Now comes the next phase for the Filipino Readers' Choice Awards (FRCA) and that is the period to cast our votes. The top 3 entries for each category then moves on to the third phase in which a panel evaluates it and picks out the winner for each category.
Vote and support your favorite work, artist, and writer for this year's FRCA. The voting is up until September 6, 2013. The online ballot can be seen by clicking the link below.
I just happen to stumble upon this Reader's Choice Awards while browsing thru the diferent facebook accounts of some of my favorite comic artists, writers, and their works.
The Filipino Readers' Choice Awards (FRCA) is said to be on its 2nd year of honoring Philippine published titles. It also encourages Filipinos to bring back our reading habits. The contest goes thru different phases wherein Phase 1 is the nomination period that runs from August 9-23, 2013. Phase 2 will be the period wherein the public gets to vote upon the entries that made it from nomination period. This will occur during August 24, 2013 up to September 6, 2013. Phase 3, in which I think they might have placed a wrong number since on the website it goes directly to Phase 4, nevertheless is the period wherein a panel will judge the entries that were shortlisted by the votes gathered from the public in the previous phase. This will occur during September 7, 2013 up to October 8, 2013. The awarding of the winners will then occur on November 9, 2013.
The winners for the previous FRCA last year were:
Children's Picture Book: "But That Won't Wake Me Up!" by Annie and Anelka Lumbao and Liza Flores, Adarna House
Chick Lit: "Fairy Tale Fail" by Mina V. Esguerra, Summit Books
Novel In English: "Illustrado" by Miguel Syjuco, Anvil Publishing
Novel in Filipino: "Ang Huling Dalagang Bukid at ang Authobiography na Mali" by Jun Cruz-Reyes, Anvil Publishing
"Never enough time. It's never enough time. Was there enough time?" - Joe Fitzgerald
The previous issue ended with Joe Fitzgerald's new assignment which focuses on Debbie's sister that had gone missing after her involvement with a cult named Divine Will. It involved a guy Joe had thought was dead, because he himself killed him. This very same guy was also involved into causing the death of Laura, Joe's wife.
This current issue continues the story with Joe looking up into Divine Will himself and discovering that the current case he is working on might be connected to Laura's death. There are some scenes in which the reader would be reminded of the movie Constantine. This is due to Joe's usage of gold bullets in order to kill a demon, wherein this was also evident in the said movie. In this issue, Joe once again dies thus giving him his five minutes with Laura before he is brought back to life. This is due to a deal he had with an angel just moments after he and Laura died. The angel said that he could have five minutes with Laura every time he dies due to a righteous cause only if he would approve to be brought back to life and be their tool. This second issue of Ten Grand concluded with the story getting more intense as the stability of the gates of heaven are tested. Questions regarding as to where Laura's current location is even raised. It was questioned if she really is in heaven or she is just made to believe she is in it.
The art continues to be astounding and some of the funny and misproprotioned body parts of a normal human being that I noticed in the previous issue was no longer included here. The collaboration of Straczynski and Templesmith in creating Ten Grand was awesome. They continue to give light to the grey areas that we know regarding angels and demons. This series is one you should not miss out reading.
"Love is the only thing worth dying for. I should know. I've done it plenty of times." - Joe Fitzgerald
Story and Illustration by: Jez and Richard Arguilla
Kama Komiks
(3/5 ★★★☆☆)
This is one of the comics that I had bought at the Indieket 2013. It is one of those random comics that I often buy from an artist, writer, or a group whose works I had not seen before. It was the art of a chicken and its title which caught my attention while browsing the event catalog. that eventually lead me into buying this comic.
The story is about Lagro, who is a pigeon that looks like a chicken, that decides to go solo and leave the comfort of his friends who always makes jokes about his physical features. He also did this in order to prove to himself and to others that he can survive on his own without the help of his friends. He was a stubborn pigeon that learns in the end that to be able to live in this world there would always be moments wherein you'll be needing somebody's help. It just proves the moral of the saying, "No man is an island" or in this case an animal.
I would say that this is one good comic. This could be great in teaching values to little kids. The art definitely expresses that. The art, even though it is simple had a very expressive drawing on the characters that had done a lot in helping the story telling process. The only downside with this comic was that there were a lot of grammatical errors, which might have not been noticed right away by the creators. There were also a lot of typographical errors that can be found such as wrong spellings or repetition of words.
In general this would have been a great comic, if only those errors were avoided. The text contents of this comic should have been checked thoroughly before finalizing in making copies of it to be distributed.
More works of the creators of this comic can be seen at:
This is one komikon that I actually was not supposed to be attending. I had set my mind, after I discovered the schedule of this event, that I could only go to the Winter Komikon 2013. This is due to my busy and conflicting schedules at school. Well, I guess I had luck on my side yesterday (August 10, 2013), that's when my class got cancelled, I suddenly got the chance to experience this type of Komikon which is now on its 2nd year.
