Rocket Kapre – Fantastic Filipino Speculative Fiction

This Saturday, July 14, will be the 1st Komikon Grand Independent Komiks Market (or “Indieket”, as its close friends call it), a “mini-event” that is a boon for those who wish there were more than two opportunities (Summer and Oct/Nov Komikons) to buy indie komiks releases. It’s also partly a way for creators to “qualify” for slots in the always full October Komikon, so if you’d like to be sure that your favorite indie creators get guaranteed slots, now would be the time to buy, buy, BUY! There will also be talks by industry experts such as Gerry Alanguilan, Taga-ilog, and Prof. Emil Flores.

Members of the Kwentillion team will also be there, as Summit Media is a sponsor of the event – Budjette Tan and I, as well as a few issue #1 contributors, will be dropping  by the Summit Media booths next to the stage at different parts of the day. We also have some time on stage at 2:30PM, and we’re still figuring out if we’d like to do a raffle or some sort of talk, but that’d be the best time to catch most of us there at the event.

July is shaping up to be jam-packed with events. Don’t forget Alyson Noël’s signing on the 20th, and the 1st Kwentillion Young Adult Reader Carnival on the 21st!

“Buhay Indie” is a new blog that ill be featuring journal posts from different Filipino komiks creators, with the aim of giving the reader insight into their lives and artistic process. The first entry is by Dr. Carlo Jose San Juan, creator of Callous. Here’s the description of the blog from the very first post:

This is a journal about our life as comic creators and the stories behind the production of independent comic titles we enjoy reading.  Making comics is never easy. Most of us manage our time, balancing everything to make one issue in time for an event. More often than not, we encounter a lot of problems while making the pages, and it takes extra effort to get the job done.  And we each have our own stories to tell.  Each entry will be made by a different comic creator, featuring their comic projects and updates about their comic production… in a form of a diary.  The contributors for this blog are the members of Indie Comic Manila, a Facebook group composed of independent comic illustrators and writers from different comic circles. It’s also the same group behind the 100 Araw ng Komiks campaign.  It’s tough being an indie creator. But we love making comics, so we do it anyway…  Now we’re sharing our stories with you.

I hope everyone is excited for the Trese 4 book launch this coming Saturday, 5pm, at the National Book Store Bestsellers at Robinson’s Galleria. The book is entitled “Last Seen After Midnight”. I’ve already spoken with writer Budjette Tan–now artist and co-creator Kajo Baldisimo answers my questions about Trese. As an added bonus, we have exclusive preview pages from “Wanted: Bedspacer”, one of the new cases in Trese 4. In these pages, Trese explains to a doctor the difference between two creatures of Philippine folklore. Click on the pages for a larger version.

Do you view volume 4, “Last Seen After Midnight” as the start of a new tone for the series?

Parang yes.

The first trilogy tells the story of a hero who is still quite reluctant to accept that role. The next few volumes will show what happens when she starts facing that destiny head on.

Or not.

How different was it working on this volume, as opposed to the previous ones? Was it easier or harder to complete? I can imagine that as the anticipation increases for each new installment, the pressure on you two must also be growing…

Budj was done with the scripts years ago. As for me, I had a harder time completing this book because my focus constantly zigzaged from ‘just having fun’ to ‘living up to expectations’. The book got finished when I flushed ‘expectations’ down the toilet.

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The much anticipated fourth book in the Trese series (which is popular enough to merit a Wikipedia entry) will be launched this Saturday, October 8, 5pm, at the NBS Best Sellers branch at Robinson’s Galleria. The book is entitled “Last Seen After Midnight”. I caught up with series writer Budjette Tan to ask him about the newest installment of Alexandra Trese’s ongoing adventures.

In many ways, Trese: Mass Murders (the previous volume) felt like an ending to a chapter of Alexandra’s life. Do you view volume 4 as something of a fresh start?

At one time, there was actually a possibility that the stories in Book 4 might have been part of Book 3 to begin with.

I never really envisioned Book 3 to be such a sprawling story arc. I really tried to tell the story of the Great Balete Tree in 20 –pages and was trying to tell the “secret origin” of the Kambal in the usual 20-pages as well. But as I kept writing that story, it just didn’t allow itself to be contained in 20-pages. So, it ended up becoming 113 pages long!

Book 4 is once again a collection of stand-alone stories. I like doing these types of stories. They feel more like a short jog, as compared on the long marathon that was Book 3.

We’ve actually started on Book 5. Looking at where that is planned to go, I think Book 5 will come closer to a “fresh start” for Trese. Or maybe it’ll take her down new path,s is more like it. We hope to finish Book 5 before the Summer Komikon of 2012.

So we’re seeing a return to the episodic cases then. How many pages will this volume be?

This volume will have four new cases. Each case is a stand-alone story. The stories range from 20 to 22 pages. We’ve actually released three of these cases in the past Komikons because we wanted to always have something new for the readers, just to show them that we are working on the new book. It also pressured us to finish each case for whatever was the upcoming Komikon of the quarter.

