WELCOME TO MY BATTLE STATION!!!

Journal Entry #24

04/29/12

Hello Journal

It’s been a while since I last hold a pen and a paper, oh by the way I’m Carlo Valenzuela, some people calls me Jebs or Boy Bakal but I don’t really mind whatever they call me. Ok, sa sobrang busy ko, ngayon lang ako nakasulat ng journal about me making comics heheheh anyways, here in my tiny “battle station” ang daming pwedeng gawin dito kaya madali akong madistract ng kahit anong bagay.

And also, this where I make comics and build some gunpla(gundam action figures). I’ve been building gunpla lately and I forgot about making comics, tapos bigla kong naalala na malapit na ang summer komikon at wala pa akong nagagawa ni isang page, kaya ito, focus muna sa comics. Right now I’m making BOY BAKAL ISSUE 5 and my new manga ALAPAAP.

Till the next entry friends =) MAKI BAKAL TAYO ^_^

--Carlo Valenzuela creator of Boy Bakal and stick-boy comics

"Heartstring Pizzicato"

Journal Entry # 23

03/28/12

(Entry #3 for "Callous Comics")

At last! Things are in motion!

Hooray! It looks like I made it to the Indie Komiks Tiangge of Summer Komikon 2012! Unfortunately, that also means that I have that much more pressure to finish my book and get it to the presses. The layout of "Callous Comics - On Lighter Dreams" is pretty much done. Which means I at least have the number of pages so I sent the book details to my favored printing press and I'm waiting for their quote. I'm hoping that I'll get a good enough price to switch to glossy paper but if not, book paper is fine. All I want to do right now is figure out a price for the book so that I can announce it. There's still work to be done, of course, for there are several additional panels added... many of which I still have to draw.

"Callous Comics" is thankfully still ongoing. I can at least produce a comic strip once a week though I expect an increasing frequency in coming days. Could I go back to my Monday-to-Sunday routine sooner than later? Time will tell! Nevertheless, I'm once again doing a storyline, though this time far from the uber-fantastic ala "The Land of the Guardians" and "On Lighter Dreams". The current tale, "Regret", has Rianne sorting out the unfinished business of a patient that passed away. Heartstring pizzicato is not my usual writing comfort zone... which is all the more reason I went with it! Immediately after "Regret" I have another storyline planned. I'm hoping to coordinate with a guest artist and co-writer for that one. Then I'll be back to doing gag-a-days.

As for "M.O.U.S.E.", I'm happy to say that the artist, Pilar, is already working on the first pages!

Until my next entry, have a great day, everyone!

- Carlo Jose San Juan, MD - creator, writer, and illustrator of "Callous"; Creator and writer of "M.O.U.S.E."

Art is Sweet

Journal Entry # 22

03/25/12

Hallo Mi Journal

I am super duper excited!!! Summer Komikon 2012 is coming up and I was able to make it to the indie list... So I was able to finish the script for DRAGON KID ISSUE 5, and now starting to work on the pages. I tell you, for me writing and drawing a story is two very different things for me. I always seem to manage to tell a story better through drawing better than writing it. I guess that is one of the things I love most about making komiks.. So far I was able to make a few pages already, and with luck I'll be able to finish the issue by the first week of April.

Another I like about drawing is that you get to learn new things as as you continue this. For me, I've learned to make Komiks in a step by step process.... sometimes I try a new inking technique or maybe a new art style in the process.... I like to say as I finished these new pages of my artwork, I can see my style is improving bit by bit.

Chibiheart has been supporting me as I work on my pages, though I think it is anticipating the desserts we have during our breaks hehehe.

Till next entry, ciao ciao for now :3

- Lady Storykeeper

Creator of DRAGON KID, REALM OF DREAMS, & ONE FLOOR UP

Artist Collaborator of ODDFELLOWS for Incubator Press

Tiger Interrupted

Journal Entry # 21

March 23, 2012

Hello!

It has been a really busy week for me! The current schedule interrupts my current planned schedule. From deadlines to meetings and back to deadlines again. I appreciate all of these though! It’s sad that I failed to register on time during the opening of booth registration for Komikon Summer. Thus, I’m planning to release Private I Café 2nd issue and it’s concluding 3rd issue will be released on November. I hope I won’t miss the registration again. Haha! Everything about Private I Café was already planned last year. The sketches, the cover study, the thumbnails and the conclusion were all just waiting for final execution. As of now, I can only reveal this cover teaser. ;)

Couple of days ago, I got few mails from Tigray readers. It’s inspiring how they express that the want the continuation. As of now, I’m still doing it on my free time (which I hardly have any, to be honest. XD). I won’t promise anything yet. However, let me show you a scene that I worked on for Tigray.

