Kikomachine for Solo's Pinoy Cartoonist Memorabilia Series

One of the highlights of my year is meeting Manix Abrera in person. With good reason too, as I waited in line for more than six hours for his autograph! No regrets though, as he signed and drew on ALL my ten books!

I am such a big fan of his and his work, so you can just imagine how pleased I was when I first learned that Solo has chosen to feature him as the newest addition to the Pinoy Cartoonist Memorabilia Series!

My jaw dropped in shock, followed by a few a lot of excited squeals and running around the office in glee heh. There will be a Meet and Greet this coming Saturday in Glorietta and I am so excited!!!

I don't have anyone to go with though (´∩｀。) If you are going to go, can I come with you? ^_^ But since all my books have already been signed, maybe I'll just go somewhere nearer like TriNoma to get a shirt or something... But I want to see Manix... Hmm, maybe I'll just decide on the day itself. If you are planning to go, can you tweet me?

Here are some details from Solo about Manix and the collection.

Kikomachine Komix, one of the country’s best selling comic strips to date, has captured the attention of many readers due to its relatable and hilarious presentation of everyday Pinoy experiences. A graduate of Fine Arts major in Visual Communication in UP Diliman, 31 year old Manix started writing Kikomachine when he was still in 2nd year college back in 2001. When asked what his main inspiration was behind creating the comics, he said it was from the experiences he had and the scenarios around him during his university life. “Sobrang dami kasing mga nangyayari at mga kwento na sobrang weird at wild, naisip kong pwedeng-pwedeng gawing komiks.” Apart from creating comics, one of Manix’s main interest is music. In college, he founded a band together with his friends called Kiko Machine, the name where he derived Kikomachine Komix from. He is also into sports and outdoor activities such as diving, swimming, bike riding and climbing mountains. 

Kikomachine is a comic strip showcasing the everyday life of your typical Pinoy featuring themes that are very common and relatable such as commuting, dating, college life and more. What makes them hilarious is that they are presented in an exaggerated manner, highlighting Pinoy trademark qualities as it goes along. As for the 8 main characters, they are a set of odd, lovable characters who are nameless but each with distinctive qualities such as the guy with the spiky hair, the girl with the shaved head, the guy with the glasses and goatee, and so on. Wondering how they refer to one another in the comic strip? They just simply call each other “pare”, “tsong” or “ano”. When asked why the characters he created are nameless, Manix said that he couldn’t think up of names, so he just left it as it is. Today, Kikomachine is compiled into nine books and also appears daily in the comics section of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Even though he is very famous, he is one of the most humble and down-to-earth persons I know. I still get kilig when I read his replies to my messages, one of which is also answered in the quote above, about him not giving a name to his comic book characters.

By the way, for those who are - like me! - planning to purchase at least one piece from this collection, check this out:

I am really looking forward to this collection, you guys. I wish I have lots of money so I can buy everything LOL #KikomachineKomixAddict

Visit these links for more information:

Solo's official website | Facebook | Twitter