Events: Nomination for the 2015 Filipino Readers' Choice Awards

The annual nominations are back! This time some changes were made. Publishers were made to submit their nominations first before the public send out their own additional candidates. This was done in order to lessen the workload of determining whether a book  is legible to be nominated or not. The same 13 categories (Fiction In English, Fiction in Filipino [or Taglish], Romance in English, Romance in Filipino [or Taglish], Fiction Anthology, Young Adult Fiction, Children's Picture Book, Comics & Graphic Novels, Poetry, Inspirational/Religious, Humor, Food & Cookbook, and Nonfiction) are still present.

The last day for the nomination will be on August 28, 2015. The final list of nominees will be released on August 31, 2015. Voting starts on September 1, 2015.

The online nomination form can be seen by clicking the link below:

https://filipinoreadercon.wordpress.com/readers-choice-awards/rca-nomination-form/

For the 2014 Filipino Readers' Choice Awards winners, you can see them by clicking the link below:
http://onemantra.blogspot.com/2014/12/events-winners-of-2014-filipino-readers.html

Events: The Philippine Literary Festival 2015

It's back! National Book Store once again gives us the 3 day Philippine Literary Festival. The event will be held at Raffles Makati from August 28-30, 2015. No entrance fee is needed for all of the different events that will be conducted. All that needs to be done is to sign up at the registration table, which starts at 9:00 a.m. The venues can accommodate limited guests, so seats are on a first come first served basis.

Comics: Buhay Habangbuhay ~ Chapter 1: Buhay Buwis Buhay

Story by: Paolo Herras

Illustrated by: Tepai Pascual

Rated: Parental Advisory Mature Content

Meganon Comics

(3/5 ★★★☆☆)

"Everybody has a

dark and light side."

The Plot:

The married lives of Joel and Sandy changed forever due to the abrupt death of Sandy. It sure is difficult to see how your loved one would continue his life without you.

The Good:

The story was nicely told with minimal words used in the illustrations. The life of Sandy was a bit easy to follow and understand as she discovers life after death.

The cover was the best part of this comic. The artist gave us two images on its front cover.

The Bad:

The illustrations were great but I'd still recommend further improvements to it. Some details could have used more inking (graying/shading? I'm not sure with the term) rather than leaving those images to appear as mere outlines, of course I'm not referring to the ghostly images of Sandy.

Then, there's this confusing character/s that was placed in this story. Another woman alive/ghost appears on the comics as she says that she enjoyed sleeping beside Sandy's husband, Joel. A few pages after this confrontation and the death of Sandy, Joel is seen to come home with a woman who shares similar features to the first one that Sandy had encountered. I'm not quite sure if these are two different individuals or they are just the same one. In case that they are just the same, a big question lies on how could that woman suddenly vanish into thin air after her confrontation with Sandy. How on earth did this scenario really happen?

The Verdict:

My greatest concern would be for the creators to devise a way to distinguish the characters, such as those that I had mentioned earlier, including the other illustrations in the environment. They were good, but, I must say, I prefer some objects be added with more shades and details, especially the ones closer to the point of view of the reader rather than leaving their outline as the final image.

This is an interesting series from Meganon Comics. A story about life after death here on earth is a fresh story in the komiks medium.

More of Buhay Habangbuhay can be seen at:

Facebook Page: "Buhay Habangbuhay"

Events: Experiencing Linggo Ng Wika 2015 - Komiks Ang Bida

The 1st day of August 2015 has been a day of first. It was my first time to attend this event organized by GTMACcon Pinoy Komiks Cosplay. It was also my first to go to Fisher Mall, let alone attend an event on it.

The event proper started at 11:00 a.m. and from the looks of it the event appeared to be too early for attendees. If this is the usual scenario for events held at the mall, it would be suggested to the attendees to visit the event center 2 hours after the mall's opening time.

