Karen Kunawicz

Last updated
Karen Kunawicz
NationalityFilipino
EducationBachelor's degree in Business Management, Ateneo de Manila University, 1990
OccupationWriter
Known forpoet, writer, pop culture journalist, comic book editor, producer, and former television show host

Karen Kunawicz is a Philippine poet, writer, pop culture journalist, comic book editor, producer, and former television show host. She is sometimes popularly referred to as the Philippines' "Queen of the Goths." [1]

Contents

Valeros and Gruenberg's Filipino Writers in English (New Day, 1987) says of her writing: "Some have described her writing as dark and depressingly beautiful, with common themes focusing on heartache and missed soulmates." [2]

Education

Kunawicz graduated cum laude from the Ateneo de Manila University with a bachelor's degree in business management in 1990. She was a candidate for Top Ten Students of the Philippines for 1990. She later took a short, intensive filmmaking course at the New York Film Academy in 2000.

Career

Television

On a national level, Kunawicz is probably best known as one of the three female hosts for a talk show called XYZ Young Women's TV, which aired over PTV-4 and later on the ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC). This also led to the publication in 2000 of the book The XYZ Guide for Young Women in which she was a contributor.

In 2000 she was also the producer of Quark Henares' Palanca Award winning independent film "A Date With Jao Mapa."

Writer and editor

Prior to her television exposure, she was known for her columns in the Manila Times and Mirror Weekly. Her In The Dark column in the Manila Times, a daily broadsheet, came out every Saturday until the paper closed down in 1999.

Her On The Verge column for Mirror Weekly, a magazine at which she was also Youth Editor, ran for six years until she left the publication in 2000. Her work on On The Verge led to the 1999 release of a book of the same title.

Aside from these columns, she continues to contribute articles to various newspapers and magazines on a freelance basis. Among the publications these works have come out in include the Manila Chronicle, Daily Globe, Philippine Graphic, Philippine Daily Inquirer, and Music News Asia.

In addition, Kunawicz currently serves as editor-in-chief of Mango Jam, a serial Comic book made by independent Comic book publisher Mango Comics. Mango Jam is marketed as the Philippines' first all-girls comics, created by girls. [3] "The entire crew is all female, all Pinay," says Kunawicz. "...And even if we're competing against big-name international titles, we're proud of every issue that flies off the shelf!" [4] "The publisher saw an opportunity in the market for young women comic book readers and they wanted to get this message of girl power across, and there was no better way to do it than start off with women writers and women artists." [5]

Music

Even before Kunawicz' columns, however, she was already well known as a prominent member of the Manila music scene. In 1991 she co-founded the Dredd Poets Society with Patrick Reidenbach and Robbie Sunico. Together they produced monthly poetry readings and rock concerts at Club DREDD, the Quezon City club that became the epicenter of Manila rock scene.

Kunawicz also served as the manager of local rock band for Love Bigots Love from 1994 until 1996, which was the same year Clubb Dredd closed down. [6]

Selected works

Author

Coauthor

Contributor

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Wagner</span> American-born British comics writer (born 1949)

John Wagner is an American-born British comics writer. Alongside Pat Mills, he helped revitalise British comics in the 1970s, and continues to be active in the British comics industry, occasionally also working in American comics. He is the co-creator, with artist Carlos Ezquerra, of the character Judge Dredd.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John McCrea (comics)</span> Comic book artist from Northern Ireland

John McCrea is a comic book artist best known for his collaborations with writer Garth Ennis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Hagedorn</span> American playwright

Jessica Tarahata Hagedorn is an American playwright, writer, poet, and multimedia performance artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darna</span> Comic book superhero

Darna is a superhero appearing in Filipino comic books created by writer Mars Ravelo and artist Nestor Redondo. The character was introduced during the Golden Age of Comic Books, debuting in Pilipino Komiks #77 on May 13, 1950. Darna is a retooling of Ravelo's earlier character, Varga, who first appeared in 1947. With her continued presence in literature and art, Darna has been described as a Filipino cultural icon. Throughout the years, she has been adapted to a number of media platforms, such as film, television, plays and video games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Flint</span> British comic book artist

Henry Flint is a British comic book artist who has worked mainly for British science fiction comic 2000 AD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Adlard</span> British comic book artist

Charles Adlard is a British comic book artist known for his work on books such as The Walking Dead and Savage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lastikman</span> Filipino comic book character

Lastikman, originally spelled Lastik Man, is a fictional character and Filipino comics superhero created by Mars Ravelo and artist Mar T. Santana. Lastikman or the original spelling of Lastik Man debuted in comics format in Aliwan Komiks #56. Based on DC Comics' Plastic Man, and/or Marvel's Mister Fantastic from Fantastic Four, Lastikman can also stretch and transform into many imaginable forms and shapes he desires.

