Okay, maybe not. *grins* But still, thinking about an earlier post about the 'possible' dearth of Pinoy sword & sorcery, my thoughts turn to why or why not stories of the most iconic komik heroes, Ang Panday (The Blacksmith), by Carlo J. Caparas is one.

Aside from the medium used-- Conan was part of Robert E. Howard's diverse cast of protagonists that peopled his short stories in pulp magazines whereas Caparas created Panday as a character in komiks or a local comic book-- it's obvious that the differences are in the form of the story but the similarities therein are in the sensibilities. (A disclaimer though: I've never had a chance to read Caparas original komiks so I'm basing my assessment on the movies.)

Taking away the obvious differences between graphic and fiction, Conan's character was part of a created world (granted a part of a "lost" history of our real world as dreamed up by REH) in which he explored the ruined jungles and lost wastelands while adventuring. Here and there, he would defeat an evil wizard/god/beast and save the princess/slave girl/sorceress as well as gain treasure. On the other hand, Caparas' creation was intent on defeating his usual nemesis Lizardo and his evil army from overrunning his town. There is no sense of uncharted territory in Panday as compared to the wilderness beyond the normal ken of men in Howard's work. (On the other hand, I do remember reading komiks of Francisco Coching's Pedro Penduko whose adventures are more similar to Conan's pulpish ancestry. And no, I've not watched the movie and TV versions.)

However, after reading Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, I've decided that Panday and Conan are similar in spirit (well, sensibilities) at least as the two adhere to the pulpish need for heroes during the time they were created. The impression I got was that Conan was quite popular during the US Depression, which was apt as Americans could empathize with a man who "got things done" (the way Howard was prior to his mother's death) or as sean cites, the "one-man-against the world" mentality. On the other hand, a comment by someone(?!?I can't remember!) makes mention the fact that Panday was a simple hero who would take the side of the masses, perfect for the real-world poor who loved reading his fictional battles against the powerful Lizardo.

It does make me think though that it's possible to make a Pinoy S&S story. For example, given the fact that there's a lot of "lost" history or "pre"history before the Spaniards came. Why not weave the real and the imagined like REH did with Conan, yes?

And to the question why should we-- we don't have to. But as writers, it would be nice to imagine it, yes? *grins*

(Which leads me to the next question: if I were to say, open up a nice little group blog called Pinoy Pulp, would anyone be interested in making that kind of stories? Just asking...)