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The Sandaang Araw ng Komiks (100 Days of Komiks) event entered its second month yesterday, and the focus has shifted from personal creations (i.e. creators plugging their own works) to celebrating the works of other creators. Here are the guidelines for August, as per Joanah Tinio Calingo:

For the month of August, all posts will be about:

a)       Komiks artists and authors (other than your self).  Whether they’re still active or not.  It can be in a form of trivia, or  interviews (not necessarily done by you), or link to their sites.  Posters are encouraged to promote komiks artsts outside their own group (pero pwede pa rin na kagrupo kung artist posts lang)

b)       Other existing komiks.  If you have reviews, or recommendations, now is the time to post it.  It can also be in a form of links to an image of the cover or the pages. Titles for recommendations and reviews, should of course, be still available  in the shops or cons, or online (or else where where people can get them, like kindle).  Also, recommendations should be for titles outside your own comic group.

c)   The post can also be a fan art of any local komiks character (this can also be a form of recommendation for existing titles).

The goal for August is to introduce komiks artists (veterans and newbies, mainstream and indie) and their works to other people, and to your circle (since everybody in your circle already knows that you are making komiks).

This is also a chance to know other artists, their works and their contributions.  And also, to introduce the new gen artists to komiks readers.  It’s also a heads-up if you’re going to local komiks events.  At least alam niyo na kung sino sila.

Format –> 100 Araw ng Komiks: (post/link/etc.)

[Logo c/o Rommel Estanislao ]

Looks like it’s quite the week for free komiks! You may remember my review of “Urban Animal #1″ by John Amor, posted last February. Well in the spirit of the “100 Araw ng Komiks” event, John has made a digital copy of “Urban Animal #1″ available for download at his site. Go check it out, if you are so inclined.

Around a week back, Joanah Tinio Calingo (Cresci Prophecies, Kanto Inc.)  related an experience at the recently concluded 2011 Toy Con that made her realize how limited the mainstream awareness of komiks and komiks creators truly is. To help promote local comics and their creators, she’s calling on other creators, as well as komiks readers and allies, to participate in a hundred day event to raise the profile of the komiks industry, aptly called “100 Araw ng Komiks”, which will pave the way for the end of the year Komikon in November.

The event begins on July 1, tomorrow, and for the month of July the theme seems to be “Your Own Komiks” in the sense that komiks creators are encouraged to post information about their komiks creations on their blogs/twitter/facebook pages once per day. Those who don’t create komiks can participate by posting komiks related information/trivia once per day.

You can go here or here for additional information (in Filipino).

[Logo c/o Rommel Estanislao ]

The 2011 Summer Komikon took place yesterday at the Bayanihan Center. I didn’t have enough time to go around as much as I usually do, but here are a few pictures and some thoughts on the event.

The turnout seemed about equal to what it was at the Bahay ng Alumni, which was a pleasant surprise and is a testament to a bang up job that organizers and advocates did getting the word out. I found the Bayanihan Center to be an improvement over the Bahay ng Alumni in most respects: the air condition really helped to make the event more comfortable (and hence more accessible to the more casual fan or newcomer not willing to bathe in sweat – their own and that of assorted strangers’ – in order to browse the wares). It also seemed to me to be easier to secure – the Bahay ng Alumni had a lot of ingress/egress points. I didn’t notice any food/drink concessionaires, however, which could be a downside to those not willing to cross the street to the restaurants around Pioneer supermarket.

I also wish that the hall itself had been made to look a bit more festive – the hall doesn’t have a lot of character, and the wedding reception type music that was playing (at least when I arrived) seemed out of place. I’m not looking for giant Kubori Kikiam blimps – although, hey, that’d be awesome – but  few more banners, posters, and standees would have helped give the convention more of a “convention” feel, especially since cosplayers are usually sparse in comparison to other cons.

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It’s summer time, and you know what that means – another Summer Komikon, where the Philippine comics/komiks scene gathers to sell their wares and celebrate the medium we love. This year, the even will be held at the Bayanihan Center in Pasig (near Pioneer supermarket, if you know that area) and not at the Bahay ng Alumni – you can get a map here. The event starts at 10am on April 16 and is a one day affair, so clear your calendars – many of the komiks sold at these cons have limited print runs and are only available at these cons, so snap them up!

Here’s some additional info from Krisis Komix:

This year’s theme is “Bayanihan: Komiks Moving Onwards” and the main highlights of the event include:

* the opening of the nominations for the 3rd Komikon Awards for Komikon 2011;

* exhibit and guest spotlight on women cartoonists;

* release of the first Summer Komikon Tabloid;

* screening of Animahenasyon 2007 and Animahenasyon 2008 winning entries;

* book launches of new comics titles (28 titles from the Indie Komiks Tiange);

* various comics-themed competitions

Launched at last year’s Komikon, the Sulyap Komiks Anthology contains samples of the works of a handful of our most successful Philippine independent comics creators: Rommel Estanislao Jr., Macoy, Gio Paredes, Tepai Pascual, Mel Casipit, Josel Nicolas,  RH Quilantang, and Ian Olympia. The creators will have a pair of signings over the next 2 weeks: they’ll be at Powerbooks Greenbelt on January 22 from 4pm onwards, and Powerbooks Mall of Asia on January 29, also from 4pm. Free sketches and giveaways also await visitors, so do come down if you’re in the area.

[Image source: Flipgeeks]