From his humble beginnings in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon, the ever-smiling Harvey has long felt the need to put pen to paper and draw on whatever was in front of him. Despite that desire though, he faced tough odds if he was going to make his artistic dreams come true.
A belief in himself, a continuous need to improve, and a refusal to accept rejection helped fuel Harvey to see his art on some of the world’s most popular comics. Speaking at the recently-held GraphikaManila 2016, Harvey regaled the audience with his story via a combination of self-deprecating humor, remarkable insight, and a showcase of his stellar portfolio.
That portfolio included stints drawing Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic for Dark Horse Comics, Young Avengers, Avengers: The Initiative, and Uncanny X-Force for Marvel Comics, and Green Lantern and Green Arrow for DC Comics. Harvey’s popularity steadily exploded with his work on these titles, and he became especially known for his art on the X-Man Psylocke on Uncanny X-Men. At present, he is the artist for Moonstreak, a comic for independent publisher Guardian Knight Comics.
Even as he built a cache for his art, Harvey also wanted to encourage and nourish the talents of people in his vicinity. This led him to establish HMT Studios to tap unheralded Filipino artists who have the same hunger that Harvey has to draw. HMT Studios can now be seen at the different local komiks conventions and is making a name for itself in the local and international art scene.
What made Harvey’s presentation at GraphikaManila even more astounding was the fact that it was mostly deleted just the night before. That was the story that Harvey’s wife, July, shared with adobo. Apparently, the whole presentation went up in smoke, forcing Harvey to hurriedly try to rebuild his deck. While some slides ended up not in their original order, few in the audience seemed to mind because Harvey’s smile made it all seem like part of the show.
Whether at an event like GraphikaManila, at Komikon, or at a simple comic signing, Harvey is always the one with the big smile. Like the mythical Pied Piper of Hamelin, he is constantly surrounded by people looking for a photograph with him or an autograph. He hardly ever refuses because, as he has said on many occasions in the past, he’s also just a fan of comic artists and the visual medium at heart. What sets Harvey apart is that he too has been blessed with artistic talent and he now gets to show it to the whole world.
