Saturday Morning (Comic) Odyssey

While browsing at Comic Odyssey w/ Eileen at Robinson's Ermita (after a great pizza and lasagna dinner) I came across the announcement of their new store opening at Robinson's Galleria the next day. What caught my attention was the part saying comic artists Leinil Yu and Gerry Alanguilan doing a store appearance to sign autographs. My inner fanboy was thinking of going, if only to make up for my failure to get Neil Gaiman's autograph last year.

And go I did. When I got there (2 hours before the scheduled signing, since after Gaimain I was trying to abvoid a mob), the store was already up and running, mob-free. They even had a buffet for (I'm assuming) the officially invited guests, so I was surprised when they invited me to partake of it. Cool, I was gonna get autographs, BBQ and chicken pie!

Gerry singing my Superman: Birthright hardcover.

Then the artists finally came: Gerry of Superman: Birthright and Wasted fame; Wilson Tortosa of Battle of the Planets (G Force to the older crowd), Carlo Pagulayan and Jeff Huet of Hulk, and Edgar Tadeo... but no Leinil in sight. sigh.

Tortosa was the chattiest (not that the others were wallflowers, mind you), sharing inside stories w/ fans. I first got Tadeo's autograph on my Warren Ellis penned Wolverine issues (Not Dead Yet), as he was Leinil's inker that time. After I got Alanguilan to sign the New X-Men annual and Superman: Birthright he told me Leinil was already on his way. Whew! Don't wanna sound crass but it woulda been a bummer if I only got the John Hancocks of the supporting cast but not the lead star.

When Leinil did finally arrive I was amazed at... his resemblance to my kinakapatid Emark. I always told Emark that if he really wanted to he could've pursued a career as a comics artist, seeing as how they share similar backgrounds as architectual graduates and both draw very well. But he didn't, as is currently an illegal alien in the US. But I digress.

I managed to be the third guy in line (luckily the guy w/ the huge stack of books wandered off). A Tsinoy guy, Wilmark Yu, was acting kinda pushy (I'm guessing he's loaded) asking to buy Leinil's art and sorta demanding sketches. Still, it was when Leinil offered to do a sketch for the guy in front of me did I muster up the nerve to ask for one myself.

So done and done. Got my lost issues of Supreme (finally completing my Alan Moore Supreme collection), Leinil and Co.'s autographs, and a free lunch!

Leinil Yu's Clark Kent sketch for yours truly. But we're not a couple.