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

Reviews about THE CLINIC

"To me, [THE CLINIC] is the most fully-executed story of the four, just because it seamlessly marries the dreamlike quality of Baldisimo’s light, airbrushed images to the irrevocably showbiz backdrop of Lyn’s encounter with the supernatural. The story offers an unforeseen turn-around--just when you thought the worst thing Lyn would have to face was a tiyanak, you are greeted with a pleasant surprise: that there are more frightening things than unborn babies. The incidents that occur while Lyn is unconscious at the titular Clinic evoke a variety of reactions, among them the morbid wonder and mild disgust of good horror. The idea it leaves with the reader is the sort that persists long after you’ve put the book down, and this is a phenomena which, depending on how you look at it, is the worst or best thing that a horror story can do."
Deficient in Darkness: A review of Underpass by Fidelis Tan
http://www.thepoc.net/metakritiko/metakritiko-opinions/3962-deficient-in-darkness-a-review-of-underpass.html


"I have never accepted, at least on my literature’s style of writing, the use of flowers to symbolize a woman’s sexual organ. And with this credence, I never incorporated flowers and butterflies on my works to denote womanhood in terms of sex and rock and roll. A vagina is a vagina. No less, no more. But when I read the Underpass, a graphic anthology comprising of four different stories of Summit Media, I changed my mind. The Clinic by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo is a one good comic story."
http://axrealm.com/2010/02/the-clinic-where-abortions-are-done-in-a-different-manner/

"Face your worst fear as they say. Summit Media comes up with this Graphic Anthology called Underpass and collects 4 original stories from today's great minds like Gerry Alanguilan and Budjette Tan. (It's Summit's take on putting komiks mainstream) For some strange reason, we like being scared. We Filipinos have this thing for the mythological/paranormal creatures and these 4 short stories will give you that. I think that Budjette Tan is probably the best person to talk to when discussing Aswang, Duwendes, Kapres, Tiyanaks and Manananggal. The writer's brilliant when it comes to these creatures."
http://jiggycruz.blogspot.com/2010/02/underpass.html

Read the complete episode of THE CLINIC at
http://tresekomix.blogspot.com/2010/01/down-other-dark-corridor-clinic.html

THE CLINIC is part of the horror anthology UNDERPASS (now available in bookstores and magazine shops nationwide)

For more preview pages of UNDERPASS, click the link below
http://www.summitgraphicnovels.com.ph/

Ambush vs Trese! Fight!

AMBUSH by Andrew Villar
http://ambush007.multiply.com/

TRESE: The Last Full Show

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pngd_lPVzVE

Many thanks for Dan and Dang of IDEALS Creatives for inviting me to be part of last year's Pecha Kucha.

In Pecha Kucha "each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up."

So, I decided to do make my presentation a tour of Trese's Manila, which became a 6 minute 40 second Trese short story.

Doing this event was a dream come true. One of my favorite scenes in the move CAPOTE was the part where he read the opening chapter of his book to jam-packed theater. It amazed me at how people were willing to spend a night watching a man standing in front of a podium and slowly read his tale to them. No special effects. No grand soundtrack. Just the man, his story, and the sound of his voice. Watching that scene, I wondered when I would get the chance to do the same thing.

It was wonderful to be given the chance to do just that. So, thanks again to Dan, our super-host Jao Bautista, and the team who put together Pecha Kucha Manila.

Watch the rest of the talks at
http://www.youtube.com/user/pechakuchamanila

Pecha Kucha Night Manila Vol. 2 - Budjette Tan, writer and co-creator of "TRESE" graphic novel, December 9, 2009, Cineplex 3, Shangri-La Plaza Mall, EDSA

Organized by Ideals Creatives (http://ideals.ph)

Visit: http://pechakuchamanila.com/main/
Follow: http://twitter.com/pechakucha_MNL
Email: pknmanila[at]gmail.com

ABOUT PECHA KUCHA
Pecha Kucha Night, devised by Astrid Klein and Mark Dytham (Klein Dytham architecture), was conceived in 2003 as a place for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public.

But as we all know, give a mike to a designer and you'll be trapped for hours. The key to Pecha Kucha Night is its patented system for avoiding this fate. Each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. This keeps presentations concise, the interest level up, and gives more people the chance to show.

