We were lucky to catch up with Mark Teodosio recently and have shared our conversation below.

Mark , appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The Realest Bayani is a comicbook series I created 3 years after the passing of my cousins Marlon Ramos. I named the protagonist after him and incorporated some of his life elements into the character’s story.

Being a comicbook referencing hip hop music artist, at the time, known as Mark Marvel, I decided to transition into writing my own comicbook series. Instead of centering my energy around promoting a corporate giant without sponsorship I thought, why not make my own MARVEL COMICS.

By 2016 I created TCNY: The City Needs You publishing company and began writing The Realest Bayani based on a Filipino Street Hero finding his warrior spirit in the slums of Tondo, Manila.

One of the reasons i made this comicbook was not just to honor my cousin and resurrect him in a literary body but bridge the Filipino culture to Non-Filipino readers and Filipino Americans!

Mark , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Mark Teodosio, a Filipino Comicbook Creator based in NYC. I got into comicbooks with the desire to create my own brand beyond just being a Hip Hop artist.

I’ve always had an affinity for comicbooks and when I created my own flagship book called The Realest Bayani I was able to bridge Non-Filipinos to Filipino culture. The amount of people I inform and educated the last 4 years always thanks me for doing the work to put Filipinos on the map.

We debuted in New York Comic Con 2018 with Issue 1 and SOLD OUT, one of my proudest moments. So we kept up the creative momentum and made it to releasing Issue 4, first quarter of 2022. TCNY is still evolving and expanding as we speak as we come to the conclusion of our Bayani series preparing to release some new books and merch!

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

For me, writing this comicbook was a creative therapy. It helped me cope with the reasoning of my cousin’s passing and gave me a new outlet to reach the Filipino demographic.

I’ve always had the intention to represent Filipinos in the space of Hip Hop and what better way than becoming known as the Realest Bayani?!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

New York Comic Con 2019 we weren’t able to get a table at NYCC. We were turned down and I decided to guerilla market our second issue of the series by cosplaying as the Realest Bayani.

I was able to make sales, meeting supporters in the Javitts Center and outside of it and acquire content in NYCC as a OC (original character) cosplayer.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.savidesigns.nyc
• Instagram: @bayani.nyc/ @thecityneedsyou
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markmarvel.tcny
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCwkVKeYpBaGaNT8BMcIPS0w

Image Credits
All Images are owned and in promotion of TCNY: The City Needs You