Dorothy Woolfolk née Dorothy Roubicek was one of the first women in the American comic-book industry. As an editor at DC Comics, one of the two largest companies in the field, during the 1940s period historians and fans call the Golden Age of Comic Books, she is credited with helping to create the fictional metal Kryptonite in the Superman mythos.

<i>Wasted</i> (comics)

Wasted is a comic book series written and drawn by Gerry Alanguilan and published by Alamat Comics since July 1994 through July 1996. It was first released as an eight-issue photocopied comics and later collected into one volume by Alamat Comics in 1998, releasing a total of 500 copies. The entire story was serialized in several parts on the pages of PULP Magazine in the Philippines beginning in 2000, and eventually compiled the story once again as Wasted: The Final Edition in 2003, releasing 2000 copies. In 2013, a new edition of the story was published independently by Gerry Alanguilan himself. The entire series is currently available to read online for free.

Philippine Comics have been popular throughout the nation from the 1920s to the present. Comics scholar John A. Lent posited that the Philippine comics tradition has "the strongest audience appeal, best-known cartooning geniuses, and most varied comics content" in Asia after Japan and Hong Kong.

Clem Arnold Lawrence Arre is a Filipino comic book writer, artist and self-taught animator best known for his graphic novels The Mythology Class (1999) and Ang Mundo ni Andong Agimat (2006). He was born in Metro Manila, Philippines.

Dean Francis Alfar, is a Filipino playwright, novelist and writer of speculative fiction. His plays have been performed in venues across the country, while his articles and fiction have been published both in his native Philippines and abroad, such as in Strange Horizons, Rabid Transit, The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror and the Exotic Gothic series.

<i>The Mythology Class</i>

The Mythology Class is a Philippine graphic novel written and illustrated by Arnold Arre. It was originally published by Arre in four issues in 1999, and was collected into a special edition by Adarna House in September 2005. The latest edition is a reprint of the special collected edition, published in November 2014 by Nautilus Comics.

Visconde Carlo San Juan Vergara or simply known as Carlo Vergara is a Filipino graphic designer and illustrator best known for creating the comic book character Zsazsa Zaturnnah. Vergara is also a theatre performer and published playwright.

Loreto Paras-Sulit was a Filipino writer best known for her English-language short stories.

<i>Batman/Judge Dredd: Judgment on Gotham</i> Graphic novel by John Wagner, Alan Grant and Simon Bisley

Batman/Judge Dredd: Judgment on Gotham is the first of four Batman and Judge Dredd crossover comic books, published by DC Comics and Fleetway Publications in 1991. It was written by John Wagner and Alan Grant, with art by Simon Bisley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francisco V. Coching</span> Filipino comic book writer and illustrator (1919–1998)

Francisco Vicente Coching was a Filipino comic book illustrator and writer during the Golden Age of Philippine comics. He is regarded as one of the "pillars of the Philippine Komiks Industry", the "King of Komiks", and the "Dean of Philippine Comics". He created the iconic characters Pedro Penduko, Hagibis, and Sabas, ang barbaro.

Elena M. Patron-de los Angeles, commonly known by her maiden name Elena Patron, was a Filipina scriptwriter, novelist, poet, dramatist, essayist, and magazine columnist. Patron was one of the few women in the Philippines who ventured and succeeded in writing for Philippine comics, a field that was dominated by Filipino male writers.

<i>Trese</i> Filipino komiks

Trese is a Filipino komik series written by Budjette Tan and illustrated by Kajo Baldisimo. It tells the story of Alexandra Trese, a detective who deals with crimes of supernatural origin. Its first issue was published on October 22, 2005, starting off as a niche work which grew in popularity as readers were intrigued first by the first two volumes' focus on Manila's urban legends, and then by the later volumes' development of Alexandra Trese as a character. The series went on to win several accolades.

Maria Ceres P. Doyo is a Filipino journalist, author, human rights activist, and feminist best known as a columnist and staff writer for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, for her numerous books on Philippine journalism, and for the historical impact of her investigative reports during the martial law under Ferdinand Marcos.

References

  1. ↑ Error Archived 14 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ Valeros, Florentino B. and Dean Estrellita Valeros-Gruenberg. Filipino Writers in English, New Day Publishers 1987.
  3. ↑ Jac Strips For YOU!!!: Karen Kunawicz Archived 12 July 2012 at archive.today
  4. ↑ Yabang Pinoy - ipag yabang na ikaw ay Pilipino! Archived June 23, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ For The Love of Filipino Comics Archived 8 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ Club Dredd Archived 9 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.