mababang langit

ej fiestan's crazy metro is a funny, lushly-illustrated manga webcomic about a bunch of hunky roomies. it also occasionally spins off into crazy mashups, like, say, evangelion vs. taal volcano monster. it's the best cameo "eva"!

komiks veteran, magazine editor and self-described heartthrob kc cordero posted some nice things on his blog about operasyon: Malikot ang mga anggulo ni Macoy at malinis ang mga execution ng bawat frame. Maging ang characterization ay akma sa mga hayop na ginamit niya sa kuwento gaya ng bihag na si Boy Hito (hito) na nagpakita ng tensyon sa posibleng pagsa-salvage sa kanya, at ang astig na si D’ Boss (kalabaw) na maging ang mga dialogue ay barako ang pagkakabitaw. Wala rin akong masabi sa mga teknikal na aspeto gaya ng balloons at sound effects na ginamit niya sa mga frames na nakatulong nang malaki sa storytelling. It’s a good read . read the full review here .

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the pinoy superheroes universe blog marked FPJ's sixth death anniversary by featuring the character many of us associate with him the most: ang panday. among the tidbits and video clips presented by aris panganiban is a link to the first two chapters of the 70's komiks series. here's page one: in these first two chapters, flavio is really just a small-town do-gooder rather than a fantasy world messiah. all he does is beat up a trio of local thugs and tie them to a tree for the constabulary to find. no magic swords, no manananggal nor sand ninjas, no max alvarado. his weapon or choice is a sledgehammer and his catchphrase is "tinutuwid ang matitigas na bakal!" fourteen chapters later , he's recovering from some mishap at some mansion. still no sword n' sorcery to be seen, but he does engage in some alarmingly freudian tag-team tree-chopping with a man who knows his "secret".

one thing about having fellow comics-makers as friends: brutally honest criticism is hard to come by. people generally let me know when my comics get it right, but what i did wrong is a little harder to find out. it's the same with my readers: the only comments that have reached me so far are the positive ones. critical remarks, ones that may hurt my feelings but i might also learn from, go unsaid. so i'm trying out this little experiment: i've set up a formspring account and i want people to post their negative feedback there anonymously. what did you not like about my comics? what can i do better? please let me know. i can take it. really. here's the link . on a side note, during the better living through xeroxography event last weekend, someone gave me her e-mail address to add to my newsletter mailing list. i didn't have a mailing list, so now i've started one. you can subscribe to it on the sidebar. i won't sell you viagra or ask for help claiming...

i'll be there this saturday tagging along with some komikon folks, polluting the minds of the youth selling comics. they have a d&d event there too. i might check it out... if the kids are willing to let an old fart join.

tabletop gaming, specifically D&D-type rpgs, is one of those things i've always wanted to try but never got the chance. my college roommate was a DM but for some reason or other i never did get to sit in on any of his gaming sessions. so, i just played my final fantasy or online mmorpgs or whatever, learning to be content with these electronic, graphical crutches for the imagination. and then i see this vid on youtube: and i am deeply, deeply inggit . what fun!

sputnik comics shop recently released its top 5 indie sales lists for all the months of 2010 but december, and i am happy to report that each of my comics made it to at least one of those lists. the overall champ was louie cordero's nardong tae #1, which topped the charts for four out of eleven months. if this and alamat ng panget didn't keep running out of stock there wouldn't be any other titles at the #1 spot at all. as it is, alamat and my school run each hit #1 thrice. luckily for me, the ranking was based on number of units sold rather than peso sales, because, well, my stuff is cheap. major props to chez santander and the rest of the sputnik gang for compiling and releasing these lists, on top of all the other ways they've supported indie comics through the years. mabuhay kayo! sputnik on facebook

“SENIOR YEAR” is a refreshing and welcome departure from both the cotton candy romcoms churned out by mainstream cinema regularly as well as from the depressing poverty porn sometimes offered by the indies. “The film is simple and honest. Like the graduation speech of the valedictorian, the film is not pretentious, nor over-reaching but just sincere in its quiet little space and in its intention and execution." “Credit goes to Director Jerrold Tarog who also wrote and edited the film. His direction is superb as he has great mastery of his subject with effortless handling of his actors.” “The script is well structured with praiseworthy attention to characters. Dialogue and characters are very natural.” “The film captures the essence and vagaries of high school life and gives a taste of what may happen 12 – 14 years later. The screenplay captures the spirit and fun of the senior year as well as the uncertainty and fears that are up ahead in college." looks promising. ...

so some lizard in australia has switched , before our very eyes, from laying eggs to bearing live young. big big news. meanwhile, the neighborhood dogs seem to have lost their turd-burying instincts and leave their business in our yard for all to enjoy. yeah, darwin with a hand trowel.