D.Ice is still doing great and I must admit that the huge part of my time goes to this project. I can say that I spend most of formulating Philippine related cases. It’s pretty hard to write about murders. As much as I’m trying not to get affected with what I write, I cannot avoid absorbing parts of it though. Watching local news and reading newspapers are added to my routine. You know, unexpected inspiration might just come from the news itself. Luzviminda, my muse, has been under hiatus since March 1, 2012. Perhaps, you can figure out why already. After I’m done with Private I Café and some commissioned works, I can say that I can focus on Luzviminda project again. I want the first issue to be my personal gift for my mom.

Signing off!

Ray Magbanua, creator of Detective Ice, Private I Café and Tigray (Revel Circle group)

Bed weather and itchy throat...

Journal Entry #20

03/21/12

Hi Journal!

I...really don't have much of an update, to tell you the truth...

I'm starting the pencils for CP vol. 4 now, and, lazy as it sounds, this weather is making me sleepy. Unfortunately, not only sleepy, but my throat is itching, and I'm getting asthmatic fits once in a while, with the sniffles on the side. I'm hoping this won't lead to coughing, or I'll really get into trouble...

Aside from CP, I'm working on something... I can't tell you anything yet until it's confirmed. So I'm still crossing my fingers. So that "thing" and CP vol. 4 is all I'm thinking most of the time...

And I went by a shop today to get more comic references I'm going to need for CP. Saw that awesome inking again from one of the titles I got, and again, it's making me want to either hide in a cave, or work my butt off to get to that level of inking, and let my hand fall off trying...*sigh*

That's all for now...^_^;

--Joanah Tinio-Calingo, writer and artist for Point Zero

On Lighter Dreams and busier days...

Journal Entry # 19

03/19/12

(Entry #2 for Callous Comics)

Stretching myself thin but not getting any lighter!

I once prided myself in being able to manage my time efficiently. However, there is an inherent peril in booking every second of your day. Once something new comes in demanding your time, it throws a proverbial wrench in your machinery! Nevertheless, this time, the wrench is a wonderful thing!

Last Valentine's Day my daughter was born, the second of my two children. Needless to say, it's been an absolute joy being around her! I took a week off from Callous after she was born then got right back into doing daily comics. However, it dawned on me pretty quickly that I wasn't as young as I used to be and I pushed myself perhaps a bit too far. It didn't take long before I realized that I just couldn't keep up with my self-imposed demanding comic schedule. Even my work on the layout of my upcoming book, Callous Comics - On Lighter Dreams, has slowed down considerably. Furthermore, as if Callous Comics didn't fill my plate enough, I also had the writing of M.O.U.S.E. to contend with! In the end there just weren't enough hours in a day. I couldn't even keep up with the multitude of social networks I frequent online. With a heavy heart, I had to cut down on my daily comic work and do it "when I can". Fortunately, I've still been able to make comic strips albeit not in the usual daily schedule.

Still, just because the train has slowed down doesn't mean it's not going to get to where it's going! I'm confident that once my daily routine stabilizes I'll be back at the drawing board on a regular basis! Until my next entry...

- Carlo Jose San Juan, MD - creator, writer, and illustrator of "Callous". Creator and writer of "M.O.U.S.E."

The Callous comic Strip Website

Callous on Twitter

Callous on Facebook

Brainstorming while we munch...

Journal Entry #18

03/16/12

(Entry #2 for Meganon)

Hola Chika Journal~!

It's a Tea Time brainstorming for Maika and I last weekend. We talked about some minor details of Mark 9verse47 Chapter 8 while munching on Strawberries, Trifle, Baguette and cream cheese and biscuits. (Di rin kami gutom no?)

Well, we need food to run our brains right, right? Since I'm into baking recently, might as well eat cakes while we work. It's good to think when you're eating good stuff.

So anyway, since Dragfly is now far from us because of the "change of office" thing. I was the one who did the editing. We changed some parts to make the story more fast paced and interesting. To communicate with Dragfly, email would be the best solution. But Dragfly is also busy with work (like us) so, I don't know what will happen. I'll keep my hopes up that we'll finish chapter 8 for the SUMMER KOMIKON.

We agreed on it and this weekend, I'll be starting on drawing the chapter 8. (FINALLY)

Until the next entry journal! Have you danced "Pearly Shells" yet? Go dance again!

Tepai Pascual.

MAKTAN 1521, MARK 9verse47,

NoodleBoy (Neverheard Comics)

MEGANON COMICS group]

Maika Ezawa.

Mark 9verse47

[MEGANON COMICS group]

Chronicling The Journey Through Comic Strips

Journal Entry #17

14 March 2012

Greetings, earthlings!

