MASKARADO #8

THE WITNESS short film can now be seen on the web!

Some years ago, I met through the internet a great and talented writer who hails from Cebu... Carlo Borromeo. We exchanged emails and basically hit it off pretty well and started collaborating on making our own comics stories. The Withess was our very first work together.

Some time after that, Carlo informed me that some Cebuano filmmakers wanted to do a short film based on our work. And now, I finally got to see the result of that. It's amazing how the shots have remained very faithful to what I drew. I guess you could say this is the most faithful comic-to-movie adaptation ever (take that, Sin City!).

You can view the movie here, and you can compare it with the original comic story here.

Kudos go to director Jurly Maloloy-on, Jr. and his crew. Great job guys!

It's a great thing to know that international comics pro Edgar Tadeo is a MASKARADO fan. I quote...

"After I knew Maskarado was going to be publish again (this time, online) I feel like I was back in high school where I used to read this on Tempo newspaper tabloid. I used to draw the character too and dreaming one day I'll draw comics like Reno Maniquis."

Now, he's living his dream. And the shoe's on the other foot. Now, I'm the one dreaming I could work for the international comics scene like Edgar Tadeo.

Thanks, Ed, for the support. I remember the time too when I was amazed at all these young guys back then during the early 1990s, collectively known as Alamat. I remember stuff like Alamat 101, P-Noise, Indigo Valley, TKS, Tattooed and all the other great titles these guys were coming out with. It was a great time for comics, both here and abroad. Then these guys' names started to appear in US titles like Stone, Hazard, Iron Man, Wolverine, X-men... and it was great to see them make it. Once again, Pinoys proved to the world that they can come up with world-class work.

Kinda also reminds me how old I am. Ed read maskarado when he was in high school??!? I was already about to graduate college by then. Ha ha.

Ed was also kind enough to send me a piece of fan art...



NICE!!!!

MASKARADO #7

MASKARADO #6

Did anyone watch the recent Conan O'Brien where Triumph the Insult Comic Dog encounters the Michael Jackson supporters? Hilarious! You can see it here or here. Check it out. You won't be sorry.

Well, Father's Day has come and gone, and this is the second time that day has had something to do with me directly.

Kuki gave me a nice Father's Day gift... some coupons which she made herself, with stuff written on it like "Free Haircut"... or "1 Free Comic Book"... which I can redeem from her anytime within a 1-year period. Kakaiba nga, pero she said na she just got the idea from Martha Stewart.

Kaya when we were talking last night, I told her na when gift-giving season comes around, like her birthday, Mother's Day (na tulad nitong past one ay wala akong nai-regalo sa kanya but just took her shopping afterwards), etc... I feel a bit pressured, since she sets the "gift-giving bar" so high na anything I give her seems... pedestrian by comparison.

But of course, she'd say that it's all right... I don't have to rack my brain so much.., things like that. But we guys know better, right? When it comes to our significant others, we can't rely solely on what they say. Sometimes, guys have to be psychic to make women happy.

But I'm really thankful for Kuki, and I'm thankful for Jade, too. They're the two most important girls in my life, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Sheesh... I thought this entry was gonna be something about fatherhood, but it turned into something else entirely.

I guess bago pa lang ako sa pagiging ama, and I know that I've still got a long way to go. But the journey has been worth it so far, and I guess that's how it should be. Marami pa akong matutunan, marami pa akong maituturo sa anak ko. And thank God for guiding me and Kuki dito sa aming journey through parenthood.

MASKARADO #5...

From comic creator Dario Carrasco Jr....

Hey folks,

Just want to pass along to you of my interview at Pulse regarding my upcoming Mask of the Gargoyle feature in Digital Webbing #24 this July. It sheds some lights to the creation of the Gargoyle character. Have a great read! Thanks!

Read the full interview at Comicon.com's Pulse.

For more on Mr. Carrasco, visit his site, PANDAY STUDIO.

So, whaddya think of the new look?

The old one was kinda stale, and I was experimenting with all the stuff on blogger. I'm really not well-versed when it comes to html/internet/web thingamajigs, so I was a bit nervous about which settings to change in this blog.

It's nice to finally have a "comments" feature, so I know if anyone's really reading this blog (I wish!) or if I'm just talking to myself over the internet. So for all three of you (har har) who come here often, leave a comment! I'd sure appreciate it!

RANDOM THOUGHTS...

I just realized na puwede naman pala akong mag-Pilipino sa pagsulat dito. I've been unconsciously restricting the language I use here to English only, but ngayon ko lang naisip na puwedeng "Taglish" or pure Pinoy ang gamitin ko. Kung alam ko lang mag-Ilocano e di ginawa ko na din...

The past few weeks, wala akong masyadong energy. It seems that I'm almost always drained at the end of the day, which is strange since the past week or so it wasn't too busy at the office (this week na lang)...