I read about an Eskimo hunter who asked the local missionary priest, 'If I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell?' 'No,' said the priest, 'not if you did not know.' 'Then why,' asked the Eskimo earnestly, 'did you tell me?' - Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, 1974 via

(lyrics NSFW)

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photo by francis quina photo by adam david first there was adam david's better living through xeroxography event at ilyong's in cubao. the place was packed with literary-slash-artistic types, with indie komiks represented by michael david, the QBCCC crew, head honchos ria lu and martin jimenez of komikasi, ron tan, hub pacheco, silent sanctum manga, gerilya komiks, paolo sorne and myself. as a "small small press expo" it was a big success, with people buying stuff and crowding tables well into the night. but i think the true strength of the event, and from what i hear adam will be building on this in the future, is its potential as a confluence point for different self-publishers. already that night there were people exchanging production and marketing tips, suppliers, etc. and i think there might be talks and whatnot next time. networking and cross-pollination ftw. photo by michael david about halfway though the event, cherry and i snuck out and dropped b...

rocket kapre 's paolo chikiamco sat down with budjette tan and kajo baldisimo to discuss their recent national book awards win , trese fandom, and what it would take for them to quit their dayjobs and make comics full-time: Do you remember when it was that you first realized that you had a hit on your hands? That this was going to go beyond the convention circuit? BUDJETTE:   I’m not sure of the exact tipping point of Trese. I was getting an inkling of it when I would spot the occasional review online. (Yes, yes, I Google “Trese” once in awhile.) It amazed me that people took the time to write reviews that read like someone’s thesis report. These were very detailed and passionate reviews about the stories. It was also great to get feedback from guys like Gerry Alanguilan and Marco Dimaano about the book early on. And then, when we released TRESE: MURDER ON BALETE DRIVE, me and Kajo were invited guests at the Mangaholix Con in SMX, where we sold 100+ copies. By that time, we k...

there is going to be an indie komiks bazaar at UP this saturday afternoon, featuring: Joanah Calingo Alejandro Edoria Macoy Silent Sanctum Manga Kickbackers Meganon Comics, Wall Push Productions Akda comics group Inkwork Sorcery Studio click to enlarge and here's a map to the venue: click to enlarge

the kids went to a children's party yesterday, ang brought home at least one inappropriate toy: and some ironic candy.

on taal volcano monster vs. evil space paru-paro: At a modest twenty pages, Taal Volcano Monster isn't so much a story as an extended gag strip. A   Mothra   stand-in shows-up for no good reason other than that's what happens in the movies. And the requisite knock-down drag-out battle takes place. Both monsters are drawn to look like cuddly plush toys, while the humans are mostly just tiny stick figures. Mass destruction rarely looked so cute. on school run #1:   They may be kids, but if the comic follows the formula, the cast will get whittled down to just a few of the more resourceful and stronger characters... The first issue isn't particularly graphic by the genre's standards, although the possibility of baby-faced munchkins dying horribly one by one might disturb some readers... The departure from the usual horror movie casting is what's intriguing about the comic. So as perverse as this sounds, I'll be disappointed if no blood is spilled in the...

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Sputoniku No Koibito!!! Comics Signing Adam David + Carljoe Javier + Josel Nicolas 27 November 2010, Saturday 9 pm @ SPUTNIK Manix Abrera + JP Cuison + Dennis Nierra Comics Signing Friday, December 3 8:00pm - 11:00pm   BETTER LIVING THROUGH XEROXOGRAPHY * A VERY SMALL SMALL PRESS EXPO * Friday, December 3 at 7:00pm - 3:00am Ilyong's , Kalantiaw, Cubao books! komix! zines! shirts! other stuffs! 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! Gerilya Komix Krew! Kuliti!   Michael David + Rommel Estanislao Comics Signing Saturday, December 11 9:00pm - 2:00am next day *there is probably going to be a komiks bazaar at UP on december 4. will update this post as things get finalized.

