Aaron Felizmenio in Homeworlds: One Panel at a Time

A Parallel Planets piece by Pepe Serapio

Parallel Planets presents Aaron Felizmenio 

in Homeworlds Series: One Panel at a Time 

Story and Interview by Jofer Serapio 

Mentioned: life is a transition, watercolors and comic book art, and Red Hot Chili Peppers

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If you've ever been to a comic book convention in the Philippines, then chances are, you've walked past Aaron Felizmenio's sports drink-laden booth. The mind behind Gwapoman 2000 has been involved with comic books ever since he was a kid. He's so good at what he does, he can emulate the best of the best, and he looks good doing it.

illustration by Aaron Felizmenio

I was introduced to him by his then-girlfriend, a photographer who also did a lot of cosplaying. In fact, it was during an anime convention when our paths first crossed. While his then-girlfriend was posing for a crowd of cosplay photographers, he himself was sitting on the marble floor, his back against the wall. All that black leather made him look like a badass, a window to the “badassery” of his art.

From that window, I immediately realized that this guy was someone I needed to watch. I grew up with comic books, too, and like pre-college Aaron, I've always thought that the industry would never be relevant to our part of the world, that we should get contented just peering over windows to live out our crime-fighting fantasies. Browsing through his artworks, I came to realize that my preconceived notions were juvenile. But that was two to three years ago.

Currently, he has three projects under his belt: the second instalment of his Gwapoman 2000, Frances Luna III Illustration Firm's Manila Accounts 1081: Good Criminals Wear White, and Neverheard WebComics' The Minkowski Space Opera. All of these things are his: he co-owns Neverheard WebComics and Manila Accounts is a collaboration with another comic book artist whom he is good friends with. He's also doing sketch cards for Rittenhouse, which, despite our best interrogation efforts, remains extremely confidential.

illustration by Aaron Felizmenio

To find yourself in Aaron's space is to be caught lost in a wonderland of popular culture. Movie posters of Marvel's Thor and Watchmen decorate his wall, alongside a portrait of Supergirl exercising the extent of her super-humanity. He also has his own cutting place, guarded by the Dark Knight himself and where signed copies of Xtreme X-Men and Super Crooks stand tall.

photo from Aaron Felizmenio

Until I get to build my own bookshelf, this bookworm will forever be amazed by other people's bookshelves. Aaron's is filled with Marvel titles and art books. The selection encompasses his wide range of interests. 

photo from Aaron Felizmenio

A perfect mix of functionality and identity, this is where he loses himself to Red Hot Chili Peppers while drawing his heart out. Music, according to him, is a frustration: he loves listening to it but he can neither play an instrument nor sing properly. Nonetheless, he still believes that music extends his thought process for his drawings.

photo from Aaron Felizmenio

Should he need a break, his “Chair of Solitude,” overlooking the vast expanse of the night sky, lets him ponder without any unnecessary distraction. There's also that mirror beside him, which he tells us isn't for anything else but reference. He says he can visualize things easier that way. Sure, why not?

Read on to my interview with Aaron Felizmenio and learn more about his love affair with comic books, the kind of art he's into, and who his alternate ego really is. Nope, he's not Batman.

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Parallel Planets: Tell us something about Aaron Felizmenio as a comic book artist and Aaron Felizmenio before he became a comic book artist. 

Aaron Felizmenio: “There was really no transition. I think Aaron has been a comic book artist ever since he held his first pencil. Okay, maybe my whole life is a transition? A constant change? But as far as I can remember, I’ve been drawing and telling stories ever since I was a kid. But they were different instances: I tell stories verbally and I draw pictures not related to these stories. Stories, I tell as a joke or just something for my friends to think about.” 

Parallel Planets: When and how did your love affair with comic book art begin? 

