More Komikon Pictures

Me with Myles... one of the youngest member of Bayan Knights.

Me with Mark Rosario from the city of Dagupan. At longs last, I have finally meet with this guy in person.

Back view of the indie boys.. Me, Ian Along, Wan and Heubert.

Heubert Khan Michael of Unstoppable, Paul Michael Ignacio of Boy Ipis, Juan Paolo Malinao Mañanita of Morion, Ian Walter Along of Grads Tayo and Giovanni M. Paredes of Kalayaan. Naks napaka pormal. :D

Special thanks to Azrael of taking this picture. I was so busy selling my comics at this part of the day. People was just coming from all over the place. Sometimes I felt like I was not entertaining other people while I was busy signing my comics that another person was buying.

Very busy selling comics..

Kalayaan V.S. Bernardo Karpio

Aside from my comics, I also have sold a few mini-poster at the last Komikon. One of them is this piece. It was just about I think 2pm that I was already sold out of these mini-poster. I only printed a few of them because I was thinking that they will not sell. Boy am I wrong.

Komikon 2008 lotsa pictures

Okey, I think it is now safe to say that all the dust had now settled from the recently concluded 4th Annual Komikon. Medyo matino na ang pag iisip ko ngayon. Makakapag sulat na ako ng matino tino. :D

Isang taon kong inantay ang event na ito kaya gabi palang ay talagang pinag aayos ko na ang mga gamit ko. An average of 20 to 25 copies of each Kalayaan issue ang dinala ko. Together with this tarpaulin and a punch of artwork that I have printed on an A4 photo paper that is taped on a plastic cover that I bought in national book store.

I arrived at UP Bahay ng Alumni at exactly 8:40am. A little bit early than the other exhibitor. Levy had text me as early as 6am in the morning. Akala ko maaga sya, yun pala eh nauuna pa ako sa kanya. Maaga lang pala sya mag text. :D

(From left to right) Babaeng kasama namin sa indie table na hindi ko natanong ang pangalan, Heubert Khan Michael ... the creator of Unstoppable, yours truly ... just getting started, and some dude I totally have no idea who he is... nag tatanong lang yata kung nasaan ang C.R.

That is Ian Along on my right... ako naman very busy (walang pake sa mundo) sa pag sketch sa Art Jam namin. Sayang at walang malaki laking velum paper. The sketch jam was the idea of Heubert, and it turn out pretty nice. Sayang at di nakasali ang iba. You can check the image of the sketch jam HERE.

That is Wan creator of Morion,Ian Along again, Mike Ignacio the creator of Boy Ipis and Me (wala paring pakiaalam). Natatawa ako kasi si Mike may tinta sa table namin at sa table sa likod namin. Kapag may bibili ng comics nya sa table namin. Tatawagin namin sya "Hoy... Boy Ipis may bibili ng comics mo". Noong bandang hapon na at medyo pagod na kami. Pag may bibili ng comic nya ang sigaw na namin ay iba na.. "Hoy ... ipis bili comics mo" ... hehehe.

But seriously, I really admire Mike for his perseverance to sell his comics. Bihira lang kasi ang taong ganun. He is very much dedicated to comics and his character. Just to give you an example, he even name Boy Ipis alter ego with his real name. Mike Ignacio rin talaga ang alter ego name ni Boy Ipis. Talagang kinarir. :D

This is the new Gwapings 2008 edition. (L to R) Heubert, Mike, Wan, Ian Along, Me and RedG Vicente creator of Mananabas. Si Wan nakapoint ng one. :D

Noong bandang umaga pa lang mga 9am to 11am ay onti pa lang ang tao. But on the afternoon it was a total chaos. I could not leave my table, sayang kasi kung may bumili at wala ako. That is why just like last year as sad as it may seams. Hindi ako nakapag ikot uli. :-( Sana naman kasi dalawang araw sana ang event na ito. But I have promised to my self next year would be different. Mag alot talaga ako ng time para makalibot. Mga 15 mins siguro, orasan ko sarili ko.

Oh eto pa, isang katutak na tao... sige lang dagsa lang ng dagsa.. the more , the merrier. The more victims... este more customer pala, the better.