Pecha Kucha (which is Japanese for the sound of conversation) has tapped into a demand for a forum in which creative work can be easily and informally shown, without having to rent a gallery or chat up a magazine editor. This is a demand that seems to be global as Pecha Kucha Night, without any pushing, has spread virally to over 200 cities across the world.

a new story from The Diabolical

TRESE: I CARRY YOUR HEART

“I came from one of the dorms, near the university. College boy was found dead in his room. It was locked from the inside. No sign of forced entry. No signs of struggle and no wounds on the body. And since there were no visible means of suicide and no note, my guess is he died of natural causes. We’ll just have to wait for Spunky from the morgue to tell us otherwise.” Guerrero finished the rest of his tale as well as his coffee.

Trese closed her eyes and asked, “Was the body drenched in sweat? Or at the very least, did his forehead and lips have beads of sweat?”

Guerrero thought about it for a second and said, “Why, yes! Yes, it was!”

“And did the air smell sweet? As if you were standing near a lot of fruit?” Trese continued.

“Yes. I thought it was the boy’s cologne or something. Why? You know what killed him?”

“It was a bangungot!” the Kambal raced to answer the question. Trese raised her glass to the Kambal for giving the right answer.

READ THE COMPLETE STORY AT:
http://diabolical13.blogspot.com/2010/02/trese-i-carry-your-heart.html

And you might also like to read TRESE: THE USUAL STPOT
http://diabolical13.blogspot.com/2009_02_13_archive.html

and for those interested, here's the traditional description of a bangungot based the research and writing of Maximo D. Ramos:

BANGUNGOT

Geographic origin of myth: Ilocos and Tagalog

The Bangungot (called Batibat by the Ilocanos) is described as a large, dark man or woman who sits on the chests of sleeping persons. Unable to breathe, the victim dies unless medical attention is given. The name comes from the root words “bangon” (to rise) and “ungol” (to groan). As a medical phenomenon, bangungot is exclusive to Asians, primarily Filipinos. All victims are males. Bangungot is not to be confused with sleep paralysis, which is common and harmless.

TRESE goes UP!

UPDATE: my apologies to the U.P. WRITER'S CLUB. I will not be able to attend today's forum on comic book writing. Hope to be part of your next forum.




And on FEB 13(SAT) I will be at U.P.L.B. along with the other guys from Alamat. (Kajo will not be able to join us on this day, since he will be far, far away.)

More details at: http://komikstrip.jonasdiego.com/

down the other dark corridor: THE CLINIC

THE CLINIC
Story by Budjette Tan
Art by Kajo Baldisimo

THE CLINIC is part of the horror anthology UNDERPASS (now available in bookstores and magazine shops nationwide)

For more preview pages, click the link below
http://www.summitgraphicnovels.com.ph/

my profile pic

Thanks to JEM BASILIO for my new profile pic :-)

Trese 5000

Thanks to everyone that made 2009 such a great year for TRESE. The latest unofficial count is we’ve already sold over 5,000 copies of Books 1 and 2. We hope that Book 3 will sell as much.

Thanks to everyone who got copies --who got copies and gave them away as gifts (we’d get the occasional email from people abroad about how they got copies of Trese from their relatives over here).

Thanks to everyone who reviewed it on their blogs, Twitter, Plurk, Facebook, Friendster, and Multiply. It’s just amazing how these reviews range from the simple thank you's to lengthly, complex analysis that reads like a thesis paper. Thank you very taking the time to say all those wonderful things about Trese.

By the way, there is now a Trese Facebook page which you can now join:
https://www.facebook.com/TreseComics (updated 2015)

This January, me and Kajo start working on the next Trese case. We hope to finish a new book just in time for the Komikon in October/November.

And just so that you get your Trese-fix a bit earlier, we also hope to release preview books during the comic-cons that will be happening during the first half of the year.

And don’t’ forget to check out UNDERPASS graphic anthology (available wherever you also find Trese). The last story in the book, “The Clinic” was made by me and Kajo.

THE CASE OF THE FAULTY BINDING


We’ve been receiving feedback from readers that the copies of TRESE that they bought have faulty binding; that the pages fall off from the spine soon after they read it. This is the first time we’ve started to get such reports. We apologize that this has happened.

Here are two ways you can have your copies replaced:

1
Return the book to the bookstore where you bought it and have it exchanged for a new one. It would be best that you bring your receipt and that you get it exchanged within a week of purchase.

2
Go to the Visprint office and exchange your copy with a new one. Please bring your receipt as well. Email Visprint at book_inquiry @ visprint .net for more details.

(Obviously, if you’ve had that copy for several months already and the pages have fallen off because it has been passed around to everyone in your household, you school or office, then we’d have to decline in giving you a new copy.)

Thank you very much!

Do you believe in ... ?

