blog

Hello 2012!

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:54:14 +0100

    Hello everyone! I just thought I'd give an update on things.
    First of all, my break from comics that started last October 2011 is over. I realize I never got into the details of why I had to go on break. Although the nature of my comic does deal with my other, more demanding profession, I do try to keep the two worlds apart, hence my reluctance to divulge such information. I will say, however, that I did have to focus on an important task when it comes to my being a doctor, and it has turned out well. :)
    Those of you who do follow the comic on a daily basis should have noticed that my update scheduling has been erratic. That is because I'm in the process of moving to a new home and am producing comic strips in a makeshift setup that is far from my comfort zone. This also explains my disappearance from Google hangouts and live streams. It may take a few weeks to months for things to smooth over enough that I can produce comic strips comfortably. In the meantime, I'm doing what I can when I can.
    I was also fortunate to be hosted by Comicx Hub to man an artist table at the De La Salle University Comic Con. It was nice to show up at my old alma mater and to the place where Callous Comics was born all those years ago. (Pics here).
    I do have some things lined up when it comes to appearances and comic cons. So be sure to keep following me on Twitter and Callous Comics on Facebook.
    And as for comics I'm hoping to launch a new webcomic soon. I'll be the writer of an upcoming series, this time in longform, with artist Pilar Esber.
    And last but not least, THANK YOU to all those who contributed guest work during the break! I received some that I couldn't post because I was too busy to do so but I'll be sure to feature them sometime soon! :)
    Well, bring on 2012!

My Komikon 2011 Report: WOW!

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 04:00:20 +0100

Nothing. Nothing could have prepared me for the visceral Komikon crowd. Even after going through the insanity that was Komikon 2010 as an attendee, I was absolutely astounded by the awesomeness of Komikon 2011 from behind the table!

Still early. People setting up their tables.

    I arrived in my usual early time for the ingress. I was already quite excited due to my fond memories of Summer Komikon 2011. Once I had my table all set up, I roamed around the convention hall before the event opened its doors knowing it would be the only time I would have the chance to do so.
    I spotted Sir Gerry Alanguilan already going through boxes of comics at the Comic Odyssey tables. I went over to his table a bit later to have my copy of the Elmer trade paperback signed, which he was more than happy to do.
    I said hi to my longtime friends, Dre and Janlo Cui, at the Electromagnetic Tentacle booth. I checked out the brand new Trese T-shirts and loved them, based on the comic by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo. (I later on bought that shirt)

With Jonah Hex co-creator Tony DeZuniga.

Then the gates were opened. I was once again happy to introduce Callous Comics to new readers. However, I was thrilled to find fans who had read the first book coming back to buy the next two! Several said they couldn't stop reading Chocolate Chip Wishes and Caffeine Dreams, which sent me over the moon! That included a little girl whose mom told me how much her daughter loved reading my comics. To that shy little lady and her mom, you two truly made my day. :)

The Callous Comics table at Komikon 2011!

By noon I checked my inventory and realized I had come close to already equaling my sales from full days in previous comic cons! I was like, what?! The crowd had died down a bit during lunchtime but my tablemate, Boy Bakal creator Carlo Valenzuela, and I just couldn't leave our tables because there would always be that person who would walk by and get attracted to our displays. We were both solo creators, so we didn't have the option of a partner to explain our comics to people while we were gone. We were getting hungry and tired but the prospect of new readers kept us going.

With the Cal Duck plushie from GTMACCON 2011, Rommel "Omeng" Estanisao's Callous Comics figures, and a gift print of his fan art for "Callous Comics - On Lighter Dreams" from Ernest John Daryll Fiestan!

The afternoon rush of people in Komikon was close to overwhelming! As happy as I was to talk about my comic to people, I sure wish I could have chosen a more self-explanatory title! My voice was starting to crack and my back and hamstrings were beginning to ache from leaning over the table to talk to people while trying to overcome the loudspeakers in the hall. Nevertheless, I was having an awesome time!
Webcomics: What's Cooking? did well too! If anyone stood out, it would be the guy who cried "YES!" to the heavens after finding it on my table. Apparently, he and his sister were Jefbot fans and were thrilled to find it in the cookbook.

As much as I like talking about myself and the comic, I also appreciated chitchat about other stuff!

