MANILA, Philippines - In an age where video content is starting to dominate, online zines are slowly retreating to the shadows of the Internet. But there are still ways to keep the spirit of self-publishing alive.
The Internet may have something for everyone, but there are those who seek out what has yet to pop up on the web. Zines have become a way to satisfy that hunger — and the best part is that anyone’s ideas and stories could be just the thing that someone out there is looking for.
So, to anyone dying to craft something personal — why not do it now? For all the times your school editor scrapped your idea, turn it into a zine. Went through a really rough thesis semester? Make a zine. You think your cat is the best in the world? Make a zine about them.
This week, we talked to Gaby Gloria and Mich Cervantes, two of our panelists in this year’s Philippine Writers and Readers Festival. Gaby and Mich are long-time collaborators with Young STAR as well as experts in the art of making zines.
Learn about the process of zining from today, 3-4:30 p.m. at Ballroom 1, Raffles Hotel, Makati. Get to know what keeps them creative, and maybe you’ll become inspired, too.
Gaby Gloria, founder and EIC of The Thing
What was your inspiration behind your online magazine The Thing?
I started The Thing in the summer after my freshman year of college. Coming from a conservative Catholic school, I found it exciting to get to meet different kinds of people who had such varied interests, and lots of things (pun intended) to say about these interests. The reality is that everyone is different, and I didn’t like how the local youth publications that we had access to weren’t encouraging that mindset. The Thing became an outlet for us to collaborate with creative minds and to create a community where people could discuss what they liked, regardless of whether their interests were on wildly opposite sides of the spectrum.
Was digital publishing your first choice?
My co-editors and I decided that we’d be using an online platform from the get-go because we figured it would be a cheaper and easier way to reach our target audience (high school and college students).
You interned for Young STAR for a few months and now you’re contributing to numerous publications. How is the experience different from self-publishing?
With self-publishing, the only feedback you get is from your readers. There’s no editor to tell you if what you have is a good idea or not. Though it’s always fun getting to collaborate with so many awesome brains, it’s also very tiring because as the main person, you have to look at the bigger picture. With my freelance work, I get to focus more on the quality of my writing.
What do you love most about creating your own content?
There’s more freedom in making my own content. Nothing restricts me, which makes it easier to experiment.
What do you hope to see more of in the industry?
Not to say that this goes for everyone, but to me it seems like the culture nowadays is centered on creating an image. While it’s great that there are more people getting into creative activities and putting their work out there, there are also many who obsess over their “brands” just to get more followers or likes (and now, even sponsorships). That attitude’s unhealthy, and I do wish that the culture shifts so that people start creating things — whether it be zines or websites or whatever else — to express themselves, have fun, and not to take everything too seriously.
Mich Cervantes, illustrator and comic artist
What got your started in making your own comics??
I’ve always read and loved comics, but I only got around to really exploring local content when I started college in 2013. I discovered that there was an entire scene that had been in motion for years. I started self-publishing and selling at conventions in 2014.
Who were your inspirations?
In 2012, I met Rob Cham over Tumblr and we became Internet art friends. I met him in person at one of his exhibits soon after and we became pretty good friends. I shared a table with him and Apol Sta. Maria, another artist I look up to, during my first time selling at Komikon.
You’ve had experience in joining local comic conventions. What’s your favorite part of these events? What do you hope to change?
?I frequent conventions as both a seller and buyer of komiks and my overall experience with them has been pretty great. There’s a very personal aspect to self-publishing. It’s great to be able to interact with readers, writers and artists face-to-face. You don’t get that opportunity when your work is distributed and stashed on a bookstore shelf.
Your comic Itch gained quite a following over social media despite it being in print. How did you think social media helped you push your content? ?
When I started promoting Itch before I released it in print last October, some komiks friends on Facebook and Twitter shared it around. I think what got people interested was the subject matter. I don’t see a lot of local content targeted towards young Filipinas. I wrote Itch because I wanted to create something that could briefly summarize how emotionally chaotic it is to grow up in an all-girl Catholic private school.
And why decide to publish it online and for free?
I released Itch digitally for free on multiple occasions. A big part of the decision to do so was because I felt like I wasn’t really reaching my target audience. You don’t see a lot of Catholic schoolgirls at comic conventions. It’s really important to me that I do. More than anything, I just want my work to function and do its job.
What do you hope to see more of in the industry?
Girls! I always want to see more women in komiks. Women go through a lot of things unique to them and nobody can write about these experiences better than they can. I hope to see more women creating content that matters.