Sunday, May 19, 2019

Events: Winners of the Komiket Awards 2019


The Komiket Awards were once again held. Last February Komiket 2019, the winners of the 5th Komiket Awards were announced.

These are the winners for 2019.

Best Writer


Michael Molo
for Darahug #1

Best Illustrator


Ruvel Abril
for Ultimo #2

Best Student Komiks


No Rest for the Gagus
by Zyrus Manue

Best Komiks


Ligaw-Tingin
by Emiliana Kampilan

Geiser Maclang Alamat Award


Acads Zine
by Alain Andrew S. Boquiren & Gioseppe Custodio

Congratulations to all the winners! May other comic book creators find inspiration in them.

Monday, May 13, 2019

Comics: Alak Extra Strong Feelings

Illustration and Story by: A Tango
The CoSmic Book
(1/5 ★☆☆☆☆)


The Good:
This comic has a nice cover. It has a simple but good script coupled with good illustrations.

The Bad:
The size of the paper inside this comic would have been better if it was the same size as its cover. It would have also been better if the comic pages were printed back to back. Not only does it saves paper but it shows the effort and passion of an artist to take the time in arranging the layout. It appears to have been effortlessly sketched then printed and just folded. It's a waste of paper for an 8 paged comic. 

The Verdict:
This simple story of love and alcohol was nice and simple. However, the artist's passion is not clearly that evident in the creation of this comic. It appears to be a lazy output. Even a high school student with good artistic talent and few resources could have easily created this comic, or even better than this one.

More of The CoSmic Book can be seen at:
Facebook Page: "The CoSmic Book"

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Comics: I Grew Up, I Guess

Comic Adaptation of the Poem "What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up" by Jamie McGhee
Illustrated by: Chocnut-san
Genre: Slice of Life
(5/5 ★★★★★)

"A comic adaptation of the poem, "What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up" by Jamie McGhee that portrays the realities of being a young professional while chasing an indefinite dream."

The Good:
Let's start first with the cover. Who wouldn't stop to take a look at the beautiful cover of this comic. Aside from the beautiful drawing, the use and blending of colors strikes the eyes for an individual to be drawn towards it. It enhances the cover really well for anyone to pause and take a closer look at it.

The illustrations inside neatly matched the poem made by Jamie McGhee. The illustrations were neat and clean to look at.

The Bad:
I only wish that the entire comic book is colored. It might have been really amazing just by judging the use of colors in the cover.

The Verdict:
The dreams that one had before venturing out into the "real world" was nicely portrayed. The truthful reality of how the current world operates was depicted extremely well.

This comic book adaptation will surely hit the hearts of a lot of readers who back then had big dreams of conquering the world only to be held back by the reality that things work out a bit different than we had imagined it to be.

She can be seen on:
Facebook Page: "Chocnut-san"

Saturday, May 4, 2019

Comics: No Label ~ Issue 1

Illustration and Story by: Hayme Pola
(1/5 ★☆☆☆☆)

"Sila ay nagkakilala.
Sila ay nagkausap.
Sila ay nagdesisyong pumunta sa isang art exhibit."

The Good:
The cover depicting an LGBT+ themed story looks promising especially with a title "No Label".

The Bad:
Improvements could still be done with how the illustrations such as the clothes, the character's limbs and even the eye glasses were drawn. The comic "Behind Closed Doors" was a bit better than this.

Story wise, I wish it could have told more. This first issue alone does not raise interest in getting the second issue of what happens when Ian Perez and Euren Reyes went to the art exhibit.

The Verdict:
Improvements should be done on the art and story telling of this LGBT+ slice of life series. The title looks promising but it lacks on the execution.

She can be seen on:
Instagram: @haymepola

Saturday, April 27, 2019

Comics: Hands & Fingers

Illustration and Story by: A Tango
The CoSmic Book
(1/5 ★☆☆☆☆)


The Good:
It has a simple and direct to the point message about being able to differentiate love and lust by observing how the hands and fingers move.

The Bad:
The copy that I got was stapled in the wrong way. In order for me to read this comic, I had to go and start at the back and rotate it upside down. That was frustrating to see for an 8 paged and 2 sentenced filled of comic.

The Verdict:
This does not look fit to be made as an 8 pages comic from "The Cosmic Book" group. It would have been better if this was made as a postcard instead.

