Filipino artists AJ Bernardo, Josel Nicolas earn praise for work in Czech comic book

The work of Filipino artists AJ Bernardo and Josel Nicolas with James Stafford is "dope ass", earning phrase from no less than Hollywood actor Samuel L. Jackson.

Bernardo and Nicolas illustrated Stafford's web comic "The Sorrowful Putto of Prague", first launched in 2011. The series was serialized into a graphic novel in 2017 in Czech as "Truchlivý amoret pražský."

Just read the DOPE ASS "The Sorrowful Putto of Prague" by @jpstafford. Check it out at https://t.co/VrFeffc7YD. You're in for a treat!!

— Samuel L. Jackson (@SamuelLJackson) April 10, 2017

Bernardo in an interview via Facebook chat told GMA News Online that he met Stafford in comic forums.

"He gave me a script sample, I liked it. Parang bagay sa art style na gusto ko i-try, which was basically aping Mike Mignola," he shared.

He added, "Dahil limited ang budget ni James, we only did 1 or 2 stories per year. James was great to work with and I got to draw stuff I normally wouldn't be able to in other projects."

Nicolas was brought on board midway, as Bernardo wanted to focus on the series he was working on with Mike Alcazaren and Noel Pascual, "Patay Kung Patay."

"AJ was busy with (Patay Kung Patay) and decided I could be trusted," Nicolas told GMA News Online via Facebook chat. "I did like 15 pages for 'Putto', but the 10 pages that aren't on the web comic and are print exclusive I would say are some of my finest work."

He added, "It's James' baby and AJ is the best uncle, I'm only too happy to babysit."

Curiously, the three have never met in person and the collaboration was done exclusively online.

“It’s been hugely inspiring to work with AJ and Josel,” Stafford was quoted as saying in a news release by the Czech Embassy in Manila on Thursday.

“I was incredibly lucky to find them as before the internet age, collaborating with people on the other side of the world like this just wouldn’t have been possible. I’m very proud of being able to partner with them and very much look forward to continuing with the series in the coming years,” he said.

The Embassy of the Czech Republic in Manila also celebrated the book's success, reporting that the book "was met with hugely positive reviews in the Czech press and gained significant exposure on national television and radio."

The Czech Embassy hopes that a Philippine edition of the book will be released, so that Filipino comic book fans will be able to enjoy Bernardo and Nicolas' work as well.

“This is a great example of the importance of creative industries, both from the point of view of economic results, but also as a way to bring together the opportunities between the continents,” Czech Ambassador Jaroslav Olša, Jr. was quoted as saying in the same news release.

Olša has been actively illustrating the power of literature as a tool for diplomacy by spearheading the translation of European classics into Filipino in the book "Layag" and promoting the Czech edition of the Filipino anthology series "The SEA is Ours: Tales from Steampunk Southeast Asia."

Check out Bernardo's work in "Patay Kung Patay" and follow the comics' official Facebook page. Nicolas recently published "Windmills" and was the editor of "Piko." — AT, GMA News