On Self-Publishing: Gener Pedriña

The following is the eighth in a series of email interviews with some recently acquired contacts in the komiks community. If you'd like to share your own story, or just be a contact, please email me at komiksadvoc8@yahoo.com.

Today's article comes from Gener Pedriña, more commonly known online as nerp.


Most people in the "indie" industry know me as nerp, creator of the Sanduguan characters. I started my first indie in '98 with the first appearance of Bato: The Agimat Warrior on Handicrapcomix #1. When Handicrapcomix folded up due to personal time constraints, I entered the world of digital comix. I came back to print form only,  when a lot of readers requested that i do printed stuff.

1998 Handicrap # 1-6

1999 LEGEND OF ZODIAC #1 & 2

2002 Color Assist, Philippine Legends Published by Psicom

Ang Alamat ni Bernardo Karpio
Alamat ng Maynilad
Alamat Ng Mais
Alamat Ni Apobolinayen At Ang Araw
Tigbauan At Lamokon

2003 Colors, Look And Find Series Coloring Published by Psicom

1 - Invasion
2 - The Forest
3 - J Brothers Adventure
4 - Baranggay Anay, cover only
5 - The 12 Huntsmen
6 - The Abduction
8 - Carnival

Philippine Ghost Stories #8 Pin-up Published by Psicom

DARNA Color Assist Published by Mango Comics

SANDUGUAN REVELATIONS Written by Christophe Pacaud Published by Blue Shuffle

WAN: Tatlong Kuwento. Talong Buhay With Tobie Abad

2004 TIKBALANG NATION Written by Jason Banico Published by Dynatica

2005 FANTASYA,"Kasaysayan: Minsan Isang Tag-Ulan" Written by Alex Osias Published by Psicom,

BASTED "Noon At Kailanman" Written by Kate Aton Cover colors Published by Psicom

BASTED: Tagos Hanggang Buto Cover colors Published by Psicom

PROJECT: HERO,  Razor Lolita Written by Jason Banico Published byQuest Ventures

KOMIKS ATBP,  Ang Alamat ni Bato Published by Point Zero

SHINING GOLD: APOCRYPHUS Written by Darrin Hunt under Ronin Studios

2007 SANDUGUAN:Himagsikan 0 

2008 SANDATA 0, BATO, Agimat Warrior 1 Published by Kathang Indio

2009 KALAYAAN #6 Written by Gio Paredes, Kathang Indio Visual Stories. Spot drawings on the Buzz magasin prose story.

Sanduguan and Bato are my ongoing projects.

1 What made you decide to publish your own komiks?

I entered the comix world because I just love to draw and make my own stories, and others told me why not go into "indie" publishing. So, after evaluating my own works and characters, I decided to make Philippine mythology my main focus and published my first indie sampler, Sanduguan 0.

2 What did you need to do to get into komiks?

I entered the comic book community just wanting to share my works to others. This is why I started online, armed only with the knowledge and experience I picked up along the way. I do my comix the "Marvel Style". I draw the pages based on a plot and then fix the continuity of the pages I finished. I fill up the gaps and build my script from the pages I have. (1) I'm not much of a writer, so this process works to my advantage.

3 What are the main hurdles to overcome in self-publishing, and how should new komiks makers get over these hurdles?

The main hurdle I have is finishing my comix on time. Since there are no editors to nag and push you, you do it only when you feel like it or when the next convention is just around the corner. Better to finish those pages early to avoid crunch time which leaves out room for many mistakes.

(1) Ner P. is referring to an editorial style popularized by Stan Lee often referred to as The Marvel Method. Using this method, the writer does not make a full script for a comics story. Instead, he makes a synopsis and allows the artist to fill in the details. This method is intended to increase the level of collaboration between the writer and artist. Read the Wikipedia entry on it here.

You can see Gener/nerp's deviantART here.