TDKPH Artist of Month August 2016: Dexter Soy



Photo taken from Comic Odyssey Red Hood and the Outlaws signing event

TDKPH Artist of the month Dexter Soy (Red Hood and the Outlaws Rebirth)

Growing up with comics has certainly developed my imagination. When I was a kid, I used to write and draw my own comic books. My friends and I created these little stapled books and swapped them around criticizing each other’s work. It was a fun thing to do, but eventually we grew up.

It is a great joy for me to see artists doing amazing things in comic books today and Filipino artists are no exception. Dexter Soy has already made a name for himself illustrating Marvel and DC characters from Spiderman to Batman. With the recent launch of Red Hood and the Outlaws we have another Filipino artist helming the DC Comics Rebirth.

August last year we launched our very first artist of the month with Trese’s Kajo Baldisimo this year TDKPH is fortunate to have an exclusive interview with Filipino International Artist Dexter Soy to share his experiences and thoughts.

Here we go.

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did you start as an artist? There are some people who have a goal in mind and others who started with a passion and let their career grow organically. Which one are you? 

I’m the guy who is always drawing in class during my elementary and high school days with some of my classmates. I became more interested (specifically comic art) during my college days when I first purchased an international comic issue titled uncanny x-men by Scott Lobdell and Joe Madureira.

It looks like I'm the type that lets his career grow on its own. I'm not fond of setting goals. It's not that I'm afraid of disappointments, but it is easier to accept things at times. Why give in to pressure when I can just chip my way into improving my work, and if things go wrong it's still a good way to learn a lesson. I maybe wrong, but anybody can land a job as a professional artist nowadays--there's a tremendous amount of talent out there.  

2. I saw your feature on GMA about your big break that started with a Marvel Thor sketch that was retweeted by Trese’s Budjette Tan that ended with a message by C B Cebulski, Marvel SVP of Creative and Creator Development. What was your initial reaction when your received that message? How did it feel?

It was surprising of course. It felt surreal and I was actually nervous since I only had few experiences doing comic pages. So I started to study comic pages seriously again before I started with my first job from Marvel.

3. We see a lot of Filipinos making it in the comic industry. What do you think is the edge of Filipino artist compared to international artists?  What is your advice to new Filipino artists who wants to enter this industry successfully?

I thought we have an incredible amount of talent here in our country. Not just in comic art form but as well as other industries like game productions, having a good amount of artists working on big publishers is enough of an edge that we can be proud of, knowing it's not easy to break in from the amount of talent out there from the other countries. 

My advice is for them to do their thing out of passion, enjoy it and do it for fun. Making money out of it while doing what you love is the bonus. But this may not work for everyone but you can still least find something that can work for you.

4. You drew a lot of characters already. My personal favorite was your run on Batman Beyond. What particular character or project that you haven't drawn yet do you wish to be a part of? If given a chance would you do a project other than the big two? A creator owned Image, Dark Horse or even Valiant?

Anything that has Daredevil or Batman in it I guess. Yes, I'd like to work on something that's out of the mainstream titles--from Image or Dark Horse-- that would be exciting. 

5. We are The Dark Knight PH group and we want a Filipino to helm a Batman book in the near future! If given a chance to draw and also write a story about Batman, can you give us a brief glimpse of how you would do it?

I don't know, but If you see the titles I worked on like Arkham Knight Genesis and this Red Hood Rebirth-- I think it's already a tease of what I'd like to do visually if ever I would be given a Batman title.



Aaron Felizmenio -- TDKPH April 2016 Artist of the Month

Aaron Felizmenio, better known by his colleague as Gwapoman, is one of the rising talents in the local comicbook industry. His unique style and great attention to detail will land him a project with any of the international comicbook publishers some day. Believe us, Aaron is born to dazzle the audience with his striking artwork.

Besides his artwork, people in the local community enjoy his company. He's a down to Earth guy with a good sense of humor. He usually post one-liner jokes on his facebook wall everyday. Some of the memes he created was even recognized by the international community. In jest, he said last year that if he didn't work out as a comicbook creator, at least he will have the comedy industry as a fallback.

