you say duende, i say duwende

My cousin Oliver, another Stephen King fan and horror freak, tweeted me this link the other day; and I was surprised to see that Merriam-Webster's Word for the Day was "duende". Here's their definition:

duende, \doo-EN-day\ noun, the power to attract through personal magnetism and charm

• EXAMPLES

The magician was not only a talented illusionist; he also had the duende that kept the audience rapt throughout the entire show.

"It took all my nerve to dance in front of people who have been steeped in this tradition their whole lives. It was over in a flash, and in that moment tears filled my eyes. Maybe what I felt wasn't duende -- nobody ripped a shirt or slapped his face -- but it was close enough for me." -- From an article by Toni Messina on NPR.org, August 10, 201

The word "duende" refers to a spirit in Spanish, Portuguese, and Filipino folklore and literally means "ghost" or "goblin" in Spanish. It is believed to derive from the phrase "dueño de casa," which means "owner of a house."

The term is traditionally used in flamenco music or other art forms to refer to the mystical or powerful force given off by a performer to draw in the audience.

The Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca wrote in his essay "Teoria y Juego del Duende" ("Play and Theory of the Duende") that duende "is a power and not a behavior . . . a struggle and not a concept."

Nowadays the term appears in a broader range of contexts to refer to one's unspoken charm or allure.

where it all begins

This is my desk at home, where I do most of the writing for Trese. This picture was taken by Mitch Mauricio and it's part of her Anik-anik Love project.

You can see more pictures of my work space, my comic book collection, and read a short interview at : http://anikaniklove.blogspot.com/2012/02/budjette-tan.html

Kriss. Claws. Bats.

"This is another fine mess you've gotten us into, Logan!"

"Don't call me Robin."

A year or so ago, I asked Kajo if he was ever going to make a new portfolio to show to DC and Marvel editors. He said he wanted to do a story where Trese teams-up with Batman and Wolverine and all the action will happen in Manila. So, in one of my notebooks is an outline for that very short story, but we got busy with our dayjobs and finishing Book4, and I forgot all about it.

Today, Kajo sent me these sketches based on a story he's never read and yet he drew one of the scenes that was in my head. (But, as usual, Kajo comes up with an even better idea and he dressed up Wolverine in a barong tagalog!) 

So, here's a sneak preview to that unwritten story.

Happy Friday the 13th!

Thank You 2011

the sun has set on 2011

we are a week into 2012

we take a cautious look at what we’ve left behind

to make sure there’s no one following us

to see the mysteries that have baffled us and we have solved

to check on the mysteries still left unsolved

to review the clues that we have and hope to figure it all out in the next twelve months

and where we give thanks to the people who helped us along the way

Thanks to the Komikon Krew who never fail to invite us to their great events

Thanks to the National Bookstore Super Team for organizing the best Trese launch ever!

Special thanks to Mike Carey, Paul Levitz, and Neil Gaiman for taking the time to email and give feedback about the book.

Thanks to Nida and Visprint, who remain to be our willing accomplice

Thanks to the diabolical denizens of the Trese Facebook page! LIKE! I am amazed and amused at how active our readers can be in this page. They never stop asking questions about Trese, they've deciphered our plans for the Trese covers, and they never stop asking for more Trese stories, which just pressures us (in a good way) to keep on writing and keep on drawing.

Thanks to the bloggers, news reporters, and book reviewers who helped promote Trese.

Thanks to all my fellow comic book creators -- your work continues to inspire me and urges me to improve my work and tell better stories

And to all our readers who made this possible

my Trese Christmas Gift

It's been quite awhile since my brother Brandie has drawn an art piece like this. The last time he did something that came close to a comic book was something he did for their RE:VISION exhibit in 2010.

The very first comic book collaboration we ever did was the story PAYASO, which we did back in 1994!

So it was great to get this original artwork from him this Christmas :-)

Hoping to see him draw more in the new year!

Trese in Inquirer's TOP 10 Books for 2011

“Trese Vol. 4: Last Seen After Midnight” by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo (Visprint)
The newest installment of the wildly successful “Trese” comic-book series carries its trademark spooky inventiveness proudly as Alexandra Trese and her bodyguards, the Kambal, look into the truth behind comatose dorm mates, missing monsters, and even a certain world-famous prizefighter. Tan writes and Baldisimo illustrates with poise and polish. Like the best of its earlier incarnations, “Last Seen Before Midnight” lures readers into looking at their surroundings and finding the weird as well as the amazing. (from  Our Top 10 books for 2011 by Ruel S. De Vera Philippine Daily Inquirer, December 19th, 2011)

Trese climbs National Bookstore Bestseller List

Thank you very much to all our readers who made this possible! From ninth place, TRESE: LAST SEEN AFTER MIDNIGHT has now climbed to the number two selling Philippine Publication.

And it's also great to see a fellow Visprint author on the list. Congrats to Manix Abrera! Kikomachine Komix Blg 7 is now No. 10 on the list.

Trese wins in 2011 Komikon Awards

Thank you very much for everyone who voted for us! Thank you very much to all our readers, to everyone's who's every drawn Trese-fan art and shared it with the world, to everyone's who's ever written a review about Trese, tweeted about us, or clicked LIKE on the Trese Facebook page. Thank you for all the support and love and magic!

