Kalayaan 9 in Comic Odyssey

Kalayaan 9 is now available at Comic Odyssey. I just finished delivering a few copies at their branch in Robinsons Galleria. They will be distributing copies to their other branches in Manila and Eastwood these following day.

All back issues of Kalayaan are still available (issue 1 to 8) at their stores.

Arbitrary detention

The Vigilante in me just suddenly kicked in after reading this. -> Arbitrary detention and extortion by officers of Police Station Number 3 in Barangay Talipapa, Novaliches, Quezon City.

I just can't imagine that people could be this evil. We should know our rights and the law. If this had happened to my mother, I will make sure that those good for nothing scum bag pay on what they have done.

Kalayaan 10 Cover

Here is the rough pencil of the cover of Kalayaan #10

On this issue, Manila Man and his mentor Apog will have a special appearance. Thank you very much to Rhiver Quilantang for letting me use his characters.

I do not want my comics to be sold out

That is right, you read it right. I really do not want my comics to be sold out during any comics event. It is a little bit weird hearing those words at first. And being sold out is a very flattering feeling because it means that many people loved your comics.

But to me, being sold-out means lost in sales, and lost also in opportunity. Because (for example) instead of having a total sales of 75 pieces. You only sold 50 pieces of comics because you only printed and brought along 50 pieces. Sayang yung 15 or more pieces na benta.

One thing that I do not like is that a buyer would come to my table and ask an issue that is already sold out. It is obviously a lost in sales. Kahit sumobra naman ang dala mo at hindi ito naubos sa isang event. That is just okay because you can still sell it on another comics event. Specially now that there are multiple comics convention and related events happening in a year. You can also consign it to a comic book store such as Sputnik or Comic Odyssey after the event. So there is no wasted copies. So if you brought along 100 copies(for example) and you sold 75 there are still 25 copies that you could deliver and consign to these stores.

You must also know how to asses your sales. If you are a first timer, it is very much okay to be sold out. But always remember the number of copies that you have sold on the first day so you have an idea of how many copies that you must bring along on the next event. You also do not want to over produce your inventory. The second time you sell a comics to an event, you do not want to bring along 200 copies but you only sold 10 copies in the previous event. You should know how to asses your sales. Average it and add a little more from the average quantity just in case.

It is also a lost in opportunity if you got sold out, because you could never tell that the one that you said "sorry po, sold out na ang comics ko eh", is a publisher scouting for a new comics to be publish. A company just like Forex DKM, my publisher in U.S. (Forex first saw my work during Komikon of 2008 in U.P. )

We must try to take full advantage of these comics related events that is happening only a few times a year. Dati kasi ay wala nito, pasalamat tayo sa mga organizers nito na pilit binubuhay ang industria. So as a comics creator, we must not waste these opportunity to showcase our stuff and make the most of it. Samantalahin na natin ito habang meron. Strike the iron while it is hot, ika nga.

Being sold out is something to be proud about. But I am much happier if I come home from an event that I still have a few extra copies on my bag. And I am proud to say that ever since that I started selling comics in Komikon 2007, unit now. Hindi pa ako na so-sold out. :-)

More Komikon Pictures

The Bayan Knights gang was one of the spotlight of this years Summer Komikon event. We came to the stage and talked about the short history of the group. Why we bonded together and what was the benefits of the individual creators on joining Bayan Knights.

During the event, I also gave away these mini-poster (A4 size) to those who bought a set of my comics and some to those that have been a loyal buyers.

See you again on the next event. Hopefully that will be on August 21 and 22 Metro Comicon 2010 Megatradehall SM Megamall.

Summer Komikon

I was seatmate with macoy on this years Summer Komikon. His comics was selling like crazy. Left and right, people are buying all of his comics. Congrats macoy, I am so happy for you.

I got many comics on this year Summer Komikon. One of which is the compiled Digmaan Salinlahi - unang aklat by Jon Zamar which I am reading right here.

John Lapus attended this years summer komikon and bought not 1, not 2 but 9 issue of Kalayaan comics(all of them). This just made my day at the event unforgettable. Thanks to macoy for taking this picture.

Thank you very much to those who bought my comics. I hope that you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy making them.

Komikon is tomorrow

Every thing is ready to go for tomorrows Komikon event. I am very much excited to get a copy of Bayan Knights #4. I hope many people would come on tomorrows event so that many indie creator would have many sales on their comics.

The event will start at 10am, but I plan to be there on or before 9am to have a good position on the indie tiange table. There will be also an air time dedicated for Bayan Knights, where we will be going up on stage to talk. I am still a little bit reluctant on participating with this because I am still not that comfortable talking to a huge group of people.

I hope that I could sell a lot of comics, because I want to buy a lot of comics. So bring your friends, relatives, love ones or even hated ones.. hehehe

See you all there guys.

