Rocket Kapre – Fantastic Filipino Speculative Fiction

Everyone remembers that the small press and indie komiks event “Better Living Through Xeroxography” is this Friday right? Well, for those who’d like more insight into the world of independent publishing, the organizers have also put together a series of talks/panels for the next day, March 3. Here are the details from panitikan.ph:

BLTX, small-press expo is on 2 March 2012, Friday, at Ilyong’s on Kalantiaw, Project 4, QC, 8PM onwards. BLTX Talks in on 3 March 2012, Saturday, at Chef’s Bistro at 94 Sct Gandia cor. Tomas Morato, 2PM to 8PM. Better Living Through Xeroxography or BLTX is a small-press expo now on its second incarnation, the first one a success by indie standards: 30 small press publishers and 200 buyers on a rainy December day in 2010.

The goal of BLTX is simple. Bring together independent self-publishers from Metro Manila (hopefully from elsewhere, too), in a one-night event that will allow them to sell their wares: books, yes, but also zines and other printed materials like shirts, postcards, posters, and this year, CDs from musicians more indie than indie. It’s about selling, but also about meeting like-minded individuals who believe in literature and creative work that might not ever get into the mainstream of commercial bookstores and galleries, but for one night is the star of the show. You can also just imagine BLTX to be the coolest meet-and-greet between writers and readers, one that involves beer, some music, and plenty of creativity you rarely see. This year though BLTX will also be space for productive discussions on the making | marketing | selling of the self-published book, where practical aspects of actual independent book production will be shared by those who have survived it with sanity intact.

BLTX Talks will happen the day after the BLTX small-press expo, a full six hours of four different panels that will answer central questions about PRINT PUBLISHING, ONLINE / WEB PUBLISHING, RETAIL & DISTRIBUTION, and COMMUNITY. All necessarily in light of the industry of independent self-publishing, and all against the traditional forms of cultural production as we know it in these shores.

Confirmed speakers for the BLTX Talks are Mabi David (HighChair), Tweet Sering (Astigirl), Honey de Peralta (Flipreads), Oliver Ortega (hal.), Ime Morales (FWGP), Mike David (Kubori Kikiam), Feliz Perez (Mt. Cloud). Participating small-press and indie publishers for BLTX include The Cabinet,? Gelo Suarez,? hal. ?Heights,? High Chair,? Kubori Kikiam,? Macoy,? Omeng Estanislao, Pantas, Paper Monster Press, Patrick Rawwrr, QBCCC (The Quarterly Bathroom Companion Comics Compendium), Rob Cham, Silent Sanctum Manga, Tapat Journal, Tilde Acuña, UP Writers Club, Zigzag Animals, UP Music Circle, Migi de Belen. BLTX is the brainchild of the Youth & Beauty Brigade. Check out the BLTX FB Event Page for updated lists of participating small-press and indie publishers and BLTX Talks speakers! See you at BLTX and BLTX Talks!

Here are more details about the venue for the BLTX Talks: Chef’s Bistro, your all-in-one hang-out place for dining pleasures and memorable experiences. Away from the traffic noise and the hassle and bustle of city streets, Chef’s Bistro’s location is perfect for focused events. Its function rooms are the perfect venue for your corporate or private meetings, with our delectable set meals served. Or just come as you are and lounge with us outdoor or on the veranda.

Tels.: 414-4515; 359-9975 Mobile: 0917-7989-811 Website: chefsbistro.wordpress.com Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/ChefsBistroFusions Follow us on twitter: twitter.com/#!/chefsbistroph Googlemaps: Just type: Chef’s Bistro, Scout Gandia

Remember last year’s Better Living Through Xeroxography, small press and indie komiks event? Adam David and company are at it again on March 2, at Ilyong’s Cubao (same venue as last time). Here’s the official Facebook page and description:

A SMALL PRESS EXPO!!!

