Waking up Saturday morning and seeing the sun shine all my worries about the day disappeared. Normally, I’m a worrier, but I just let it go. Whatever happens will happen. If it rains, whatever, I’ll just sing. lalala. It did drizzle a bit, but thankfully it was short and in the end, I think we all had a really nice time!

Organizers Jonas Diego and Johnny Danganan organize the chairs.

Komiks Illustrator Jun Lofamia and his illustration.

The Great Manix Abrera’s fans arrived first!

Comic Odyssey

Alexis Ravana, winner of the art contest, Young Adults category.

My mom at the art exhibit.

Ner Pedrina, Rommel Estanislao, Freely Abrigo

Mel Casipit, Jon Zamar, Sherry Zamar, Ariel Atienza

Gio Paredes and the just released Kalayaan TPB!

Komiks Veterans Jun Lofamia and Danny Acuña were mobbed!

Jun Lofamia

Danny Acuña sketches.

Arhitect and Komiks Illustrator Marivi Hilos-Nepomuceno and special guest Pol Medina

My parents.

Marvel superstar artist Carlo Pagulayan and Marivi

With Pol Medina, Kajo Baldisimo and Carlo judging the art contest.

Acoustic music from local San Pablo talents Walk Me Home.

With much thanks to the Ultimart Shopping Plaza and the San Pablo Chapter of the United Architects of the Philippines for their generous support of the event!

Thanks also to Comic Odyssey, Fun House (Ultimart), Expressions (Ultimart), and Electro Magnetic Tentacle for their generous donations!

Link coverage as they come.

Click for Super Large Image

YES! The 3rd San Pablo City Comics Festival is finally happening. You may recall the first festival happened in 2003 at the Mariño Residence along Sampalok Lake. The second one in 2009 at Lion’s Club, also along Sampalok Lake.

This year, we’re changing venues once again, emphasizing another San Pablo landmark, the Ultimart Shopping Center. Long time residents of San Pablo cherish Ultimart as their very own mall. Recent renovations make it one of the best places for residents to hang out with its new pleasant design, excellent restaurants and shops.

The San Pablo City Comics Festival is presented by KOMIKERO Publishing and JONASDIEGO.COM in cooperation with the KOMIKERO Artist Group and the Graphic Literature Guild (GLG) of UPLB. Well,I guess I’m more of a figurehead than anything else. It’s Jonas Diego and his group that’s doing most of the legwork in the organization of this event, with me helping out in bits here and there. This festival is made possible by the incredible generosity and support of Ultimart itself, and the United Architects of the Philippines, San Pablo Chapter.

Special Guests include Pugad Baboy creator Pol Medina, and Kikomachine creator Manix Abrera.

For more information on this event including activities, contests, maps on how to get there, please head on over the official festival site below:

The 3rd San Pablo Comics Festival Website
http://sanpablocomicsfestival.blogspot.com/

Facebook Event Page. Click if you’re going! Thanks!
http://www.facebook.com/events/301393093220449/

National Book Store will be sending copies of ELMER 2nd Edition, and it will be sold at the Komikero Publishing table.

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Stalwarts of local comics hold 3rd Comics Festival in Laguna
http://ph.news.yahoo.com/blogs/geekspeak/stalwarts-local-comics-hold-3rd-comics-festival-laguna-155442489.html

At the fifth floor of Fully Booked. The place was, well… FULLY BOOKED!

Marvel and DC artist Harvey Tolibao working on a monster Psylocke drawing using only a ballpoint pen! His piece raised 30,000 pesos!

Comics retail chain store Comic Odyssey owner Sandy Sansolis and Marvel superstar Leinil Francis Yu.

The ELMER illustration I drew at the event. It raised 13,000 pesos at auction!

IDW artist Mark Torres draws up some Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

Marvel artist Edgar Tadeo draws up a Thor!

Marvel artist Stephen Segovia!

Dynamite artist Heubert Khan Michael!

Marvel artist Mico Suayan!

Legendary artist Tony De Zuniga!

With host RJ Ledesma!

Signing copies of Superior.

Harvey and his completed illustration. WOW!

I went to the event thinking it’s going to be a little fun event where I’ll get to meet and hang out with friends… it turns out to be much more fun than I expected, and surprisingly, also kind of a big deal as there was an incredibly huge turnout, and our collective artworks raised as much as 125 thousand pesos for the UN World Food Program. I thought that was incredible.

Check out these articles for more coverage of the event:

Red Dot Diva Coverage
Yo! MC: The NextJam! Coverage
The Web Journal of John Ray Coverage
Toysrevil Coverage
Flipgeeks Picture Coverage

Here’s a particularly nice video made by Marvene Rom Munda.

vinyl+SPLASH Event (AVP) from Marvene Rom Munda on Vimeo.

With my wife Ilyn enjoying some quiet time outside the venue before we went home.

It’s a huge HUGE Weekend for comics in the Philippines! There will be a three day comics festival dubbed PICCAFEST or the Philippine International Cartoons, Comics and Animation Festival from November 25-27! This is their THIRD annual Festival in a row!

