3rd Christmas Toys & Collectibles Fair 2008

3rd Christmas Toys & Collectibles Fair 2008
December 19-21, 2008
10:00 AM - 9:00 PM, at MEGATRADE HALL 2, 5th level Bldg. B, SM MEGAMALL

What’s in store?

• SM Megamall’s “Christmas Toys & Gift Show”
• Toy exhibits
• Features of best selection of kiddie toys, dolls, action figures, die cast cars, licensed merchandising and high end collectibles
• Art gallery of the best local comicbook artists
• Raffles and games
• Live auction where kids and collectors bid for highly sought-after items

For inquiries, please call the Megatrade Hall at 634-7617 or 633-1697.
Visit the event website at http://www.toyconph.com or http://toyconph.multiply.com

For Booth inquiries and sponsorships.
send email to vimyph@yahoo.com
or call Mr. Vic Yap at 0917 9802643

Visit Vtoyz Hobbyshop in Blue Lane, 2nd floor of Shooppesville, Greenhills
P7,000 for a Booth Fee per 2×2 sqm. space

Malikhaing Komiks and Comispotting

Komiks.i.ph welcomes new sites to the family. And the banner that each brings is truly INSPIRING!

Malikhaing Komiks

Dahil ang kuwadro ng komiks ay hindi isang kahon

comicspotting

It’s hard to imagine the Philippines without a komiks industry…

Mabuhay ang PINOY KOMIKS!!!

Annual Christmas Party for Komikeros 2008

From Karlo Cesar Cordero’s blog

Taunang Christmas Party 2008
Date: December 20, 2008, Saturday
Time: 12pm, Lunch time
Venue: Gen. Osmalic Street, Pandacan, Manila

ANG taunang Christmas Party ng mga nagkokomiks; beterano, baguhan, writer, illustrator, publisher, indies, letterer, colorist, etc. etc. ay gaganapin sa December 20, 2008 (araw ng Sabado) sa Gen. Osmalic Street, Pandacan, Manila sa ganap na alas dose ng tanghali. Ang venue ay tapat ng bahay namin; lumang barangay hall na bakante na may kainaman ang laki na bakuran. Kung makakarating kayo nang maaga ay okey lang.
Sa mga hindi nakaaalam ng lugar, kung magtataksi kayo ay sabihin lang sa driver na ibaba kayo sa Liwasang Balagtas. Pag naroon na kayo ay mag-text kayo sa akin at susunduin ko kayo.
Mula sa A. H. Lacson Street, (near UST) diretso lang kayong Nagtahan Bridge at pagdating sa unang stop light ay kakaliwa kayo at madaraanan ninyo ang Caritas at simbahan ng Sto. Niño Parish; diretso lang nang konti pa at makikita n’yo na ang Liwasang Balagtas.
Kung galing naman sa Taft Avenue, sa bandang Pedro Gil Street, may sakayan ng dyip sa Escoda Street (malapit sa Jollibee at La Independencia Church). Ipagtanong lang sa mga vendor doon ang pilahan ng jeep papuntang Pandacan. Ang sakyan ninyo ay ang rutang Bayan, Beata. Pakisabi rin sa drayber na ibaba kayo sa Liwasang Balagtas.
Ang sponsor natin sa kasayahang ito ay si Pareng Fermin Salvador. Salamat, Pareng Fermin! Nagbigay rin ng konting tulong si Ma’am Terry Bagalso. 
read full article here

SMP Back Issues!

Review of TROPA and RAMBOL by jtmtzrwj

I was finally able to get my hands on Gilbert Monsanto’s Sacred Mountain debut releases. First up is Tropa. This comics stars a group of high school friends imbued with different abilities via different circumstances. I’m not saying no more. All is explained in this “origin” issue. This comic is drawn by different artists like Gilbert Monsanto, Luisito G. Antonio, Jim Jimenez, and others. Though I was first bothered when I learned about his via Monsanto’s blog, I was quite satisfied with the implementation and the results. Each artist draws each of the main character’s origin story. Hopefully once we get a non-flashback story, we’ll also get only one artist per issue.

Next is flipbook Rambol Komiks which features Alagad Inc. (not pictured) and Metropolitan. What is most noticeable is Alagad Inc’s art style which gets much inspiration from Japanese manga and anime. The story is about some supernatural beings, most probably ancient dieties of some sort, coming down from their domain to send a challenge to Earth’s mightiest champions. A group called Alagad Inc. re-recruits some of it’s best agents to help in this time of crisis. Last, is Gilbert Monsanto’s Metropolitan which brings back Monsanto’s old characters from his 90s stint in Infinity, Sonic, GASI etc. Drawn by Monsanto himself, this Metropolitan features quite a lot of fight sequences. There is also some hint that the Biotrog character featured in this book may not be the same Biotrog from before.

