Don’t Be a Chicken, Read This

Creatively stifled, Gerry Alanguilan turned his back on the mainstream comic world in 2005 after inking some of the most influential comic books of our generation, such as Iron Man, Wolverine and Superman.

However, rather than fade away into obscurity, he’s shown the world that he’s much more than a “tracer.”

His graphic novel, “Elmer,” is easily one of the most engaging, engrossing and emotional epics in independent comic book history.

While the story itself seems bizarre at first, with chickens becoming sentient beings, it’s much more palatable and approachable than that. At its core, it’s a tale that will force you to recognize your flaws and see what’s in your heart, everything from the lust, jealousy and hate to the honesty, purity and selflessness. And yes, it’ll make you cry.

It’s that type of self discovery this book provides that makes it so enjoyable; a one of a kind work that shows dreams can come true if you are willing to work hard enough. During the course of writing the comics that ultimately became this book, Alanguilan saw his life savings dwindle and his future financial survival for both him and his family become challenged.

That quiet desperation, mixed with a message of hope and optimism is drenched on every page of this book.

So much so that it’s safe to say that if the Mike and the Mechanics hit single, “In the Living Years,” could ever find its way into a comic, it would undoubtedly be this one.

Artistically, in spite of the black and white panels, the art is adorable. At times, it’s hard to tell who is who, considering that most of the characters are chickens, but in the end, the deeply mental notes this book hits are not missed because of few hiccups here and there. As well, several of the full-page spreads are so passionate and enigmatic that you’ll completely forget there’s no color.

Simply put, this trade is the stuff that proves dreams come true.

Alanguilan is living proof.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 14230 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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