Events: Winners of the 2015 Filipino Readers' Choice Awards

The new set of winners for the 2015 Filipino Readers' Choice Awards (FRCA) were announced during the Filipino ReaderCon 2015 at The Verdue, Henry Sy, Sr. Hall, De La Sale University.

These are the winners for the 2015 Filipino Readers' Choice Awards.

Fiction In English

Rising

by Allen Rio (Flipside Publishing)

Fiction in Filipino (or Taglish)

Huwag Mong Sakyan ang Buhawi

by Efren R. Abueg (Ateneo University Press)

Romance In English

The Kitchen When It Sizzles

by Chrissie Peria (self-published)

Romance in Filipino (or Taglish)

Heartless

by jonaxx (Jonah Mae Pacala) (Summit/Sizzle)

Fiction Anthology

Gotita de Dragon

by Nick Joaquin (Anvil Publishing)

Young Adult Fiction

I Remember The Boy 1: Bonifacio

by Sofia (LIB)

Children's Picture Book

Isang Harding Papel

by Augie Rivera / Rommel Joson (Adarna House)

Comics & Graphic Novels

Zombinoy ~ Issue No. 6

by Geonard Yleana, Carlo Cruz, Sid Santos, Dennies Layante (Pelikomiks Studios)

Poetry

Kundiman sa Gitna ng Karimlan

by E. San Juan (UP Press)

Inspirational/Religious

Boring Ba ang Bible Mo: How your Story fits in the Big Story

by Rei Lemuel Crizaldo (OMF Literature)

Humor

Stupid is Forever

by Miriam Defensor Santiago (ABS-CBN Publishing)

Food and Cookbook

My Angkong's Noodles

by Clinton Huang Palanca (Summit)

Nonfiction

Philippine Heritage Homes

by Jamie Laya, et al. (Anvil Publishing)

Congratulations once again to all the winners and for their supporters in winning the 2015 Filipino Readers' Choice Awards.

Comics: Light

Illustration and Story by: Rob Cham

Anino Comics

(5/5 ★★★★★)

The Good:

The illustrations were beautifully drawn and colored. Each page brilliantly lights up at our faces. It succeeds in telling a story without any dialogue needed to be read.

The Bad:

This comic is near to perfection. The only thing it may need is a back story on how the world lost its colors.

The Verdict:

A new contender for publishing a great wordless comic book is here. The amazing colors of Light distinguishes itself from the other comic books.

Rob Cham creates a unique comic book that let's us appreciate the beauty of colors. The adventure into the prism of colors is just so delightful you would just want to always see this art every time the lights went dark.

More of the creator's works can be seen at:

http://www.robcham.me

More of Anino Comics can be seen at:

Facebook Page: "Anino Comics"

http://www.adarna.com.ph

Comics: Ang Roomate Kong Aswang!

Illustration and Story by: Ardie Aquino

Ardie Aquino Comics

(4/5 ★★★★☆)

The Plot:

Suspicious of your roommate because of things that suggests that he could be an aswang? Ang Roomate Kong Aswang gives an insight on those things, including the very crazy ones that could be thought of in order to connect the absurd things happening to an aswang.

The Good:
The illustrations and story are neat to look at. Simple illustrations paired with an entertaining story makes this comic worth your cash.

From time to time references to our local culture were inserted wittingly. The additional pages allotted for the alternate ending was great. The last dialogue shouts as a great kick-ass ending.

The Bad:
The initial impression regarding the illustration of the roommate would be that he might be a werewolf instead of an aswang. It is only when a werewolf-like character was introduced that we got to distinguish how the artist draws his version of an aswang and a werewolf.

The Verdict:
Ang Roomate Kong Aswang, is a very entertaining single shot story. It may look like a ridiculously exaggerated story about discovering a roommate's possible secret identity, however, on a closer look, it just portrays the reality of how we look at others. Our judgement and criticism towards others mostly deals on the superficial aspect of the person. Disregard of the whole personality is often done as we tend to linger more on what we see.

This comic is bound to entertain and surprise comic book enthusiasts as Ardie Aquino gives us a child friendly story despite the fact that mutilated body parts were drawn inside the refrigerator as the cover of this comic book. Maybe the smiling blue head made it more child-friendly.

Events: Christmas 2015 at ComiXology

ComiXology is back once again to give us free gifts before Christmas.

Now on their 4th year, they start off with Marvel's Secret Wars #1.

This free gifts from ComiXology will be available each day until December 20, Sunday. Each comic could be purchased at 12:00 p.m. EST until 11:59 a.m. EST the following day only.

Log in to your account everyday and enjoy your free gifts in time for Christmas.

