The Carver's House

Every little bit helps. The graphic below (click on it to enlarge) has been shared on Facebook over 400 times, so you can spread this at your leisure. I've been texting donations over the past few days. Many of you might already know that my family was not spared years ago when Ondoy roared through Luzon. It was a nerve-wracking experience, but nothing compared to what happened in Mindanao. So, admittedly, Christmas for me was not as joyous as I had hoped, knowing that tens of thousands will remember this season as a dark cloud without a silver lining. Tragedies put our realities in perspective. And if there's one thing that Sendong has done, it would be to remind us what Christmas--and being human--is all about. If you're not able to volunteer, or give a lot, then a little texting will go a long way in bringing hope. In times of despair, hope is all we need.

From me and the gang... Maligayang Pasko! :-D

Since a number of people see Zsazsa Zaturnnah as a "classic hero," (thanks so much for saying so) I decided to use that idea for the "Zaturnnah sa Maynila" covers. I took some time to check the visual style of the old comics of the fifties and sixties, and tried to put my little spin on it. This is the cover for Part 1. Gunning for a January release.

click on the image to enlarge (Text from the production's Facebook page ) Two weeks before the elections in a state of paranoia and extreme desire to win, the story of a hitman who fights back bloddily unfolds. Drenched in blood, the filipino adaptation of William Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus intertwines political chaos and religious frenzy in a world where elections, showbiz and a town feast drown the people in murky violence. Dulaang Unibersidad ng Pilipinas presents Titus Andronicus/Tinarantadong Asintado, Layeta Bucoy's filipino adaptation of William Shakespeare's first tragedy under the direction of Tuxqs Rutaquio. Titus Andronicus/Tinarantadong Asintado features a stellar cast led by Cinemalaya 2011 best actor Bembol Roco and best supporting actress Shamaine Centenera-Buencamino,GMA-7 actor Mike Tan and theater actors Mailes Kanapi, Paolo O'Hara, Paulo Cabanero, Arnold Reyes, Rolando Inocencio, Cris Pasturan, Nicco Manalo, JK Anicoche, Nar Cabico...

Has it been 12 issues? I guess it has. While coming on-board the magazine in late-April last year, the greatest anxiety I've ever felt when it came to art direction was the covers. Because the covers had to look good. Because the covers had to sell. And I, coming from four years of art directing inanimate objects in Real Living magazine, hardly knew the nitty-gritty behind having living, breathing celebrities on magazine covers. (I used to do art direction for a short-lived gay magazine called Icon , but I was never asked to attend the cover shoots.) Not to mention having the responsibility of choosing which clothes the celebrity would wear from the numerous selections made by our lovely fashion editor. So, I relied on two things--pure gut, and referring endlessly to the original American version of Good Housekeeping : It was only when the March 2011 came round, with Janice and Gelli de Belen on the cover, that my confidence level was where I thought it should be--challeng...

Mar Santana's art style influenced my own style, and I didn't even know it! I remember how, as a kid, I'd get excited whenever I see his name printed in any of the weekly komiks we'd buy from the corner store. There was something about his lines that, pun intended, drew me in. When we eventually stopped buying komiks, I had com...pletely forgotten the name of the man. Thank goodness the internet jogged my memory. Here are samples of Mr. Santana's art, lifted from Arman Francisco's blog (http://tinyurl.com/3q2ym3o). If you look at the guy on the left, you can see where Dodong comes from.

I can't believe it's been almost ten years since I self-published One Night In Purgatory . It was towards the end of the year 2000, when everyone's lives had normalized after that big hoohah that was the Millennium Bug. I was employed full-time with the Metro Manila Skyway project, and on the side had been handling art chores for David Hontiveros' Horus comic book. I had also been secretly harboring the desire to make my own comics after seeing the success of Arnold Arre and Marco Dimaano with their own projects. Since I had close to zero knowledge about writing comics, I had gone about it instinctively, planning the story and writing the script after work at Angelino's restaurant in Robinsons Galleria. The entire process from cradle to grave took me about four months for the 56-pager, and had it printed through a printing press in Mandaluyong. In 2001, Purgatory was launched in Comics Quest Megamall. Unfortunately, all the digital files are gone. Recordable ...