Aaron Felizmenio: “The interest in comic art, honestly, has been flickering back then. I’ve loved comic art ever since I read the very first comic I had, which was Spawn and Spider man. But I didn’t have enough resources to collect them, simply because I wasn’t allowed to. I’ll get, maybe, a couple of issues every once in a while, and when I was young, I didn’t really know where to buy one! But that never stopped me from drawing, even though there were points in time when I got banned from drawing. It was fair, actually, since I wasn’t really doing well in school because of drawing. But still, that didn’t stop me, until I got into college where the key requirement was knowing how to draw. My first few weeks in college were really rough because I didn’t really know what I was doing there. Fellow classmates were bringing their favorite comic books and art books and I never really had a proper one, but I learned from the things they had and they were kind enough to educate me in the world of comic art. I never really thought of my future until a professor of ours brought an original inked page of Superman: Birthright by Leinil Yu and Gerry Alanguilan. And that moment, has changed my life. I didn’t know that Filipinos, let alone a professional from my alma mater, can work in comic book companies abroad. It gave me a proper path to walk on.” 

illustration by Aaron Felizmenio

Parallel Planets: What do you think defines an Aaron Felizmenio piece? How do you define your artistic style?

Aaron Felizmenio: “Back then, when I was still trying to understand what comic book art really is for me, our class was taking up watercolors for illustration and I was really enjoying it, but I can’t seem to find my way to make it into my comic art. On my way home, I visited a local comic book shop and saw this beautiful cover for Detective Comics 842 by Dustin Nguyen. It was amazing, it got me hooked. I searched the shelves and looked for his other works and I realized that some of these covers were done in watercolor. I understood quickly how he used his medium to convert into comic book art and I applied it on my own workflow. That started the merging of my love for watercolors and comic art, and it has been a trademark of mine ever since. I didn’t use it that much back then simply because the anatomy of my human figure was still weird and I didn’t want to compensate by drowning everything in washes but I’ve been doing my best to keep both skills up on par so neither would make my comic art not good enough to look at. According to most people, my art is moody, hazy, and gloomy in a sharp way. I think it’s a play or experiment on chiaroscuro.”

Parallel Planets: Aside from comic book art, what other forms of art are you most interested in?

Aaron Felizmenio: “Storyboards, posters, etc. As long as it’s visual art, I'm interested! I quit other forms of art because I really want to focus right now on comic art but I love squeezing in posters from time to time.

illustration by Aaron Felizmenio

Painting is actually one of the first things I ever did as an artist. My cousin, Vicente Pado Jr., was my very first mentor and influence. I think he’s the first and only visual artist in the family. He’s been painting for more than a decade now, professionally, I think and he was the one who taught me a lot of things in life drawing. I learned a lot from him. He taught me how to paint and all before I even got to college. The skills I learned from him are still in the very foundation of my art. But lately, I haven’t painted much, aside from the comic art I do with watercolors. I have stock canvases and paints but I haven’t really touched them in a long while. There was a group exhibit last year though, and I crammed my work for 2 days. It was really horrendous that I didn’t keep a photo of it. But I will paint again soon once I get a little breathing time.”

Parallel Planets: What is your mantra in life?

Aaron Felizmenio: “Never lose focus. You can do everything you want in the world, but never ever lose focus. The world is filled with a lot of distractions ready to derail you from your path. It might be love, problems, money, injuries or whatever but never ever lose focus. Your focus towards achieving your goal and living your dream is your string to life. Once you’ve lost focus, then you’ve lost your life. That’s my mantra.”

Parallel Planets: In this planet that we're thriving in—

What is your power animal?

“The Hyena. I’ve always identified myself with the hyena. They’re scavengers, they live through someone else’s prey. Primarily, they also have this weird laugh and smile. I also think they’re borderline crazy. And they work in packs. But I really think it’s the laugh.”

Who is your alternate ego?

“A lot of people tell me that my own character, Gwapoman, is my alter ego. But they’re wrong, it is my father’s since I based it on him. I think they just mistake me for him because I am kind of my own father. I adapted a lot of traits, characteristics and mentality of his and when I transferred him into my comic book, they thought I was projecting myself. But my actual alter ego is another character I made up named Alas. He is me, if I didn’t take up college.”

illustration by Aaron Felizmenio

In an alternate universe where Stan Lee does not exist—

What will your name be?

“Nathaniel Luna. I’ve been actually using that name before and Nathaniel is actually a part of my name that I’m not really using and Luna is catchy enough to be its surname.”

What do you think you would be doing instead?

“Either I’m going to be a gentleman thief or a security professional. Okay, maybe a gentleman thief that got caught and turned into a security professional.”

More from Aaron Felizmenio

www.aaronfelizmenio.com 

facebook.com/aaronfelizmenio 

twitter.com/aaronfelizmenio