Pounding The Keyboard

       I learned that there’s an upcoming Komikon (November 12, 2017 at Bayanihan Center; click HERE for their Facebook page), and   I found myself rereading my old comics stories, which some pages were almost faded now. I probably wrote more than a thousand short stories and a few novels (probably around thirty) during my writing stint at Graphic Arts Services, Inc (GASI). I was very prolific then (like many of comics artists then, writers and illustrators), there would be times when I would be writing probably five short stories (4-page stories)   a day. My forte then was horror and fantasy stories. I wrote and wrote and wrote that time. I wrote while watching TV or listening to music, I wrote while at work. I would take   a bath and before I could finish, I already had ideas for three short stories. Even a   flea jumping out of my dog or watching somebody cross the street would give me ideas, then. I would even develop a ...

               Photo above reappeared today at my Facebook newsfeed. I posted it exactly four years ago. Time flies, indeed. The event was the 8 th Komikon held at Bayanihan Center, Unilab Compund in Pasig City, on October 27, 2012. People at the photo were, at that time, Black Ink Comics artists. Third guy from left is Filipino artist extraordinaire Randy Valiente and the pretty lady beside him is the editor of Black Ink Comics. I can’t remember the identity of the other two  guys with them. This was the time when Black Ink Comics still published traditional comic books, now, they’re focused on manga.               Here's Black Ink's Facebook page, you can find their works and artists here: Black Ink Comics.                This blog entry is brought to you by Facebook memories. Remember, Facebo...

        Around two years ago, while we were busy preparing the first set of Black Ink graphic novels that we’d release, I asked our publisher if we could come out with a comic book that had short stories in it. A 60-page comic book which would be divided into three 20-page short stories.   All the comic books we were readying then were all 60-pages and I knew for a fact that there were a lot of komiks readers that didn't have patience for long stories.         The publisher immediately approved my suggestion and named the comic book Shortcuts.   You can’t find a more amiable and approachable boss than   the publisher of Black Ink, who incidentally, is also the publisher of Precious Pages and Lampara.        And it was decided that aside from a traditional (or Western-styled) Shortcuts komiks, we’d also be working on a manga Shortcuts.   The first traditio...

The comic book/manga adaptation of Fortune of the Heart ( a Precious Hearts Romances novel) I made for Black Ink Comics is now out in the market. Fortune of the Heart (the novel) is written by Heart Yngrid, a bestselling PHR author. This comic book is one of my last few works for BlackInk Comics, so it’s a definite collector’s item. He he.   Yup, I am no longer a part of Black Ink and most likely won’t be contributing to them anymore. Released simultaneously with FOTH is the 4 th installment of Tonio Tikbalang , created by Jake Vicente. I am not sure if these comic books are available in National Bookstore but you can absolutely purchase them from any Precious Pages Bookstore outlet (which you can find in SM Malls). Click this link: http://phr.com.ph/stores.php for their branches. And here is the Facebook page of Black Ink Comics: https://www.facebook.com/pages/BLACK-INK-COMICS/479112765434082 Please support Filipino-produced books and comic bo...

The 35 th Manila International Book Fair will again be held at SMX Convention at Mall of Asia on September 17-21, 2014 and Black Ink Comics will be there. (See photo below for details.) The following Black Ink’s new releases will be sold at the event: 1. Dark Sun Treasure     Written by Kuting Na Basa     Illustrated by Kim Loren Dominguez  2. Never Been     Written by Nina May     Illustrated by Earl Jan Lee 3. Date With The Prince Of Hell     Written By Gino Pornasdoro     Illustrated by Regine Lim 4. FOX     Created by Ray Magbanua 5. Stray Ghost: Chasing Atticus     Written By Diana Lam      Illustrated by Crisca Jallorina 6. Tonio Tikbalang Volume 3     Created By Jake Vicente 7. Shortcuts      3-Story Anthology Featuri...