Rocket Kapre – Fantastic Filipino Speculative Fiction

As is their usual practice, Fully Booked will be celebrating FCBD a few weeks later than everyone else, and this year that date is May 19. There will be free comics available at many Fully Booked branches, but the place is their flagship store at Bonifacio High Street, where a new Comic Odyssey branch is set to open within the Fully Booked premises itself. You can go to the Comics Cube for the details.

Part 2 of my article on the Philippine fantastic for the “World Tour of Wonderment“ feature of Fantasy Faction is now up. (You can find part one here.) In this post, I give a brief primer on the fantastic in prose fiction and comics, by talking about prominent creators/projects in these fields. Check it out!

Art by Rommel "Omeng" Estanislao, from http://www.comicscube.com

It’s time for the annual Free Comic Book Day, which this year falls on the 5th of May, this Saturday. This year is extra special, because Andrew Villar has marshaled two groups of Philippine comics creators (including my High Society collaborator Hannah Buena) for a pair of FCBD issues featuring local talent, one for Comic Odyssey, and one for ComicXHub (you can check up the lineup for each here). Comic Odyssey will also have a limited edition Electromagnetic Tentacle FCBD shirt for sale.

From http://flipgeeks.com/pinoy-komiks-dc-marvel-etc/local-komiks-creators-release-two-fcbd-comics-for-2012/

Other comic stores that are likely to participate are Druid’s Keep, and Planet X Comic Book Shop. Don’t forget that Fully Booked (Metro Manila branches), as is their usual practice, will celebrate FCBD on a separate day, this year May 19.

Another reason to troop down to your local comic book shop this Saturday is that both Comic Odyssey and ComicXHub will be holding sketch drives for the benefit of Filipino comics legend Tony de Zuñiga.

For further information about FCBD, here’s the official Philippine FCBD Facebook Page.

Flipside Publishing has partnered up with the 2012 Summer Komikon to hold a 24-Hour Comic Creation contest, with three winners receiving publishing contracts with Flipside Publishing, for digital releases of their comics. Registration will take place on April 25, 2012 to May 16, 2012. Komixathon itself will be held between noon of May 19, 2012 to noon of May 20, 2012. Registered users will receive a username and password which will allow them to upload their comics to Flipside’s servers during those two days. Interested participants can email adam@flipside.ph to register. You can read more details here.

There are two exciting new Amazon Kindle releases from Filipino creators today (courtesy of Flipside Digital): First up is “Lower Myths” by Eliza Victoria, who has contributed to Usok, Ruin and Resolve, and Alternative Alamat.

Lower Myths features two compelling novellas of contemporary fantasy from Eliza Victoria, one of the most talented young writers in Asian speculative fiction today. In “Trust Fund Babies,” children of two warring witch and fairy families face off in the final round to a centuries-old vendetta.

In “The Very Last Case of Messrs. Aristotel and Arkimedes Magtanggol,” an aristocrat and his daughter consult a famous lawyer-sibling pair about a mysterious crime. But in the lawyers’ hilltop mansion by the sea, they uncover sinister hints that their reality may not be what it seems.

 

The second release is a revised edition of “Marco’s Delivery Service“. If you read my review of the original work, you may be interested in this version, as I worked with creator Koi Carreon to iron out the kinks and flesh out the story, in order to–we hope–create product that retains the great art and retro-futuristic world, while adding some narrative polish. Fans of old school anime like Outlaw Star should definitely check it out.

Flipside Digital has an interview with David Hontiveros, one of our fine contributors for “Alternative Alamat“, highlighting his komiks work, particularly on “Bathala: Apokalypsis”. Here’s an excerpt:

For those unfamiliar with your work, could you tell us more about Bathala: Apokalypsis?

The comic stems from a pitch Gerry Alanguilan threw at me during a phone conversation about a decade and a half ago: “What if Superman had to deal with the Apocalypse?”

Gerry asked if I was willing to write the story behind that idea and I was only too glad, so I wrote the 7-issue story, but ultimately, it went into lengthy stasis when Gerry proved unable to handle the art chores. But the comic was revived when Ace Enriquez said he’d be willing to take on the 200+ page project, and here we are.

Bathala: Apokalypsis is basically that pitch told over 7 issues, with Bathala, a Filipino superhero in the mold of the Superman archetype, being the only superpowered individual in the world, having to face the catastrophic effects of an unfolding End of Days.

You can read the rest of the interview here.

Jonas Diego is conducting a survey for a possible “Philippine Artist Database”. In his words:

The survey has two (2) objectives: 1. Create a national database for Philippine graphic designers, illustrators, comic book creators, and other types of creative workers 2. Create a fact book based on the results of the survey and make available online for free.

If you’re an artist and you’re interested in participating, you can find the survey here.

“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.

While it’s not a Rocket Kapre release, “High Society“, my steampunk comic book with Hannah Buena, is getting a book page on the site, to give me a central hub to post purchasing information (now that it’s available from four different online retailers), as well as reviews. One notable review has come from Frida Fantastic, over at Adarna SF. Here’s an excerpt:

The comic does a good job of immersing the reader in the setting while still keeping it accessible for readers who aren’t familiar with the Philippines. I love details like the use of Filipino sound effects (e.g “bog!” instead of “wham!”).

xxx

Buena’s art is expressive and dynamic, with a subtle manga influence that makes everything extra adorable. It has a bit of of a sketchy feel because some of the pencils are visible, but it I think it’s aesthetically pleasing.

It’s also relevant to mention that “On Wooden Wings”, my short story in Philippine Speculative Fiction volume 6 that is set in the same world as “High Society” (and which will become the first part of the “Wooden War” series) was the subject of an in-depth review/analysis by Jha over at Silver Goggles. It’s very interesting to read impressions of that alternative history from a reader who is not Filipino but who is a fellow Southeast Asian.

Take your first step into a world of automata, magic, and alternative history! The year is 1764, and, for the first time in nearly two centuries, the Spanish forces have been repelled from the great walled city of Manila. While the Spaniards are quick to lay the blame at the feet of the invading British and their clockwork machines, the secret to the success of the Filipinos may lie closer to home, with an ally that is both ancient and new, mythical and mechanical. “High Society” is a stand-alone steampunk comic book in the “Wooden War” series.