Manix Abrera
Danny Acuña
Gerry Alanguilan
Kajo Baldisimo
Jomar Bulda
Dennis Crisostomo
Edwin David
Rod Espinosa
Jann Galino
Ernest Jocson
Jun Lofamia
Heubert Khan Michael
Gilbert Monsanto
Ruben Nacion
Elbert Or
Ariel Padilla
Carlo Pagulayan
Ernie Patricio
Michael Jason Paz
Jay David Ramos
Rico Rival
Clem Rivera
Stephen Segovia
Mico Suayan
Edgar Tadeo
Mark Torres
Randy Valiente
Carlo Vergara
Leinil Francis Yu

For descriptions for each artist: http://bit.ly/cUCkhl

Also, there will be people cosplaying Jim Lee, James Jean and Whilce Portacio! Oh yeah!

Outside of the guest list will be many more other artists who will be attending and selling their stuff including Hazel Manzano, Josel Nicolas, Rommel Estanislao, Andrew Villar, Ronald Tan, Macoy, and many many more.

While Elmer is basically a book about talking chickens, SLG Publisher Dan Vado says it should not be dismissed as funny animal book. “This is not about talking chickens the way Babe was about talking pigs” Vado observed “Elmer has more in common with Animal Farm than any talking dog movie.”

Creator Gerry Alanguilan has worked in comics for some time on various work-for-hire projects from major publishers, but when casting around for ideas for his own project he looked no further than his own front window ” I’ve always been surrounded by chickens. I find them fascinating and I often found myself wondering what if… what if they could think like us and talk like us?” said Alanguilan “What would they say? What would they do? It was a ridiculous notion, but I tried to approach it very seriously and see what I would come up with.”

Self-publishing the series in The Philippines, Alanguilan’s comic attracted attention internationally for its mirror-like look at the world we live in. Neil Gaiman called it “heartbreaking and funny and so beautifully drawn.”

The SLG Publishing edition of Elmer will contain all of the same material from the self-published version which saw limited distribution outside of the Philippines. Scheduled for a November 2010 release, Elmer will be a 144 page black and white graphic novel priced at $12.95 and will be available at better comics and book shops, from Amazon.com as well as from the publisher’s own website.

The first chapter of the book is available as a free download from the SLG Publishing website (www.slgcomic.com).

via SLG Publishing

I for one will be there for the entire day of Saturday only. I wish I could stay for both days, but I can’t stay away from the drawing table for so long.

I really don’t have anything new to sell though, but I will be bringing more copies of “Umlauts and Atom Bombs” as well as “Where Bold Stars Go To Die“. I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I will no longer be able to bring copies of ELMER as all my copies are gone. There are still a few hundred copies with my distributor, who will hopefully release it to the bookstores soon enough.

Speaking of ELMER, if you are a comic book retailer, you might want to order the SLG edition of the book in the upcoming issue of PREVIEWS, which I hear will make Elmer a Featured Item. Woo hoo!

At Metro Comic Con, I will also be hosting a veteran’s panel from 5-6 in the evening featuring many of our Filipino komiks veterans. This should be fun. I’ve been talking to a lot of them in the previous years and I welcome this opportunity to allow them to share their stories.

Here is the full schedule of activities for the convention:

DAY 1 – August 21, Saturday

10:00 Gates open

12:00-1:00pm – Band Performance – WETT DOGG

1:00pm-2:00pm – Game Developer’s Association Panel

Get an in-depth scoop on the Video Gaming industry in the Philippines, and find out more about how involved Pinoy Talents are in the development and production of your favorite games!

2:00pm-3:00pm – Kartunista Panel (moderated by EJ Howard)

Meet, greet, and listen to the talented men and women behind your favorite cartoon strips HAZEL MANZANO (Callwork), LYNDON GREGORIO (Beerkada), FREELY ABRIGO (Kulas), ANDREW VILLAR (Ambush) and MANIX ABRERA (Kiko Machine) as they talk about things such as their creative processes, latest releases, and more!

3:00pm-4:00pm – Band Performance – MARRY ME AMY

4:00pm-5:00pm – Marvel Panel (moderated by RJLedesma)

Celebrity and self-confessed comic-book enthusiast RJ LEDESMA interviews Fan-Favorite Pinoy Marvel Artists on stage!

5:00pm-6:00pm – Veterans Panel (moderated by Gerry Alanguilan)

World –renowned Komikero, Gerry Alanguilan, helps us gather facts about the rise and fall of local komiks industry through the eyes of the people who had seen every moment of komiks happen: our legendary veteran komiks artists! Don’t miss this segment and learn about the possible future of komiks!

6:00pm-8:00pm – Lifetime Achievement Awarding Ceremonies

Witness history unfold as Metro Comic-Con exalts 3 of the Philippine Komiks Industry’s unto the Hall of Fame, with the first MCC Lifetime Achievement Awards!

