CURRENT AFFILIATIONS:
Dumpling Press, co-publisher/zinester
OWN!, blogger/moderator (posts as "mo-dette")

DUMPLING PRESS blogs:
Love It or Lait
Garbage In, Garbage Out (posts as "fartiste")


MY ORIGINAL SET OF ANSWERS FOR MAXIM MAGAZINE (PHILIPPINE EDITION), FOR APRIL 2007, NONE OF WHICH APPEARED IN THE FINAL VERSION OF THE WRITE-UP ABOUT COMIC BOOK COLLECTORS, no thanks to that stupid hack who rephrased my answers, 2 out of 3 of which I never actually wrote/said/typed, and one totally unforgivable misquote. All for the purpose of whatever passes as "fun" for a Maxim editor.

Tell us about your collection.
I take pride in my comic library, which took about 5 years (and still counting) to build up. Before that, it was pretty much casual reading. It started with a modest collection of Vertigo one-shots and some degree of exposure to manga, mostly acquired by tagging along with college buddies who would frequent the comic book store right outside the university (it's no longer there). I never really got into the DC or Marvel superhero stuff, and Sandman wasn't exactly my rite of passage when it came to broadening my personal comic book sensibilities.

When this short-lived comic book store along Katipunan actively stocked and accepted orders for indie titles, I was hooked. I bought comics that I never thought I'd get my hands on (mainly due to prior lack of accessibility): Hopeless Savages (Jen Van Meter), Samurai Jam (Andi Watson), Subway Series (Leela Corman), Kissing Chaos (Arthur dela Cruz), Blue Monday and Scooter Girl (Chynna Clugston). Those volumes of Evan Dorkin's Hectic Planet in the sale bin? They were meant for me.

I usually go for ingenious storytelling (ala Adrian Tomine, his wicked art definitely a plus, or Lynda Barry's The Greatest of Marlys), the heartfelt memoir (ala One! Hundred! Demons!, also by Lynda Barry), and comics involving both subculture and feelgood pop culture references (mostly everything else mentioned above, plus my all-time favorite, Scott Pilgrim by Bryan Lee O'Malley). My boyfriend consumes the geekier selection, which I read depending on his level of enthusiasm for the title of the moment, so I don't feel the need to dip my finances there - being a bibliophile is already hard on the budget. I'll bend for sci-fi with goofy elements because I like having a good laugh. I don't collect as much manga - otherwise, I'd have to rob a bank. So I stick to Cromartie High School and Love Roma. I also support the local indies, from Siglo to something as underrated as Crest Hut Butt Shop or even obscure as Johnny Longhand.

I've also snapped up some comics during trips abroad, but these days, it's not as hard to buy indie titles. Comic Quest has always kept a few in stock and Fully Booked has upped the competition, but I still order from the smaller comic book stores like Druid's Keep and Fourth Wall Comics. I've developed a knack for spotting comics that are keepers.

Great lengths you've gone just for a comic book?
Nothing dramatic, really. I mailordered for a complete set of issues of a Canadian-based indie comic called Stay As You Are. I sent well-concealed cash in US dollars, which (fortunately) didn't get lost in the mail. Shortly after, the artist (Brad Yung) decided to put an end to the comic strip's run, and some back issues were no longer in print. So I felt lucky to have this in my possession.

Character you'd wanna get it on with? What would your date be like?
I guess it would have to be Scott Pilgrim. And I'd be Ramona Flowers (his presumably older girlfriend, age unknown). Basically, we'd be doing the usual Scott and Ramona date stuff - go to gigs, watch movies, hang out with his friends/bandmates, crack homoerotic jokes about him and his roommate, cuddle.

Which famous personality would you like to turn into a comic book character and what superhero powers would they possess?
Okay, this was pretty hard to come up with, so sorry for the brainfart. I should read more superhero comics! Riot grrrl era Kathleen Hanna should star in a mock retro comic book set in the nineties, putting an end to sexism by writing stuff on girls' bellies with a magic marker. This gives them the power to fight sexism and male misogyny. The scenarios for the comic itself should be based on Bikini Kill songs.

If you could invent a special power what would it be?
Teleportation of matter to another person. It's like sending real stuff to someone without having to budge - the material equivalent of email attachments. But I think they already came up with that in Barbarella. So much for originality.

Because youre the only girl [in the feature]... did anybody ever criticize you for that? And how does it set you apart?
I don't think I've received any flak for collecting comics. I just can't stand how people can be dismissive of comics by regarding them as infantile or outside the confines of literature when a good chunk of brilliant work has actually come from comics.

Admittedly, comic book spaces aren't always girl-friendly. I remember how intimidating it once was for me to walk into a comic book store with male friends and not find anything I liked while they got their weekly or monthly pull list fixes. There are guys who don't take girl comic book collectors seriously because girls supposedly don't read what they read, but there are, and perhaps I'm just not one of them. Likewise, not all guys relate to the kind of diverse material addressed in indie comics because to them, it's almost like a totally different universe. The world of indie comics was just so liberating for me because I felt I was accounted for as part of the reading audience. There are also a lot of female comic artists churning out excellent work.

There are also more female comic book readers/collectors than people realize, probably just as discerning. Some are more into Sandman or manga, but I don't like making generalizations. At the same time, I can't assume they read what I read, either.


UNPUBLISHED PHOTOS OF TREASURES FROM MY COLLECTION. Apparently, Maxim didn't consider them interesting enough to use, or something.