NEIL GAIMAN...NEIL GAIMAN...NEIL GAIMAN...!

The past three days, Metro Manila has been in a Gaiman-mania mode. I didn't make it to the signings, but I still made it a point to go to the writers' forum hosted by the British Council at the Music Museum. What was important to me was not really getting an autograph (though I do have a signed copy of the Dream Hunters courtesy of my sister, Lala) but to hear the man talk, and get to hear some of his views.

I got to talk to Ilyn and Gerry Alanguilan for a short while, and an excerpt from Gerry's blog was almost exactly what I felt too when Neil was sharing some of his thoughts...

"Neil talked about Nestor Redondo, Alfredo Alcala and Alex Niño and his appreciation for their work. He went on to heap praise after praise at those guys and oh man... it was probably the greatest moment in my entire Gaiman experience. To hear him talk so glowingly about our great masters is incredibly touching. Ilyn told me later that it literally brought her to tears. I gotta admit, me too!"

Well, not so much the bringing to tears part, but you get the idea.

I'll let Gerry (who's more articulate than I am) tell you more about his Gaiman experience. Make with the clicky and head on over to Gerry's Blog.

I also echo Dean Alfar's sentiments, in which he states...

"I really had two big issues. First, was with the lackluster questions interviewer Ramon de Veyra asked him onstage; and second, with the appalling paucity of discussion/questions about the literary side of what he does - come on, people, he's more than Sandman"

Read more of Dean's thoughts, head on over to NOTES FROM THE PEANUT GALLERY.

And you can also read Neil's thoughts on neilgaiman.com.

Another piece of Maskarado art, this time teamed up with Sandata, a denizen of the SANDUGUAN universe.

Art by Gener Pedriña, Sanduguan's creator and artist of the upcoming SHINING GOLD: MAJESTIC 12 comic book.

Ner (short for Gener) has been wanting to do this team-up for a while now, and I support him wholeheartedly. We've been exchanging e-mails recently, and this is one project I really would like to see the light of day. Keep your fingers crossed!



NICE!!!

THURSDAY COMIC WEBRING!

Jonas Diego initiated another comic webring. This one includes Jonas, Edgar Tadeo, Ariel Atienza, Jerald Dorado, and yours truly. I'm in good company, indeed.

Here we go......!

MASKARADO #9


MASKARADO #10




Jonas Diego
Edgar Tadeo
Ariel Atienza
Reno Maniquis
Jerald Dorado

Just wanted to share this...



Such a happy moment with Kuki and Jade. This was taken during our recent trip to Tagaytay. We rode the cable car in Highlands. It was a pretty long wait for the car to arrive at the station, and Jade was getting a bit antsy. I was worried she might get scared or get "claustrophobic" once we were on the ride, but she enjoyed the trip really well. She even pretended to be in an airplane during the ride.

It's always great to see a "bonding" moment between these two most important girls in my life.

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.