Best Comic Creators Award : BUDJETTE TAN and KAJO BALDISIMO

Best Cover Award : TRESE: MASS MURDERS 

Santelmo

A teen-aged Trese unleashes three Santelmo towards some aswang or enkanto who will probably regret crossing paths with Alexndra.

"Santelmo" is the third Trese Night Gallery print by Kajo Baldisimo.

This will be made available at the 2011 Komikon, November 19, at the Bayanihan Center, Pioneer Street, Ortigas. More info at : http://www.komikon.org/map-to-bayanihan-center/

Take a look at the other Night Gallery Prints:

HANNAH AND AMMIE
http://tresekomix.blogspot.com/2011/04/hannie-and-ammie.html

MALIKSI
http://tresekomix.blogspot.com/2010/11/trese-night-gallery-limited-edition.html

Alexandra hangs out with Morpheus

Art by Kajo Baldisimo

GMA News' Guide to Philippine Ghouls

ASWANG

BATIBAT

DIWATA

KAPRE

MANANANGGAL

MINOKAWA

NUNO

SIGBIN

TIKBALANG

TIYANAK

WAKWAK

Read the complete article at:
Know your ghouls, from aswang to diwata 
CARMELA G. LAPEÑA, GMA News, 10/28/2011
Art by Kitt Lapeña
http://m.gmanews.tv/story/236892/know-your-ghouls-from-aswang-to-diwata

FHM Pinoy Horror Death Match

In the October 2011 issue of FHM, they feature a Halloween Death Match that pits several creatures from Philippine myth and folklore against one another. They even matched up characters from Pinoy pop culture and legends against each other.

Below are sample of the creatures that fought to the death! Makes me wish there was a real video that featured all these characters!

Tikbalang vs Sigbin

Undin vs Sirena

Bungisngis vs Nuno sa Punso

Kapre vs Babae sa Balete

TikTik vs Tiyanak

Words by Anton Umali and Gelo Gonzales
Art by Mervin del Mundo (Robot with a Smile)

Neil Gaiman emails about TRESE

I was so happy to find out that TRESE 4 was on National's Bestseller List that I just had to send a Thank You note to Neil Gaiman, one of my big inspirations for Trese. His Sandman stories and his novel America Gods prompted me explore our own myth and folklore; made me also ask, "Where are the old gods of the Philippine islands hiding these days?"  

So, I sent him a message saying how our little comic book, that once sold only 50 copies, is now in the bestseller list of the country's biggest bookstore chain.

This morning, I found this message in my inbox:

So ridiculously proud of you! When I came out all those years ago for the first time, that was what I wanted to see happen... 

I feel like you and all the smart Filipino writers and artists out there are doing something really brave and powerful, making a whole new wave of Filipino art and story.

Well done!

Neil


So far, the week has been great! The year has been great! Feel so blessed and so lucky to have reached this far, to have reached this chapter of my ever-changing graphic novel. We have more stories to tell. I am so excited to tell you all these tales!

p.s.

The last time Neil Gaiman was here, this is what he wrote on my copy of Sandman :-)

Trese on National's Bestseller List

When we sold the very issue of Trese (in all its Xeroxed glory) at the Komikon in 2005, we sold a grand total of 50 copies. I was so happy that we got sold-out two hours before the event ended.

When we sold TRESE:MASS MURDERS in 2009 at the Komikon, we were surprised that we got to sell 300 copies in one day.

So, imagine my surprise when I found, that two weeks after we launched TRESE: LAST SEEN AFTER MIDNIGHT we had already sold 1300 copies.

Barely a month after we launched this fourth book, we've sold nearly 3000 copies and have landed in National Bookstore's Bestseller List for Philippine Publications.

This was definitely a great way to start the week. All of which would not have been possible, if it wasn't for you, our wonderful, magical, diabolical readers. 

Thanks for all your support and your most generous feedback!

Exclusively available at all branches of National Bookstore, Powerbooks, and Bestsellers.

Win an iTresePad for Halloween

TRICK OR TREAT!!! Get the chance to win this one-of-a-kind iPad with orginal TRESE art by Kajo Baldisimo.

Just buy TRESE:LAST SEEN AFTER MIDNIGHT and you'll get a raffle stub so you can enter and get the chance to win the Trese-fied iPad.


Books with raffle stubs are only available in National Bookstore, Powerbooks, and Bestsellers.

Deadline for entries for the TRESE iPad Raffle is on October 31, 2011.

By the way, if you buy a copy of ELMER (The 2nd Edition) from the same bookstores, you can enter the raffle and win this ELMER-fied iPad with original art by Gerry Alanguilan. Deadline for entries is November 15, 2011.

Trese 4 special edition

Watched the video? Ok... let's review... Here's the variant cover / dustjacket:

And here's the regular cover:

The edition with the dustjacket will only be available in branches of National Bookstore, Powerbooks, and Bestsellers. And if you buy from those bookstores, you can to join the raffle and win an original TRESE artwork by Kajo Baldisimo. Here's a sneak peek of Kajo's work. Can you figure out what makes it so special? :-)

 

See you at the book launch!

TRESE: LAST SEEN AFTER MIDNIGHT
October 8, Saturday, 5pm
Bestsellers bookstore
4F Robinsons Galleria, Ortigas