It was interesting to see in the program of a komiks event the participation of school children. I guess this event was made in partnership with the school, who made it as a school event in celebration of Linggo ng Wika.

As a komiks enthusiast, it will always be great to see events like this that are geared towards the exposure of the youth to our local arts and heritage, in which this event highlights our very own local komiks. Introduction of this material to the younger generation will always be full of hopes and dreams that in the future they will be able to sustain and continue this form of art and literature. A much better scenario would be seen if they themselves would be the ones to bring back the golden age of komiks in our country. An age wherein an illustrator or writer for komiks is considered a full time job, enough to sustain the needs of the creator's family.

In introducing komiks to the younger generation, it was a good idea to give away free komiks to any individual who checks out the works of an artist. I must say, I'm really impressed that most of the artists gave away more than four (4) free komiks, in contrast to the announcement that it is limited only to four. I only got freebies from the two artists whose works I had already planned on purchasing their stuff. From the countless hours I normally spend at Komikons, I know it is best to let other people, especially those who are not aware of the existence of our independent local komiks, be engulfed and be in awe of the beauty that each komik posses.

What differentiates events like this from the usual komikons was the way the payment was made. The system was like the one that was implemented in Southside Collective, wherein payments are directed towards a single cashier. You will need to get the payment slip from the artist, then show it to the cashier and pay it there. Afterwards, you need to show to the artist your official receipt, in order to get the item you had purchased. This is in contrast to the system done during komikons, wherein transactions took place directly between the komik book creator/s and the buyer.

Aside from the different contests being held, the event area of Fisher Mall attracted more attention as different bands performed various OPM hits. It really made a crowd gather, watch and listen, as they entertained both the event and mall goers.

The program was fun even though it was short. Awareness and exposure to our local komiks was the main goal of this program, which could have been the reason why it was done at the mall. There could have been no other way, as of the moment, that could have serve as a better avenue to conduct awareness but through malls, since it is one of the places Filipinos mostly go to.

As our local komiks struggle to reach out to a wider audience, they depend on the fans of the Kikomachine, Zsa Zsa Zaturna, Trese and Combatron to help bridge the audience to other komiks that are currently present in the market. The love for this type of art/literature would translate in helping the komiks community stay alive by connecting and keeping in one place our talented artists and writers for accidental readers, that could eventually end up as soon-to-be-fans.

NCCA (National Commission for Culture and the Arts) did a great job of sponsoring this event as part of their recognition that komiks is definitely part of our Filipino culture that we should be proud of.

Comic Book Creators

Kajo Baldisimo

Rysa Antonio

Budjette Tan

Berlin Manalaysay

Cosplayers

 

 

Here are the things that I got from Linggo Ng Wika 2015 - Komiks Ang Bida

Pintura Posters

• Lakan at Makisig #2
• Giosdesk
• How I Got Into Komiks
• Giosdesk
• A Sneak Preview of the Graphic Novel. Pintura: Panimulang Yugto
• John Becaro, Chris Barcelona, Vincent Soratiosa and Jay-R Diligencia
• Pintura Comics Group
• Pintura: Panimulang Yugto
• John Becaro, Chris Barcelona, Vincent Soratiosa and Jay-R Diligencia
• Pintura Comics Group
• Aklanon of Panay
• Alexandra C. De Juan
• National Commission for Culture and the Arts
• Agung ~ 2015 Volume XVIII, Number 1
• National Commission for Culture and the Arts

Events: Adarna House's #happy35 Photo Challenge

To continue the celebration of Adarna House's 35th anniversary, another contest was launched entitled #happy35: A Photo Challenge

The contest entails posting a photo that includes an Adarna House book and a reflection of the spirit of happiness in reading and in being a Filipino. The title of the book and the hashtags #AdarnaHouse and #happy35 should be included in the post. Entries should be posted only on one (1) social media platform (Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram). Multiple entries are allowed provided that the photo must be posted only on one (1) social media. All entries must be uploaded during August 1-31, 2015. A like, favorite, or heart by Adarna House signifies the acknowledgment of your entry photo.