PICCA’s Mission:

“To act as a watershed international forum in the Philippines for cartoons, comics and animation.

To promote goodwill and knowledge exchange between comics creators and animators in Asia, the U.S.A and Europe.

To make the Filipino youth aware and proud of the Filipino’s strong tradition in comics arts and animation.

To promote global recognition of the Filipino ability in the sphere if comics creation and animation and effect enhancement of and regain the competitive edge of the Filipinos in this particular art and intellectual property creation.”

PICCA Official Page
PICCA Facebook Page

Also on November 26 is the VINYL+SPLASH: The Ultimate Collectible and Comic Convention from Fully Booked, Red Nimbus, Vinyl on Vinyl, and Comic Odyssey

This will be held on Saturday, November 26, 2011 at TopShelf, Fifth Floor of Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street

Info at Fully Booked Website
Facebook Events Page

The crowd at Komikon yesterday, right on top of this post, just to give you an idea of how crazy it was. I was taken quite by surprise by the sheer amount of people who showed up. Having gone to this thing for years, I have a fair idea of the amount of people who visit. The mornings are usually rather calm, with things picking up after lunch. But the crowd this time around was intense. From the moment the doors opened in the morning up until the event closed at 7pm, it was this crowded. I saw a lot of new faces, which is great!

Click for larger image.

That photo above represents the stash I got from Komikon. And to think I barely had time to leave my table and go around and buy stuff. These are the only things I managed to get, but this is by no means the entire output of the convention. From the looks of it, I probably got only less than 10% of new komiks being offered on the floor. I wish I could have gotten more, but that’s how it goes, I guess. It may seem like I’m complaining that I can’t break out of my table for long periods of time, but I’m really not. It was great so many came over to buy Elmer and Bold Star and my other stuff for sale, including some original artwork. It was great meeting everyone who came. I just wish I had more opportunity to go and buy stuff. After all, I’m still very much a fan myself.

The Tintin stuff over there are gifts from French journalist Laurent Melikian, who visited the Philippines specifically to attend Komikon. Isn’t that amazing?

With Laurent.

Laurent also brought with him the Prix Asie ACBD 2011 Trophy from my French publisher Editions Ca Et La.

Here are more photos from the event.

The calm before the storm.

The line outside.

Tepai Pascual.

Doc Carlo Jose San Juan taking a break from his medical duties to sell his comic book… about a doctor and a talking duck?

Law Student Teddy Pavon cramming for a test before selling the print version of his webcomic Work in Progress.

Johnny Danganan sells comic books that features Johnny Balbona, a character I created based on him.

Melvin and Joanah Tinio Calingo

Komiks veterans Jun Lofamia and Bert Lopez

Komiks veteran Rico Rival

Yes, I brought my work seat to the con. Got a problem with that? :D

Storm and Beast!

With Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah creator Carlo Vergara

On stage with Komikon organizer/host Sherry Baet Zamar

Hey, Baby! With Ariel Atienza, Tony De Zuniga and Lyndon Gregorio

Heubert Khan Michael, Wilson Tortosa and Edgar Tadeo

With Leinil Francis Yu and Edgar.

GMA 7 Video Coverage:

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

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KOMIKON Coverage Links

Blog Coverage from The Comics Cube
Blog Coverage from NSW Online
Blog Coverage from Inside a Cat’s Mind
Plain Random Blog Coverage
Ika-Siyam Blog Coverage
Carina’s Words Blog Coverage
Mel Casipit’s Blog Coverage
NonSensical Words Blog Coverage Part 1
Nonsensical Words Blog Coverage Part 2 (Photos!)
JB Casacop Blog Coverage
Work in Progress Blog Coverage
Teardrop’s Photo Coverage

So much new KOMIKS coming out at Komikon. Here is but a sampling of Macoy’s site. If anyone out there still thinks Komiks are dead in the Philippines, then they’re just plain STUPID.

Although I’m still promoting Elmer and selling Bold Stars, I do have new stuff coming out. And it’s crazy. It’s the return of Johnny Balbona!

Johnny will be making an appearance in Komikero Komiks Anthology #8, to be sold at Jonas Diego’s table. Oh yeah, here’s a map of the venue itself so you can much more easily find us.

Click for Larger Image

Here’s Ariel Atienza and Lyndon Gregorio, two of the Komikon organizers in a radio appearance yesterday, promoting the event.

Video by Mark Cerbo

As I mentioned, the amount of komiks coming out is INSANE. I wish to buy them all, but of course, I wouldn’t be able to. If I don’t buy your comic book, it’s nothing personal. Keep in mind that there’s only so much I can buy and there are specific things that I really wish to get. I’m really looking forward to Edgar Tadeo’s Jacara Zar, Gio Paredes’ Kalayaan Volume 1 TPB, Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo’s Trese Book 4, Gilbert Monsanto’s new stuff…. and so many more.

I wish I have a bit of time to go around. Since I don’t have a new release, I think I can afford to wander the venue a bit. Yes, I’m really excited for today! See you all there!

