Doroteo Gerardo N. Alanguilan Jr. (20 January 1968 – 21 December 2019), also known in the Philippines by his alias Komikero, was a Filipino comic book artist, writer, and architect from San Pablo, Laguna. He was an important figure in the Philippine comics renaissance of the 1990s and early 2000s, and is known internationally for his graphic novels Wasted and Elmer, and for his inking on American superhero comics such as Wetworks, X-Men, Superman: Birthright, Wolverine, and Fantastic Four. Many of Alanguilan's titles take place in the Philippines or feature Filipino characters, such as Elmer, Johnny Balbona, Humanis Rex!, and Timawa. He incorporated elements of social commentary in his work, especially Elmer, which satirizes racism. The protagonist of Whilce Portacio and Brian Haberlin's comic series Stone, Gerry Alan, is named for him. Early life and education Childhood in San Pablo Gerry Alanguilan was born in the city of San Pablo, Laguna in the Philippines. According to family lore, their surname was originally San Gabriel and they trace their origins to the barrio/barangay of Sta. Catalina, now part of San Pablo City and known as "Sandig" before the Spanish conquest. Their surname was changed supposedly because a witch placed a curse that would make them destitute for seven generations. Alanguilan would later use this tale as the basis for his story San Dig 1944 in the Siglo: Freedom anthology. The word "alanguilan" is itself the Tagalog name of Cananga odorata, a flowering tree now better known by the Spanish variant of its name, "Ylang-ylang." As a child, he owned a chicken named Solano, which would later become the inspiration for his graphic novel Elmer. Education Alanguilan entered the University of Santo Tomas in 1984, earning a Bachelor of Science in architecture from the College of Architecture and Fine Arts in 1989 and passing the board exams to become a Licensed Architect by 1990. Creative influences Alanguilan has cited Barry Windsor-Smith, Alfredo Alcala, Frank Miller, Katsuhiro Otomo and Alan Moore as creative influences, in particular Moore's 1980s reinterpretation of Marvelman. Comics career Early Submissions Alanguilan first submissions to Marvel Comics around 1986, while he was still in school. While these early submissions were met with rejections, Alanguilan was nevertheless encouraged by the fact that the rejection letters showed that at the very least, the executives at Marvel knew him and his work. This early period of sending submissions and receiving rejection letters