The highest number of likes, favorites or hearts will be crowned as Crowd Favorite while the top 10 entries will be put to a shortlist from which the Adarna Choice will be gotten. Both winners will each receive Php. 2,500.00 and Php 2,500.00 worth of gift certificates. Announcement of the winners will be done on September 2, 2015 while the awarding will be on the 36th Manila International Book Fair at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City.

More information about #happy35 can be seen at:

https://adarnahouse.wordpress.com/2015/07/28/happy35-a-photo-challenge/

Comics: 14

Illustration and Story by: Manix Abrera

VISPRINT

(5/5 ★★★★★)

The Plot:

It begins on one rainy night. The best thing to do, during this weather, is by sharing stories. Fourteen (14) stories filled with different themes to match the rain are told by different Philippine mythological creatures that ends with a story told by a human being.

The book begins with a guy arriving at his apartment during a heavy rainfall. Upon his ascent inside the elevator, towards the 14th floor, different mythological creatures began entering from different floors. They all exited at the 13th floor, a floor that wasn't on the elevator's button to begin with. Exiting the elevator at this floor is where all the stories began.

Eight (8) different mythological creatures namely; a mananangal, diwata, doppelganger, kapre, white lady, tikbalang, duwende and a tiyanak, told the first 13 stories. The last story was told by a human to complete the 14 stories.

The Good
In comparison to 12, Manix's first published silent comics, there were a lot of changes that was done to 14. First is the nice binding of the pages in contrast to 12 whose pages easily comes off. Then, there's the manner how all 14 stories were told to appear to be interconnected to one another. It sure does feel great to see that each story fits perfectly in the bigger picture.

The best story for me is the one told by the tiyanak. It has a sad and a nice way of reasoning out their incessant crying that will surely terrify anyone who hears it.

The Bad:

I guess the only bad thing in here is the abrupt and short confusion that may be experienced in reading the Tiyanak story. It would be seen that the illustrations were suddenly rotated upside down. It would give a slight confusion if this page was wrongly printed by the publisher.

The Verdict:

This 14 silent comics made by Manix gives a representation of the type of stories that we tend to talk during a rainy weather. Stories about our local mythology, mystery and love are just some of those.

When one expects Manix to have done all that he could in his 12 silent comics, he comes back showing to us that he can still raise the bar even though he has already raised it up so high.

Manix never disappoints his fans, all those crazy guys (including myself) who suddenly appears out of nowhere and begin the absurd line formation in order to get the ink (of whatever he is holding) be splattered out unto our most cared and regarded as sacred Kikomachine Komik books. His fans will often be comforted knowing that almost always they are going to have a great time reading his works.

14 lands nicely on a sweet spot on my bookshelf that holds the best works that could be read, even after the rain has stopped falling.

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

Facebook Page: "Kikomachine Komix!"

Twitter: @kikomachinekmx, @manix_abrera

Anthology: Wakasang Wasak

Story by: Carlos "Siege" Malvar

VISPRINT

(4.14/5 ★★★★☆)

(Cover by Kit Lapeña)

"What is the hiwaga that is in the dako paroon?

Created by the balintataw or of, like, OA na imagination?

I mean, what the fuck is a balintataw, anyway?

Here are three tales of wild,

wonderful women in wicked situations.

Why are men dying to be on The Kama ni Stella?

Why does Dindin have a bad feeling about

Ang Mutya ng San Isidro?

And who's the DJ in the place Where Angels Fear to Dance?

What are you waiting for?

Yes, you, holding this book at the bookstore?

Buy this now.

Ang magsoli nito sa shelf...

MAMAMATAY."

The Good:

Siege Malvar provides us with more than 3 stories in this anthology. He gave us around 7 short stories whose main characters were mostly women. From the story of the poor mother in the introduction up to the hilariously written vampire slaying witch at the post credit scenes, it has been a fun, hilarious and enjoyable ride reading Wakasang Wasak.