BOOKS / ZINES / KOMIX / FIRST 100 BOTTLES OF BEER FOR FREE / FREE VIDEOKE, TOO, BUT YOU’LL HAVE TO SING ON STAGE

QBCCC! HEIGHTS! UP WRITERS CLUB! THE PATRICK RAWWRR! THE GELO SUAREZ! THE ROB CHAM! HIGH CHAIR! THE MACOY! PAPER MONSTER PRESS! SILENT SANCTUM MANGA! THE TILDE ACUñA! THE YOUTH & BEAUTY BRIGADE! HAL.! KUBORI KIKIAM! TAPAT JOURNAL! THE OMENG ESTANISLAO! THE CABINET! AND MORE AS THEY SIGN UP!

MARCH 2, 2012 // ILYONG’S, KALANTIAW, PROJECT FOUR, CUBAO

Maps to the venue:
from the Cubao area > http://twitpic.com/tr6ok
from the UP/Ateneo area > http://twitpic.com/tr6za

Poster art > http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150485850937717.367672.574957716&type=1&l=2dac22c2a3

For inquiries and such about signing up
and whatever else, contact Adam David
via eMail > juncruznaligas@gmail.com
or via text > 09163063173

Bitten by the pre-apocalypse muse? Adam David is looking for essays, fictions, poetry, songs, komix, doodles, photographs, videos, for THURSDAY NEVER LOOKING BACK, an electronic anthology that seeks to gather, process, and perform various end-of-the-world scenarios. You can see more details here.

Flipside Komix (an imprint of Flipside Digital Content, a leading independent publisher of e-books) has an ongoing promotion where you can get free Kindle editions of three of their titles: Kubori Kikiam, Tabi Po and The Long Weekend.

You’ll recall “Tabi Po” from my recent interview with creator Mervin Malonzo; Kubori Kimiam is an adult humor strip which is a perennial Komikon Awards nominee; “The Long Weekend” is a a hundred-page road movie romantic erotic komix novella by outspoken writer and critic, Adam David. Here’s what you need to do to get your free komiks, copy-pasted from the Flipside Komix Facebook page:

Get Kindle editions of three Pinoy digitals Kubori Kikiam, Tabi Po and The Long Weekend for FREE!

1. Like Flipside Komix.

2. Share a link to this note on your wall.

3.Tell us what device you have on our wall.

4. Download the Kindle app for your device and create an Amazon account.

5. PM us your email address for your Amazon.com account. Email your amazon account email address to jessa.vicente<at>flipsideconte?nt.com, but please state your device on the wall of the Flipside Komix Facebook page

6. We’ll send your FREE gift Kindle copies of these three awesome Pinoy eKomix for your device.

Good until end of July only.

Mervin Malonzo’s “Tabi Po” is a beautifully illustrated webcomic that until recently was only available in Filipino. Now, Mervin has released an English language version on the Kindle and will be releasing another version on the Nook and the iBookstore. (Note that the Kindle version has a different layout than the original comic – the “sample” button is your friend.) I took the opportunity to speak to Mervin about “Tabi Po”, the pros and cons of webcomics, and the new English international editions.

Tell us a little bit about yourself. Did you always want to create comics?

Yes, I’ve always wanted to create my own comic ever since I took hold of my first issue of Funny Komiks, ever since the days I watched cartoons on TV as a child. And I did! I remember creating my first comic on my used notebooks, a story about mutant ants! “Mutant” because they have powers not entirely different from the ones the X-Men have, and ants because at the time I was obsessed with watching the line of ants in the roadside canal near our house (I still do that, by the way). Watching ants always made me wonder how it would feel to be as small as them. Of course, thinking about it right now, I guess we really are as small as them when you really think about it.

Anyway, my love for drawing comics led me to take up Fine Arts – Painting in UP Diliman instead of Chemistry in UP Los Baños (I passed there as well), to the great dismay of some of my relatives. “Walang pera sa fine arts”, they would say. I resigned from work two years ago to form my own design team with my friends (Pepe&thePolygons) so that I could work whenever I needed to and do comics whenever I wanted to.

How would you pitch “Tabi Po” to new readers? What’s it about, and why should people read it?

Hmm.. for most of my readers, it turned out that saying it had “UNCENSORED NUDITY, BLOOD, VIOLENCE AND SEX” did the trick. Haha!

