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Friday, August 21, 2009

KOMIKON AWARDS 2009 (And the nominees are...)





You can vote by going to:
http://www.komikon.org/

If you're a member of DeviantArt, you can vote at:
http://komikon.deviantart.com/

Or you can do it the old fashion way and fill up VOTING BALLOTS at:

Comic Odyssey
•Robinson’s Place, Level 3 Ermita,Manila
•Robinson’s Galleria, Level 3 Expansion Mall,Edsa cor. Ortigas
Comic Quest
•Lower Ground Floor Bldg. A, SM Megamall
•2nd Floor Main Bldg., SM City North Edsa

Thursday, August 13, 2009

down the other dark corridor: WAKING THE DEAD

I’ve been looking forward to this horror anthology from Yvette Tan.

I first read her works in the pages of Rogue magazine. As I read her stories, I’d muttered “Hey! That’s my idea! Bad trip! She beat me to this plot!” Moments later, I’d burst out and say, “Bad trip! She did it better! Damn! That was great!” (Those two stories, “Boss, Ex” and “Seek Ye Whore” are included in the book.)

Ruel de Vera recently reviewed the book:

EYES wide with wonder and flushed with fear, the individuals at the dark heart of Yvette Tan’s stories are unsuspecting people suddenly touched by an inexplicable yet irresistible phenomenon – just like the readers who gingerly approach Tan’s first collection, “Waking the Dead and Other Horror Stories” (Anvil Publishing, Inc., Pasig City, 2009).

That is because Tan has laced her 10 precision-machined stories with elements of horror which are neither contrived nor telegraphed. She takes the mundane and turns it into something menacing.

The first story, “The Child Abandoned,” exemplifies Tan’s approach. Set in Quiapo, the tale centers on the unusual child Teresa, who seems to have an eerie connection with the despoiled Pasig River and the profound change the Pasig undergoes. While it was not obvious at first, the events in this story are the lynchpin of the collection, essentially making the others possible.

“The Bridge” takes that conceit even further, taking a political figure called Madame and the bridge she built at San Juanico into decidedly darker territory: “The presence rode the air, slithered past me, whispered in my ear. It was all I could do, not to bat it away, to run screaming from the room. I could feel my heart beating fast in my chest. I have always been comfortable with my abilities, never been afraid of the beings I could see and hear and feel, until now. I knew what an enkantada was, and a duwende and a kapre. I did not know what was in the room with me.”

Tan’s narrators and protagonists are mostly young yet transcendent, and perhaps the most fascinating thing about “Waking” is how all of Tan’s stories seem to occur in the same parallel Philippines: “Making one’s way through a Quiapo crowd is never easy, especially today. At one point, I found myself in the arms of a tikbalang. Legend has it that before the saint gave life back to the river, the city belonged only to humans. Sta. Teresa’s miracle had opened the doors for the folk of the Other Country… until Quiapo became a melting pot for different species.”

Tan’s stories rise like the enchanted river to meet their readers, the words like brackish water suddenly turning clear. Something is awakened in this book, an irresistible trap of terror and talent from Yvette Tan, whose seductively scary stories will make readers glad they acquiesced when offered this fateful bargain: “Drink, and your eyes will be opened.”

Anvil Publishing will launch “Waking the Dead and Other Stories” by Yvette Tan at 4 p.m. on Aug. 15, 2009, at PowerBooks, SM Megamall.

READ THE COMPLETE REVIEW AT:
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view/20090810-219533/Dead-and-loving-it

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

TRESE at the Metro Comic Con 2009




Congratulations to the organizers of the first METRO COMIC-CON!
From out side of the conventional hall, everything was pulled off without a hitch. (I think the only untoward incident of the event was when Chez Fidelino's Powerbook was stolen from the Sputnik Comics booth.)

Thanks to everyone who bought copies of TRESE. Thanks to the ones who already had copies but decided to buy new ones because they forgot their copies at home and they really, really wanted us to vandalize their mint condition copies of Trese.

It was great to finally meet the people we originally met online, especially the ones we’ve met on DeviantArt.



Thanks to everyone who also got the Trese Amulettes (and to everyone who laughed at my joke about the amulettes having magical powers – yes, I know only two of you laughed, but I kept telling that joke anyway).

If you were not able to get any Trese Amulettes, we’re planning to make them available soon. Just give Ronnie and Ceres time to make more. (Yes, each one is hand-made!)



Thanks to Wella for manning the booth through-out the con and for doing a convincing job in pitching the comics to people ("Yes, this is about supernatural crime... and this one is about Third World superheroes.")

Thanks to Sally and Kid Kulit for taking care of the Trese sales.

Many thanks to ones who got Skyworld and The Filipino Heroes League. Hope you liked those books as well and send us feedback soon!

If you missed out on those titles, read more about them at:
http://skyworldcomics.multiply.com/
http://pfab.deviantart.com/

Thanks again for patiently waiting for TRESE: BOOK 3. If you noticed Kajo sketching away at the table then you already got a glimpse of the final pages to Case #13.

By the way, TRESE has been nominated in several categories at KOMIKON AWARDS. Please do us the favor and vote for TRESE at
http://komikon.deviantart.com/

See you at the 2009 KOMIKON, October 18 at the Megatrade Hall!



































(thanks to Brandie and Lette for the pix)


Gerry's MCC video blog

Monday, August 10, 2009

Paging ... RENJAY

Hey Mr. Renjay,

Last Saturday, at the Metro Comic-Con (MCC), you bought copies of TRESE from us.

You left something at the booth.

Please leave your contact info on this blog or email me at:
budj @ rocketmail .com

Thanks again for buying TRESE!

Hope you enjoyed reading it.




Tuesday, August 04, 2009

TRESE Amulettes



UPDATE: Sorry, these items are currently out-of-stock. We will post an update on this blog if these will be available again. Thank you very much.  

hey kids :)

Bad news: TRESE: BOOK 3 won't be ready for the Metro Comic Con

Good news: available at the MCC will be these TRESE AMULETTES :)
(which may or may not provide you with protection against aswang and enkanto -- but will definitely attract the opposite sex and make them say: "Wow! That's so cute! What's your name?)

The Amulettes will be available in the following variants:
rings
necklaces
keychain/charms

Price? Very affordable!
(to be determined ... but definitely below P100)
hehehe

--budjette

p.s. Yes, TRESE Book 1 & 2 will be available at the MCC, as well as THE LAST DATU, written by me and Kajo (and drawn by Kajo)

TRESE Amulettes created and designed by
Ceres and Ronnie

TRESE in Supreme/Phil.Star

Lucky 13
READ NOW By J. Vincent Sarabia Ong
Philippine Star, SUPREME, August 1, 2009
http://tr.im/v1r9

The number thirteen doesn’t need to be unlucky. This is true for Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo’s comic book Trese that has gained an occult following and sold over 8,000 copies in Powerbooks alone. Trese follows the adventures of private investigator Alexandra Trese and his bodyguards, the Kambals, who investigate the not-so-friendly aswangs and tikbalangs in your neighborhood.

Although this column has already spotlighted Trese last October, I was able to catch up with its writer Budjette Tan in his National Book Development Board (NBDB) talk about his creature creations at Filipinas Heritage Library last Saturday. The number 13 has been good luck for its creator as Trese has goose-bumped its way into many readers’ nightmares. This includes being the first comic book to be reviewed by the NBDB. For those who missed the talk, Budjette revealed many things for fans to scream about, including clues about book 3. Enjoy the 13 sacred elemental facts about Trese below that will keep you up at night.

READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE AT:
http://komix101.blogspot.com/2009/08/trese-in-supremephilstar.html