All in all, I found the both books quite satisfactory. The materials used for these releases are also quite different from the komiks back in the day. Komiks before were printed on newspaper-like materials, Tropa was printed on glossy paper probably the ones used on magazines while Rambol on some thicker paper. My only big problem with the books specifically the flipbook Rambol Komiks was the coloring. Although Tropa was fully colored, Rambol only had colors on the first few pages, the rest were on black and white. I would have preferred to have everything in black and white instead of having only the first few pages colored.

Check out Monsanto’s blog @ gilbertmonsanto.blogspot.com

Creating the Art of Timawa

Creating the Art of Timawa by Gerry Alanguilan

Hello Guys! My name is Gerry Alanguilan, guest poster on komiks.i.ph, and I thought I’d post something here that I haven’t written about yet in my own blogs. And that’s how I create the artwork to my current series for The Buzz Magasin, TIMAWA.

I get two pages a month from The Buzz Magasin to do my series, and since this magazine is in a large format, I’m free to create more panels per page without necessarily crowding it up. I usually have an outline on  what happens per issue. The events in those two pages I keep percolating in my mind a few days before I actually do the art.  So by the time I actually start it, I have a pretty good idea how I’m going to lay the page out.

In this particular panel, which is Panel 1 of Timawa #2 (The Buzz Magasin November 2007), the setting is the early 70’s in a squatter area beside a railroad in Manila. One of my main characters, Lolo Tanda (who is still a young man in this panel) is sitting beside his shanty while his mother and his nephew look on at some “happening”. A kid is running towards them telling them that the bank in the corner is being held up.

I drew it loosely in pencil and then used my Rotring tech pens UNI drawing pens to actually draw the scene. I scanned this in the computer so I can color it in Photoshop. I don’t really like doing elaborate colors as I prefer, as much as possible, to do flat colors on figures and scenes this small. There is another step I will do later that would put texture on all of this, which I always keep in mind.  

When doing close ups (which I don’t have here), I usually do go in and do a little “painting” to shape the face or body, but in small figures like this, I like to keep it flat. The only real effect I do here is the sky, which I chose to use a gradient on.

Notice the orange light inside the shanty? I just chose a random bright color that doesn’t appear anywhere else in the page so it would stand out. This way, I can easily select it with a Magic Wand in Photoshop. On it I pasted another one of my drawings from another comic book I did earlier. I do this ocassionally to add a little background. in ELMER I did this using drawings of Elmer sent in by friends and readers of the comic book.

After I finish coloring, I add on some texture over the entire page. The texture comes from this:

This is a portion of a high resolution scan of the back of a Nestor Redondo original artwork from the mid 1960’s. Manipulating it in Photoshop I can bring out some nice textures and folds and dirt. I then paste this over my colored Timawa page, and playing around with Opacity and other options in the Layers, I can choose just how much of this texture I want to show up. And the result is on the third panel above. I truly get a kick knowing that my comics carries the “spirit” so to speak, of Nestor Redondo, who remains one of my biggest inspirations.

The lettering is all done on the computer, using a font I created from my own lettering. But that’s a topic for another post.

Komiks conquering Television

by rhardo

Nowadays, komiks are coming out again in an insanely wide scale. Yes, very true! But sadly, not on prints — that part is suffice to say… on a struggling side — rather in a more realistic and modernized visuals where a major fraction of audiences are tighly coagulated. I’m referring to Philippine Television. 

And what I am about to show you speaks for it. See for yourself…

But of course, these aren’t really komiks like the KOMIKS we are talking about… you get what I mean? Hehehe!!!

Most of these concepts were fleshed out from popular comics way back during the time where komiks were still very much thriving. But I’m already glad and elated to see this kind of shows sprouting everywhere — well, at least in two major TV networks. Nevertheless, it’s safe to say… this industry is still ALIVE!

Some people say  it’s now the trend, is it? Well, I just hope that trend goes back to flipping of pages.