At an early age, Aaron was influenced by his cousin who is now a painter based in California. Everytime his cousin would work, he would watch him and try to draw on his own. It was at that moment that he fell in love with art. 

drawn and colored by Aaron in 1996

While honing his skills, he realized that the fine arts was not for him. It was until college when his classmates introduced him comics where he realized that he wanted to be in the comicbook industry. The comicbooks that represented the characters he loved growing up. It was an instant connection that made him enjoy drawing comicbook characters.

He wasn't a solid comicbook reader back then, but his first comics were those DC reprints released by PSICOM. One of the books he clearly remembers contain stories from JLA, Batman, and Superman: Birthright. This book introduced him to the great Gerry Allanguilan--who was at that time, the rockstar of the local comicbook industry. Aaron's passion for drawing comicbook characters grew when he realized that Gerry and Leinil Yu were Filipino artists that made their mark in international comics.

"I thought, hey if they can do it, maybe I can do it too! That's what kick-started my uh, comics 'career'."

Aaron, in the year 2008, was a sophomore art student in UP Diliman when he had his break out year. He made a mark in the local community by independently publishing Gwapoman 2000. That release set the tone for the new generation of comicbook creators that are ready to take on the challenges of making it into the international industry.

Gwapoman 2000 was unique to the Filipino readers. It provides a new take on dark and gritty superheroes trying to be the catalyst for change. Many readers consider his work as ambitious and unprecedented. The book can be compared to Batman v. Superman in a sense that it tells the tale of two different characters--Gwapoman and Alas. Moreover, the script is both deep and comedic just like BvS.

Besides Gwapoman 2000, Aaron has other works like Minkowski Space Opera and Manila Accounts 1081. As an independent publisher, the only problem he had was exposure. Coming up with stories and publishing them is easy. It is more of getting his creations available to the public. The only solution he can think of is to allow local publishers to distribute his works. But that would mean he'll get less royalties from his work.

Despite having problems with distribution, he doesn't let this stop himself from writing and drawing comicbooks. Thank God for Meganon Comics publishers who help local talents distribute their works in bookstores like National Bookstore and Fully Booked. 

"Andito na rin lang ako, might as well just push it some more. 'Di talaga sumasagi sa isip ko na tumigil."

His advice for those who would want to make their mark in the local comicbook industry is to quit as early as now. No, really, he said that jokingly. His advice for them is to enjoy the moment. There are some hardships in the industry, but aspiring talents should not treat failures as setbacks and losses. Aaron believes that aspirants should see it as an opportunity to grow.

One day, Aaron hope to handle art duties for DC's Constantine. His unique style matches the tone and feel for the book. But as regards story-telling, he wants to write Batman stories. With his passion for his craft and his unmeasurable talent, we believe that this dream is not far-fetched. Aaron Felizmenio will make it in the big leagues.

Ram Mallari Jr. -- TDKPH January 2016 Artist of the Month

One man's trash is another man's treasure. 

Mario "Ram" Mallari Jr. Better know by his colleague
as Mar Bricks

As one of the established artists, Ram Mallari Jr. is an exclusive sculptor for Galerie Joaquin along San Juan, Metro Manila. But he did not start of his career served in a silver platter. There was a time when he sold scrap metals from the Payatas dumpsites to earn a living. One day, he decided to not to sell his loot and created things out of recycled materials. He said that he felt a calling to transform metal scraps into their final form. It was as if metals were calling his name asking help from the talented young man.

He started with transforming metal to mini sculptures. His beautiful artwork grew out of a hobby he started to love. From this, he saw metals in a different perspective. For Ram, each and every metal have different stories to tell. Transforming them to their final form he reveals these stories of burden, stories of the forgotten, and stories of the mournful.

Passion and love for metal sculpting

Ram does not create his mixed media artwork for profit. Its more of caring for and showing these metals that the best is yet to come. He loved each metal like it was his own. Rearing for each piece until they are transformed into their final form, Ram makes sure that those stories of sadness are reshaped to tell better and happier stories.