More than 2 months after the wedding, me and my wife were thrilled to discover that she is pregnant with our first child. Since then, we had lots of weird and funny experiences together and I enjoyed sharing them with some of our closest friends. Along the way, I suddenly had this wild idea of turning them into comic strips so we could share our tale with more people.

With my wife’s motivations, I did just that. Writing and drawing My Wife Is Pregnant is really a great learning experience for me. My wife is both my #1 fan and #1 critic. That’s definitely a good thing for a first-timer like me. With a little help from my friends (Teardrop Cordez at StephFaith Bautista – yey!), I got to finish a few strips. Actually, my wife even assisted me in inking a few panels because I am terribly bad at using rulers hahaha! I then posted the comics on my Facebook and made a Tumblr account for it just for fun.

Currently, I already have 11 pages of thumbnails (plus a cover concept) on my sketchbook. I’m hoping to work on them one step at a time. The goal is to complete at least 20 finished pages (I have 3 – 17 more to go!) and then eventually release them as a compiled comic book on one of the upcoming conventions. I believe this year’s November Komikon (or Summer Komikon 2013, at least) should be a good target. Besides, I think our baby’s birth should be the book’s main highlight. I want that to happen first and I want the experience captured on the strips as well.

Mark Rosario

Writer, Illustrator for My Wife Is Pregnant

PlanetMarkus

Studies, Translations and more studying...

Journal Entry # 16

03/12/2012

Hi again journal!

After getting hyped and uber excited about doing the actual pages, one important detail escaped my mind... Translations. *facepalm* You see, ever since I did CP, I did the script in English, because it was intended to be in English (Until one of my friends suggested that it would be nicer in Filipino, and I followed her advice for the actual comic). So my usual pre-production routine would be: Do manuscripts, do initial studies (visualization), do layout studies with translations then do final pencils... And I forgot I had to re-do the layouts of the rough drafts, and it was meant to be reworked later on with the translations and dialogue edits. So, I'm still working on that... =_=... But I also worked on a cover study (for Vol. 4...partially covered in the pic) and I'm also excited to do that. :3

Alongside admin duties on the indie komiks related pages (PZ, CP, 100 AnK, IKM), I also need to do a few other things to help promote our own titles. Flipgeeks was so gracious to offer indie artists to promote on the site...and this again escaped me (despite the sticky notes), and again forgot to submit the preview pages of Kanto Inc. (and do the Wiki page for it)...I'm getting forgetful ARGH~! =_=;

We also attended a family reunion at hubby's parent's house. I took the chance to look for a new comic reference. Some of our manga collection was left there, so I checked for some useful ones. After browsing the pages, I had this urge to study the inking and toning techniques used for one particular title and maybe adapt it (though the art style is totally different from mine). It also made me re-think the shading techiques I'm gonna use for Vol. 4, just to achieve the look I need for it. Looks like I'm gonna experiment this time... let's hope I can pull it off...

That's it for now... :)

-- Joanah Tinio-Calingo, Writer and artist for Point Zero

Detectives, Private Investigators and Baby Tiger on the loose?!

Journal Entry #15

March 9, 2012

Hello!

Coffee in a cafe and multitasking. Totally me! I’ve been working on two detective stories and a weekly one page comic strip. It’s really challenging but fun! Okay let’s start with Private I Café! It is a detective and crime genre komik project with a culinary twist. I’m currently working on the second book! I really hope I could release it on Komikon! I think I’m almost behind the schedule for production but I’m trying my best!

D.Ice, on the other hand, is also my current project too. It started as a detective genre one shot that I did last 2010 and will be featured on Oh-No! Manga soon! I think the schedule of release will be within the month of March! Tigray, my new online serial, is lighter than the two detective stories. Breather! I just had to do a three week hiatus because I had to deal with other projects. Komiks Wiki is something that I’ve been really looking forward to! I hope a lot of Pinoy Komik Artists will write article about their works for archiving! Totally a nice website! Also,I would like to thank Ms. Joanah Tinio-Calingo for making this Buhay Indie komiks blog activity happen!

Signing off!

Ray Magbanua, creator of Detective Ice, Private I Café and Tigray (Revel Circle group)

Crime-Fighting Call Center Agents now work for Segovia Solutions

Journal Entry # 14

03/06/2012

Uy!

Got your attention with the misleading title, right? Sorry about that, the BuhayIndie blog needs all the traffic it could get. It is not that off-topic though as I have found myself interacting with the creators of the wacky crime-fighting call center agents, the yin to the yang of our socially relevant call center. (Sorry, AJ, I can't think of any other adjective at this time.) More on that later. Anyway, as you may have already read from several comic group pages, Segovia Solutions # 1 is now available on Comicxhub, the country's largest comic online store. Being a newbie in this field, I got excited with our first consignment and shared and tweeted the links to the site. Luckily, I have well-known retweeters. If you don't have any idea on who they are, maybe it is time to watch the news or read the papers.