Trese and Skyworld Comics Review

by jaybhoi

TRESE Murder on Balete Drive By Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo

if i am to describe trese in one word i’ll probably blurt out a lot of words… one by one… starting with “wow!” and “kick ass”(if that can be considered as one word), but i think the best word to describe it would be “different.” as i read through its pages, i wanted to compare it to something like the x-files or twilight zone or even the short-lived eerie indiana series, even harry potter. but i couldn’t i just couldn’t. trese is on a league of its own. taking the world of philippine mythology to all new heights. like it was real, but on a dimension different from ours. it captivated me, it lured me into alexandra trese’s world. this twisted up detective story is a whole new kind of weird that is right up my alley. its probably the best comicbook i’ve ever read. but then again, its unlike any comicbook i’ve ever read. lyk i said, its incomparable. the art of trese is well suited to the stories it portrays. after reading book one this afternoon, i went to megamall to find book 2. that’s how good i think it is! i haven’t finished reading the 2nd book yet, and i don’t think i’ll be disappointed that i bought it. i’m glad i got a copy at komikon, and i’m glad sir budjette signed it for me. he just earned himself another fan.

SKYWORLD issue 1 and teaser for issue 2 by Ian Sta. Maria and Mervin Ignacio

One mistake i did was, I read Skyworld after reading Trese. I ended up comparing Skyworld to Trese as i started reading it. I was still stuck in a “TRESE” state of mind. MY BAD! In the first two or three pages, i was paying more attention to the art of Skyworld than the storyline. And let me say, Ian Sta. Maria is a master at details. The looks, the feel, the costumes and weaponry of Skyworld; it’s simply spectacular. It blew me away. I hungered for it to be in color, its probably gonna rip my socks off if it was. I was reading it with my mouth open and my eyes wide with my index finger tracing across the lines as i marveled on its details. I say the hard work Ian put into creating the look of Skyworld paid off, no matter how long it took to finish. To Mervin Ignacio’s credit though as the plot thickened (so to speak) in the mid pages of the book i felt i was being sucked into a new world, Skyworld! I felt for the tikbalang hero, i felt his rage, his purpose. Skyworld is deeper than i originally thought. It was gritty and on a level of fantasy that blurs the borders nightmares and dreamscapes. and the story was blending in well with the art as any good comicbook should. it was bloody and raw, it was like frank miller’s 300 on a Philippine history setting. I was awestruck.. well done guys, well done!

In closing, i can only say that if our comic book industry is pouring out titles like trese and skyworld, i think pinoy komiks is walking on sturdy soil and is treading on the right path. I think all that’s left now is to spread the word. To make people realize that its out there. And i’m one of the lucky ones who got to experience it first.

Tropa #2 Review

by Planet Makus

 As awesome as the first issue was, Tropa komiks #2 is definitely something that gives you much, much more. In Tropa #1, we got to know the main characters first – in issue #2, that is where we got to know more about their motives and that is where the action actually takes place. We really get more glimpses about each character’s past in here and we also get to meet some new, mysterious characters on pages 39 and 40, for example (Hhhmm… I wonder who that guy with baton and an amulet is…)
What’s more, Gilbert Monsanto enlisted 16 top-caliber artists to either ink his penciled work or to do the actual artworks in some pages themselves. So yes, this is really an all-star artist issue. We get some internationally-acclaimed Pinoy artists who have worked in Marvel, DC and Image such as Lan Medina (Punisher, Silver Surfer, Fables), Edgar Tadeo (Wolverine) and many others. In addition, we also meet promising new talents in the industry such as Renie Palo, Francis Ordoñez, Jon Zamar, Francis Lim etc… That is why even if you’d browse the pages randomly, you can be assured that you will find quality artwork really.

Now I’m not claiming to be a comics historian whatsoever so I wont mind being corrected at all if I’m wrong but I think Sacred Mountain has really done something that has never been done in the country before (or, at the very least, something that do not happen very frequently). I mean, where else could you find 16 world class comic book artists working on a single story? Well, yes I know that GASI, Sonic, Infinity and others had a lot of artists in their komiks in the past but they did different stories in one komiks, didn’t they?

The inkers really did great. As an example, well I always thought that Divina Diuata was cute but I think she looked cuter when Alejandro “Boy” Sicat (Stone, District X) inked pages 1 and 2. She was very beautiful there that I almost fell in love with her right then and there. Heheh…

In addition to inking one page, acclaimed inker Gerry Alanguilan (Superman: Birthright, New X-Men, Liquid City) also contributes an article entitled “Inks, Inking and Inkers”. Needless to say, that’s just appropriate and timely for this all-star inkers issue. As usual, his article is really educational and entertaining at the same time.

As if that wasn’t enough, we also get a treat for the special cover which was actually a collaboration between Monsanto and Leonard Banaag (Taleweaver writer for DC/Wildstorm). I really think this one’s so impressive and they really deserve a compliment for this awesome piece.

Because of the mentioned reasons and many, many others, Tropa #2 is really a more jam-packed issue than its predecessor. This issue has really set the standard so high that it would really be challenging to top this.

