awesome! he really liked it!

RJ Ledesma was lucky enough to have a really long interview with Neil Gaiman (and managed to hug him as well). It was also great that RJ got to ask Gaiman about what he thought of the local comic book creators.

RJ: Did you also like Budjette Tan’s Trese?

GAIMAN : I really liked it. What I’m really enjoying right now is that people from the Philippines send me and give me comics. This makes me happy. And I just love the fact that these are comics using Philippine culture and folklore. One of the things I really love about the contest is the feeling that I got to point out to people that this stuff is cool. Because when I first came out here, people were giving me books of local folklore and I was reading them. And I was loving them. People would then ask me, “What do you like?” and I would tell them “I liked the aswangs and the manananggals.” After that, they would ask me if I would put them in my stories. Then I started feeling as if I did (write about them) it would lend them some kind of legitimacy, but I would be like a cultural tourist. But what about you guys? This stuff is yours!

read the complete interview at:
Sandman Hearts The Dork Knight
POGI FROM A PARALLEL UNIVERSE By RJ Ledesma
(The Philippine Star) March 21, 2010
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=559724


Last Thursday, I had my third close encounter with the Prince of Stories and was able to personally give him a copy of TRESE: MASS MURDERS. Despite having OT that night, I was able to get to the line on time all because of Wella, who got me my signing pass, my number in line (I was #337), and arranged for everything so that I could once again meet Mr. Gaiman. :-)



I introduced myself, showed him a copy of Trese and the postcard he sent me last year, and he said, "Oh, that's you! AWESOME!" (Wella also shot a video, so we have proof that Mr. Gaiman said that Trese is AWESOME.)



While Gaiman was signing my copies of Sandman, the Fully Booked clerk who was assisting him saw the copy of Trese that I just handed over. He looked at the book and then looked at me and asked, "You're Budjette Tan? You wrote Trese? Oh wow! Nice to meet you!" And we shook hands above Gaiman's head -- which was a very strange moment for me.



And all the while Gaiman was signing my books, I just kept saying thank you. I wonder if I should've kept bowing while and should've said, "Thank you, m'lord! Thank you, m'lord! Thank you, m'lord!"



And Mr. Gaiman wrote...


thanks to Wella and Gerry for the photo & video coverage

flashback!!! here's my report from the 1995 San Diego Comic-Con
the first time I met the Dream King.
http://babblingpoint.blogspot.com/2005/07/blog-post_06.html