I'm a cartoonist with influences are so varied and wide in itself you wouldn't believe me if I told you. I've always loved to draw ever since I was a kid. My very first influences were religious paintings in churches and encyclopedias specifically by Giotto di Bondone because of the colors he used and Michelangelo Buonarroti for his dynamism in layout and figures. Other artists that made an early impact on my exposure to art include Fra Angelico, El Greco, Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci. Then during the mid-70s the first wave of anime invaded our TV screens led by Nagahama Tadao's famous work, Voltes V. It was also at this time that my brothers also started buying local reprints of Marvel comics that everyone of us started doing our own version of comic books out of discarded notebooks. Then anime gave way to Saturday morning cartoons, Sesame Street, Electric Company, and other shows that fed my imagination. I started drawing cartoon characters after my brothers moved on from making comics to pursue other interests. My love of art moved on to music and the fascination for graphic designs in album covers prevalent during the 80s (like those of British graphic artist, Peter Saville). I never completely abandoned doing comics during this time, it's just that collecting comic books took much of my time and interest it never became a priority. Plus, during this time before the internet there weren't a lot of people I could talk about or share my interest.

College came and a new batch of friends opened the door for me to pursue doing comic pages via the Marvel way. Aping Jim Lee's work was the trend at the time and I would have pursued that same track if a good friend of mine didn't figuratively bang my head against the wall by telling me that I was a cartoonist whether I liked it or not. So there. I followed his advice and tried to be the best in what I do. My main influence around this time was, and still is, Berke Breathed whose world famous comic strip, Bloom County introduced me to the wonderful world of comic strip making. This time I brought in other modern anime influences particularly those of Rumiko Takahashi for her slapstick humor, and Hayao Miyazaki for his awesome storytelling and detailed work. My love for details and facial expressions came in when I discovered Norman Rockwell, Art Adams, and Kevin Maguire's works. As of this writing I already done 6 titles and I do hope to be able to create more in the future. I still continue to do comic strips in various publications and, God willing, I'd be able to expand this and my range of style in the coming months and years ahead.

Other influences include:

• Nonoy Marcelo
• Larry Alcala
• Pol Medina, Jr.
• Bill Amend
• Sam Keith
• Peter de Sève
• Bill Plympton
• Brian Froud
• Gustave Doré
• Bill Sienkiewicz
• Sandra Boynton
• Lane Smith
• Walt Kelly
• Bob Montana
• Joe Edwards



Other links:

• My personal blog (which I've yet to update)
• MySpace