CRASH AND BURN, BABY!
And they finally speak and are quoted on the matter.
KAKOSA: May comment si Gerry Alanguilan. His original criticism was, "It's great. Great comic book, great art, great story. But is it Filipino? Is it uniquely Filipino? Is it original?" Ang stand niya ngayon is, it's not so much as being Filipino but arriving at your own distinct style.
James(publisher of CULTURE CRASH): Ang ayoko lang kasi sa ginawa niya, he took a stand. He put it in writing and then he changed it every month. For one thing, yung stance niyang iyon, it's exactly what we told people who were asking us and who were in contact with him. It's not looking for a Filipino style. He's looking for a distinct personal style. Our goal here is actually to help all the other Filipino artists. We just want to help everyone.
The rest of the interview can be found here.
Well, as far as I know, Gerry's article was never a direct attack against CULTURE CRASH. They just seemed to be the biggest target. He was commenting on all the new local comics and zines that were heavily influenced by manga.
But this debate will continue and it will not stop artists from drawing the way they draw.
At the end of it, I just hope that it will build a bigger, better Filipino comic book industry.