Home Koming | Komikon Returns

Komikon is back and they are truly home after almost three years of hiatus the Philippine Komiks Convention return to their roots and to the original place where they started dating back to October 2005. It was “back to basics” with all the nostalgia honoring the previous Komikons of yesteryear. Many events have promoted Filipino komiks, but when you truly want to keep the culture and heritage in the spotlight, Komikon was the first. It is a long road back and despite the change going back to the birthplace of this event, you will know the truly passionate Komiks fans will travel to make the trip to be part of the experience.

Malate | A Slice of Life & Relationships

Malate is a place in the City of Manila, where the stories of two people meet-up and through 54 pages of black and white images the narrative features the district part that mirrors the real world written and drawn by Andrew Villar, which was originally published in 2017. This was an original concept that put his artistry to new heights and put a spin on how “slice of Life” stories are told. Andrew was known before for being a cartoonist who created the “Ambush” series published as a comic strip on Manila Bulletin newspaper. The character named Ambush was inspired from Lara Croft of Tomb Raider and features some characters from Star Wars notably the Stormtroopers. For a while that was Andrew’s work in the local self-publishing industry in the Philippines until he put out Malate, which is entirely different from what he used to publish in the local scene.

Trese 7: Shadow Witness | Masterful Adventures

09.27.2019 – There locally self-published original comicbooks out there and then there’s Trese that started out being produced in photocopied pages made into ashcans that were stapled together and that was more than a decade ago. Fast forward from today it is considered as one of the very few and rare success stories that broke the mold and has accumulated a huge cult following that continues to multiply with each success of the book's releases. The steady hands of co-creator Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo has produced one of the best partnerships in comicbook fandom in the Philippines not only presented their original series for the local scene, but also gained a following in the international community that has a diverse culture for its original creations. You can argue that their ideas are not original as anyone thought, but they put together what inspired these two masterful gentlemen into crafting one of the most interesting characters from a country that thrives in Filipino Supernatural Mythology. Alexandra Trese is her name and she’s the star of “Trese,” one of the most consistent series that has finally released its seventh volume since its last in 2014.

Filipino Komiks in Mainstream Perspective

08.22.2019: The week-long event for the Anime Fest: Epic Con continues through Sunday that started 19 August 2019 at the main area of the Lucky Chinatown Mall. It features local sellers and collaboration with Komikon that has a rotation of local komiks artists except for Pol Merdina Jr. the Creator of Pugad Baboy. Medina is the mainstay of the event until this Friday, while the rest of the rotating cast certainly features the ensemble of self-publishers that have been known by the community. But can they get the same reception with the general masses that rarely see their works? There’s a story here to share and it this might be interesting…

The New DI-13 | Mysteries Unsolved

05.23.2019 – It has been a while since the follow-up to the debut issue of “The New DI-13” was released with the challenges of delay almost caught up with the writer and artist team of Ian Velasquez and Rico Rival. This is due to something more good news when the New Year had started to come together to celebrate Tony Velasquez’s Kenkoy Komiks the 90th Anniversary that sees a series of events happening. But more with “The New DI-13” taking a slow process on the narrative as it takes form on its own. Ian has his hands full not only to continue his Grandfather’s Legacy but also help promote his Grand Uncle’s creation that is also hitting a milestone. There’s so much moving parts that keep things a mystery for “The New DI-13” and Ian is keeping things to the chest as the character’s journey kicks off the second issue trying to find his missing grandfather and what is the connection of its major big bad, The Black Dragon to all of this as one of the major players that might be connected to a string of narratives that gives you the “who dun it” kind of vibe. Plus! A Kenkoy backstory which is a reprint of the original comic strip from ninety years ago that defines Tony Velasquez as the Grandfather of Filipino Komiks...

Komiket 2019 | Blissful Chaotic Vibes

02.18.2019 – In the Philippines every weekend there’s an event happening it is a music festival, an art show, or anything that is related to the local industry that has something to do with comics. Komikon pioneered in making local komiks relevant and it evolved that introduced other things connected to it namely merchandise like shirts, pins, and prints. But mostly that event focused solely in promoting the Komiks medium while the rest is secondary. But with the introduction of Komiket it’s more of an Art Market that has produced a different kind of community since its inception in 2015. It caters not only to the komiks medium, but all things that can be produced and sold through art that simply stands out with what Komiket has to offer.

Sandali | Moments of Reality

12.21.2018 - There has been an abundance of original content when it comes to comic books or graphic novels. Most of them are from independent published works not even from the two giant publishers in DC and Marvel. In the Philippines alone there have been A LOT of new material that was launched and revealed during the recently concluded Komikon last November. If you’re on the road on your car or just taking daily commutes there you’ll find a good story that can be turned into short stories that can be defined and sometimes can be entertaining that you’ll not notice that these are actually based from real life events. This is where “Sandali” brings you these short stories that are poignantly direct to the point often times presented in fictional situations that seem so unreal. “Sandali,” a Filipino ‘Tagalog’ word that has several meanings in different uses depends if it’s in a conversation or just the literal translated word for “Moments.” It’s also translated in English that means “wait” when it is used in a conversation. The short stories are written by Mikey Jimenez, the same author who penned the short story for “Takeout,” but with this collaboration the art is provided by Mikey Marchan.

The New DI-13 | Retrospective Adventures

11.22.2018 – There have been A LOT of new material that came out at Komikon, and during those two days there was so little to choose or to ‘sink your teeth’ in. It has been common to the event that there are new faces and graphic novels that really stood out. There is also merchandise sold there like shirts, stickers, and figurines. But what makes this event unique is the local comics that continues to grow. After the fun-filled storm of local comic book fandom, everyone has been taking a breather while others are still high on the excitement. Now that the storm has passed, take a look at some of the best titles that have been released. Rarely, tradition has been passed down to one generation to another. It’s a unique situation to be part of it at the same time challenges when keeping up with tradition. One thing comes to mind is an old comic book series dusted off and continued for the next generation which is “DI-13” or Department of Investigation – Agent Thirteen. It’s pronounced as ‘Dee Ay – Trese' in Filipino as the original comic book series was written in the Filipino language that has been the longest running series that ended in 1962.

Kids at Heart in Mini-Komikon!

05.31.2013 – The month of May has come to an end and I was really swamped with online work not to mention updating blogs that has started to pile up. Reality bites after coming back from a road trip seeing Playa Laiya last Saturday. Too many things to do so little time for someone who just enjoys what he does best which is enjoying the scenery and blogging not to mention an online work. I get to catch up with friends in the local comic book industry who were part of the event for Museo Pambata who held a two day Little Lit Festival.

Don't Get Violently WASTED!

05.06.2013 – The much awaited reprint compilation Wasted has finally been released officially in the recent Summer Komikon at the Bayanihan Center last April 13th. It compiles the original print run, special editions as well as the ones from Pulp Magazine. Wasted is a slice of life story of Eric a broken hearted man full of anger and hate which every guy can relate in going through failures of relationships. Gerry said that some of the stories in this book were based on his personal life and most of us can agree with that same situation too.