CENTRIS ELEMENTS, QUEZON CITY - Upon roaming around the stalls in Komiket 2024, an American comic book writer named Frederick "That Guy" Corder was full of enthusiasm when sharing his stories to passersby.
When approached by SPIN.PH, Corder had a huge smile on his face, explaining the gist of his comic series. He grabbed a copy of Rocket Girl, the very first comic he made, to narrate the events.
"The story revolves around the work of Dr. Rashida Johnson, she's a Filipina-American neurologist. Her boss asked her to make a neuron enhancing medicine for the US military."
Eventually he got another comic book title which shows an artwork about mutated monkeys.
"She makes it and it works but her boss wants more. So they started purifying it in to those poor little clone monkeys, until she made it so strong there is an accidental side effect."
"It now took Rashida to another dimension. Her boss happens to be a part of the CIA."
Then another comic book title was used to guide SPIN with the narratives.
"In the dimension, they went to a place called 'hell.' They realized that hell is real and that Satan is pure renewable energy."
And as he concluded, a sudden jolt of energy bursted out of Corder.
"So they did the most logical thing, send a team of Americans to hell, to kidnap Satan for American energy domination!" gleefully said by Corder as he swung his arms.
Listening to his story, brought a huge chuckle to my face as the story behind the series was indeed filled with a lot of fun and creativity. It made me wonder as to how he managed to produce such an interesting take on 'American energy domination!'
Working in a prison
Corder graduated with a Master's Degree in Mental Counseling from Maryland State University and got himself exposed to a prison setting afterwards.
His experience working in prison, paved the way to his career as a comic book writer.
"I'm a clinical psychologist and I was working in a prison and my boss was like, 'The burnout rate is so high that you got to pursue something creative. What would you have done if you didn't do psychology?" started Corder.
Thus came the idea of him following his heart's desire. Corder has always been fond of comic books and graphic novels, and his boss encouraged him to channel his passion.
"My boss suggested I start a comic book company because that's what I always wanted to do. It became my career right now."
"And I always wanted to make a short story and write comics, but I wanted to have something that was about my shattered perception of evil," he revealed.
So what is this shattered perception he was talking about? Here's what Corder reflected during his tenure as a clinical psychologist, which ultimately led to the creation of his company, Pockets Fulla Pillz.
"There were no bad people, it's more off bad decisions. So I wanted to create a story of people, battling visible evil of decision making. That's how the story of Pockets Fulla Pillz came out."
Other inspirations
But besides his overall experience as a clinical psychologist, there were other inspirations, that served as a formula for Corder.
One of them is Sam Kieth and Alan Moore's The Maxx.
"I'm deeply inspired by the work of The Maxx, it's a story about a homeless man that is living with an emancipated teenager, living on her sofa, and he like falls asleep and dreams that he is a superhero, and you're unsure if he's going to a different reality or hallucinating," he explained.
"But it all ties into does it really matter? Reality is what it is to you," he reflected.
In fact, the convoluted and complex nature of those stories would then translate to his works for Pockets Fulla Pillz. Glancing through his stories, Corder offers a philosophical perspective that's worth pondering.
"The story revolves around the CIA's accidental discovery of hell and their attempted kidnapping of Satan, but the way we go about telling that story is completely ignoring that concept and going about it, following the individuals who created that scenario."
"So when you read the story, you're kinda like, 'Where is the whole Satan part?' Because events don't happen. People build to them happening. Nothing happens through one mastermind. It's the individuals who lead to what happens at the end. That's one thing I've learned from psychology."
A collective effort
And to create his masterpiece, Corder needed the help of other individuals who can fulfill his dreams.
Among them is one of his illustrators, Jeck "Jerk" Flores, who has been involved across various Pockets Fulla Pillz titles. However, it turned out that Corder has been working with other artists as well.
Before 2015, Corder has been going back-and-forth from the US and the Philippines, where he managed to secure connections that would help him in his career.
"So when I first came here, I came here because a high school friend of mine who is a Filipino-American, told me to hire his cousin who lived here. So I hired my first artist through a family friend."
"Then when I started hiring all of these artists, I suddenly got referrals and I started working for hip-hop artists back in the US."
Eventually he earned money from commissions, which then created an opportunity for him to live in the Philippines.
"I ended up coming here because I got money from those hip-hop artists. I was like, 'Don't mess this up,' and I came here and those artists got together and got me a table. They did that for me just to say you should take this more seriously," he looked back.
Eventually more artists started contributing to his works, most of them would try their hand in making comics, then make the transition to other projects.
And oftentimes he would get more referrals from these artists.
Making history with augmented reality
These connections would then yield to one of his current projects, the very first fully automated reality comic book.
Upon scanning the QR code, viewers can get a chance to experience a unique method of 'reading' a comic book. Here's a sample video of how it works.
And it's not just a simple video, as amazing voice actors such as Dino Imperial and Filipino-American Emmy nominated comedian Cristina Payne have lended their services and bring life to Corder's works.
Such an impressive feat could make comic book fans intrigued to discover the innovative works of Corder and Pockets Fulla Pillz. Those who wish to fully immerse themselves can purchase his works at Comic Odyssey.
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