DC's latest 'Shazam!' comics features illustrations by Pinoy artist Andrew Drilon
Another Pinoy artist has entered the DC Universe!
Filipino cartoonist Andrew Drilon has teamed up with the global comic book publisher to illustrate a story in the comic book Shazam! Fury of the Gods Special #1 – SHAZAMILY MATTERS released on Feb. 28 in comic stores in the U.S.
Drilon was one of the illustrators who worked for the comic's 96-page prestige format collection in line with the franchise's upcoming movie Shazam! Fury of the Gods set to premiere on March 17.
The New York-based artist was over the moon for being able to illustrate the story of Ross Butler and Josh Trujillo, which spans ten pages. “It's so friggin unreal! I still can't believe this is happening," Drilon wrote on Facebook.
Working for the prestigious comic book publisher was a long shot, but Drilon made it happen in 2022, when he was commissioned by his friend to create his own artistic interpretation of the DC Comic character Raven from the gender-flipped “Earth 11”.
“I thought it was kind of cool because he looked a little bit like me and he was also a Filipino character,” Drilon shared in his vlog. Little did he know, that illustration will be the start of his journey to DC comics.
“I didn’t know that my friend who works in the industry would show this [Raven] drawing to his editor, a DC Comics editor,” he shared, which prompted that editor to scroll over his website and then reach out to him through his email requesting for a portfolio of his works.
Drilon waited for four “excruciating” days before the editor came back to him with an offer.
“I got an email with an offer to pencil, ink, and color a 10-page comic story for Shazam, with a story by Ross Butler and Josh Trujillo,” he said.
The project took him several months, but Drilon shared that he couldn’t be happier for the opportunity.
“It was a blast, I can’t overstate enough just how awesome it is to be drawing the story starring a character that people know.”
Prior to this, Drilon published his new book titled Secret Heart Attack! Sharing his own experience of being drawn to the industry, which started from a comic book he first read when he was young.
Apart from Drilon, another Filipino artist who lent his creative prowess to DC Comics is Manix Abrera. The popular komikero made an artistic interpretation of the cover of Batman: The Dark Knight, which was released in 2022.