As an identification guide, I will regularly feature in this blog some of the rare pieces in my collection of Philippine comics.
"Komiks" from the 1950s and 1960s are especially hard to come by, as even local antique shops do not carry an inventory of them. Unlike in America, where they have catalogues of all their known published comic books, the Philippines has no such publication in existence.
The closest publication I know that features only a partial list of Philippine comics-magazines is the book "Catalogue of Philippine Periodicals", published sometime in the 1950s. And even that book only lists some three or four titles of komiks.
Through the years, the komiks has gained a somewhat nostalgic value, a look back from the time when Filipinos regard it as their "national book". Sad to say, only a few people in the Philippines have managed to save komiks in their collection. I remember that the National Library had a few nice bound komiks sets that included some of the early issues of Pilipino Komiks, but over time, these somewhat had been lost, or became part of the "discarded" books the National Library regularly sells to the junk shops. Of course, this is because the librarians there regard komiks as publications "without any research value".
Why the rarity? Some important factors led to the rarity of komiks materials: Human neglect, termites, floods, fires, and the humid tropical climate easily destroy the pulp paper of komiks.
People who visit my house often wonder why I collect these things, and the reactions I usually hear from them are "how have you managed to collect them?", "have you read them all?", "My goodness, this komiks is older than me", or "Your collection is unique and weird" hehe...
So for those who had been emailing me to start a continuing gallery of old komiks, here it is. Enjoy!
3 comments:
Rei Kyo said...
ellow...nakita ko po sa blog ninyo si Captain Marte ng Vista Komiks. Can you add some details about him. :D A little information po sana. Kakatuwa na noong 1964 pa siya pala lumabas. Salamat po!:d
10:36 AM
Dennis Villegas said...
mamaru: one issue lang yan si Captain Marte..
4:20 AM
Anonymous said...
Awesome Collection Dennis,I myself is trying to Collect this Rare Filipino Komiks Via ebay but like I said it's Rare and Hard to find. I'm Salivating just looking at this komiks lot.
My Next thought is there any way of providing Price guide on Filipino Komiks?-Kenneth(newbieFilipinokomikcollector)
10:02 PM
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