The best story, excluding the one in the introduction and the post credit scenes, was the Ang Kama Ni Stella story. For the Post Credit Scenes, the best one among the three was Sparkle, Bitch!

All the three main stories were written to entertain most of us and to penetrate the social awareness in some of us. These three stories that circulate around the lives of these three women imply different current social issues. The first story dwells on the prevalence and even the current accepted norm of casual sex. On the other hand, the second story leans more on the topic of the RH Bill (which has already been passed and is now a Law). The third story mixes a bit of the two underlying themes to give a story about unwanted pregnancy.

The cover of this anthology represents well the different stories enveloped in the book. The portrayal of the dark society that we live in, especially to women.

The Bad:

Other readers may be discouraged from finishing this anthology once they reach the second story. The usage of words and countless curses thrown everywhere may raise the eyebrow and be the cause of the return of this book back by "conservative" and "religious" readers.

If the only reason why you had picked up this anthology is because of the cover, due to the hint that it implies that the book is a horror story, rest assured that it would really disappoint you. But it has a nice surprise to those who are open-minded enough to realize the underlying themes that was written on it.

There are also some things in here that the editor and/or author has failed to notice which could get the attention of grammar nazis.

The Verdict:

A warning for Mature Readers would have been better if it was placed on the cover of this excellent work by Siege Malvar.

Stories full of H.P. Lovecraft's works, sorcery and the current young adult novel themes, Wakasang Wasak would have been fun to see if it was given its own movie adaptation to the likes of the Shake, Rattle and Roll movie franchise.

This has been a great first read of Malvar's books. It was overwhelming as Siege Malvar ended this book hilariously with Sparkle, Bitch!

"... what makes us monsters is our need to be saints."

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

Twitter: @whatsiegesaid

* Breakdown of Rating:

★☆☆☆☆ - 

★★☆☆☆ - 

★★★☆☆ - Where Angels Fear to Dance; The Other Woman's New Affair (Post Credit Scenes)

★★★★☆ - Ang Mutya ng San Isidro;  Run, Barbie, Run (Post Credit Scenes)

★★★★★ - Intro Story; Ang Kama Ni Stella; Sparkle, Bitch (Post Credit Scenes)

Events: Indieket 2015

This small event seems to be thriving and growing slowly on its own. Now on its 4th year, Indieket 2015 will be held at the Bayanihan Center - Unilab (Halls A & B), Pasig City on August 15, 2015 (Saturday) from 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. Entrance fee will be Php. 100.

There are new works that will be released at the event. Some of them are:

• Ang Morion ~ Volume 2 Issue 1: Alamat ng Maskara
• Wan Malinao Mañanita
• Frances Luna III Illustration Firm

• Paraluman: Alaala ni Maria Clara ~ Volume 1
• Rikki Ikotron

• Bubay ~ Book 2
• Ayi Santos

• A*X Zero Genesis ~ Volume 1 Issue 5
• Dexter Roxas

• Costrips
• Amano-hoshi

• Demon Hunter
• Angelo Udaundo, Josue "Bogs" Paloma, Daniel "Anjo" Calingo and Richard Angelo Udaundo
• PHP (Pinoy Hero Plus) Comics

 

• Agila ~ Issue 1
• JC
• PHP Comics

• OFW (Outerspace Filipino Workers) ~ Issue 1: Echo Chamber
• Keith Sikat

• Anito
• Aze
• Komikult

• Clowder ~ Chapter 4
• Marius Black
• Komikult

• Halo-Halo: Blender Sample 1
• Benjamin Canapi and Nelz Yumul

A nice treat that will happen will be the selling of a creation of Francisco V. Coching (Dean of Philippine Comics, National Artist for Visual Arts). His work that is said to be on sale on that day is:

• Barbaro (1951)

Be sure to check out any announcements from your favorite artist, writer or series for any contests or discounts that they will be conducting prior to Indieket 2015.