DAY 2 – August 22, Sunday

10:00 am Gates Open

12:00-1:00pm – Band Performance –FROM ETERNITY

1:00pm-2:00pm – Film Showing – SUPERMAN : DOOMSDAY

Witness how the World’s Greatest Super-hero faced his Doomsday, brought to us by Magnavision Inc. and DC@75!

2:00pm-3:00pm – Creativoices Feature
Meet the talented people that give voices to your well-loved Asianovelas and Anime shows! Join them on stage as they showcase their talents and throw in very familiar voices!

3:00pm-4:00pm – Band Performance –FLUSH AND THE TOILETS

4:00pm-6:00pm – Cosplay Competition (Intermission by Cloud 9)
Who would you wanna be for a day? Dress up and join the Cosplay Competition made possible by Cosplay.ph! And watch out for the intermission treat from fast-rising all-female group CLOUD 9!

7:00pm-8:00pm – Awarding of Contest Winners
The best of the best from each of our cool contests get rewarded for their awesomeness!

8:00-onwards – Band Performance (Rap Performances)- KIDY’ALL /X’O ICY

When this image appeared on Facebook, I was immediately impressed by the audacity of it. I thought, holy crap, is that what I think it is? Right between the eyes? Insane, these people. It reminded me of Alex Niño, who drew genitalia in his illustrations which few people noticed because they were so awed by the awesomeness of the entire thing.

It’s an 80 page quarterly anthology which launches at Komikon in November. And they’re calling out for submissions! All dealings, pitches and submissions will be done through their Facebook Page.

From the cover alone, I have a feeling that they would be looking for material that would really push it, in all sorts of directions. And I’m interested to read what they come up with, come November!

That cover is by Mervin Malonzo, creator of the beautifully drawn Tabi Po online strip. Check that out. I think Mervin is one of the most talented young Filipino comics creators I’ve seen. Seeing his work makes me feel ecstatic for the future of Philippine comics.

Last July 10, 2010, I was invited to attend the freshmen initiation at the St. Paul University in Manila. The theme of their initiation was “Pinoy Komiks”, and I had been invited to give a talk on the history and the state of the Philippine comics industry.

I did not hesitate to agree because more and more I try and grab the opportunity to talk about Philippine comics to those who may not be completely aware of its history, its significance to Filipino culture, and the state of the industry now.

I was glad that the organizers of the freshman initiation at St. Paul this year decided on “Pinoy Komiks”. This speaks to me of how much komiks is still very much ingrained into our culture, whether komiks is around or not.

The theme was reflected through costumes the freshmen were be required to wear.

What I wasn’t prepared for was that the freshmen of the Nursing Department paraded in costumes based on characters that I had created. There was a group that dressed up as chickens, like on Elmer. There was a group that dressed like Apolaki Warriors in Timawa. There was a group that dressed like the characters in Humanis Rex! There were several Johnny Balbonas and an Eric (from Wasted). There were several Lastikmen (I wrote Lastikman for Mango in 2004). Even those comics that haven’t been published yet like The Marvelous Adventures of the Amazing Doctor Rizal, and the Adventures of Miko and Jec-jec were well represented.

For the first time perhaps in San Pablo City history, someone actually dressed up as the statue of the woman carrying a bilao located at Doña Leonila Park in San Pablo (as she is drawn in a Miko and Jec-jec illustration).

I was so surprised that for a long time I didn’t know how to react. I absolutely had no idea that they were going to do this, and I have to admit that it touched me deeply. I found myself shedding tears, no matter how hard I tried to fight it back. It had been so unexpected. I came in there with no expectations other than to give a talk on comics. What I saw was more than I could have imagined.

I wish to thank Michelle Sto. Tomas and all of those in the Nursing Department who gave life to my characters. I wish to thank all the students and teachers and administrators of St. Paul who organized the event as a love letter to Philippine comics.

Thanks to Jan Philippe Carpio for recommending me to the organizers in the first place. Hope to meet you soon, buddy!

For the rest of the photo gallery, click on the slideshow below:

And of course, here’s the inevitable video!

Once again, thanks to St. Paul University, Manila! That was truly a memorable day for me.

For some reason, this video really took off online, and came to the point that it was even being shown on regular TV. I was invited to one morning show on ANC and although I knew they were inviting me about the video, they were curious enough about my background to allow me to speak about something near and dear to my heart, which is Philippine Comics!

Thanks to TJ, Ron, Gigi, Ginger and everyone at ANC who gave me this opportunity.

This website is basically a regularly updated journal of the things I want to write about Philippine comics including the work I do, and all the other stuff I do aside from that. For more info about who I am and what I do, click on the links above, specially “Who Am I?”.

Clicking on “Portfolio” will bring you to my gallery of artwork, which I have done for various companies, be it inking, drawing, coloring or writing.