The "energy-drain" also seems to have lessened my drive to work out/ exercise. I've been working out diligently at home for close to three years now, but nowadays I'd be lucky to eke in two sessions in a week. I really have to start exercising again regularly... AYOKO NANG TUMABA ULI!!!!! Going to the gym is out of the question. I don't like gyms too much, plus medyo masakit sa bulsa. Kailangan magtipid dahil...

After living almost my entire life in Parañaque, we're finally moving. Yes! Regular running water, here I come! Anyway, we found this nice townhouse/ apartment compound in San Juan. The rent is higher (expectedly) but we save money on gas and toll fees (yup, ang mahal ng toll sa South Expressway). I don't mind the physical aspect of moving, it's the other things like changing the address sa records mo sa office, banks, SSS, etc. etc.; disconnecting our current PLDT and applying for a new phone line again; atbp. Also, I'm worried about how Jade will feel about the new house. Malamang manibago siya. It's a whole new period of adjustment for her and Kuki and I want the transition to be as smooth as possible...

Gah. Gotta get a little shut-eye. Woke up early this morning because the car was "color-coded" (such a stupid thing to call that particular traffic scheme), and got here in the office too early (6 freakin' AM!). Official work hours don't start 'til 9AM, so I've got at least an hour to s...l...e....e....p............ zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

MASKARADO #4

MASKARADO #3

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm a HUGE wrestling fan. Oh yeah. Since I was a kid, I really was into pro wrestling. Like my "hilig" for comics, it just never seemed to die down. Now I'm 33 years old, and I still watch it faithfully, even going so far as to read every single tidbit of info that I can on the internet, specifically on ProWrestling.com.

So to all you Pinoy wrestling fans out there, isn't it cool to have BATISTA as WWE Heavyweight Champ? Why, you ask? Because the big guy is actually HALF-Filipino. Some of you may have known this, but it took me a while to believe it. After much research, I came across his profile in Wikipedia...

"David Bautista best known as Batista (born January 18, 1966 in Washington, DC) is a professional wrestler currently working for World Wrestling Entertainment's RAW brand, and is the RAW brand's current World Heavyweight Champion.

Of Filipino and Greek heritage, he is married with three daughters. His wife Angie is a survivor of ovarian cancer."

So I hope he's champ for a long while... if JBL could hold on to the WWE Championship for almost a year, I don't see why Batista can't do the same with his championship.

Talagang kahit saang sulok ng mundo, may matatagpuan kang Pinoy.

Here's the second strip for the week...

Now that I've learned how to post pics on this blog, I've decided to post the entire original run of MASKARADO here. I'm taking my cue from all the webcomics proliferating on the internet. I hope to post around 1-2 strips a week, so be sure to check back here from time to time.

This strip ran from February 20 to August 30, 1992. I'm scanning these from the original printed newspaper, so the images are a bit dirty because of the not-so-good printing back in those days. I've tried to clean up the strips as best i can, and I've completely re-lettered them so they can be read more clearly.



For more webcomic goodness, Check out the Monday Comics Webring.

After resisting the urge for so long, I finally gave in and got myself a Photobucket account, after reading in Jonas' Blog how simple it is to post an image on one's blog. Well, here goes my first test...



Did it come out all right? It's the uncolored cover to MASKARADO's next issue (number 6, to be exact). Some people have expressed a great liking to Maskarado's painted covers, but time constraints have prevented me from continuing to do so. Maybe in the future I'll get around to painting again.

There were two nuns...

One of them was known as Sister Mathematical (SM), and the other one was known as Sister Logical (SL). It is getting dark and they are still far away from the convent.

SM: Have you noticed that a man has been following us for the past thirty-eight and a half minutes? I wonder what he wants.
SL: It's logical. He wants to rape us.
SM: Oh, no! At this rate he will reach us in 15 minutes at the most! What can we do?
SL: The only logical thing to do of course is to walk faster.
SM: It's not working.
SL: Of course it's not working. The man did the only logical thing. He started to walk faster, too.
SM: So, what shall we do? At this rate he will reach us in one minute.
SL: The only logical thing we can do is split. You go that way and I'll go this way. He cannot follow us both.

So the man decided to follow Sister Logical.

Sister Mathematical arrives at the convent and is worried about what has happened to Sister Logical. Then Sister Logical arrives.

SM: Sister Logical! Thank God you are here! Tell me what happened!
SL: The only logical thing happened. The man couldn't follow us both, so he followed me.
SM: Yes, yes! But what happened then?
SL: The only logical thing happened. I started to run as fast as I could and he started to run as fast as he could.
SM: And?
SL: The only logical thing happened. He reached me.
SM: Oh, dear! What did you do?
SL: The only logical thing to do. I lifted my dress up.
SM: Oh, Sister! What did the man do?
SL: The only logical thing to do. He pulled down his pants.
SM: Oh, no! What happened then?
SL: Isn't it logical, Sister? A nun with her dress up can run faster than man with his pants down.

And for those of you who thought it would be dirty, say two Hail Marys!