* Breakdown of Gifts:
Day 1 - Marvel's Secret Wars #1
Day 2 - Archie 2015 #1
Day 3 - IDW's Onyx #1 (of 4)
Day 4 - Dark Horse's Fight Club 2 #1
Day 5 - BOOM! Studio's The Spire #1
Day 6 - Image's Pretty Deadly #1
Day 7 - Swords of Sorrow #1 (of 6)
Day 8 - DC's Gotham Academy #1
Day 9 - Valiant Comic's Bloodshot Reborn #1
Day 10 - Marvel's Darth Vader #1: Director's Cut
Day 11 - Image Comic's Injection #1
Day 12 - DC's Batman & Robin Eternal #1

Book Update: Kare-Kare Komiks by Andrew Drilon Launch Date

After Anino Comics launched two new books last Komikon 2015, they surprised us with one last book launch for this year.

Kare-Kare Komiks, a collection of more than 20 short comics, by Andrew Drilon will be launched at Adarna House's Showroom on December 12 (Saturday) by 4:00 p.m.

Limited copies will be available, so be sure to get a copy right away.

Anthology: Kare-Kare Komiks Platter

Illustration and Story by: Andrew Drilon

Studio Salimbal

(3.85/5 ★★★☆☆)

"seasoned with time, marinated in love and slow-roasted in the fires of hell, this culinary smorgasboard has something for everyone."

The Good:

This is an interesting anthology from Studio Salimbal. Most of the stories gave off the vibe that Image Comics has been offering.

The best story would be The Love Eaters. It is a story about Halik and Yakap, a takaw-puso, and their unending journey to satisfy their hunger. Their love story was cut off when a cunning snake made them attack one another.

The Bad:

The I Had A Dream Last Night, You Were In It story was the least favorite of mine among the collection. I just don't get it, what does sacrificing one's life for hunger has got to do with the title of the story? It just doesn't seem to match correctly.

The Verdict:

Kare-Kare Komiks Platter is a nice meal that Drilon has served to us on the table. The art and story resembles works that are usually seen produced by the U.S. comic book publisher, Image Comics. 

Garnishing it up with a beautiful cover, this was a well cooked dish. I'll be getting second servings on Drilon's next platter. Maybe even a third or a fourth if it continues to surprise and satisfy my cravings of a good comic book.

More of Studio Salimbal can be seen at:

http://www.salimbalcomics.com

* Breakdown of Rating:
★☆☆☆☆ -
★★☆☆☆ - I Had A Dream Last Night, You Were In It
★★★☆☆ - Profound Thoughts For The Depths Of My Soul Which Illuminate Painful Universal Truths About The Human Condition
★★★★☆ - International Portal a.k.a. My Ex; Secret Heart
★★★★★ - The Love Eaters; A Love Story

Magazine: ChopSoy ~ 2015-2016 Arts & Comics Previews

Edited by: Stephen Dee Young

ChopSoy, Inc.

(Cover by Bernard Peña)

ChopSoy made itself known, last Komikon 2015, by launching a 28-pages magazine. It features a lot of things on pop culture. Touching on the different types of arts, collections and comics, it aims both to educate and be a stress reliever by providing 3 pages to color.

Articles that caught my interest were Generation C, Among the First Komikeros and Tapping the Manix Cult. An interesting preview of Buster can also be seen, which will surely trigger a comic book reader's interest.

Be sure to buy a copy of this magazine when you see it.

More of ChopSoy can be seen at:
Facebook Page: "ChopSoy"
http://www.chopsoypreviews.com

Book News: Eliza Victoria Reveals Upcoming Books During #TalkFlip

Multiawarded winning writer, who has received various prestigious Philippine awards; such as the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature and the Philippine Free Press Literary Awards, Eliza Victoria is becoming a common name amongst bookworms. Her latest novel, Dwellers, recently just won the 2015 NBDB National Book Award for Fiction Novel in English.

Flipside Publishing, an online publisher who has been active regarding the online publication of Filipino authored books, had conducted a live twitter chat with Eliza Victoria. It was conducted last November 18 from 5:00-6:00 p.m. The interactions could be viewed by checking the #TalkFlip hashtag on twitter.

Among the many revelations that Eliza Victoria had made during #TalkFlip, was the announcement of her upcoming new books. The titles of the books were Wounded Little Gods and After Lambana. Both books would be published by Visprint, Inc. The first book is expected to be released this month, December 2015. Meanwhile, the second book, which is a comic book collaboration with Mervin Malonzo, is being targeted to be released at around early 2016.

Fans of Eliza Victoria will surely have a blast knowing that she will soon be releasing 2 new books, which could receive another set of awards in the future.

Wounded Little Gods Update:
Book Cover and Synopsis