Clicking on “Museum” will bring you to the Philippine Comics Art Museum Online, a large library of Philippine komiks art from the 1950′s to the 1970′s. It’s not as updated as often as I would like, but as long as I have time, I’ll keep updating it.

Clicking on “Interviews” and “Reviews” will bring you to published articles, whether they be in print or online, about the work I do.

Clicking on “FAQ” will bring you to a list of questions I get asked frequently (which I answer).

If you want to read my comics, I have some free comics online. You can read WASTED entirely here.

The first 30 pages of ELMER can be downloaded in PDF form here.

“Last Meow” can be read here.

Many of my stories can also be read for free online here.

Of course, some of you may know me from the videos I do. I have almost 400 videos uploaded at You Tube, which you can see at my channel here. Once there, click on “Fun!” for the crazy videos I make. I also do serious videos, cooking videos, documentaries, interviews, etc.

I’ve been writing this journal since 1997, and you can read the archives (extending back to 1998) somewhere in the links in the left column.

If you like, you can add me up on Facebook or on Twitter.

Feel free to come visit again, and thank you!

One such event was held in the Philippines a few years ago attended by my friends Jonas Diego, Jamie Bautista, Jac Ting Lim, etc. Now in 2010, Jonas Diego is organizing another such event. Are you up to the challenge? Can you do it? HAH! Let’s see!

For more info on this event, go here:

The Philippine 24 Hour Comic Book Challenge
http://24.jonasdiego.com/

If you have any questions, please go directly to the site linked above. The site should answer any inquiry you may have.

The Philippine 24 Hour Comic Book Challenge is part of the warm up activities of the upcoming 2nd Philippine International Cartoons, Comics and Animation (PICCA) Festival to be held in the country in October.

The 24 Hour Comic book Challange is not a new thing. The first 24 hour comic book was originated and completed by Scott McCloud on August 31, 1990 and it’s been knocking around the comics industry ever since. In fact, it is now an annual International event. This year, it’s actually scheduled for October 2. We in the Philippines are doing it on July 17 because well, we’re CRAZY!

More info below:

The 24 Hour Comics Day
http://www.24hourcomicsday.com/
The 24 Hour Comic in Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24-hour_comic

ELMER will be released both in North America and Europe from two different publishers at the end of 2010.

SLG Publishing (formely Slave Labor Graphics) will be publishing ELMER in North America and other English speaking territories of the world in November 2010.

SLG currently offers the first 30 pages of ELMER for free via downloadable PDF File.

Official SLG Publishing Site
SLG Publishing Facebook Page

Editions Çà Et Là will be publishing a French language edition of ELMER in France and other French speaking territories of the world, also at the end of 2010.

Official Editions Çà Et Là Website
Editions Çà Et Là Facebook Page

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“Where Bold Stars Go To Die” written by me and illustrated by Arlan Esmeña will be adapted as an independent film by Lem Garcellano, fresh from directing “Tin-tin, 15″. We’re at the early stages of production, currently adapting the story into a Tagalog screenplay. More on this soon!

Where Bold Stars Go To Die Info

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Now that’s out of the way, I gotta admit, I just kinda shat in my pants. Holy shit 2010! Where have you been all my life??

And yeah, check out the June 2010 issue of Playboy Philippines, which may well be considered the GEEK issue for all the geekiness that permeates it. It’s so geeky you start to sort of wonder what are all these nude women doing cluttering up this magazine?

Aside from my interview, which was conducted by Mikhail Lecaros, there’s interviews with a bunch of other Filipino comic book creators like Danny Acuña, Gilbert Monsanto, Jon Zamar, Gener Pedrina, Jonas Diego and Boboy Yonzon conducted by Robin C. Rivero, featuring artwork by myself, Edgar Tadeo, Nestor Redondo, Clem Rivera and Gilbert Monsanto.

There’s an 8 page comics story “The Love Eaters” by Andrew Drilon.

Cartoon character Marge Simpson gets naked!

There’s an article on “Making New Mythologies” by Regina Layug-Rosero, which came with images of Darth Vader, Thor, Buffy, Hellboy, and Iron Man.

There’s an article called “2010: The Best Year in Gaming?”, a 6-page article on computer games!

There’s another article which features sci-fi cars such as Kitt from Knight Rider, the DeLorean in Back to the Future, the Ecto-1 from Ghostbusters, the Batmoble (from the TV series), The Black Beauty from the Green Hornet and Bumblebee from the Transformers movie.

Oh yeah, movie reviews of the A-Team and The Karate Kid.

And if that weren’t enough, there’s also a Twenty Questions interview with Neil Gaiman!

This is what happens! This is what happens when we let these damn fool kids run amuck! What next? Comic book creators doing porn movies? Oh yeah! Come to think of it, OH NO!