More info on Komikon (What, where, when): http://komikon.org

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Hopefully, the comments are working now. If not, you can always leave comments at my Facebook Page here.

Click for Larger Image

Thanks to Komikon for making me a guest this year. That probably means I’ll get to do stuff at the event. I don’t know what that is yet, but I’m ready for anything. National Book Store is a co-presentor this year, and since they published ELMER 2nd Edition, copies can be bought at their booth, which shouldn’t be too far from my table. For my part, I’ll be selling “Where Bold Stars Go To Die”, although admittedly, I only have a few copies left. I’ll be letting go a few original pages from Superior and Ultimate Avengers for a vastly reduced Komikon-only price, for those who have been wanting to buy original comic book art but couldn’t afford to.

I’ll be scampering like mad to finish my short Johnny Balbona story in the next few days which will go into the newest issue of Komikero Komiks Anthology. This is the craziest Johnny Balbona has ever been, and I can’t wait to unleash him. This anthology will be sold at Jonas Diego’s table.

For those who wish to go, the Komikon is going to be held at the Bayanihan Center in Pasig. I really like this venue because it feels like a tiny San Diego Convention Center. It’s large, it’s cool, far easier to access than previous venues, and best of all the comfort rooms are CLEAN. As in utterly CLEAN. Yep, nothing’s too good for my ass.

Click here for instructions how to get there.

I wanted to share this video I came up with back in 2006. A lot has changed since then, but I wanted to present it as is in an effort to remain objective. I wish I could update it and include the numerous other creators I’ve unintentionally left out and all those new creators who have come in since then, but it may take a far longer song than this one to get them all in. Nevertheless, this video still evokes some very strong emotions in me whenever I see it.

Yes, whatever quirks and warts and controversies and dramas Philippine komiks may have, I still just love it to death. See you at Komikon!

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Yes, comments are disabled on this site for now because the commenting system is broken. Damn you, WordPress. In the meantime, you can leave comments at my Facebook page here.

Being featured on “Wish Ko Lang” has given Bert a new lease on life where he was given three sets of new eyeglasses, new clothes, new bed and cabinet, groceries, and more importantly a large supply of art materials which he can use to create artwork once again. Wish Ko Lang also organized an exhibit of his works where he got reunited with his old work mates.

Unfortunately, Wish Ko Lang couldn’t track Bert’s family down no matter how much they tried. As Bert himself said, “Mahirap hanapin ang nagtatago.” You can watch the two part program in the videos below (In Tagalog).

Part 1

Part 2

Randy Valiente has said he will be bringing Bert Lopez to the upcoming Komikon 2011 on November 19 at the Bayanihan Center. Bert will be bringing his artworks there to sell. It would be nice if we could help out and buy his artworks, or even if to just drop by his table to say hi. I think he would appreciate it very much.

The next big Komiks event of the year, GTMACCON 2011 comes this Saturday, October 22 at SM San Lazaro. Tickets are available at Comic Odyssey branches. This event is unique in that it’s the very first komiks convention that features a cosplay event that would feature only creator owned, Filipino indie made komiks characters!

Mel Casipit for GTMACCON

Cosplay Meets Indie Comics Characters!
(Interview with Kit Perez, event organizer)
http://www.manilatimes.net/index.php/sunday-times/the-sunday-times-magazines/9345-cosplay-meets-indie-comic-characters

GTMACCON 2011 Filipino indie comic book characters cosplay competition entries include:

Ramil Antonio Ibay’s MASO

Gener Pedriña’s NARRA

Freely Abrigo’s KAPITAN TOG

Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo’s TRESE

Gio Paredes’s KALAYAAN

Carlo Jose San Juan’s CALLOUS

Matt Jabanette’s KAPAYAPAAN

Mel Casipit’s PRINCE ERIC

Paul Michael Ignacio’s BOY IPIS

Jeff Benz’ JUNIOR

Click for Larger Image

The biggest komiks event of the year, The Komikon 2011, or the 7th Annual Philippine Comics Convention is next month, November 19, 2011 at the Bayanihan Center in Pasig. I’ll be on hand the entire day selling Elmer (2nd Edition), Where Bold Stars Go To Die, Umlauts and Atom Bombs #1, Komikero Anthology featuring the return of Johnny Balbona!, and get rid of a few comics in my collection.

Special Guests this year including komiks legend and Jonah Hex creator Tony De Zuniga, Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah creator Carlo Vergara, and myself. But we’re not the only ones going to be there of course! You can count on the presence of guys like Pol Medina (Pugad Baboy), Manix Abrera (Kikomachine), Budjette Tan (Trese), Gilbert Monsanto (Bayan Knights) and that whole bunch of independent komiks creators including veterans like Jun Lofamia and Danny Acuña, as well as an entire contingent of International Filipino comics creators like Carlo Pagulayan, Harvey Tolibao, Steven Segovia, Edgar Tadeo, Mico Suayan and many others!

More info about this event, and how to get there through this website.