The Carver's House

With 2009 about to close, I hope 2010 and beyond will see more major Pinoy graphic novels being published. This year had the compiled El Indio (Francisco Coching), the compiled Elmer (Gerry Alanguilan), 12 (Manix Abrera), Underpass (Summit Media), Trese: Mass Murders (Budjette Tan and Ka-Jo Baldisimo), Where Bold Stars Go To Die (Alanguilan and Arlanzandro Esmeña), etc. etc. etc. Compared to previous years, a lot of major comics work. If the publishers of the above are all members of the National Book Development Board, next year's National Book Awards race will prove interesting. It took a bit over ten years for Pinoy graphic novels to get this far, beginning with Arnold Arre's groundbreaking work on The Mythology Class . Now that book publishers are beginning to dip both feet in the graphic novel medium, it's high time for all you aspiring graphic novelists to pick your brains, hunker over those keyboards and drawing pads, and churn out material. My personal definit...

I dropped by the Metro Comic-Con last Saturday for a little go-see. Despite the Megatrade Hall being a bit too spacious, the event appeared well-attended, though I didn't stay too long. After so many years of not having any major project to promote, I felt a bit like a fish out of water. In between chatting with Wilson Tortosa, Syeri Baet, Lyndon Gregorio and Johnny Danganan, saying hello to Budjette Tan and Gilbert Monsanto, and taking pics with Gio Paredes and Gener Pedrina, I picked up a few comics here and there. While I do enjoy reading the works of my fellows, there comes the occasional tinge of quiet envy, like I've been lax at this whole comics-making thing while the others religiously keep the pages coming. I do have that six-pager in the first Komikero Komiks anthology, and I'm submitting an eight-pager for its third issue. There's also another Graphic Classics assignment due in a few months... But I neeeeed to get a big, fat book out. It's like a deliciou...

1) So couples can't kiss each other on the cheek when they're near a Mormon church? Security guards of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints asked gay couple Matt Aune and Derek Jones to leave Main Street Plaza in Salt Lake City soon after catching Aune giving Jones a kiss on the cheek. Church spokesperson Kim Farah said the couple was "asked to stop engaging in inappropriate behavior just as any other couple would have been." When the couple became argumentative, they were detained. Read the full story in the Salt Lake City Tribune . 2) New words, such as carbon footprint, shawarma, webisode and frenemy have been added to the 11th edition of the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary. Strangely, the word missalette --that booklet we've been using for ages in church ceremonies-- gets its first appearance since the dictionary was first published at the turn of the 20th century. See 25 of the new words through Merriam-Webster Online. 3) New reports reveal ...