Just came back from the doctor. Around two or three weeks ago, my heart started palpitating continuously, which prompted me to get checked up. After weeks of tests (lab or otherwise) the doctor found... Nothing.

My heart is in normal health. Except for a lab finding of my HDL (good cholesterol) being a bit lower than normal, I'm perfectly fine. I can increase my HDL by exercising (which I have been doing regularly since I turned 30) and/or taking fish oil supplements. I guess I'll do the former, since it's less expensive.

When I feel something wrong with my body, I get a check up as soon as I can. Always, they find out that there's nothing wrong with me. Well, except for the time I was diagnosed with shoulder impingement, which most likely I was born with and would just have to learn to live with.

It's weird, but sometimes I hope that they DO find something wrong. That means I didn't have to waste my time going through all the tests and check-ups just to find out that I'm fine. Get my drift? But I guess all that legwork is a small price to pay to be given a clean bill of health.

The doctor said that most likely, stress had something to do with my heart palpitations. He said to just learn to relax and continue exercising. It got me to thinking about stuff in my life right now... Am I doing too much? Is being a full-time advertising art director, freelance comics artist, part-time art studio head, hands-on father and husband too much for one guy? I really don't know. I guess I'll just have to balance all that stuff, since I don't think I can give any of it up. And I guess I'll have to learn to relax in the process.

KOMIKS CONVENTIONS

I think a Komiks Convention bug has hit the Philippines. What with the Komikon now holding a summer convention (the Komikon Summer Fiesta this May), in addition to the one later this year, and the Manila Comic Con in August. Not to mention other "geek-oriented" conventions which comics have always been a part of (like the Philippine ToyCon). Is there a comprehensive listing somewhere?

I confess that I miss being a part of these things. But lately I haven't had any local output that I can bring to the table. My comics work nowadays consist mostly of doing stuff for US small press publishers. As much as I want to, the demands of my regular job and budgetary constraints prevent me from doing self-published work at the moment. Nothing beats the fulfillment of creating comics with no restraints except the ones you put on yourself., and just letting yourself run wild with ideas. Hopefully I can go and do stuff like this in the near future.

In the meantime, I guess I'll still be attending these conventions. But not as an exhibitor... I'll be there as a regular convention-goer. I hope I don't miss these events like I did the last Komikon. :)

Two Things...

First off, Watchmen the movie. I liked it. Very faithful to the source material. I don't get why some fans of the book rant about things omitted or things changed. A motion picture is a different entity, so get over it already.

Anyway, random thoughts about it (might have some spoilers, but I'll try to avoid them when I can)...

- It was strange to find myself being sympathetic to the Comedian. When I read the book he was a very hateful character, but seeing him in flesh-and-blood kind of made me understand why he did the things he did.

- I didn't realize that the novel was very violent. Seeing it on the comic page, you get to be a bit detached. But seeing it portrayed by real people was another thing entirely.

- I felt that the action scenes looked out of place. When you watch the movie's more "realistic" and dramatic moments, it's very serious. But when the action commences, it's very stylized and (dare I say it) Matrix-y in a way. Don't get me wrong, the action choreography is good and I liked it, but they sorta stuck out like a sore thumb compared with the other scenes.

- The changed ending. I have no gripe about it. It was a very reasonable alternative to the one in the book, and it provided a plausible explanation for Dr. Manhattan's self-imposed exile.

All in all, a good viewing experience. But I shudder to think about the news going around that Hollywood execs are now going to go the "darker" route when it comes to comic book-based movies. C'mon, can't we have both?

Okay, second thing... Remember the Phantom pin-up I posted before? Well, thanks to that, I'm now pencilling a comic book for Moonstone Books! Whoda thunk???!? Editor-in-Chief Joe Gentile asked me at first to do a Kolchak sample for him, which he liked. But then another, more immediate assignment opened up, a bi-monthly book featuring the Domino Lady. He asked me to do a pin-up sample for that, and after an initial stumble on my part, I landed the gig! Thanks very much to you guys at Moonstone! It's written by  New York Times bestselling author Nancy Holder, with inks by veteran inker Keith Williams. I'm very honored to be part of this team. I'm doing the second issue, but the first issue of Domino Lady should be hitting store shelves in June, 2009. For a listing of Moonstone Books coming out in June, click here.

Oh and you can head over to my CapsuleZone website to check out the Kolchak and Domino Lady samples I made. :)

A very flattering review and a plug for BONE CHILLER...

In my bored moments I sometimes google my name and see what comes up. That's how I discovered this review for Cold Blooded Chillers #3 from Broken Frontier, which gave me goosebumps when reviewer Dave Baxter said this about my art...

Filipino sensation Reno Maniquis steps in for the mirror-image sister-story "Transcendence", and this guy's work is mainstream slick-and-smooth incredible. Think George Perez meets JG Jones. Maniquis presents a world lush in detail and flawless comic book layouts. He's currently the artist on the book Wall of Angels, and everyone needs to read CBC #3, and then seek out that larger series...

Wow! George Perez meets JG Jones? High praise indeed. Thank you, Mr. Baxter.

You can read the full review here.

And on a very related note, COLD BLOODED CHILLERS: BONE CHILLER is now also available. It's a 140-page anthology penned by Robert M. Heske.  The "Transcendence" short story from CBC #3 is included here, and I've also done spot illustrations for the short film script "Alibi". Other contributing artists include Breno Tamura, Mark Chilcott, Jay Fife, Alain Norte, Dirk Shearer, Adam Swiecki and Preston Asevedo (who also provides the cover). I'll be posting maybe a couple of the "Alibi" illustrations on CapsuleZone pretty soon.

Oh, and there's a trailer, too. Watch it below...