But to publishers and other people I’d like to impress, I would say, “It’s my own interpretation or deconstruction of the Philippine mythology and folklore. I made the aswangs, engkantos, diwatas and anitos as real as I could, putting them in our history, creating a feasible origin story for them and how they were affected by and will in turn affect the human race. Are aswang really different from humans? I am also fusing some Christian beliefs with the old nature worship. Ultimately, it is my explanation of how our world would work if these beings really existed. The purpose of this whole epic is to make the reader think about human nature, the environment, religion and the meaning of life, the universe and everything–all while still being entertained.”  Of course, you do not see this yet in our story so far but that’s the grand plan. It’s not really all violence and nudity, you’ll see.

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“Pericos Tao” is a comic from writer/artist Andrew Drilon which was released online recently by Top Shelf. It’s not a new work, but it hasn’t seen wide release until now–you may recall Adam David talking about it during our Rocket Round Table on favorite Philippine spec fic stories (slight spoilers here, so go read the comic first if you like–it’s only ten pages):

Barring my own set of scintillating sensurround scifi scintillations, the best Pinoy SpecFic story would be the unfortunately still largely unread “Pericos Tao” by Andrew Drilon. It was supposed to be part of Drilon’s Kare-Kare Komiks print remix a bunch of people – me included – tried their best to make manifest around the middle of 2008. I was the layout artist so I was privy to the actual finished pages – “actual finished pages” being actually “virtual” as Drilon assembled everything on computer – and I was one of maybe ten or so people who have seen the whole book (maybe I still am). The publisher ran out of money, so the project didn’t push through. The book was 96 pages of Drilon’s full-colour ChemSet strips, and a handful of new ones to round off the collection, some of which already saw publication in places, but not “Pericos Tao” for some reason.

“Pericos Tao” is one of those too few gay stories that’s ABOUT being gay and at the same time ISN’T in the sense that it isn’t pushing an agenda. It’s about a young man trying to escape the past, and, unsuccessful, finally decides to come to terms with it in his own terms. It makes use of a few characters/creatures from Visayan tradition and somehow making them not clunky as how most of these things are on the page more often than not. It also employs some formal play by way of recreating the young man’s Visayan childhood via impeccably mimicking Larry Alcala’s unmistakable cubist brushstrokes, while the present rendered as how Drilon renders his usual, only slightly better, all of these things running in synch all focused on telling the story, and telling it well. Of everything I’ve read by Drilon, or any one else’s in SpecFic for that matter (and I’ve probably read about 90% of what’s been published so far as of 05:04AM of 7 September 2009), “Pericos Tao” remains to be the most honest and most complete and most heartfelt and really just one of the best stories I’ve ever read, printed (or not) on paper. It’s really all just downhill from here for Drilon. I hope more people will get the chance to read “Pericos Tao,” before he decides to sell out and go manga on everyone. Make it so, Andrew!

High praise from someone very hard to impress. Intrigued? Then go check out “Pericos Tao”

The thing about using a broad term like “speculative fiction” is that it can be a bit tricky figuring out what does or does not fall under that umbrella (especially with something more poetry than prose)… but I’m pretty sure that a book of blurbs about itself (the book of blurbs) qualifies, especially with contributions from familiar spec fic names such as Dean Alfar, Mia Tijam, Adam David, Andrew Drilon, Josel Nicolas,  Khavn, and Budjette Tan. Curator Angelo Suarez has thrown up a PDF sampler which you can find here, and I’ll let him explain the project in his own words:

This book was assembled in 2009 as something that was titled “The Blurb Project”— admittedly an unimaginatively unimaginative tentative name—intended for release w/in the same year. The procedure: Ask writers to blurb for a book whose content would solely be the blurbs to be collected from them, a critico-creative exercise in closed-circuit self-reference that could function as a collaborative epic poem of modular components. The material gathered was hence largely speculative: the book would talk about itself even before the book was complete, the collaborators either working blindly or else w/ what few blurbs were already available for their use.

