When the New York Comic Con, the largest pop culture convention on the US East Coast, is held Oct. 11 to 14 at Jacob Javits Center, its first Filipino author and illustrator will present his own graphic novel along with the world’s greatest in comics, graphic novels, animé, manga, video games, toys, movies and television.
He’s none other than Arnel Arcedo whose mind-blowing work, In the Name of the Father and of the Sons, created for seven years on the subway trains of New York City, will debut before over 100,000 people expected to gather at Manhattan’s West Side on 34th Street to meet and greet their favorite creators, actors, writers, musicians and other major players in the entertainment industry.
Among the announced guests are Adam West (the original Batman), Burt Ward (the original Robin), Ian McDiarmid (Darth Sidious from the Star Wars movies), Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future), Sean Astin (The Lord of the Rings movies), Tom Felton (Harry Potter movies), Peter Davison (Doctor Who), Lou Ferrigno (Incredible Hulk), Yoshitaka Amano (Final Fantasy series) and literary giant Anne Rice.
According to Funfare’s Big Apple correspondent, In the Name of the Father and of the Sons is Arcedo’s interpretation of the world history and his own artistic twists that have the readers hooked from the first page.
“It’s created for the graphic novel enthusiasts and newbies alike,” said Edmund. “It’s a story of two brothers whose love for each other endured time, war and death.”
Arcedo told Edmund that the fictional book was created out of his “frustrations” in life, and depicts the Holocaust during World War II and reflects on modern-day mass killings in Africa and the rest of the world.
“When I was a child, my peers were enjoying their childhood while I was sitting in the corner wondering over the inequality, poverty, war, injustices and killings,” Edmund quoted Arcedo as saying. “My journey was to seek the answers to these mysteries. It started with my own life in the slum areas of Manila along the Pasig River. Living in the harsh conditions, I could not help but think about the welfare of humanity in the world.
“Crazy as it may seem this idea was with me and I wanted to let it out. Poverty was successful at silencing my dream in the earlier days of my life. But my sense of freedom was so strong that it led its way from the darkness into the light.”
Arcedo’s work “looks at how humanity out of greed and hate waged war upon each other time and time again, and how the strong devour on the weak creating inequality and poverty of millions and delivering wealth to a few. The book sends a strong message about civilizations’ rise and fall and the history of war and destruction that is bound to repeat itself if we, humans, do not do something about it.”
Arcedo’s dream of writing his own book and filling it with drawings began at a very young age when he would make sketches of superheroes, sell them to his schoolmates, and use the money to buy milk for his baby sister. But due to his family’s poverty, Arcedo’s violent father prohibited him from drawing, prompting him to always hide in a small closet and draw by candlelight.
The young Arcedo could not resist his passion to illustrate even though it would mean beatings if he was caught. Once he heard about an art contest, he asked his father for money to buy materials to join. His father got furious and instead gave him a good beating.
“The incident did not faze Arcedo,” noted Edmund.
He begged a store owner to lend him a couple of crayons and paper on the condition that he would repay the owner as soon as possible. With his colossal determination, Arcedo won the contest with cash, which he handed to his mother, who was so proud of her son’s first taste of victory that she cried.
Arcedo knew that education would help him succeed and bail his family out of poverty. Due to financial difficulties, he kept quitting school so he could take several odd jobs and support his family, only to come back repeatedly until he earned a degree in computer science from Philippine Christian University. He eventually landed a full-time job at Mabuhay Hotel in Pasay City and became its manager.
In 2000, he got a chance to move to the US and is now employed at Murray Hill Properties, a large commercial real-estate broker and property manager, while pursuing his artistic passion. He hopes to give back someday and discover poor but talented kids who can be part of his next projects.
“My work as an artist is voiceless compared to giant publishers such as DC Comics, Dark Horse or Marvel Comics,” Arcedo said. “However, we could make an impression if our fellow Pinoys would back me up. Through the power of the press and social networking, we could persuade the Pinoy community to be there with me at Comic Con through their Facebook likes. I am carrying the Philippine flag and the Pinoy pride at New York Comic Con. It would be very important to our country if we could make an impact for this first event that will mark a date in our history.”
Edmund is right. Arnel Arcedo’s story should inspire aspiring Pinoy artists.
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