----

Thank you very much to Danny Barrameda for featuring me and the latest of Kalayaan comics to his blog graffista.blogspot.com He also featured many indie titles there that is also going to be sold tomorrow.

Ifugao Bike

Walang sinabi ang OCC dito.

Ready for Summer Komikon 2010

I will have a table on the Indie Tiange section of the Summer Komikon in UP Diliman Bahay ng Alumni in April 17,2010 (this Saturday). I will be selling Kalayaan #9, the latest issue. All back issues (Issue 1 to 8) will also be available on my table.

Thank you very much and see you all there.
-Gio Paredes
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click here to view the floor plan of the event.

Here are also the new comics that will be available during the event. The layout is courtesy of Jon Zamar.

(Just click the image to enlarge)

Do you want to be taller?

Then prepare your $11,000 or 495,000 Philippine Peso. This doctor will cut/saw both the tibia and the fibula bones below the knee (as seen in the picture above). He will put braces on them and you will not be able to stand up for about 4 months while it heals up. After those months of rehabilitation, you will be able to stand up and do some small (snail) steps. Add one more year to that and then you can walk normally. Running and jumping on the other hand will take a bit more longer(depending on how healthy the patient is). All of that trouble for about an additional 2 to 4 inches to your height.

This seams scary, financially illogical and a crazy thing to do for the average person. To endure the pain for many many months of discomfort. But if you are born short and specially those who are rich. This is a very tempting thing to do.

There is a psychological side of this. People who are short, always feel very inferior to others. They could not pursue a romantic endeavor to those that are taller than they are. Others could not find the confidence in their daily life because they are short. And while as a child, those short people have to endure the pain of being ridicule and teased at by other children. Some of the doctors patient even told him that he was already thinking about suicide.

If you are going to ask me about this. I would say that I have to consider many things. For one, I have to explain(or lie) to my employer about this. That I cannot go to our office for a year. While my employer have been very considerate of me a few years ago, allowing be to work at home. I just do not want to push my luck with them.

While working a wheel chair on my comics for many months seams a good idea for a while. But then again, I am not being paid (or getting any money) that much from creating comics. My day job is still the bread and butter of my family.

The Fear Factor

I just do not like the idea of a guy (doctor or not) cutting my legs off. Even though that he performed the procedure thousands of times. There is the possibility that something might go wrong. And that is the risk that I do not want to take for my families sake. If something happens to me, it will have a great impact to my wife and kids.

Desire

Ever since I was in elementary, I wanted to be tall. Just like any other young boy in my age , I wanted to be a basket ball start or a WWE wrestler. But with my height, that seams to be impossible. I stand at only 5'3", and would you believe me if I say that I am the tallest among my brother and sisters (which are all older than me)? I am even taller than my parents.

15 to 20 years ago(while I was still single and in college) , if I have won the lottery and this Chinese doctor came to me. I would immediately gone with the procedure. But right now, I have to say no. The few inches is not worth the money and the many months of discomfort, plus the risk to me and my family.

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for more info:
Chinese doctor pioneers height surgery in Shanghai

Palito passed away at 76

He is one of the most popular comedian in the Philippines during the 80's. My favorite movie of him was Ram-buto (No Blood) and James Bone. A spoof of Rambo (First Blood) and James Bond. The younger generation today might not know him now. But people who grew up in the 80's like me could easily relate when I say that he is one of the most distinctive comedian of his time. He has his own style and uses it very effectively.

Maraming salamat po Mang Palito sa mga katatawan na naibinigay ninyo po sa amin.

Other links :
Philippine Entertainment Portal - Palito
Yahoo Philippines - Palito

Bigating Episode

I just finished watching an episode of Probe Profiles. In this episode, they have featured Kevin Yue, my favorite contestant of the biggest looser asia. His story is such an inspiration, from 473 pounds, he is now only 277 (as of this writing).

Introduction



Kevin Yue Part 2 of 4



Kevin Yue Part 3 of 4

'We apologize to those looking for parts 1 and 4, we have unpublished these parts of the profile due to a copyright agreement with the Hallmark Channel.' - Team ProbeTV

Happy Birthday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my cute na cute bunso Catherine. Pasensya na anak at baka matatagalan pa akong makabili ng PSP. :-(

Happy B-Day also to Myke Guisinga. A dear friend and a member of Bayan Knight. He is the creator of Claw. Kalayaan and Claw serves in the same division (Power House Division). Which makes his character very tempting for me to guess in my comics. The problem is that I just could not think of a good story that may connect the two of them. Masyado kasing masungit and character ni Myke. If I am going to compare, It is a little bit hard to make a story between Superman and Wolverine. There is not much in common.

Never the less, he has a one very intriguing character. Just watch the video below.

Make your own sentence

(Click Image to enlarge)

KFC VS Jollibee mascot showdown

Where is Jholeebird when we need him. Macoy, nasaan na sya... hehehe.