Indieket 2013, is a Komikon dedicated to the independent comic creators. It showcases the talents of artists and writers that keeps afloat and contributes to the rich stories and art that our comics have. It is a chance to reach out to the people even thru small populations. For they are promising to give us stories that are worth to be read. This is my first time to attend an indieket that was held at the Bayanihan Center, which is the same venue for the yearly Summer and Winter Komikons. This year's indieket is on its second year and it promises to grow in the succeeding years. I have not attended the first one so I cannot compare exactly the changes and growth that Indieket 2013 has from Indieket 2012. However, compared to the usual Komikon, the Indieket only took up half of the big conference room. The crowd was, as far as I was there from 1:30 p.m. up to 3:00 p.m. were fewer compared to the usual Komikon. But this I could say be expected since this event is still starting out and is still on its way on gathering crowds to take a look on the works that are independently published by writers who are still on the start point of trying to attract more people. Well, given those things, there is this cool thing that I got to do due to the event catalog that was given away. It is arranged like a mini book, let say like a comic book format, since before I had attended a Komikon before wherein the event catalog was still made like a newspaper. Now it was arranged like a comic book, however it had a sort of blank cover, so I had thought of an interesting way for me to really remember that event. I used that blank cover and asked some artists that were present, whose works I love, to sketch something on it. It is one cool thing that I brought home with me, along with the comics that I had gotten from that day.
Sketches are done by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD (Callous Comics), KaJo Baldisimo (Trese), Pol Medina (Pugad Baboy), Andoyman (Palimos ng Kulangot), and Ian Sta. Maria (Skyworld)
Well that's mostly it. I'm just going to invite you to attend the next Komikons including the Winter Komikon 2013 that is set on November 16, 2013 at Bayanihan Center, Pasig City.
Here are the things that I got from Indieket 2013:
Lagro: Ang Kalapating Mukhang Manok
Drama
Jez and Richard Arguilla
Kama Komiks
Chained Story
Horror
Reylee & Zovaschi
Pirte Bal Media
Palimos ng Kulangot
Slice of Life
Ronibats / Andoyman
Ronibats
Food Court
Love Story
Andoyman
Andoyman Komiks
Ang Sumpa (Chapter 1 Parts 1 &2)
Detective
Andoyman
Andoyman Komiks
A Historical Comic: Komikwento
Miko Migriño
The Hunting (Chapter 1)
Daniel Collado, Miko Migriño, and Laraine Gazmen
Callous Comics: Chocolate Chip Wishes and Caffeine Dreams
Callous Comics: Take Two Spoonfuls of the Sunny Side!
Callous Comics: The Land of the Guardians
Callous Comics: On Lighter Dreams
Fantasy / Adventure
Carlo Jose San Juan, MD
Feathers and Tar Production
Trese 6 Preview & Stories From The Diabolical
Budjette Tan and KaJo Baldisimo
Sixty Six (Chapter 2)
Russel Molina and Ian Sta. Maria
Pugad Baboy 25
Pol Medina Jr.
Sulyap
Gio Paredes, RH Quilantang, Mel Casipit, Ian Olympia, Rommel J. Estanislao, Tepai Pascual, Josel Nicolas, and Macoy
"A family is held hostage for harboring the target of a murderous syndicate during the Purge, a 12-hour period in which any and all crime is legalized."
A movie that was created by the producer of Paranormal Activity and Sinister. It promises to us viewers thru the success of those two movies and the fright that it gave to us, that we will also have a good time watching this movie, or in this case for us to be always holding unto our breaths and seats. The story introduces us to a new United States of America. It shows us the new and more improved country due to its low incidence of unemployment and crimes. All of this is due to one law that gives rise to the Purge. On this 12-hour period that is held once a year, it allows the citizens to vent out their stored emotions, such as anger and mania. The freedom to commit crimes, such as mugging, rape, and even murder. All of this can be done without any fear of being sanctioned afterwards. This concept is what makes this movie interesting. It shares the same vibe with the movies like Hunger Games and Battle Royal wherein violence is allowed due to a law. The difference among those movies and the Purge lies with the individual having the free will to commit murder without being told by the government to do so. This concept would instantly get the attention of viewers who liked the ideas brought upon by the Hunger Games and Battle Royal. This gives an even more frightening thought. Since, everyone is entitled to participate and not just a couple of individuals who are forced to do so in fear of their lives.
James DeMonaco (both the director and script writer of this movie) had pushed the concept that Battle Royal had. However, given this concept I find the movie disappointing on how the story went. The story in the movie revolved around a family who tries to live out the night of being purged despite of the defenses that they had in their home. I think it failed to give the psychological horror to its viewers, especially those who had watched too many horror and thriller movies. The psychological element could have even been pushed further. It might have given it to the film, if let's say the character centered on an individual rather than a family. Then, that individual could have been trapped somewhere outside his or her home which is fully secured. The story could be of that person's view and on what he or she does in order to survive the night while the streets are scattered with people who are either eager to join the purge or on being acted upon it. It could be a story of the extent that one would do in order to keep safe and still hold his or her principles in not turning into a participant of that yearly event.
In the case of the movie's cinematography, I would say it was nice. It had compensated for the story that I was expecting from this movie. The camera shots, angles and lightning, had proved to be successful in presenting to us the story which had also managed to give some surprising moments.
Overall, the movie was nice. However, I'd say this movie is one that you could simply just watch at home for free on your cable television networks. The cinematography was nice enough to compensate for the light story it had. A heavier story could have been much more successful if the director would continue to develop this movie into a psychological horror movie. Despite this, I think the unexpected twist that happens to one of the major characters which occurs near the end of the movie was a nice one. It's a deviant from the usual ending one would expect if the story revolved around a family. If you're looking for a simple scary story, this movie would be interesting for you, but if you're looking for some new stuffs with a great story, I would say this movie will just be one of those movies to watch if there's not a lot of choices out there.