Steampunk Arkham Knight mixed media statue

With most artists going for the best available materials to create beautiful artwork, Ram continued to use scrap metals recycled materials not because it was cheap, but because he felt fulfillment in every finished artwork. He also finds inspiration in looking for specific metals in finishing his artwork. For him, metal sculpting is not sculpting metal per se. It is finding the perfect piece and the perfect fit for every artwork. It is indeed a challenge to find that perfect piece for his work. But nevertheless, he finds it essential and of great importance not to settle for whats available. He analogizes metal sculpting to people--every person has a purpose and every person has a place. After putting the pieces together, Ram finds satisfaction in giving these metals the justice they deserve. 

Steampunk TDKR

He also emphasized that he sticked with recycled materials because of the people who appreciated his work. During one of his exhibits in SM Southmall, a lot of people flocked towards his gallery. Although he wasn't able to sell much, he said that the people's fascination was already more than enough. Afterall, artworks are meant to be appreciated.

If you follow his work, you'll see heavy influences of steampunk. Its genre is composed of steam-powered machineries set in post-apocaliptic civilization. During Ram's early career, he did not know what steampunk was. His early exposure to the junk shops provided inspiration for his style. It was only when some foreign friends in Facebook mentioned it to him that he realized he was creating steampunk arkwrok. After that, he finally embraced the steampunk theme and started to blaze a trail for steampunk followers and steampunk local artists.

A group of steampunk artists who are part of Steampunk Art Philippines.

Ram Mallari Jr. was helped by Filipino Inventors' Society Producers Cooperative (FISPC) early on his career. It was their radio show hosted by Popoy Pagayon called, "KITA MO NA, GALING PINOY" that gave him his first exposure. Ram is also part of the steampunk group here in the Philippines. With so much talent in their community, they were invited in Los Angeles, California for a gallery exhibit this coming February.  It is every artist's dream to be recognized in the international community. Ram's and the group's recognition in the international community is a blessing they thought would never happen. It is only through patience that they achieved their hopes and dreams. This will mark their 2nd Philippines steampunk exhibit.

Visions from the Foundry -- an exhibit last December 2014 in SM Megamall

Just last year, he was given his big break by Galerie Joaquin when he was given an exclusive artist contract. The gallery sponsored a major art exhibit where they highlighted Ram's unique style and commitment to his craft. From this signing, he was given a wider range of followers which opened a lot of opportunities for him.

Ram's Battle of the Nuts was sold for HK$80,000 during a fund raiser event in Hong Kong.

As an exclusive artist for Galerie Joaquin Philippine Fine Arts, Ram creates commissioned works. His talent knows no boundaries. He can transform metal into sculptures, furnitures, and chess sets. Currently, Ram is creating a secret Batman chess set. Just this year, he donated his "Battle of the Nuts" chess set to the International Care Ministries (ICM) for poverty alleviation. ICM has outreach centers in Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Bohol, and Palawan, just to name a few. Their projects has already benefited over 100,000 families in the Philippines. 

Finished Steampunk TDKR

Ram is the sculptor (hero) that the metals deserves. He is also the local talent that we need. His only advise to up-and-coming sculptors and artists is to stick with their craft. Art demands patience and perseverance. It is not an impulse or a sudden surge of inspiration. Focus is a big factor in success. Some sacrifices have to be made in order to succeed in your craft. But most important of all, an artist will not succeed if he does not enjoy what he's doing. Ram said that love for the craft plays a big role since nothing is impossible if you are pursuing your passion. He compares this to Batman's heart. For him it is easy to understand where Batman came from, what he went through, and where he can be. It can happen to anyone if they use their talents for the greater good. This is why Ram thinks that Batman will win over Superman. 

He believes that there is a Batman in every person. Limitation is just a state of mind. One can achieve anything as long as they enjoy what they're doing.

Arkham Knight Beyond Steampunk

*Photos from Ram Mallari's Facebook page.

**Youtube owns the copyright to the video shared in this post