Adam David, winner of the Madrigal-Gonzalez Best First Book Award, has always been an outspoken advocate for independent publishing and self-publishing. This December 3, 2010, at 7pm, Adam is putting together a fair/exhibition/forum/networking-type celebration of the literary equivalent of the do-it-yourself ethic. He’s calling it BETTER LIVING THROUGH XEROXOGRAPHY (Facebook link), and it will be held at Ilyong’s, Kalantiaw street, Project Four,  Cubao. The products will range from poetry zines and self-published creative non-fiction to indie komiks and t-shirts. Content of interest to spec fic fans could include the Quarterly Bathroom Companion Comics Compendium, several of Macoy Tang’s komiks, and Carljoe Javier’s The Kobayashi Maru of Love. Other participants according to Adam:

Thomasian Writers Guild! Aklat Kurimaw! Ink Elephant! Tilde Acuna! Gelo Suarez! Macoy! Papermonster! Cavite Young Writers Association! Mark Angeles! Quarterly Bathroom Companion Comics Compendium! the Youth & Beauty Brigade! Mike David! UP UGAT! UP Writers Club! Heights! High Chair! And maybe some other peeps who might decide to drop in unannounced!

Oh, and the first one hundred bottles of beer (in total, not for each person obviously) are free. What else do you need to know? Directions? Click here for a larger map of the route from Cubao, and here for the route from Katipunan. Poster image was created by Macoy Tang.

One year ago, 9/9/09, Rocket Kapre officially launched. In celebration of our first year anniversary, here’s a new installment of one of our most popular features: the Rocket Round Table. For this batch, the question – to coincide with the anniversary – is: “What is your favorite first line in speculative fiction?” Prose and graphic novels/comics were fair game (movies and television were not), as were local and foreign works – I only asked that the respondents include any first lines from Filipino-made spec fic that stood out for them. Feel free to add your own in the comments!

Thanks to all those who took time to participate in the round table, and for all those who have supported Rocket Kapre in its first year. Here’s to many more to come!

[Warning: Some language may not be safe for work, or children, or adults who like to pretend they're as innocent as children.]

ELBERT OR – Comic book creator, university lecturer, graphic designer, freelance writer, entrepreneur (he’s part of Brain Food, which gives speech and writing workshops) Elbert is a jack of all trades and master of… well, lots. He currently runs Global Art and the Komiksabado Comics Workshop.

Happy first year, RK! How time flies!
I owe much of my interest in current Philippine SF to Dean Alfar’s “Kite of Stars,” and its first line/ paragraph which grabbed firm hold of me and has still not let me go:

The night when she thought she would finally be a star, Maria Isabella du’l Cielo struggled to calm the trembling of her hands, reached over to cut the tether that tied her to the ground, and thought of that morning many years before when she’d first caught a glimpse of Lorenzo du Vicenzio ei Salvadore: tall, thick-browed and handsome, his eyes closed, oblivious to the cacophony of the accident waiting to occur around him.

I wish I could say though that memory allowed me to remember each word, but I admit only to committing the first eleven words. But the blame lies solely on me and my poor memory.

Here’s to the next ten years for Rocket Kapre!

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CATHERINE BATAC WALDER – Catherine is based in England and works as a research group administrator at the Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London. From 2005 to 2007, she moved across Norway, Finland and Portugal for a European MPhil. scholarship. Her fiction appears in Big Pulp, Demons of the New Year, Philippines Graphic, Ruin and Resolve Anthology, Expanded Horizons, and Philippines Free Press. She blogs at http://deckshoes.wordpress.com/

“Just when the idea occurred to her that she was being murdered she could not tell.” – The Small Assassin, comics adaptation of a tale by Ray Bradbury

“At some time near dawn, on March 25, 1913, there came a loud knocking at the front door of the Uyterhoevens’ home in the Dayton View section of Dayton, Ohio.” – The Chess Garden by Brooks Hansen

“At first glance, the picture looked like any other in a family album of that time, the sepia shade and tone, the formal poses, the men in solemn Sunday suits and the women, severely coiffed, in long skirts and billowing blouses.” – Fade by Robert Cormier

““I can do this,” I told my squirrel.” - Speed Dating and Spirit Guides by Rod M. Santos

“In the tiny lifeboat, she and the alien fuck endlessly, relentlessly.” – Spar by Kij Johnson

“My name is Kathy H. I’m thirty-one years old, and I’ve been a carer now for over eleven years.” – Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

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G.M. CORONEL – A Marketing Management graduate of De La Salle University in 1985, he is a first-time author with no literary background to speak of other than a genuine love of reading and a passion for writing. Coming across back issues of Writer’s Digest a few years ago started his writing career. Some previous personal encounters with the paranormal convinced him to pursue the horror genre. He believes that stories to tell and experiences to share are best put in written words. He is the author of Tragic Theater.

