Konting tulog na lang

Just a few more weeks before this event. I already filled up the entry form for the cosplay competition, with David Delano D'Angelo cosplaying my character KALAYAAN. This event will be covered by Hero TV so I'm very much happy with all the exposure of my character and comics. Hopefully, I could sell many copies of my comics on this event.

I'm also busy LETTERING the pages of Kalayaan #12. I'm doing it in every small free time I could get. I'm also happy with the few pages that I received from Erwin Ropa. Yup, he is back again to help me with the penciling and inking job of the pages. And I tell you, those pages that he just emailed me recently is just amazing. I will be posting some of them soon.

Gender Bender

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September 25,2011 - Manila Bulletin. Kalayaan and Trese guest star in Ambush comic strip. An alternate earth where men are women and women are men. Many thanks to Andrew Villar for this.

A comics fan

I have been self publishing my own comics since June of 2007. And until now, I am still not comfortable to call a comics reader that likes my comic 'my fans'. I'm still looking for a word substitute for it. One particular person that would fall in this category is J.A. Gatula (AKA Originalnameless in D.A.) . I am very happy that person would make a fan art of KALAYAAN, but this guy did not make one, not two but FIVE (5) fan art, and two of them even has colors. I am so happy that more people like him are popping up out of nowhere. :D

Kalayaan VS. Dino (Son of Zuma)

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Kalayaan VS. Captain Marvel

An angry hero on the Sky.

Floating Pinoy Superhero

A mock-up Kalayaan cover.

In his latest message, he was thanking me because I was giving an attention to a humble fan like him. Little that he know, it is the other way around. Comics creator like me is very much happy every time a comics reader took notice of us. With ...that let me just end this post with a BIG THANK YOU to all people that had been noticing my work. :-)

Vote in Komikon 2011

Hello guys, I have just been nominated in this years Komikon on the category GRASSROOT AWARD and the BEST COMICS CREATOR. I would really appreciate it if you could vote for me. The instruction for voting on-line CAN BE FOUND HERE. Voting period start today September 15 to October 15,2011. Thank you very much in advance and good luck to all the nominees.

GMP Project: Final

At long last, I finally finished this.

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Andy Whitfield just passed away

Andy Whitfield (Lead star of the hit TV series Spartacus) just passed away. I am so saddened with this news today. You can read the entire story HERE.

Kalayaan #0 is now ready

These are the copies of Kalayaan #0 that I have already made. This will be available on October 22 at the GTMACCon event in SM San Lazaro. I will sell this all B/W version for ONLY P10 a copy. Yes, that's right, I'm sticking with the P10 a copy that I have previously said in this blog. So there is no more excuses like "Wala na po akong pera" this time around. I think it is pretty much safe to say that almost everybody (and I mean everybody, including beggars and the most poorest of the poor) has a P10 on their pocket right now. So this comics is very much affordable even to those money conscious people out there.

Aside from this, I am still looking for ways to print a 1,000 copies with a full colored cover with b/w internal pages. The only thing that's been stopping me to do so, is gathering the funds. If thing goes well, once it is printed. I will sell that colored version around P20. Even twice the selling price of the b/w version, it is still very much affordable.

Komikon Awards

I have just been nominated in two categories of the Komikon Award this year. Best Comic Book Creator and the Grassroot Award category. The level of competition this year is very high. As always, I just keep my expectation very low. Thank you very much to the people who have just nominated me this year (who ever you are).

Best Comic Creator/Creators
- Budjette Tan & Kajo Baldissimo (Trese)
- Point Zero Comics (Kanto Inc, Digmaang Salinlahi, Kubori Kikiam, Pasig, Ibangis,
Cresci Prophecies, Codename: Bathala)
- Mervin Ignacio & Ian Sta. Maria (Skyworld)
- Freely Abrigo (Kapitan Tog)
- Gio Paredes (Kalayaan)
- Gilbert Monsanto (Bayan Knights, Boy Ipis, Tropa, Rambol)
- Ace Vitangcol & Jed Siroy (Love is in the Bag)
- Gener Pedrina (Sanduguan, Bato)
- Apol Sta. Maria (Alamat ng Panget and many other)
- Paolo Fabregas (Filipino Heroes League)