I bought a copy of Unstoppable #1 of Heubert. Ibang klase rin ang racket ng taong to. Kada bibili ng comics nya, may libreng sketch. Nag pa sketch tuloy ako ng Unstoppable at Kalayaan sa kanya. Siguro kung ginaya ko ito, namamaga na ang kanang kamay ko. Eh almost 50 times ba naman ako mag sketch. Magiging mas malaki ang kanang kamay ko sa kanan kaysa kaliwa.

This are the indie boys... Konting trivia lang po. Alam nyo ba na napalibutan ako ng mga kaliwete? Heubert, Ian and Wan are all left handed. Hindi ko sure is Boy Ipis. And also, Ed Tadeo is left handed. Theoretically, left handed people are very good artist since left handed means right brain hemisphere dominant. The right brain hemisphere handle the creation and imaginary while the left hemisphere handles the mathematics and logic.

One BIG happy Bayan Knight Family. This is the post-Komikon dinner-clebration of sorts at Shakey's Katipunan.

Komikon Aftershock

Komikon 2008 was exhausting but very much worth it. Just like the previous Komikon. I did not had any chance to roam around because I have to man my post and sell my comics as much as I can. I have sold more comics this time than last year. From my inventory today, I have calculated that I have sold a little bit more than a 50 copies of Kalayaan (Issue 1 to 5). Last year, if I am not mistaken, I have sold a little bit more than 30 copies (Issue 1 and 2) . I only hope that the momentum of my sales would continue up to next years event.

Thats me with the two legendary comic artist. I was lucky enough that I came in early at the event that I got the chance to take a picture with them. Thanks again to Omi for taking this picture.

Manila man and his creator Rhiver. Rhiver is one of the most creative person that I know. Aside from being a good artist, he also comes up with this awesome and some times crazy concept. Just to give you an example, after Komikon we had a little dinner celebration at Shakeys. While there, I saw one of his intriguing character and asked what is his name. He said "His name is Birthday Boy, a villain that I created for Manila Man". I replied "Why Birthday Boy?", "Because he always kill a person on his Birthday."...... See what I mean.. :-)

Making the Time

This post was submitted by Chris Eliopoulos.

(CLICK HERE TO READ THE ORIGINAL POST)

There’s a difference between an amateur and a professional. The amateur works when the mood strikes. The professional works.

I often hear people tell me they want to do a strip or write a comic or mow the lawn — really — when they get the chance.

Liars.

There is always a chance. There is always time. The only thing getting in the way is you. I’ve heard every excuse under the sun why you can’t get things done: I have classes, I have work, I’m extremely busy getting inspiration on the Internet. It’s all BS.

I’ll let you in on my life. I am happily married with two 9-year-old boys. Every morning, my wife goes to work early and it’s up to me to get breakfast for the kids, make their beds, make sure they get dressed and have their teeth brushed before I drive them to school. Then at 4p.m., my wife picks up the kids. We work with them on their homework (which sometimes takes 2 hours). We make them dinner, get them showered and ready for bed by 9 p.m. If you’ve ever had kids, you know the stress it is chasing after them to get everything done.

I also have a couple of jobs. Maybe even 3 or 4. I letter comic books. Lots of them. On average I do about 8 or so books a month. I also own a company where 4 guys letter books under my direction. I check their work, help with titles, work on styles, work with editors on giving them what they want, designing new fonts and trafficking lots of titles. It’s more than a fulltime job.

I also write and draw a quarterly comic book. I write it, pencil it, ink it and letter it. I used to color it, but it just took up too much time—I had to give it up kicking and screaming. So, that’s 100-pages-a -year of that. Also, this past year I wrote 4 issues of another comic title. Again, that is what some writers’ fulltime job for three months would be.

So, as you can see, I’m really busy. I work nights, weekends, holidays—all the time. So why add a daily strip into the mix when there is no guarantee of money, reward, or even modest recognition?

I have to.

I don’t just want to write this strip, I have to do it. And I’ve made the time to do it. And so can you. But what does that really mean?

Instead of playing Grand Theft Auto, put down the controller and pick up the pencil. Can’t miss the latest episode of Family Guy? Get a lapboard and draw while watching. If you really want to do this — if you need to do this — then do it. No excuses. A body at rest will stay at rest until acted upon.