Yvette Tan, author of the horror anthology WAKING THE DEAD, has started a new segment in her blog, where she interviews people about their beliefs and encounters with the supernatural and paranormal. I am honored to be her first victim.

Click on the link below to read about the time we lived in a haunted house, the time we got caught between two warring tribes of duwende, and the time we tried to look for the 13th house on 13 Street.



From Yvette's blog : This is the first post in an experiment I am conducting where twice a month (hopefully), I post a short interview of a person whose work have a tinge or more of darkness about them (although I may branch out later), not about their work (because you can easily google those), but about their beliefs and experiences in the supernatural.

I am honored to have Budjette Tan, one of the country’s best known comic book writers and whose well-crafted works of dark fantasy I admire.

CLICK THE LINK TO READ THE COMPLETE INTERVIEW:
http://yvettetan.com/2010/01/05/interview-budjette-tan/

a toast to the new year

Here's to your new year.
May you find the road that will bring you further;
discover the path that will bring you answers;
find the one that will bring you home.

Alexandra vs Ketsana

This is our contribution to the Renaissance project -- the benefit project organized by Whilce Portacio, Philip Tan, and Ernest Hernandez of Hobbylink.

Whilce recently did an interview with USA TODAY about the project / event which will happen on January 9, 2010 at the Megatrade Hall:

Whilce said, "We're working on an event right now called Renaissance. It's a charity auction that's going to be held on Jan. 9 that will provide money to some of these artists who have fallen on tough times. I got the top Filipino artists together to create pieces for this auction. Their mission was to create a Filipino superhero. I told them, 'You're world-class artists, make a character that kids in the Philippines can look up to, can be inspired by.' I want these kids to see artists creating heroes that look like them and that live and interact in local places that they recognize. It's a key part of establishing that sense of history, pride and legacy. If we can do that while providing support for artists in need, then we're accomplishing two worthy goals at the same time."

More details about the event in the coming weeks!

READ THE COMPLETE INTERVIEW AT:
Filipino comic book artists unite for heroic cause
By John Geddes, USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/2009-12-14-filipino-artists-unite_N.htm

TRESE in Powerbooks.com.ph

You can now order the complete set of TRESE at
http://powerbooks.com.ph



Just click on the links below:

TRESE: MURDER ON BALETE DRIVE
http://powerbooks.com.ph/webinternal/products.asp?product_id=4204

TRESE: UNREPORTED MURDERS
http://powerbooks.com.ph/webinternal/products.asp?product_id=4770

TRESE: MASS MURDERS
http://powerbooks.com.ph/webinternal/products.asp?product_id=5049

down the other dark corridor: CONSTRUCTING "UNDERPASS"

A pedestrian walkway.
A SIM card.
A beauty clinic.

These and other ordinary things become more than what they seem in “Underpass”, a full-color graphic novel recently launched by Summit Media.

“Underpass” brings together such established names in the local comic book industry like Gerry Alanguilan, David Hontiveros, Oliver Pulumbarit, Ian Sta. Maria, Budjette Tan, and Kajo Baldisimo, who come up with urban legend for a new generation in stories like “The Sim”, “Katumbas”, “Judas Kiss”, and “The Clinic”.

“In a strange and twisted way, I hope it’ll bring back some wonder and sense of the fantastic in their lives,” Tan adds. “Technology has made the stuff of science fiction a reality. It’s not fantastic anymore. It’s just common place. We don’t see haunted-looking houses these days. We are surrounded by condos and high rises. Maybe we can take such things and make them mysterious.”

READ THE COMPLETE INTERVIEW AT:
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/233564/a-sense-fantastic

Trese 1031

Read the complete TRESE: MASQUERADE at
http://tresekomix.blogspot.com/2011/01/trese-masquerade-complete-story.html

start them young

I got this text : Hey budj!! I'm in Bohol airport,sitting beside a pink-studded tweener. She's reading Trese instead of Twilight.

And that just made my day.

But I do wonder how Trese's younger readers are liking the book. Most of the people who email and blog about it are already in college or are already working.

Last Christmas, my boss bought TRESE for her nephews and nieces. The day after Christmas, she started getting text messages from her sister, saying, "Why did you give my kids this comic book? It's scary and violent!"

Couple of months ago, a similar thing happened. A friend got his kids copies of TRESE and I got a text about how his two boys were now sleeping in the same because they got scared after reading the book. It took that as a compliment.

At the recent comic book conventions, a 12-year old girl approached the table and asked for our autographs. Her mom was standing right behind her. The girl looked nervous. Her mom was smiling. I wasn't sure if I should've warned her about the contents of the book. I thought, "Hey! She bought it with parental consent, so it should be okay!"

