One night, you’re doom-scrolling on Facebook, overwhelmed being rounded up abroad. Then, a post catches your eye: It’s a comic strip about a clingy Golden Retriever.
For a moment, you forget about your dystopian reality. You suppress a giggle and press “share” – you know your friend will enjoy reading the comic strip, too.
If you hang out in Filipino spaces on social media, you might already be familiar with the page Sskait by artist AJ Bacar. His comics are hard to miss, with one of his most iconic characters being the guy with a blue shirt who always looks tired. (Sounds like something you can relate to?) AJ also created the super-viral comics Multoserye, which tells a love story involving a ghost and a convenience store worker with a third eye.
He also makes comic strips about the trials and tribulations of being a furparent. (Yep, definitely sounds like something you can relate to.)
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Aside from Multoserye, he also draws other comics, like Ang Diary ni Spike, which chronicles the everyday life of a Dog named Spike, and Muning, which shares anecdotes about the Cat who seemingly practices witchcraft. AJ explains that he finds Cats mysterious, which is why Muning has a mysterious aura.
LIVING WITH DOGS
AJ has been an animal lover all his life. Growing up, he was always surrounded by Dogs.
He recalls a time during childhood when his family cared for an Aspin and her litter of Puppies. He once begged his mother not to give away one of the Puppies. Eventually, most of the Dogs went to other homes.
Aside from the Aspin, his family also cared for a brown Poodle named Dota. She got her name from when AJ was young, because he used to play an online multiplayer game called– you guessed it – DOTA.
While Dota has already passed, she had a daughter named Yenyen who still stays at AJ’s family home.
INSPIRATION IS EVERYWHERE
When making comics, AJ mainly draws inspiration from his experiences. “When I do comics sa Sskait, usually ang ginagawa kong story is kung ano yung mga nangyari sa paligid ko, sa buhay ko, or sa mga kaibigan ko,” AJ said.
“And, may best friend kasi ako, may Chihuahua sila. Tapos yung mga kaibigan ko, may mga Shih Tzu sila. So, naaaliw ako na parang may kanya-kanyang behavior at mga distinct features sa katawan ang mga Dogs. So I just thought, why not make it playful, parang nagdo-dogshow-han yung mga Aso.” AJ explains. (In this context, to “dog show” means to banter between friends.)
He particularly finds Shih Tzus charming. “Sobrang cute kasi na banlag ang mata ng Shih Tzu!”
IDEAS FROM THE INTERNET
Aside from his own experiences, he also gets ideas in the comment sections of his posts.
“Nagagaling sa mga comment section, yung mga reply ng mga tao, yung mga sarili nilang experiences sa mga Dog nila. Minsan may mga request sila, saying ‘Aso ko naman,’ or ‘Ganitong lahi naman,’ ganyan . . . Tapos yung iba, mangagaling naman sa mga kaibigan ko, mag-message sila sa akin.”
Sometimes, AJ searches for comic ideas on the internet, such as generalizations about Dogs.
SPARKING CONVERSATIONS
So, what pushes AJ to create his comics? The audience. “They will engage [with] the material I made. So they will share and comment on the posts. And that’s what I like. I like sparking conversations. Sometimes they can send it to friends, peers na parang, ‘Uy, ikaw ‘to.’ Tapos, I like that through Sskait, I was able to connect people. Nagta-tag sila.”
Whenever he posts his comics on social media, his comment section comes to life.
“Nagco-comment sila lagi sa Dog posting ko na, ‘Hoy, [C]ats naman! Kami naman!’ And for a time, when I was doing Muning comics, people were really, really having fun with the Cats. And then may mga nagco-comment, ‘Dog naman!’ Ang funny ng both communities.”
FOR THE LOVE OF ANIMALS
While AJ’s comics are often humorous, he also creates heartwarming comics, especially when the subject is about Aspins.
“When I see content or stories about Aspins, there’s some kind of mistreatment. We shouldn’t discriminate Dog breeds.”
While he laments how local Dogs are treated, he is generally optimistic. “As time passes, we understand more about different things. And hopefully, we become more loving sa mga hayop. I mean, in our generation, Dogs are part of the family. Noon, yung Aso yung bantay ng bahay, tapos ngayon, ikaw na yung magbabantay sa bahay. There’s a shift in perspective, and some establishments are now Dog-friendly.”
FUTURE PLANS
AJ plans to close the chapter on Multoserye and wishes to continue Spike’s comics. While his stories focus more on the experiences of Dog and Cat people, he is open to creating stories about other animals, too.
SUPPORT LOCAL ARTISTS!
Check out SSkait on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! You can also buy Sskait merch on Shopee through Creators Lagoon.
AJ also wants to remind readers to support local comic artists by buying merchandise, sharing their social media pages and art, or paying for commissioned work.
All comic strips from Sskait
