Metro Comic Con ’09: Indie Komiks Panel

Indie Komiks Panel: Metro Comic Con 2009

To all future panel moderators, here’s a protip: know who the members of the panel are. I don’t know if Male Host #2 was joking when he asked whether Pol Medina was  amongst the waiting panelists but it was more of an awkward moment than a humorous one.

Inauspicious beginnings aside (the announcement about the missing laptop was also made before the panel began) the Indie Komiks panel proved to be an insightful glimpse in to the prevailing attitudes of some of the most successful veterans in the field of Independent Local Comics. The panelists were Heubert Khan Michael (Unstoppable), Reno Maniquis (Maskarado), Gener “Ner P” Pedrina (Sanduguan), Elbert Or (Bakemono High), Gio Paredes (Kalayaan), Gilbert Monsanto (Bayan Knights), Budjette Tan (Trese), and, in an appearance that was a surprise even to him, Andrew Drilon (The Love Eaters).

What follows is a summary of some of the salient points raised during the panel. If I missed anything significant or interesting, please feel free to let me know in the comments.

Q1: Why do you still call yourselves “Indies”? There is no longer a local comics industry right?

Gilbert: Well, in essence that’s correct. What we mean by “Indie” however is that we produce our komiks with our own resources, without depending on external corporate backers.

[Can't remember if it was Gilbert or Elbert who mentioned that Liwayway still published, though their komiks are a different format. Psicom also gets mentioned, but for its foreign licensed DC and Marvel titles.]

Elbert: Actually, there are still some publishers. There is also the book publishing industry. The komiks industry is mature enough that there is much less of a distinction between komiks and books.

Budjette: Many of the local book publishers we’ve worked with, such as Visiprint and Adarna, give us a lot of creative freedom. Also, we are “Indie” in the sense that, unlike creators who work with Marvel and DC, we own our characters.

[More Q and A after the break.]

Manilart 09: What Caught My Eye

I love art exhibits, although to be honest a lot of the more popular contemporary styles are a bit too abstract for my tastes–or too boring: I can see and respect the artistry that was required to paint a photo-realistic picture… but if it’s just another beatified pastoral-rural scene my eyes glaze over. I guess my cousin is the one who got all the high-end artistic appreciation skillz.

Still, I do love art exhibits and Manilart 09 seemed to boast a wide enough variety of styles and mediums of artwork to entice me and my wife to brave the possibility of gale force winds last weekend for the NBC Tent. I’m glad we did-there was a lot of stunning and (to my uncultured eye at least) innovative art on display. Here are some of my favorite pieces that contained elements of the surreal and the fantastic:

“Let’s Save the World” by Anthony Palo: Anyone for a high-art RPG? I love the feeling of eerie whimsy I get from this piece. Strange how it’s the humans who look the most alien to my eye… if they are humans that is.

“Claws” by Lotsu Manes: There’s just something striking about a Superman costume being the prize in a traditional pabitin - especially when you realize that, upon a close inspection of the grasping hands, those children aren’t human.

“Guardian of Patrimony” by Randalf Dilla: What I like here is the way the different elements are structured in such a way that the layered/tiered canvas gives the impression of depth.

[More favorites from Manilart 09 after the cut]

Things I’ve Learned About Writing in 2009 (Part 1)

I was reading a post from Escape Pod editor Jeremiah Tolbert entitled An Editor’s Perspective on Rejection which raises a lot of good points, and I got to thinking about all I’ve learned this year about writing. I think I finished a grand total of two stories in 2008–this year so far I’ve finished seven short stories, three pieces of flash fiction and a host of twitter stories (and one “flash script”). I’ve also received my very first rejection letters, and, as Jeremiah says in his post, those do hurt.

However as he also says, everyone gets rejected, no matter how good a writer you may be; it’s just part of the writer’s life. That’s one lesson I’ve learned about writing in general and my writing in particular since the year began–here are a few others:

(1) I Need Raw Material: I think the biggest breakthrough I had was realizing that I’m much, much better at constructing a story from a bad story than I am at generating one on the fly. I can–and still need to–outline a story before I begin, but I’m rarely able to make it work without looking at a complete first draft; I just don’t have the right perspective without seeing the entire narrative–or at least a version of it–play out. Without a complete draft, I’m like a sculptor chipping away at air.

(2) First Drafts are Allowed to Suck: I think I first heard this made explicit on Mur Lafferty’s podcast, and given lesson one above, it was such a relief to internalize. The goal with my first drafts is now simply to finish the story:  all the bells and whistles can come later.

Summer Workshops 2009

Yes I know it hardly feels like summer now (was it really only a few weeks ago that we were complaining about the Arakis level heat?) but for those looking to hone their creative talents–or vicariously perfect them through their children–there are a still a few summer workshops which have yet to begin, so here are a few that I haven’t seen publicized much, as well as some new details on the Fully Booked Science Fiction and Fantasy Writing workshop.

First up we have three workshops at the Lopez Memorial Museum (found through Pinoycentric and PEZSEUM, the museum’s blog). These workshops are part of the Book Matters festival, celebrating books and reading:

Fan Fiction with Anna Ishikawa
Date: May 30 and June 6 (Saturdays)
Time: 9 am to 12noon
Fee: P700 inclusive of materials

This is something I find very intriguing, as I know that we have a horde of active fanfic writers in the Philippines, quite a few of whom are very good, or very popular–and on rare occasions: both. I think that fanfic is modern the gateway drug to writing–it certainly was in my case.