poster i made for adam david 's celebration of DIY art. the maps were drawn by adam himself. from what i understand the event is going to be a party-slash-christmas sale "very small small press expo" . there will be indie comics, books, zines, poetry chapbooks, postcards, shirts, bags and all kinds of stuff made by some very talented folk. i will be there with josel nicolas, mervin malonzo, dj legaspi, apol sta. maria, michael david and anyone else who enjoys free beer and druken karaoke. if you have nothing better to do after you get your manix abrera autograph on december 3, do drop by. you can have my free beer, i'm allergic. facebook event page

true story.

colleen doran makes her case against comics piracy : Here’s hoping the next step in combating the lack of respect for copyright includes an initiative to instill some respect for the people who create content. Real human beings live behind that work . meanwhile, steve lieber enters the belly of the beast and finds the experience rewarding : I just participated in a genuinely fascinating discussion, and I think it’s old dog, new tricks time . so who's right? i think both of them are. digital piracy isn't a black-and-white issue, and we really are living in unprecedented times where the rules are being rewritten and new rules are made up as we go along. while i applaud efforts like those described in doran's article seeking to keep adsense profits out of pirates' hands, i also agree with lieber that free is here to stay and we need to deal with that fact as well. here in the philippines, the kind of comics literacy we have that helped give rise to and suppor...

andrew villar posted this video of some new and returning characters set to appear in the new batibot show debuting this month on TV 5, including the replacements for kuya bodjie and ate shena: my initial reaction is, "way too perky". but then again this hyperstimulated post-blues clues generation might prefer it that way. we'll see.

from left to right: manix and jess abrera, the artist raymond and his sister jona, michael david and myself. check out more of raymond logronio's sweet vector toons at his istikitoons facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Istikitoons/230791854091

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and will be available at comic odyssey galleria soon!

...if they'd had one of these. via

1.) stanley chi and the front act crew were at last month's PICCA fest doing their thing that they do, which means i can now claim to have officially been on TV... for like three seconds (beware crappy vid quality): the PICCA bit starts at 4:36, and i make my appearance at around 6:42. there's also a second part with more komikon bites at 6:24 and 12:00, but i'm not in it so w/e. 2.) game! magazine's october issue also acknowledged that i exist... ...in the most economical way possible. 3.) astig TV did a series of interviews featuring us sulyap komiks people, but the video's not embeddable so you'll have to go here to see how awkward and weird and fidgety i am in person. 4.) finally and most recently, poc.net's paolo chikiamco caught the tail-end of our panel interview at komikon last weekend, and posted some video to accompany his excellent komikon asessment . EDIT: the latest issue of wow! pinas magazine did a feature on ko...

vanity fair excerpts bill carter's book the war for late night : Finally, Glaser looked across the room to where Conan was sitting and asked him, “What do you want to do?” His chest muscles were so constricted, Conan wondered briefly if he might be having a heart attack. “What I want to do,” he said, haltingly, his voice rough and raw, “is something that all of you are going to tell me I can’t do.” He had their full attention now, all eyes pinned to him. “I want to write a statement that says exactly how I feel about it. You guys are going to tell me that I’m giving up all my leverage if I’m supposed to go to another network or something, but I can’t wait. I don’t want to play games here.” He described how much the show meant to him, the legacy of Carson, the offers he had passed up to get this chance, and how losing it would be crushing—and unfair. Because they were never really given a chance. The words came freely; he composed them on the spot. But they flowed, synta...

remember james frey, that a million little pieces novelist who duped oprah? he's set up full fathom five, a "fiction factory" composed of young writers trying to create the next twilight . what could possibly be wrong with that? well... a number of things. nymag.com has the dirt. Frey emphasized that this was collaboration—not my own project—and that he needed writers who will listen to him. He gave as an example a King Arthur adaptation he was working on with another writer. That author had listened to his criticism and rewritten it in a different voice; because the author was receptive, Frey was positive the book would sell, and big. Another project, a Gossip Girl–like series he had worked on with two writers employed at Star magazine, he said had gone south. The writers hadn’t made his requested character changes, so Frey had recently fired them. He reintroduced the idea that he was modeling his company on Damien Hirst’s art factory, a warehouse in which a report...