“The night wind howls like a wounded dying animal.” (Trese Murder on Balete Drive) — This is a very compelling first line and it engages the reader’s interest in the story.

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DON JAUCIAN - Don regularly reviews books for several publications, both print and on-line. He is the resident bitch of the film blog Pelikula Tumblr. His book dump is http://chinoisdead.livejournal.com

The Ascension of Our Lady Boy – Mia Tijam (PDF of Expanded Horizons #14, which includes the story.)

“Let us begin with my earliest memory as a lady: Daddy had complained to Iyay who was my yaya(and his yaya before and his mama’s yaya before that) that I was lacking something strong in my bones and in my hips.”

Tijam’s Lady Boy is hands down one of my favorite spec fic stories. It effectively combined Philippine culture, gay-isms and the whole ‘triumph of the heart’ thing. I like how the first line promises a wonderful story, equal parts whimsical and endearing, like Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros and it really delivers.

Visitors – Luis Katigbak

“When they first arrived, they transformed themselves into everything we ever secretly wanted to be.”

Stories of ‘encounters’ are never amusing. They mostly run as dubious paranoiac rants but in a few words, Katigbak manages to brush off the fluff usually associated with this tripe. ‘Visitors’ is beautiful, a different approach into the Wonderful World of Alien Mysteries; humanized and hopeful.

Brigada – Joey Nacino

“When the news came, Captain Fernando Tabora of the Philippine Navy was meeting with the two-man salvage team at the top of Manila Hotel.”

I’m a sucker for post-apocalyptic stories and Manila Hotel underwater is just too awesome to ignore. Just like the head of Statue of Liberty chopped off in Cloverfield!

Flicker – Ian Rosales Casocot

“Something had apparently come to live, or stir, in the house down the road, that old mansion on the corner before one turned left down Mango Street, which led toward the coconut groves that bordered the farthest end of the village.”

Suburban horror stories always fascinate me and Casocot’s ‘Flicker’ definitely sustains the tension from the first sentence to the last. It is eerie, ominous and it’s refreshing to see a horror story devoid of hysterics and cheap scare tactics.

[More after the cut]

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Over at his Oblique Strategies website (if you go surfing the rest of the site, note that some posts are NSFW), Adam David is conducting a survey to learn more about the local female comic book reader and her relation to komiks culture. Head on over and comment if you’re a graphic novel geek of the girl kind. Here are the questions, but comment over at Adam’s post:

In the spirit of Hope Larson’s own survey on (American) girls’ comic book reading habits, I’m planning on embarking on a new komix writing thing – criticism and creative – and I wanted to ask a few questions specifically for the girls in the audience (if there are any), but if any of you girly guys want to answer the questions, I’d see it as a great kindness. Feel free to pass these questions around, as long as we get the feedback from it.

1) What comic books do you read, both local and foreign?

2) Do you enjoy reading these comic books? Why exactly do you enjoy reading them?

3) Do you read any comic books that you think are specifically targeted to girls? Which books are they? Why do/don’t you like them?

3) Who are your favourite comic book creators, both local and foreign, both male and female?

4) Why do you like them? Which of their books are your favourites, and why?

5) As a girl, would/could you say that the current system of local komix production – the books, the creators, the stores, the conventions – is friendly towards females? Why/Why not?

6) As a girl, do you want to make your own komix? Would/Could you make it specifically for girls? How would/could you go about doing that?

7) Would you like to see more local komix focussed primarily for girls?

8) What else would you like to see more of in local komix?

9) What would you like to see less of in local komix?

10) Where do you think the current local komix production is heading re: komix for girls?