ARTS and Design students from iACADEMY and pioneering members of its in-campus elite group Vision Creative Unit qualified as finalists in the Negative Space Comic Book Writing Competition held in May 2022 along with top design schools like SCAD and Northern Michigan University, USA.

They are the only students from Asia and the Philippines to make it to the finals.

One of the winning entries, “As Above, So Below,” is an illustrated novella by Zoe Samantha Panganiban, a major from the Multimedia Arts and Design program and a mentee from the VISION Creative Unit. It centers around a cynical young thief who unwittingly steals a magical stone and swaps bodies with its owner, an overachieving engkantada princess, where the two warring personalities must learn to trust each other and restore the mystical balance of the world to save the people.

“Gonerdog” by Alma Patricia Ramos and Lee Moreno, members of the Vision Creative Unity, tackles revenge and morality, wherein a vengeful assassinated husband is given a divine chance to live a new life. Despite warnings, he finds himself going down a dark path by choosing to chase the past and exact revenge on his killers.

It is a young adult fantasy comic story set in a canine world in the contemporary era.

Headed by its creative director and multi-awarded artist Keith Sicat, iACADEMY’s VISION Creative Unit trains and mentors students alongside renowned filmmakers, visual artists, animators and comic artists to help prepare them to pitch original concepts and stories in local and international competitions.

“The marvelous news of three VISION mentees – Zoe, Lee, and Alma – becoming finalists for the international Negative Space Student Comics Writing Competition is a testament to their hard work and dedication. All of the members have come so far so fast, and what’s beautiful is that many of them are coming together to help each other. A major battle for any creator is already won when they take the brave step to share their creations. In sharing, they win by swimming in the same creative waters with peers and pros from around the globe,” Sicat, a faculty at iACADEMY’s School of Design and the Arts, said.

“Congratulations to everyone in VISION as all of you truly support each other; this is a win for the whole gang. May these laurels put wind in your sails so you continue to bring your ideas out into the world,” he said.

Negative Space is a comic book writing competition based in Manhattan, New York.

The other submissions from iACADEMY were also recognized.

“We also want to give a special shout-out to iACADEMY, a school in the Philippines. We saw seven submissions from students of this school alone and they were all amazing! There is some serious talent at iACADEMY and we can’t wait for the world to see what their comic book students are up to!” Negative Space said.

Among those who submitted were Moira Brugada, Ruth Dichoso, Erika Nagashima, Beatriz Santiago, Lisa Vasquez, Ma. Jefe Ella Yeh, and finalists Zoe Panganiban, Alma Ramos, and Lee Moreno.