Gerry Alanguilan

Alanguilan would later use this tale as the basis for his story San Dig 1944 in the Siglo: Freedom anthology.

The word "alanguilan" is itself the Tagalog name of Cananga odorata, a flowering tree now better known by the Spanish variant of its name, "Ylang-ylang."

As a child, he owned a chicken named Solano, which would later become the inspiration for his graphic novel Elmer.

Doroteo Gerardo N. Alanguilan Jr. (20 January 1968 – 21 December 2019), also known in the Philippines by his alias Komikero, was a Filipino comic book artist, writer, and architect from San Pablo, Laguna.

Alanguilan has cited Barry Windsor-Smith, Alfredo Alcala, Frank Miller, Katsuhiro Otomo and Alan Moore as creative influences, in particular Moore's 1980s reinterpretation of Marvelman.

Alanguilan entered the University of Santo Tomas in 1984, earning a Bachelor of Science in architecture from the College of Architecture and Fine Arts in 1989 and passing the board exams to become a Licensed Architect by 1990.

Alanguilan first made submissions to Marvel Comics around 1986, while he was still in school.

While these early submissions were met with rejections, Alanguilan was nevertheless encouraged by the fact that the rejection letters showed that at the very least, the executives at Marvel knew him and his work.

This early period of sending submissions and receiving rejection letters lasted about seven years, during which Alanguilan sent submissions both to Marvel and DC Comics.

He was an important figure in the Philippine comics renaissance of the 1990s and early 2000s, and is known internationally for his graphic novels Wasted and Elmer, and for his inking on American superhero comics such as Wetworks, X-Men, Superman: Birthright, Wolverine, and Fantastic Four.

Many of Alanguilan's titles take place in the Philippines or feature Filipino characters, such as Elmer, Johnny Balbona, Humanis Rex!, and Timawa.

He incorporated elements of social commentary in his work, especially Elmer, which satirizes racism.

The protagonist of Whilce Portacio and Brian Haberlin's comic series Stone, Gerry Alan, is named for him.

Gerry Alanguilan was born in the city of San Pablo, Laguna in the Philippines.

According to family lore, their surname was originally San Gabriel and they trace their origins to the barrio/barangay of Sta.

Catalina, now part of San Pablo City and known as "Sandig" before the Spanish conquest.

Their surname was changed supposedly because a witch placed a curse that would make them destitute for seven generations.

In the mid-1990s, Alanguilan began to be known as an inker for American comic book titles like Wetworks, X-Men, Superman: Birthright, Wolverine, High Roads, Fantastic Four, and Silent Dragon, sometimes working alongside fellow Filipino comic book creators Leinil Francis Yu and Whilce Portacio.

Alanguilan temporarily gave up on comics from 1993 to 1994.

In his own blogpost, as reported by GMA News Online's Victor Rosero, he recounted: "From 1993 to 1994 I never drew anything. I went back to Architecture and worked as a draftsman and construction supervisor. I thought comics and I were done. But if comics is in your blood there’s no discouragement strong enough to keep you from drawing. And I eventually went back."

Alanguilan studied to become an architect, but turned his hobby of comic book illustration into a career to be with his then-girlfriend.

At first, much of Alanguilan's work in comics was on conventional American superhero titles.

His first self-written comic was Wasted, originally intended for only his friends to read, and was later embarrassed by the large amounts of violence and profanity in it.

He published Wasted in the Philippines from July 1994 through July 1996, and from there its popularity spread to the United States, where it was praised by Warren Ellis, and established him as an independent comics creator.

His first break in a major US comics publishing house was with Image Comics, for whose Wildstorm imprint he began inking several titles – including Wetworks, Hazard, and Grifter – in 1996.

Alanguilan then got his first opportunity to work for Marvel Comics in 1997, inking Leinil Francis Yu's pencils on Wolverine Volume 2 No. 121, written by Warren Ellis.

Alanguilan's first work for DC Comics was when he inked Superman: Birthright, whose first issue came out in September 2003, with Mark Waid and Leinil Yu.

In 2006, Alanguilan self-published a four-issue miniseries titled "Elmer," depicting a world in which chickens suddenly gain intelligence and the ability to speak like humans.

From 2007 to 2009, Alanguilan's adventure graphic novel TIMAWA was serialized in Buzz Magazine, earning a nomination as 2009 comic book series of the year at the 2009 Komikon Awards.

It was collected and released as a trade paperback in 2009.

In 2010, it was published in France by Editions Ca Et La and North America by Slave Labor Graphics.

It eventually won the French ACBD Prix Asie (Asia Prize for Criticism) Award and the Prix Quai des Bulles Award in 2011.

It was also nominated for the 2011 Best New Graphic Album Eisner Award.

In 2011 Alanguilan partnered with Arnold Arre to write a 9-page concept piece called "Darna Lives!", which reimagined the life of the iconic Philippine Komiks character Darna.

Alanguilan wrote the story and Arre providing the art for the piece, which portrayed Darna's alter-ego Narda having forgotten her superhero identity and moved on to a life of obscurity and poverty, until fate intervenes to bring back.

Although short, it was notable for its significantly different portrayal of the character, since it was the first time the Narda alter-ego was portrayed as anything but a demure young woman.

Commenting on the work in a Philippine Daily Inquirer interview, Alanguilan explained his motivations for coming out with the story: "I think Arnold and I were able to show that Darna, as a character, can stand to be interpreted differently to allow her to remain appealing and relevant to a new audience. I hope 'Darna Lives' can push for this kind of change. I think Filipinos, as we have seen, are open too it, and comics creators and filmmakers do not need to keep relying on old tricks and gimmicks that have worked before. I hope it can push our storytellers in other media, especially TV and movies to be bolder. 'Di mage-gets ng masa yan' ('The masses won't understand that') is a stupid, cowardly statement that ensures nothing but stagnancy."

After a long sabbatical from mainstream comics, Alanguilan, partnered again with Leinil Yu in 2012 on the art for Mark Millar's Supercrooks.

In 2014, Alanguilan collaborated with Arnold Arre again to release the graphic novel Rodski Patotski: Ang Dalagang Baby.

In 2020, It was listed 100 in the top 100 of the best graphic novel of the XXIst century by The Angoulême BD Festival.