So, far I have not received any complaints from parents about their kids running around pretending to be Trese and the Kambal; no complaints of kids trying to poke the eyeballs out of their friends in an attempt to cast a scrying spell.

Anyway, just wanted to remind you that, with Christmas closing in, I'd still highly recommend that you give your inaanak a complete set of TRESE, now available in your local bookstore and comic book shop.

when crimes takes a turn for the absurd...

Lydon Gregorio originally uploaded this story at:
http://beerkada.deviantart.com/





See more BEERKADA comic strips at:
http://www.beerkada.net/

Check out Lyndon's first Beerkada graphic novel!!!


GO BEERKADA
now available at
bookstores and
comic book stores

SkyLeague13 at Sputink

my FHM interview

Q&A with comic writer Budjette Tan
INTERVIEW BY: GELO GONZALES
October 18, 2009
http://www.fhm.com.ph/entertainment/interviews/article/1797/

Ever had a comic book to movie adaptation offer?
Trese has had an offer or two, but we’ve been holding them off because we wanted to finish book three. So maybe now it’s a good time to start talking to those guys again.

We’ve told people we made Trese episodic, so it might be good to adapt it to TV. The thing I’m worried about though is the production quality of our TV shows. A producer asked me once: “Wala bang love interest si Trese? Baka pwede naman natin siya bigyan ng boyfriend.” I told them I’d think about it. (Laughs)

Would you really compromise?
As long as it doesn’t involve giving our characters a talking cat or dog just because it’s cute, sure.

After Underpass, what’s next for you?
We’re hoping Underpass does really really well that readers will ask for more. Definitely, there’s more to the dark side of Manila and the Philippines to explore. So more of Underpass, we hope. And definitely more of Trese.

I would love to do a superhero book, given the chance to try again because I’ve been a big fan of the Avengers and the Justice League since I was little. It’s something I never really got to do. I’ve never been able to write specifically about guys in tight outfits hitting each other. It would be great to do a superhero comic book in the future.

If you could be any comic book superhero, who would you be?
Bruce Wayne, for his money and his great looks. (Laughs) But my high school answer would have been Martian Manhunter from the Justice League because he can turn invisible, read minds, change shape, is invulnerable, has laser vision, and heat vision. So he’s like Superman and Professor X combined. From Marvel, Wolverine is another favorite character, because he gets to say the stuff you can’t. He can get into trouble, and it doesn’t really matter because he can heal quickly. From any other book, Sandman comes to mind, but I don’t exactly want to be him, or someone from the Dreaming.

You can be Desire.
No! (laughs) I look more like Despair. So yeah, no. (Laughs)

How about a supervillain?
Good question, I’ve never though of that. I’m not too sure if I want to be Magneto or Doctor Doom because they’re like full of themselves. They really think that “I know the answer to life, and I will rule you…” That sort of thing.

I’d choose The Kingpin I think, because he was so powerful he’d just order villains around, and he was fat too. So I said, hey I could be this guy, I don’t have to learn karate, and I can just sit around and just order people around. He’s shrewd. He’s cunning, and the last thing he would do is get his hands dirty. He has everything set up around him.

READ THE COMPLETE INTERVIEW AT:
http://www.fhm.com.ph/entertainment/interviews/article/1797/
http://komix101.blogspot.com/2009/11/fhm-interview-budjette-tan.html

TRESE: nominated for the Madrigal-Gonzalez Award

UP ICW ANNOUNCES BEST FIRST BOOK NOMINEES FOR 2009
by Arvin Abejo Mangohig

The UP Institute of Creative Writing and the Madrigal-Gonzalez family are pleased to announce the nominees for the Madrigal-Gonzalez Best First Book Award for 2009. The nominees are: The Proxy Eros by Mookie Katigbak, Stories From Another Time by Benjamin Bautista, Antisipasyon by Victor Dennis T. Nierva , The El Bimbo Variations by Adam David , Girl Trouble by Alan Navarra, Trese: Murder on Balete Drive by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo, I Hate My Mother by Perpilili Vivienne Tiongson and Playing It Safe by Gerry T. Los Baños.

This year's selection mirrors the changing landscape of Philippine literature as it includes the bestselling graphic novel Trese, a collaboration between Tan and Baldisimo—a possibly controversial inclusion among purist circles.

READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE AT:

http://panitikan.com.ph/newsarchive/monthly/november2009.htm#bestfirst