INK magazine assembles the best comics by students at the School of Visual Arts. All stories are ©2023 by their respective authors. All rights reserved. No work from this magazine may be excerpted or reprinted without permission from the authors. For more information about SVA’s Comics program, visit sva.edu. Special thanks to Christopher Cyphers, Emily Ross, Michael Severance, Viktor Koen, Carolyn Hinkson-Jenkins, Matthew Bustamonte, Kelsey Short and Gerry Newland.
Richard Mercado is a cartoonist from the Philippines. He acquired his BFA in Design Information from Ateneo de Manila University, and recently earned his MFA in Sequential Art from the Savannah College of Art and Design. His most recent graphic novel NangMainloveAkoSaIsang Sakristan(ThatTimeIFellinLovewith anAltarBoy)was published by Silaw Publishing, and is currently one of the top webcomics on the online Filipino comic-sharing website Penlab. He has previously published work with New Naratif, TEAM magazine, Philippine Star,and ManilaBulletin This interview was conducted the Small Press Expo in September of 2022.
Where are you currently based?
I’ve been in Savannah, Georgia, and I just graduated with an MFA in sequential art from SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design).
How has your post-grad life been so far?
It’s been three months since I graduated. I recently got a book deal, but that hasn’t been announced yet.
How long have you been trying to pitch this idea? If you don’t mind me asking.
I guess I started working on pitching it earlier this year. And then right after I graduated, I pitched it.
Do you have any advice for people currently making pitches? What has been your experience working through pitches?
In my experience, it’s understanding what the market is. Like, what type of comics they make, and seeing where that could fit. For me, I did a lot of research, and I read a bunch of young adult graphic novels, and see what are the things that are getting published, and then understanding if the stuff I’m making fits in. Is it similar to the things that are getting published right now? Or is it niche, or something? Where are things mostly getting published? And then, how do I get there?
In your experience, how do comics and the general art community differ in the Philippines from here?
Allies, in college. A bunch of friends and I made one. That’s how I started participating in the comics community, and that’s how I got into comics.
Could you compare how the Filipino comics community has changed since you were in college until now?
I mainly make gay comics, because there aren’t many. I feel like there isn’t really a lot of any sort of gay comics, especially for young adults. So, that’s sort of the thing I ended up gravitating towards. I just feel like there’s nothing like that. And then I felt when I started making stuff like that, people were liking it. I guess the first “graphic” graphic novel that I made was called That TimeIFellinLove withAnAltarBoy .
When I was in college, there wasn’t that much of a community. In the Philippines, compared to America, there isn’t really a comics “industry”. It’s really only starting now. Before, there would really only be one or two conventions that you could go to. They’re called Komikon and Komiket. Then it’s mostly indie publishers—so everyone just makes their own mini-comics. They just either print it on their own, or go to a cheap printing shop. That’s how the community was built back home. There weren’t any comic organizations, like Cartoon
That’s what made me engage more with your work. I also like making gay comics, and that’s why I connect with your work a lot. On the topic of That TimeIFellinLovewithAnAltarBoy , do you think your art process has changed since you made that?
When I was back in the Philippines, I didn’t go to an art school. I mean, I was a graphic design major, but didn’t really have any formal training or anything in anatomy or whatever. So, the stuff I was making came out to be a little wonky, but I felt like the heart was there. There aren’t a lot of schools to go to where
you can study art, or draw intensively. It’s like, everyone was supporting each other. That’s what I grew up in, in terms of making comics. But I really wanted to learn more. My dream was always to eventually be published in America, so I ended up moving here. Because I had the opportunity to eventually go to art school, I did whatever I could to get into art school so I could push my career there.
I know a lot of Filipinos especially have the classic narrative of, “Filipino parent doesn’t want the child to pursue art because you have to go into nursing and stuff.” What was your experience with that? Because I know a lot of Filipinos share that kind of experience.
My two sisters are engineers. Again, there wasn’t really an option to go to an art school. There was only one art school in the Philippines, and then my family didn’t let me go there. So, I did graphic design instead. For most Filipino artists, really, their main job is graphic design or advertising, because that’s the only thing you could go into for art. I forced them to support me.
Do you have any favorite Filipino cartoonists? Or inspirations you have for your work?
One of the artists I really love is Mich Cervantes. They sold like a mini-comic that was like thirty or forty pages with a beginning, middle, and end. It was a more contemporary and youthful kind of story. I got inspired by that. There’s a website that was created recently, because of the pandemic, it’s called Penlab. There are a lot of really good comics that are being published there. If you check Penlab, there’s a bunch of creatives that are coming out.
