I received communication today that the reprint of the 1934 "Album ng Kabalbalan ni Kenkoy" is already out of stock in National Bookstore and Filbar's. Anyway, for those of you wish to buy a copy, and would like to read the first comic book printed in the Philippines , there are still a few copies left with me. You can contact me through my cellphone number 09155766643 or email me at [email protected].

The image featured above is its original printed cover. Originally priced at 30 centavos a copy, this comic book was first launched in 1934, written by Romualdo Ramos and illustrated by Tony Velasquez. It is a compilation of the early Kenkoy comic strips from 1929-34.

How much did Don Ramon Roces pay Ramos and Velasquez per issue of Kenkoy? They were paid 20 pesos per issue, which they split evenly. It was 1928, and the average daily wage was one peso, so the two were getting a hefty sum at that time.

Unfortunately, Ramos' untimely death in 1932 left Velasquez to write the scripts alone. Nevertheless, he still gave half of the comic strip's income to Ramos' widow for a whole year. He said "Yan ay utang na loob ko. Dapat lahat tayo ay nakakalam niyan" .

Well, I'm hoping that this kind of equal sharing between writers and artists exists in present comic book publishing, even when the characters had been licensed to become a Telenovela or a movie. Kawawa naman ang mga artists. "Utang na loob" is indeed a wonderful Tagalog term without equal in any foreign language. Of course, you know what I mean.

2 comments:

 Gerry Alanguilan said...

Wow, the true "First" Philippine comic book. I was wondering, do you have a higher resolution scan of this? Possibly 300dpi?

7:43 AM

 Dennis Villegas said...

Gerry, nakakahiyang aminin dito na di ko alam yang 300dpi. Paki-email mo sakin kung paano gawin yan at ipadadala ko agad sayo.

7:51 AM

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