Bomba Komiks

From Wikipilipinas:

 

BOMBA KOMIKS is a generic term applied to any Philippine komiks magazines that contain adult-oriented materials especially those that contain graphic nudity and sexual themes. In Tagalog, the word Bomba means “nude” or “naked”. It is not known exactly when the first Bomba Komiks appeared in the Philippines. In the early 1960s, some fly-by-night publishers began issuing underground komiks with adult contents. One of these was Akda Komiks, first published in 1964. Although this komiks did not contain any frontal nudity, it nevertheless contained stories about illicit affairs and suggestive sexual themes.

By the end of the 1960s, there were already numerous Bomba Komiks sold in the streets of Manila, most containing frontal nudity. Many veteran komiks writers and illustrators were lured into the additional income offered by the Bomba Komiks. Many of them illustrated in Bomba Komiks although they somewhat changed their drawing styles. Understandably though, they rarely used their real names in writing or drawing, preferring to use pen names instead. Maybe the most successful of the Bomba Komiks publishers was Cil Evangelista, a movie talent manager. His komiks gained a following for portraying movie stars in the nude. For sometime Cil almost gained cult status, somewhat a Filipino version of Hugh Heffner.

The years 1967-1972 were the peak years of the Bomba Komiks. They were sold like hotcakes by middle aged men and maybe women as well. Though they were not sold openly in newsstands, they were however hidden beneath the clean-type komiks, and only a suggestive ask can make the salesman offer it discreetly. Understandably, many legitimate komiks publishers complained about the proliferation of Bomba Komiks. It was a just complaint. Religious and feminist organizations were rallying against the Bomba Komiks. Many people thought that all komiks-magazines contained sexual contents, and so even the clean-type komiks suffered a decline in sales. The stigma of the Bomba Komiks affected the wholesome ones, and it contributed to the decline of the komiks industry in the early 1970s.

When President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law in 1972, the Bomba Komiks was finally suppressed. This does not mean though that Marcos was in any way a moral person. It was an open secret that Marcos was himself involved in many illicit sexual affairs. The Bomba Komiks surged back to life after the lifting of martial law in 1981. In the mid-1980s, after the EDSA Revolution that overthrew Marcos, a few titles began to appear, also clandestinely. These included Betamax Komiks, Seksi Komiks and Sizzling Hot Komiks.

As long as there are people wanting to deviate from reading the ordinary komiks, and as well as men in general are fascinated by sex, the Bomba Komiks will still be around. Even if society and religion consider it taboo.

 

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