GMA Network‘s head writer Suzette Doctolero recently slammed celebrated cartoonist Pol Medina Jr. for his comic strip on the network’s live adaptation of the Japanese anime “Voltes V.”
In a lengthy Facebook post on February 11, Doctolero, also the creative head of “Voltes V: Legacy,” accused the veteran cartoonist of belittling the soap opera genre because of the remarks Medina mentioned in his comic strip, which was also attached in the post.
The comic strip was released by Medina last January 19.
It follows the “Pugad Baboy” characters discussing how Doctolero would probably showcase the adaptation of the classic anime.
“Baka naman imbes na lazer sword e magsampalan at magsabunutan na lang sila,” one of the characters in the comic strip said in jest.
The characters were alluding to the long-time screenwriter’s television series in the network.
Medina is known for his satirical comics, something which Doctolero might have missed.
Doctolero, however, was not pleased with these quips.
“Sobrang baba naman yata ng tingin ni Pol sa soap opera at sa drama writer para ireduced ito sa ‘sampalan at sabunutan.’ Offensive ito. Katumbas ito ng baduy at bakya noong 80’s hanggang early 2000’s. Kung saan ibinabagsak at minamata lang ang soap opera at mga manunulat nito,” she wrote.
Doctolero then joked that Filipinos continue to patronize soap operas and not Medina’s comic strips.
“Pero tignan mo, hanggang ngayon buhay ang soap habang sisinghap singhap na ang cartoons ni Pol (joke! Alangan namang ikaw lang pwedeng mag joke hehe),” the writer said.
“Kailan din kaya huling nanood ng soap itong Mamang ito at nasa sampalan at sabunutan mode pa rin? Hello! May tadyakan na rin kami ngayon! Hehe. Sayang. Wala pa yata (yata ha) ako sa showbiz, sinusubaybayan ko na ang Pugad Babs e. Mukhang misogynist din naman,” she added.
Doctolero previously clarified to critics that the script for “Voltes V: Legacy” was approved by the Japanese producers.
“FYI, Ang lahat po ng scripts, karakter na dinagdag, mundo at kulturang pinalawig kasamaang Boazanian language ay inaprubahan po ng Japan. Okey?” she tweeted last month.
In defense of satirical comic strips
Another cartoonist Kevin Eric Raymundo, who is known for his pseudonym “Tarantadong Kalbo” on social media, defended Medina in the form of another comic strip.
Raymundo’s satirical comic strip published February 12 showed “Polgas,” the main character of Medina’s iconic “Pugad Baboy,” being hit by “Voltes V.”
“Isang hamak na komikerong laos,” the anime character said.
S o a p O p e r a 📺 pic.twitter.com/hfmtWGyHNM
— Tarantadong Kalbo (@KevinKalbo) February 12, 2021
In that same Twitter thread, Raymundo shared screenshots where Doctolero continued to rant against their comic strips via the comments section of Facebook.
Raymundo engaged in a conversation with Doctolero and explained that their posts were satirical. He also clarified that he is genuinely excited for the release of the Filipino adaptation of the beloved anime initially released in 1977.
“Whatever it is you think a certain satirical artist meant or how petty your reacted to it is, pareho na kayong adults so bahala kayo. We support VV because it is something special for us fans. This is our childhood. The praise will be there if it goes well, if it doesn’t’ well…” Raymundo wrote.
Medina, on the other hand, did not respond directly to Doctolero.
In a new post on Monday, he just shared an old comic strip and noted that it’s possible to approve “offbeat” stories instead of “rip-offs” scripts, citing screenwriters Carmi Raymundo and Cathy Garcia Molina.
Raymundo and Molina are known for helming hit romantic Star Cinema films.
“Kaya lang nag-a-alangan silang i-pitch ito dahil kailangan nilang sumunod sa formula na siguradong tatangkilikin ng target audience nila–ang masa. Importante kasi ang ratings. Mas importante ang viewership at ad revenues kesa awards,” Medina wrote.
“Pero napatunayan nila Carmi Raymundo at Cathy Garcia Molina na pwede ring i-greenlight ng producers ang mga offbeat na kwento at hindi puro ripoffs lang,” he added.
