Bored Panda reached out to AJ Bacar to find out a little bit more about them! The artist's journey began with a childhood love for reading and creating comics, drawing inspiration from local Filipino artists like Manix Abrera and Pol Medina. Their mom's habit of buying comics nurtured this passion. From high school to college, making comics was a hobby.
In 2016, seeking an outlet from their corporate job, they started Sskait Comics. The style of Sskait is a blend of influences from local artists and international ones like Cyanide and Happiness, Adventure Time, and Rick and Morty, resulting in a mix of cute, funny, relatable slice-of-life stories and absurd humor. "Ever since I was a kid, I loved reading and making comics, and my local inspirations are mostly the local comic artists in the Philippines, Manix Abrera and Pol Medina. I also remember reading the comic 'Witch' from my sister's cabinet. My mom would usually buy any comics she found and give them to me, from the newspaper, from the wet market, and bookstores. From high school to college, I've been doing comics for fun, and when I started working, I thought to myself, why not just start a comic page and dump my comics online! Last 2016, I started Sskait comics as my breathing space and outlet from my corporate job. My style is an accumulation of different inspirations from local artists, Pol Medina, Manix Abrera, and international artists, Cyanide and Happiness, Adventure Time, Rick and Morty, etc. The reason why my comics are very random, from cute, funny, relatable slice-of-life stories to absurd humor."
Bacar crafts stories based on personal experiences and interactions, often teasing friends for fun. Living in the Philippines provides abundant material for culturally relevant comics. "Usually, I make stories based on what's happening around me, what I currently feel, or just to tease my friends for fun. Since I live in the Philippines, it's very accessible for me to make Filipino culture-related comics! The Philippines is a tropical country, so I usually make sun, Araw, and rain, Ulan, content. Usually, the weather in the Philippines is overreacting, like, when it is sunny season, it's really scorching hot. And when it's rainy season, it's flooding everywhere. I also love making comics that are family value-centered. Like most Filipinos, we value our families much, so I would also make comics about my mom and our banters, or sometimes, the banters I have with my siblings. Being the youngest child, I'm the favorite son!"
The flexible use of English and Tagalog, often combined into Taglish, helps make the comics accessible to a broader audience. Posting English versions on Instagram also aids in this reach for the artist. "Language in the Philippines is very flexible for both English and Tagalog. We also have the term Taglish, a mix of Tagalog and English when we use our sentences. I think that's the reason why some of my comics could also easily be understood by foreigners. On Instagram, I usually post the English version of my comics. People who were trying to learn Tagalog would message me that they actually use my comics to be able to understand Tagalog better."
The acronym Sskait stands for Siya, Sila, Kayo, Ako, Ikaw, Tayo, representing people around the artist. Many comics are inspired by friends, personal experiences, and Filipino folklore. "Sskait stands for Siya, Sila, Kayo, Ako, Ikaw, Tayo... in English... Him/Her, Them, All of you, Me, You, Us... basically, it revolves around stories of people around me! Sometimes I would make comics just to tease my friends about their relationship heartbreaks or sweet moments. Sometimes, I'll make comics about what I experience myself. I'm an Electronics Engineer, and I worked five years in a Telco here in the Philippines. I also made some engineering-related comics wherein our parents would use our degrees against us to fix common household problems like the wifi password, the broken electric fan, and so on and so forth. And as a former corporate employee, I also made corporate life-related comics! I would also see my coworkers or bosses use my stickers and place them on their laptops. It's really fun! There would also be times that I'd be making fictional comics that are based on Filipino folklores like ghosts, manananggals, angels, etc."
The artist's creative process starts with jotting down ideas, creating a storyboard, and seeking feedback from close friends before finalizing and posting. Challenges include ensuring the story is clear and funny, which sometimes requires multiple drafts. "I start with writing down the ideas in a notepad. Afterwards, I start making a storyboard out of it. I send it to my close friends and check if they find it funny, then I start lining and coloring it! Lastly, I send it back again to some of my closest friends for final checking, then I have it posted online! There would be times that I thought the comic was funny, but when I sent it to my friend, they didn't get it. And then I think to myself, either I was not able to execute the story well... or they're just slow. Haha, but yeah, most of the time I have to do more drafts to improve my storytelling. As artists, we also encounter burnout! And how to overcome burnout... I'm not sure either. Just kidding! Usually, by taking pauses, going outdoors, experiencing nature, freediving and stuff. Anything that will unwind the mind!"
That being said the artist also shared with us some insights on transitioning from engineering to full-time comic artistry, highlighting the challenges and rewards of sustaining a career in the Philippines through brand partnerships and creative endeavors. "When I was a kid, it was my dream to become a comic artist and now... we've published three comic books! One book particularly won the Filipino Reader's Choice Award last 2022. Soon I'll be adding more comic books! For now, we have stickers, plushies, and fun art stuff with Sskait!"