Grassroots Awards
- Macoy Tang (Ang Mascot, School Run, Taal Monster vs Alien Paru Paro, Operasyon)
- RH Quilantang (Goodbye Rubbit, Insomnior, Manila Man, Porkypine Rood)
- The Quarterly Bathroom Companion Comics Compendium (The QBCCC)
by Various
- Tepai Pascual (Maktan 1521, Mark)
- Omeng Estanislao (Love Story, Anak ng Tupang Itim, Hero, Lipad, Ondoy)
- Apol Sta. Maria (Alamat ng Panget)
- Gio Paredes (Kalayaan)
- Kai Castillo (Patintero)
- Mel Casipit (Baboy, MLU, Mukat)
- Erico Rollan Calimlim (Pag-Asa)
- Melvin Calingo (Pasig, Kanto Inc.)
- Joanah Tinio Calingo (Cresci Prophecies, Kanto Inc., Curtains for Hire)
- Silent Sanctum Manga by Various
- WIP Comics by Hub Pacheco & Teddy Pavon
- Kapitan Tog by Freely Abrigo
- Ninja Bear vs Robokat by Jonty Cruz & Javey Villones
- PUNXX by JP Cuison
- Ice Cream Indie by Kristone Bayoneta & Emil Dela Cruz
- Drop Dead Dangerous by Chad Cabrera & Mike Banting
- Wan Mananita (Ang Morion, Unos Mundos)
- Zombies in Manila by Kevin Justin Ang


Click the link below to view the complete list
http://www.facebook.com/groups/89009073692/doc/10150280192348693/

Comics Biz - Money Problem

I just want to tackle something that has been bugging me for many years now every time I talk to a younger people than me that wants to create their own comics. Most of them have the talents and perseverance to do so. But there is this thing that always holding them back. And that is MONEY. When I ask them why don't they do their own comics. They would simply say "Wala po kasi akong Pera". Pero ang tanong? Sino nga ba ang may pera sa atin? Eh wala rin naman ako. I have a family with 3 kids to support, many bills that must be paid and yet I had produced 11 issues of comics.

While it is simply true that you need money to print your own comics, you really do not need that much. I want to bust this Myth that you need a ton of money to create your indie comics. You do not necessarily have to go all out producing thousands and thousands of copies on your first comics. I highly recommend that you start small. So that if your gonna fail, you will fail small. Not that your hoping that your gonna fail, but just being realistic that your comics is not going to sell. Specially since this is your first comics and people still do not know you or your character. You could simply print only 100 copies, or even only 50 copies of photocopied indie comics.

Let us compute for the cost of your indie comics. By applying on what we have learned on how to create your own indie. With an average 20 pages (24 if you include the covers) of your comics. You could photocopy your own comics with a 6 pages A4 size back to back (without the Pin-up). With a cost of P1.5 per side (mahal na ito ha, pero maganda ang quality[sa UP]), both side will cost you P3. Multiply that with 6 A4 size pages and you will get P18 per comics (which you can sell for P40 or P45).

With P18 cost per comics, you will be spending only P900 for 50 copies. And if you still do not have P900 to spend (which I dought), you can only photo copy 30 copies which will only cost you P540. By spending P900 for your cost of comics, you could turn that into P2,000 for a selling price of P40 each (assuming you sell all of your 50 copies). And with this money, you could fund your next printing again. And you can roll that money as time goes.

Of course, I overly simplified this. Because you will still have other expenses such as transportation, food, electric bill etc... But if you have the Will, there is a Way. Sa tagalog, kung talagang gusto, may paraan, kung ayaw, maraming dahilan.

In this world, we need to be street smart and gutsy sometimes to get what we want in life. Wag sana tayong umasa masyado sa ibang tao to help us. If opportunity does not come our way, we should make our own opportunity. We must learn how to stand on our own two feet.

Let us get back to the topic of money problem in comics biz. Here is the BIG question ... do you have P900 or P540 to spare? Only you can answer that.