Teaching Moments

Smiled when I found my old losing entry in Filbar's 1985 art contest "DC Super 3." I was 12, in Grade 6. I remember writing down the original characters' bios from the afternoon till near closing time, at Unimart's food court. I think I felt embarrassed, mostly because I kept my family waiting while I wrote Marvel Universe-type histories on the back of the board.

Anyway, I saw other entries by older artists and pros at the party venue (was it a function hall in Fort Santiago?), and knew that I had no chance of winning. It felt terrible, losing. But in hindsight, it was an early reality check, a reminder to be better, and to learn from disappointment.

I joined and lost a contest again, the next year. It was Comic Quest's fan art contest. But even then, I knew that there were more deserving artists. I didn't mind losing; heck, I was just happy to have joined. (I drew the X-Men in black and white.) I think I had more luck with inter-school contests, where I was pitted against people my age. So yeah, you win some, lose some.

Through it all, my love for comics--the medium, the art form, the stories and characters--kept growing. It continues to provide me an escape now, as a reader, and as a creator (I'm working on my own comics again, after work). So it was cool, seeing something from so long ago, from a time when I was sort of being prepped for life's more serious disappointments. My, how I've grown.