The workshop is to be given by Anna Felicia C. Sanchez Ishikawa (link is to her bio at Panitikan.com as I can’t find a blog or website) an award winning writer and published author in books such as Nine Supernatural Stories (2005),  Pinoy Amazing Adventures (2006) and Loyola High: Freshman Diaries (2006).

Here’s the blurb from PEZSEUM: (Although I sort of wish they’d link to any fanfics she’s got online–I’d find it very cool if a Palanca winner pointed us to, say, her Naruto AU fanfic ^_^)

Are you a fan? What does it mean to be a fan? The modern phenomenon of fan fiction as an expression of fandom and fan interaction was popularized and defined via the Star Trek fandom and fanzines published in the 1960s. Author Anna Felicia Sanchez Ishikawa will explore fandom through a workshop on May 30 and June 6 from 9am to 12 noon. She will discuss its history, the characteristics and diversity of fan writing, and the challenges faced by a fan writer. Workshop fee is P700.

Resource: The Medieval Fortress

I’ve been slaving away to make the deadline for the Farthest Shore anthology, and I can now say with all honesty that anyone who believes that writing fantasy is easier than writing science fiction has never really tried to find out how much thought goes into the creation of your typical medieval castle. A quick Google or Amazon search however will be quick to reveal that there is more to that fantasy staple than four towers, a drawbridge, and a princess framed in a window.

Note to self: the next time you write a fantasy, set it in a wide open plain.

Unfortunately as my intended submission deals with a siege, there really was no way around doing at least some rudimentary research into the topic–even knowing full well that ninety percent of what I learn isn’t going to go into this story. In case anyone might find it helpful, I’d like to reccomend the book I used as my primary reference material: The Medieval Fortress by J.E. Kaufmann and H.W. Kaufmann.

Since I was a bit pressed for time, my research was focused only on certain portions of the book, but it’s safe to say it is a very useful resource for anyone planning to create a work in a medieval setting: it is liberally interspersed with charts and diagrams that clearly distinguish everything from siege maneuvers, to the parts of a fortified town, or layouts of famous castles.It goes through the development of the castle as a defensive structure, from its early beginnings to its fall from grace in modern times.

If I have any quibbles, it’s the fact that while the charts are clear, some of the black and white photographs are too dark and hence it can be difficult to make out the details in pictures of the actual edifices. Likewise, while it was helpful, I found the few pages devoted to social organization and army size to be a bit lacking, at least insofar as the “social organization” part is concerned.

Using the Kindle (App) in the Philippines

As a book-lover–and one who doesn’t strictly define “book” as a physical item composed of ink and paper–the gadget that has always inspired the most envy in me is not a flashy phone nor an overclocked computer but the Amazon Kindle: not because of pleasing design (it’s quite clunky) or a surplus of handy features (it’s no smart phone) but simply because… well it’s a bookstore in my hand: what’s not to like?

Well, two things come to mind: (a) the price ($359); and (b) the fact that the “bookstore” element is only really available in the US. So when my old faithful Palm Zire went to the great gadget heap beyond, I decided not to wait for the inevitable international version of the Kindle and nabbed an iPod Touch instead–little did I know that, in a way, I’d gotten both.

This year Amazon released a Kindle App for the iPhone and iPod Touch which addresses both of my earlier concerns: (a) it is free; and (b) we can use it without leaving our tropical (oh man this summer heat) homes.

Here’s how:

Last Week In Science (22-29 March)

Every now and then I’ll put together a list of noteworthy science related news/research that might prove useful or interesting to creators of the Filipino Fantastic, whether as indicators of future trends or inspiration for future works.

And no, these are not April Fools’ articles ^_^

News and Developments:

• Despite DNA Evidence Twins Charged in Heist Go Free (via Freakonomics): I never thought there would be an upside to having an “evil twin.”

Here’s the joke: the authorities had no choice, as the court ruling made clear: “From the evidence we have, we can deduce that at least one of the brothers took part in the crime, but it has not been possible to determine which one.” Identical twins share 99.99% of their genetic information, and the tiny differences are impossible to isolate because of their nature; they tend to be spontaneous mutations limited to certain organs or tissues. “Identifying those [differences] would amount to dissecting the suspects,” says Peter M. Schneider, a University of Cologne forensic expert. “Our hands are tied in a case like this,” says criminal-law expert Hans-Ullrich Paeffgen of Bonn University. “The law doesn’t allow us to detain someone indefinitely just because he is suspected of a crime. This may be different elsewhere. But I’d rather live in a country where someone guilty is not convicted for lack of conclusive evidence than in a place where innocent people are locked up.”

• Anti-teenager pink lights designed to make kids ashamed of their appearance (via Boing Boing): Maybe this is Bayani Fernando’s grand plan.

Yobs are being shamed out of anti-social behaviour by bright pink lights which show up their acne.

The lights are so strong they highlight skin blemishes and have been successful in moving on youths from troublespots who view pink as being “uncool.”