Act upon that dream of doing a webcomic and keep the momentum.

(CLICK HERE TO READ THE ORIGINAL POST)

Kalayaan in California

Here is another one of my crazy but good friend Arnold Montes that now lives in Sacramento, California wearing my Kalayaan T-Shirt.

Makakarating din ako dyan pare balang araw, magkikita rin tayo.. Hehehe :D

Getting ready for Komikon 2008

This beautiful 6x2 feet Tarpaulin was provided by the very generous Omi Remalante. I owe this guy big time since he is also the one who colored the cover of Kalayaan #5.

I love you pare... hehehehe.

Ohhhh my Police.

I am already busy working on the pages of Kalayaan #6. And in this issue there were a few Police scene. So I decided to search for a Philippine Police picture reference. I was very surprise when I came across this picture.

Sana lahat ng pulis ganito na lang ang itsura. :D

Komikon 2008

Only 8 days before Komikon
Ready or not here it comes.

Fan Art by Erico

This awesome work was done by Erico Calimlim. A very promising artist if you ask me. He has the passion and willingness to learn. I was very impressed by him on how fast he improves on his skills. I only hopes that his momentum would continue all the way.

This one is colored by Santy Panes. Also a fellow Bayan Knights member who's original character is Bagwis. I have not yet meet him personally since he lives in Olongapo. But I can say he is a nice guy since we often chat with each other.

Sleep at work

Are you feeling sleepy in office? These stick-on eyes will make you seem alert while you take a nap at your desk! Not sure where to get them, maybe you can print some eyes from the net and stick it with tapes. He he

Bayan Knights collectible cards

Aside from Bayan Knights #1 comics, we will also be selling these Bayan Knights collectible cards. These are not yet the final product, Gener Pedrina said that these are just samples. He said tha he still has to fix some few minor stuff. And I am still not sure of what is the price of each card is going to cost. I will just post more info. here in my next post.

Final cover pramis :D

Eto na talaga ang cover ng comics namin .... pramis... :D

I think that this white background is much better than the previous black background. It gives emphasis more on the characters. It is much pleasing to the eyes and at the same time the characters are much easier to look at because of the neat white background.

There is also a plan to use this as a fuge back draft tarpaulin for the Bayan Knights booth at this coming Komikon and sign it by all of the Bayan Knights creators. Now, that is something I really want to see.

Kalayaan T-Shirt in Texas

I was surprise this morning when my old classmate (Neil) from college that now lives in Lubbuck Texas sent me this picture. It's him (Neil) wearing my Kalayaan T-Shirt. Well..., I was kind of expecting this. But never the less, I was still surprise and very happy at the same time.

Me and Rommel (another one of my classmate that now lives in New York), had a chat a few weeks ago. He said that he asked his cousin that is about to go to New York this last week of October. To buy a 3 Kalayaan T-Shirt and bring it along with him when he goes to New York. He plans to send one (through Fedex) to Neil in Texas, the other one to Arnold (one of our classmate too) in Sacramento, California and the last one for him self in New York. (Sometimes I get the feeling that I am the only one left here in the Philippines from our batch.)

Rommel said in his own words... "Kalayaan is going to invade U.S. this November". :-)

I am very very much thankful for these people for their support for what ever I am doing. Even though, I very much know that they are not comics people. They still try their very best to relate with me. Even if sometimes, I feel very awkward talking to them regarding my Kalayaan comics. They still find ways to make me feel and tell me that they are proud and happy for me on what I am doing. Because of our friendship, they are very much happy to support me in what ever they know possible. With that, from the bottom of my heart, I say Thanks Guys.

Bayan Knights Cover

Is this awesome or is this awesome? I was expecting a little bit lighter background (perhaps a dark gray? :D) but never the less, it is one cool cool cover. This project is getting to be exiting by the day. And getting a little bit intense too. With only 20 days before Komikon 2008.

Vorgon : Sanlahi Villain

Vorgon : Sanlahi Villain Card.
This one is requested by my good friend "The Council"

Just click the image to Enlarge it.