More of The CoSmic Book can be seen at:
Facebook Page: "The CoSmic Book"

Thursday, April 4, 2019

Comics: Behind Closed Doors

Illustration and Story by: Hayme Pola
(3/5 ★★★☆☆)

"Si Gavin, isang maingay at brash na sophomore who wears his heart on his sleeve, never nag-akala na he'd be in a relationship with Josh, isang matalino at snarky na junior sa kanyang kolehiyo na mas gustong mabuhay na closed off sa ibang mga tao. They have been a couple for a while now. Pero Josh doesn't seem to be ready na may ibang makaalam. The two have managed to keep their love a secret from everyone else. That is, hanggang sa isang araw their friend accidentally walks in on them sa dorm room nila being sweet in bed."

The Good:
It tells of a love story that exists among the LGBT+ community. It shows the scary notion of being afraid of being a member of the LGBT+ living in a society that is judgmental.

The Bad:
Some speech balloons are confusing to follow as to who is saying that line. Those texts that are not inside the speech balloons are also confusing to determine if they were being said out loud by the character or it was just in their minds.

The synopsis written at the back could also be improved. Using taglish isn't a problem. I just think that the synopsis could be further improved even by using a dual language in writing it.

The Verdict:
Behind Closed Doors is a nice LGBT+ themed love story. The art and story were nice. Just a few improvements on how to place the conversations among characters needs to be improved on.

She can be seen on:
Instagram: @haymepola

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

Events: Experiencing February Komiket 2019


It was nice to be back to this art fair. Now on its 5th year, Komiket brings a different basket of art compared to Komikon that mainly focuses on comics.

The February Komiket 2019 was a two-day event held last February 16-17, 2019 at its home in Centris Elements, Quezon City.

Breaking the habit of attending comic conventions regularly made me feel like a stranger in this comic convention (comiccon). There were a lot of new faces and a whole new set of unfamiliar artists and their artworks.

First on the itinerary is to claim the free Kommunity 2018 comic book anthology from Komiket's booth. This could be claimed by just presenting the October Komiket 2018 ticket. This anthology of artists' work was supposed to be given as a freebie to the early attendees of last year's Komiket. A delay in the delivery of the books led me in receiving it only now. For those who haven't gotten theirs, you could just claim it at the Komiket booth even at the other events where Komiket will be attending. Just show your ticket and you will immediately get your copy.

One interesting comic that I found came from the Anima table. Imagine having some dialogues, usually magical spells, be written in baybayin. But we found an entire comic book written in baybayin. It was a new and exciting experience. Its like a new introduction to our Filipino language by using an ancient form of alphabet. Loving our culture through the incorporation of this alphabet has taken this comic to a new level. An appreciation of our culture by showing our folktales and early form of writing to the current generation is definitely a new level of comic book making.




The best book that I had bought in this comiccon came from Silang Publishing's new book, Richard Mercado's Nang Mainlove Ako Sa Isang Sakristan. It speaks of how the acceptance of the LGBT+ community continues to grow in the local comic scene. This comic is just among the works with an LGBT+ themed story. It also made a bold and challenging statement with its story of love and acceptance inside the church. The kind of respect that goes beyond one's faith. Because in the end, it is still their right to love regardless of sex.


Let us continue to support our local artists and writers as they keep the local market alive. You'll never know what gem you might just find among this ocean of talents.

Here are more pictures from the event.



Here are the things that I got from February Komiket 2019.

Freebie: Poster from Anima group

Caffeine drip and dog stickers

  • Nang Mainlove Ako Sa Isang Sakristan
    • Richard Mercado
    • Silaw Publishing
  • Ang Butiki At Ang Pagong
    • Cy Vendivil
  • Walang Laman Ang Kahon
    • Chocnut-San
  • I Grew Up, I Guess
    • Chocnut-San
  • Bagong Buwan
    • Julius Villanueva, Hulyen and Mervin Malonzo
    • Haliya Publishing
  • The Dead Heart: July 16
    • Gerry Alanguilan
    • Komikero Publishing
  • Behind Closed Doors
    • Hayme Pola
  • No Label ~ #1
    • Hayme Pola
  • Dirt: The Not Quite Unreal Finale
    • Carlos Malvar
    • Visprint
  • Nightfall
    • Eliza Victoria
    • Visprint
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