Condolence

Lope P. Calalang
September 25,1931 - April 3,2010

Condolence to the Calalang family. Lope Calalang is actually the father of Rhea Yvette Calalang or 'Tetet' as I call her. Tetet is actually the person that I based my character Rhea Calalang (the geneticist) which created project Kalayaan. Tetet and I were classmate on most of our elementary years. Her mom also happens to be our elementary English teacher. Being a teacher as her mom, you could already imagine that she is a very intelligent person. She was actually the perfect reference for my character in my comics. Beautiful, very smart and very Cranky. Well actually she was nice to everybody except for me. She is always angry at me, but with good reasons. Because I always tease her in every chance I get, hehehe. I will tell you why in a moment.

We have lost contact when I transferred to another school after graduation from elementary. But in recent months, through the power of technology and Facebook. We have been re-acquainted. I was actually looking for her. To tell her that I have used her name for a fictional character in my comics. She was actually delighted when she found out. She even teased me that I used her name because she said that I had a big crush on her when we were kids. HAAAAAhhhhh, yeah right.... ubo ubo ubo.. actually, she is dead on accurate. Remember when I told you that I used to tease her every chance I get? Well ..... because that is my way for her to notice me (KSP for short). Come on guys, I was only 9 or 10 years old back then. Give me a break here okay. :D Besides, she is drop dead gorgeous and (without any exaggeration) an Ana Roses look alike back then.

I was very surprised yesterday when I saw the news of her father passed away.

I went to Loyola Chapel in Guadalupe last night to give respect to her Dad. It was relatively near to our office so I decided to go there. Too bad Tetet was not yet there when I arrived. But it was good to see her mom, my old elementary teacher. Her mom has very good memory because even with her old age, she still remembers me. I have really felt the sadness of their entire family. I could not help my self on thinking if I was in their position. That is why I thank GOD in every chance I get for the health of my father. There are times that I worry about him.

Metro Comicon 2010

Fourth Day

Today is the very productive day for me. I have finished two pages, penciled, inked, lettered and I even added some tones. All of that with my sanity intact.

Only two more pages left. Now I am very confident that I will make it on April 17 deadline. See you all at Komikon.

Third Day

Dear Diary,

Nakaka buang pala ang ganito. Wala kang makausap dito sa bahay kundi lapis at papel lang. Now I know what Ed Tadeo feels like when he was still single. Being cooked up in a condo unit, nothing to do but draw and eat. Ang hirap pa neto eh ikaw ang mag luluto ng pagkain mo. Buti na lang at merong Jollibee dyan sa may kanto. Kumain ako kaninang tanghali sa Jollibee kaysa sa lugawan na lagi kong kinakainan. Dinala ko kasi yung tinatapos kong page sa Jollibee. Pagkatapos kong kumain, habang nag papahinga ay pinag patuloy ko ang page 23. Sa awa naman ng Dios ay natapos ko na rin.... haaaaaaa.... four pages na langggg lalarga na.

Para maiwasan ang tuluyan kong pagka baliw, baka pumunta ako kina Erwin (Ropa) bukas. Malapit lang naman sila dito sa amin. Baka dun ko na lang pag papatuloy ang mga pending pages ko.

Second Day

It is my second day of solitude. It has been a busy day for me.

I have edited many pages of Issue 9. Thanks to my proof readers/editors Rhiver and Mark Rosario for helping me with it.

I have also printed many Kalayaan #9 covers. I figured that as early as today I would print some, because I really do not want to be on intense pressure of printing so many in a short period of time. Besides, I also wanted to test my canon printer once in a while. I do not want it's ink to clog up because on non use.

And lastly, I have finished page 22 of issue #9. Penciled, Inked and Lettered. I have even send a copy of the lettered page 22 to my proof reader for editing. Twenty two pages down and five (5) more to go.

First Day

Today is the first day of the month. First of all, be careful every one to those pranksters out there with this April fools day thing. :D

Second I would like to say happy birthday to Gilbert Monsanto. The fearsome leader of Bayan Knights. Happy Birthday Sarge, mag pa burger ka naman next time na pag kikita natin. :D

It is also my first day of solitude in our house. My wife and kids went to my in laws and will be spending the entire week there. I am home alone, eat you heart out Macaulay Culkin. Ever since I was a kid growing up. I have been a loner. I am very much comfortable with it because I could think more clearly and I just simply like the peace of mind once in a while. Speaking of peace of mind. Because of no distraction here at the house. I have just finished page 21 of Kalayaan #9. Complete pencil and ink. Only 6 more pages to go.

And as a preview of Kalayaan 9. Here is page 20 which is a little interesting because I have added the character of a fellow indie comics creator. Macoy's Jholeebird had a cameo apperance in the first and last panel. I hope you likes it Macoy :D