of the book whereas Peachy and company have their blown-up panels).


The second event is Netty’s post-birthday celebration at Central Pioneer (which was surprisingly better than the branches in Makati). Who would skip a night of free drinks? Okay, sometimes I do, but not this time.

This is like an extension of this, and for a day that starts out fine, I might as well end it with a little buzz. And for a couple of reasons that make me virtually disconnected to them for some time (e.g. hiatus on Facebook, Twitter, etc.), chickening out at things that are probably just existential, I think meeting them is a good idea.