So you see, I was tweeting. Tweet here. Tweet there. Tweet everywhere. Then suddenly, a tweet from Noel Pascual, writer of Crime-Fighting Call Center Agents, halted my tweeting streak. I would like to call it a psst rather than a tweet because as I learned, I was using twitter the wrong way. But where does the great AJ Bernardo, artist of CFCCA fit in all of these? While Noel taught me something about the proper use of twitter, AJ creatively gave me a piece of advice on how to deal with online haters, who either hate mediamen or call center agents working for so-called capitalists.

See you when I see you!

Jerald Uy, writer Uy! Comics [Segovia Solutions, Amy Batong Bakal]

SegoviaSolutions

komiksreporter

The Gathering...

Journal Entry #13

03/04/2012

Hi, once more! Woow~ Just got home from driving to the mountains then back...checking some family business (required). While I was there, I have no choice but to continue writing while mom did the important things on her own (I'm acting as a driver). I'm currently finishing a script for a new release's Part 1 this coming MARCH 31. Though, it will be released here in Bacolod, I'll be bringing it with me this Summer Komikon 2012 (excited). Apart from that, there are a lot of emotional things going on...with a dear, dear friend of mine. I have nothing much to say in this entry. Sigh~

The pressure is on since I'm already updating sponsors...and unfortunately most of them are...gits...ESTE!...I mean...unsure of their answers. STILL! I hope they'll give me a positive one since MANHUA FEST will be like the FIRST EVER Komiks Gathering here in Bacolod. Hoping that it will be successful so that I can follow it up this October where I will be inviting you guys... :) Kaya ba? I've seen the covers of the releases and they're promising... Well...I'm just happy that the young ones are inspired to create and that they already crave to be in Komikon. I'm praying they'll have enough money to come with us this summer. Most of them are students. I guess I'm lucky since I love working with people that are enthusiastic and they've been MORE than enthusiastic recently.

Thank you very much for the support, guys! More power to INDIE KOMIKS!!! Joanah...Tepai...NAKU! Nalilito na ako kung ano ang dadalhin kong pagkain sa Summer Komikon. XD

-- Vivi Villegas (writer) | Until That Day (writer) Rook of the Rats (writer) | (Group) Ice Cream Indie

...Win a friend!

Journal Entry # 12

Mar 1, 2012

Buy a Comics, Win a Friend! :D

I need to catch up! There's really a lot of things that I plan to do! Sunod-sunod na ang mga events, kaya hindi dapat pumetiks-petiks, galing akong Baguio noong linggo Feb 26, dahil sa 2B3C (Baguio Comic Con) sabay ito sa Panagbenga 2012. Oks naman ang event nakipag-jamming ulit ako sa mga comics artist na andun, salamat nga pala kila Jon and the gang sa free ride, muntik na akong di makauwi sa dami ng tao, balita ko nga sa taxi driver na nasakyan ko, madaming hindi makakauwi kasi fully-booked ang lahat ng Bus, buti na lang sa Pangasinan ako uuwi nun, saka may kolorum na Van akong nasakyan ahaha. Nameet ko dun sila Amado, Benj,Mike and the gang, galing ng komiks nila! astig! Natuwa rin ako kasi binigyan ako ni Jon ng Gen. Andila fan art! yey!

Now let us go back to the comics topic, bale ilalabas ko ang Mukat issue 5 sa Summer Komikon, gagawin ko palang yung Cover page at tapos na, naayos ko na yung loob ng komiks. Bili kayo ha? :) Tuloy pa rin ang Digmaang Salinlahi colab namin ni Jon Zamar, sa mga hindi pa nakakabili ng Isyu 9 ng DS ako yung artist dun bili na din kayo, pinaghirapan namin yun! Itinutuloy ko din yung isa pang colab namin ni L.R.(secret muna), syempre yung Lucky Coin ko sa Neverheard Web Comics every friday ang update, hanggat maari gumagawa ako ng page per week, may 1-page comic din ako ng kakatapos lang para sa May event, at finally natapos ko na rin yung 3-page perview superhero komiks namin sa AKDA. Oo na hindi na ko masyadong busy, dagdag pa yung pasulpot-sulpot na request na caricature (sa mga nagpapagawa ng libre, pasensya na muna kayo, kailangan ko din naman mabuhay, I hope you understand) Napahaba na ata ang entry ko, kita-kits tayo sa summer Komikon! :D

Mel Casipit all-in-one creator of Mukat Comics