How much do you think your cultural
identity has influenced your work? I know you’ve put some cultural content in your comics, especially in ThatTime IFellinLovewithAnAltarBoy . It has a lot of things that I think only Filipinos would really know about or be familiar with.
I think it’s definitely influenced everything about my work. The way I think about this is like, rather than forcing culture into the story, it’s more of the way I always think. Whatever I write about is culturally inspired, because that’s where I lived. I think that’s the thing I try to be like, as a way to see how people are able to resonate with the stuff I do. I don’t know if “authentic” is better, but I write what I do. I’m being true to who I am, and people are able to connect with that.
Do you want your audience to be mostly Filipinos?
Of course—my main thing is trying to
make stories that are my purpose, but the thing that I always want to share is that it’s gonna get to something. There are many stories of being gay in the Philippines. I want to make those for them. I feel like those stories are also able to resonate, not just with Filipinos, but with everyone. And I guess what’s also really nice with American publishing, especially in digital publishing, is they’re able to accept those kinds of works, which is a contemporary type of story.
it. I feel like there’s something unique each person has that they can bring to the table.
When you make comics, what is your art process like?
Because I came from a graphic design background, there’s the design thinking process, and there’s different steps. Part of that stuff is emphasizing, so that’s what I try to do—that’s what I ended up focusing on.
I start off trying to find a word. And then I turn it into a big idea first. I try to find out what word I should fixate on, and eventually, “can I come up with a story with it?” I try to find the big idea of it all. What message do you want to tell other people? What are you? For me, since I’m making stories for teenagers, in my head I’m like, what are the things teenagers are concerned about now? And then what are the things not being addressed anywhere else? That’s how I started. In terms of writing the story— that’s how I formulate it. I start small and try to expand it into a story. I think my art process changed, especially because I went to art school. Now it’s more straightforward, where it’s like, thumbnails, pencils. Although, I do like doing it in batches, in five or ten pages. Then I finish that ten pages, and move on to the next.
“Beingambitiousisgreat,but beingrealisticisbetter.Beable tounderstandfinishingacomic, andhowsatisfyingitiswhen you’reabletofinishone.”
Do you think your definitions of success have changed since getting your Masters?
The way to see success for me is being able to make something. And then, being able to get people to resonate with
After college, I worked in advertising for two years. It’s a lot of rigorous work, in terms of being able to force yourself creatively to do something, even though you’re working in different things and for different companies. Maybe it’s not something you aesthetically like, it’s something that the client needs. So you force yourself to be able to do that. I guess I’ve been trained to be
able to do that. So I apply that to comics.
How do you think your queer identity manifests itself in your work? How do you think the queer community in the Philippines differs from here?
I’ve always loved to do things about the super traumatic type of queer experience. But it’s like, this is so dramatic, do people actually enjoy reading this? Then on the other side where it’s like, everyone lives in a perfect society. But reality also isn’t that way. It feels like a lot of these experiences are really American. And I feel like a gay experience, specifically in America, is different from growing up gay back home in the Philippines. In a way, that’s where I am able to find myself, in terms of finding a way where I’m able to share. It’s not that I had a super traumatic life or anything, but my life was not perfect. It definitely influences my work. And I feel like being queer in the Philippines is different from being queer in America. Religion is a part of it. The Philippines is very accepting, especially compared to other Southeast Asian countries. It’s like a mix of prejudice, but at the same time being super accepting. There are lots of people who have traditional values and it sort of mixes together. I think people are accepting, but there are no laws to protect gay people in the Philippines.
“IwritewhatIdo.I’mbeing truetowhoIam,andpeopleareabletoconnectwith that.”
lot of undergrads, people are making really huge or ambitious pitches, which is great. For me, I think my advice is to make comics where you can have a beginning, middle, and end. Start small first and then create a lot. For me, it’s really the beginning of being able to have a good comic experience. If you’re able to finish something with a beginning, middle and end, even if it’s a mini-comic, you’re able to force yourself to understand storytelling. That’s how you hone your storytelling skill— being able to limit yourself first before you expand it. Especially if you’re going to break into the publishing industry, people really appreciate mini-comics a lot. The only way for you to get into longer stories, and to make them good, is to be able to know how to execute a small one first. That’s the advice I always give to undergrads. Being ambitious is great, but being realistic is better. Be able to understand finishing a comic, and how satisfying it is when you’re able to finish one. I think that would be my advice.
Richard, thank you for taking the time out of your SPX weekend to take part in this interview with us!
Do you have any advice for students who are going to be graduating, or students still in school? How should we make the most of our time in school?
I feel like for a