On the other hand, I have no doubt at all that Gilbert Monsanto and his artist friends can always come up with something more. And hey!.. Oh yeah…. I saw the Demigods preview on the ad pages again. Now that’s something I would REALLY love to read some time soon (after Rambol #3 gets released, of course).

Kalayaan #1-4 Comics Review

by Planet Markus

Having come across two positive reviews online (by Robin and Jaybhoi), I really had high expectations for Kalayaan comics. To be honest, however, reading all 4 issues didn’t actually meet those expectations - it exceeded it! Gio Paredes‘ Kalayaan comics was really quite an experience for me.Well, of course, I wasn’t totally blown away by Kalayaan #1. That one was a quick read for me but despite that, I really liked Blood Fang as an enemy. The idea that he grew bigger and bigger but increased in spped and strength at the same time was something I liked so much. Big guys that move fast sounds like a good idea to me.
Kalayaan #2, on the other hand, gives away a few glimpses in Kalayaan’s past. Gio really did well in building up the suspense for the last pages. The way the villains got hold of our hero was relaly quite interesting.

Among the 4 issues, Kalayaan #3 was the most action-packed. This was the issue where Kalayaan actually dealt with the actual villains that tried to kill him on the previous issue. And by the way, the concept of a high tech hut on pages 3 to 5 was really a cool one. I thought that was pretty awesome. On page 8, just before the actual fight, Kalayaan crushes the GPS in his hands in front of his enemies. Now thats some attitude you got there, Kalayaan! Keep it up, I like that too!

Now, for Kalayaan #4, Gio warned readers in the previous issue that this particular issue would be, in his own words, a “shocker.” When he said that one, he really wasn’t kidding at all. If #3 was all about action, this one balances things because it is filled with lots of emotions and drama - done in a very, very good way. I don’t want to spoil some important points of the story but I’d like to share that the moment I saw the image of a flying superhero with tears on his eyes, I knew that that was gonna stay with me for a long time. For me, that means that no matter how “powerful” and “superhuman” heroes are, they are still “humans” and are still intact with their emotions and feelings. If you have faced frustrations in life, you’d have no problem relating to that.

Despite Gio’s warning, I really would have to admit that I wasn’t prepared for the last page. I went something like “WHAT???” for that one. I guess I can say that this last page haunted me . There’s just so much emotion in that that I pondered about the scene for several days.

Over all, I’d commend Gio Paredes for his efforts on Kalayaan comics #1-4. Here’s a comicbook writer and artist who certainly isn’t the best in the world but who does it all out of sheer love - love for comics, as a medium and love for his characters. Furthermore, its really a joy to witness how he improves his craft with every issue he releases. He makes sure that each one is better than the previous ones he has come up with. He really managed to give us more than “just another superhero story”.

Check out his titles and see for yourself.

Who is Mars Ravelo?

  Everytime we hear the name, Mars Ravelo, most of us would immediately think of Darna or Captain Barbell, right? But aside from seeing him as the man behind these popular komiks characters, do you have a basic knowledge of his background? Hmmm… I’m guessing you don’t.. hehehe! Well then, I’m here to help. You think it’s hard to introduce a legend? Think again ‘coz I’m going wiki mode here… wahaha! So, here goes…

Mars Ravelo was born on October 9,1916 when the Philippines was still American Territory. Mars went through a life of hardship and dropped out of high school, vowing to be number one in whatever he did. Mars started out as a cartoonist, then as a writer, and later on as editor -in- chief for two major publications houses and even for several film companies. Ravelo was the highest paid comic writer during his time. He later established his own company, RAR, to give him more elbow room with more obras. Mars Ravelo used to say that he wanted to impart ” the highest form of values to the lowest tier of our society with the lowest form of literature”.

His contributions to the Filipino art world are quite remarkable. Some of his achievements are the classic fantasy of Darna the super heroine, Dyesebel the love-lorn mermaid, and Kaptain Barbel the super hero. Furthermore, he also created another classic drama about a young orphaned girl named Roberta. The movie was a huge success that made Sampaguita Pictures one of the biggest film outfitz in the 50’s. Vilma Santos starred in “Trudis Liit” and became an instant hit. Not to mention the unforgettable award-winning movie adaptation of Alicia Vergel’s Basahang Ginto. An additional feather to his hat is the controversial film about a homosexual in Lea productions, Tubog sa Ginto, another comic’s adaptation. And who can forget the love story of Maruja which was also immortalized on silver screen several times. Not only Mars Ravelo made us cry and played our imagination through his fantasy creations, but he also tickled our funny bones with Facifica Falayfay, and the lovable duo of Jack & Jill. His creations are his legacy to the world.

read full article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Ravelo

Well… now you know… hehehe!