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|  | New Beginnings: An Interview with Culture Crash by Charles Tan (with special thanks to Joel Chua) "Fortune Favors the Bold" - Virgil, Aeneid A lot of us are fans of the comics we read, of the shows we watch, of the music we listen to. However, how many are willing to take that a step further, to breathe in the passion that we are thriving in? James Palabay did just that. He made a gamble, entering the domestic market on something which was nonexistent before, a comic anthology which is a mesh of foreign and local influence. However, there is something more to Culture Crash. Right now, it has its humble beginnings but who knows what it might lead to in the future? Gladly do I present an interview with James Palabay (via email) as I ask him some eighteen questions which he is glad to answer, and something which we can learn from or be inspired of. Without further ado, here it is: P.Otaku Bytes: What exactly is Culture Crash? Culture Crash: More or less it's in the editorial. But for you, I'll answer it here too! It's because we applied Japanese art style and American, European ethics and international standards in making a comic which at the very heart is very Filipino. After all, isn't that what best describes the Filipino culture? A crash of cultures? We decided to accept the fact that the Filipino is indeed this, after all, we cannot deny how our present culture has been affected by the the Spanish, Japanese, Americans, and many others. And.... well guess that's long enough! =) PO: Who started it? CC: I guess I (James Palabay) did! I just asked around and looked for people with great talent and who shared my vision. PO: What motivated you to publish it? CC: Hmmm... I don't think there's a simple answer for this. You see I had been thru Funny Komiks, American, European and Japanese Comics. You see I, or rather we, wanted to make something of international caliber but market it not for foreigners, but for Filipinos. We wanted to make a great product that Filipinos could claim as their own. I mean, Filipinos are incredibly talented people, why not make something that would be credited to us for a change? My family has also been in the publishing and printing business for almost 30 years, but mostly we print educational materials. After graduating I wanted to make something more commercial and different. Something that a Filipino could be proud of I guess. Too idealistic? Maybe so! But hey, I guess the main thing here is, we wanted to change the print industry and how local talent was being treated. PO: What were the difficulties experienced in handling such a production? CC: Another question that's a bit difficult to answer. There are so many factors, like deadlines, color reproduction, hardware, software etc… Also of course! There's the financial side to it. One of the biggest problems right now is the dollar increase since we are highly dependent on imported paper and inks. PO: Why did you call it Culture Crash? CC: See no. 1 (first question) continued... [ prev article ] [ top ] [ next page ] |
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