Unraveling Marvel
MANILA, Philippines - Every artist aspires to have his or her work recognized. Truth is, only a few really get that opportunity. But now, your days spent hunched over your desk trying to ink your Iron Man fan art won’t be a total waste. And that’s thanks to Marvel’s Creative Day Out held recently at UP Diliman. Marvel invited aspiring comic artists from different local universities to share their work and get tips from the best of the best.
According to Marvel’s VP for Marvel brand management and development C.B. Cebulski, there are three elements that make Marvel what it is today: content, character, and community. He mentioned that they make it a point to keep their stories timely and relatable. As much as possible, they create stories set in the real world (a little shade thrown to DC’s Gotham) and based on real characters. This brought me back to my first Marvel comic-reading experience not too long ago when I picked up Miss Marvel for the first time. I saw her story unfold page by page and found myself giggling at familiar problems (i.e., family being strict, unruly friends, boy problems, etc.). Maybe this is the reason why Marvel movies are spectacularly successful at the box office: we gravitate towards content that we can identify with.
Crash course: V.P. for Marvel brand management and development C.B. Cebulski gives the low down on Marvel’s creative process.
The Marvel cinematic universe is also a good example of their second element to achieving success. I am no comic book expert, but there’s something about watching their superheroes that makes me feel like I’m part of their squad. I know them well enough to call out their next move while watching The Avengers. And their personal branding is just enough to make any graphic designer sigh with contentment.
Thirdly, Marvel takes pride in building a community around their fandom. As seen in this year’s Marvel Creative Day Out, they make an effort to get to know up-and-coming talent all over the world. The UP Diliman Theater was the gathering place for aspiring comic book artists. Visiting artists gave talks on creativity and workshops on how to make it big in the comic universe. They even invited Filipino comic artists Stephen Segovia, Harvey Tolibao and Leinil Yu — their own discoveries — to share their Marvel experience. At the end of the day, everyone left Diliman inspired and more determined to be part of the Marvel universe. Who wouldn’t be? With valuable words on creativity, an exhibit to get their juices flowing and personal tips from Cebulski himself, it shouldn’t be surprising if we see a Filipino Marvel superhero in the near future.
Drawn out: Marvel comic artist Harvey Tolibao gives a demo onstage.
