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While
Japanese anime ruled the airwaves, Ariel also grew up in the company of
Marvel and DC comics and like his peers during that time, comic
collecting became a serious hobby. He also frequented the school library
pouring over books about Japanese, Chinese, and Greek mythology
completely captivated by the art and the fantastic stories narrated
therein. His love of reading developed early on when his Dad bought
hundreds of books including the works of the Brothers Grimm, Hans
Christian Andersen. In time, while most kids preferred most of their
time playing outside, he stayed mostly indoors creating imaginary worlds
and a menagerie of characters. A
turnabout during his High School years was brought about the explosion
of American sitcoms, Britain’s new wave music and graphic designs
derived from the covers of the albums and singles made him lie-low from
creating any more comics and was reduced instead to doodling when the
time permits. He only came back right after graduating when he finally
heeded the persistent call of his first love. He
took up Fine Arts majoring in Advertising in the UST and it was there
when he finally understood what his life’s calling is all about. And
so in the midst of young
artists wanting to be the next Jim Lee, he took the road less traveled
and become a cartoonist. After
graduating he worked in the corporate world only once and never looked
back. He has contributed articles and illustrations in various teen
magazines and is presently managing an Internet Café cum hobby shop in
Mandaluyong City and he’s also a contributing artist for Philippine
News, a newspaper geared for the Filipino community in the US.
He still hopes to make a killing in the cartooning world and eventually
make his magnum opus, a full
length historical comic inspired by the movie “Forrest Gump,” which
details the travails of a wealthy man caught in between the war between
the Filipino Revolutionaries and the Spanish Government. |