Some of those that I found online is a contest conducted by Alphario and a kickstarter project conducted by Meganon Comics.

Be sure to regularly check them online as more gimiks will be revealed as we countdown to Indieket 2015.

More information about Indieket 2015 can be seen at:

Facebook Event Page: "Komikon Indieket 2015 (Official Event Page)"

Events: 2nd Sikat Pinoy National Art & Fashion Fair

The 2nd Sikat Pinoy National Art & Fashion Fair will be held at the Megatrade Halls 1-3, SM Megamall on August 14-16, 2015. Admission is free so everyone is encouraged to attend.

Currently, there are two groups, which I found online, that will be participating in this event.

First is the Komiket booth. Tickets will be available for the upcoming October Komiket 2015 in their booth. But that might not be the reason why a line might form in their booth. This could be brought about by the selling of Komiket's collaborated illustration with Manix Abrera. The name of the artist alone will already encourage the attendance of his loyal fans and begin the outrageous line that miraculously appear on every event he goes to.

Second is the Meganon Comics booth. The most noteworthy thing that will happen on this booth will be the launch of the Lunatic Anthology. This was created by Mel Casipit, Kai Castillo, Maika Ezawa, Paolo Herras, JP P. Palabon, Tepai Pascual, Brent Sabas and Redg Vicente.

 

Its hard to get more details regarding this event since little information can be found online.

Events: Experiencing Southside Collective

I had attended their event on its first day at around 11:00 a.m. It was still too early so the music part of this event were not yet present. So that leaves us with the fashion and art section.

All of the booths were nicely decorated and presented. I'm not much a fashion lover so its the art section that I had my eyes on in which most of them had framed illustrations up for sale.

I noticed that there were only two booths that had other merchandises up for sale aside from the framed illustrations. The booth named Steph Alvarez offers various items, with the artist's own designs on them, that could be used everyday rather than left hanging on a wall. Notebooks and ecobags were beautifully designed with different illustrations of women.

The Meganon Comics booth is the only one who sells comics in this event. One of the people manning the booth (or in this case womanning) was Tepai Pascual (Maktan 1521). I had discovered some interesting things as I talked with Ms. Pascual. To begin with, she mentioned that their Meganon Comics booth in the Southside Collective was the most presentable booth in comparison to the previous ones they had made.

Purchasing a comic book from Meganon Comics during this event, will entitle you to one (1) free pass for this year's 36th Manila International Book Fair. One free pass will be given for every comic book that was purchased.

Also, if you're a fan of Paolo Herras' Strange Natives and has noticed the small orange colored poster for sale, according to Tepai Pascual, that is the cover of the 2nd stand alone story for the Strange Natives that is being rushed to completion within this year. When asked if there were any updates for the release of the 2nd chapter of the Ang Sumpa series, she said that they are still convincing the creator to try to finish it within this year. Tepai Pascual has been a really nice artist because she patiently answered most of my questions as she helped me in purchasing some items from their booth. Southside Collective have a different approach when it comes to payment so it can get really confusing.

A piece of advise for fellow comic lovers, especially to our locally made komiks, be sure to check out any post that an artist, group or from the story series' facebook fan page to be always updated of whether they'll be taking part of an event closer to you. This event really was a treat for we seldom see our local comic creators in the southern part of Metro Manila.

Southside Collective has been a nice venue to showcase our local talents, not only the comic creation side, but also in terms of fashion and music.

Here are the things that I got from Southside Collective:

• Buhay Habangbuhay ~ Chapter 1: Buhay Buwis Buhay
• Paolo Herras and Tepai Pascual
• Meganon Comics
• Buhay Habangbuhay ~ Chapter 2: Buhay Agaw Buhay
• Paolo Herras and Tepai Pascual
• Meganon Comics