There were a lot of requests for a printed edition of the On Lighter Dreams storyline, which surprised me. I guess I'll have a new fantasy-based book next year! :)

    Normally, around 6PM or so the crowd would have died down and no one would be buying my stuff anymore. I had planned on packing up early so that I could have the chance to go around and buy comics and whatnot for myself, but more and more fans kept coming to my table, which thrilled me even more!
    It was great to hear that other indie titles did very well too. The support for independent comics here in the Philippines is phenomenal!
    While I didn't get to see other tables as much as I had planned to, the love I got for Callous Comics was fantastic and more than made up for it! Furthermore, I got to be the first to try Tepai Pascual's chocolate cake, "Chocobo the Third", which was gloriously yummy and a fitting end to a wonderful Komikon 2011.

But wait, there's more!
Be sure to read Gerry Alanguilan's take on Komikon 2011, with video and loads of great photos!

Going on Break / Open for Guest Work!

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 13:44:35 +0100

    Hey everyone! Early this year I anticipated that this blog post would have to be done toward the end of 2011. Unfortunately, it has to come earlier than I originally thought. So, it is with a heavy heart that I announce that I have to go on yet another break from producing Callous Comics until mid-January 2012.

    It's sad because the end of any year is a great time to be making comics and to be involved in comic-related things. However, due to non-comic matters it is necessary to step away a bit.

    The good news is I'll be opening the main site up again for featuring guest comic strips or artwork! If you've been wanting to submit any guest art or comics, now would be a fantastic time!

Guest Art / Comic Details:

Please keep things Callous-related! Your guest artwork or comic strip should feature at least one recurring character from the Callous comic series. You are also most welcome to maintain your own art style as well in depicting a Callous Comics character! If you have your own comic series and would like to feature your characters in the guest artwork/strip, feel free to do so!
Your submitted comic strip will be published at a 850 pixel width (without the lateral borders), regardless of the height, at 72 dpi. Please adjust your lettering or font sizes with this in mind so that text or dialogue in your comics would remain legible. Other artwork will be published at varying sizes depending on content at 72 dpi.
Please submit your images in JPEG or PNG format.
I work really hard to maintain Callous as an all-ages comic strip. Please keep things G-rated! I'll accept some PG-13 depending on the content. Feel free to be expressive with your comic strip within these boundaries.
Publishing time will pretty much be as soon as I receive them, but I'll try to give at least a few days for your comic to be featured on the home page. Your guest comic will remain in the site archive.
If you have any questions, you can post them as a comment here or send me a wall post, direct message, mention, or private message in the following venues:
- Callous - The Comic Series Page on Facebook
- The Callous Comic Strip on Twitter (@callouscomics)
- E-Mail: caz@callouscomics.com
You can send your finished art/comics as an e-mail attachment along with the requested details mentioned above to caz@callouscomics.com!
By sending a submission, you, the artist, agree to have your guest art and/or comic to be posted on callouscomics.com as well as its retention in the archives and to have a thumbnail image taken from it for use on the Guest Art / Comics page. All copyrights to the submitted art/image remain with the artist who produced it. However, all Callous-related characters and settings remain the copyright of Carlo Jose San Juan. The guest art / comic would not be reproduced in any printed material unless given permission by the submitting artist.
I would love to promote you and your respective comic and/or art website! If I don't know you personally or have not corresponded with you before, please write a little something about yourself. If you have a webcomic or any art-related site, please include your site's URL, a description, and a standard banner image (468 x 60 px) for promoting yourself or your website.

Have a wonderful holiday season and new year, everyone! See you all again in January 2012!

Coming Up: KOMIKON 2011

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 09:16:55 +0100

On November 19, 2011, Callous Comics will be in the Independent Komiks Tiangge of Komikon 2011! Here's what's in store for you from our tabletop!

1. Callous - The Comic Strip Series: Chocolate Chip Wishes and Caffeine Dreams (Php150)

The webcomic doctor is in! Dr. Rianne Nicah is a struggling new physician who braves the world with her Guardian Duck, Cal Duck! Meet Rianne and her friends in the first-ever Callous Comics compilation! Book is A5 size (5.23"x8.27"), saddle-stitched, with 32 full-color pages. Features Black & White and Colored comic strips.

2. Callous Comics - Take Two Spoonfuls of the Sunny Side! (Php160)

The webcomic doctor returns! Dr. Rianne Nicah, Cal Duck, and the rest of the Callous Comics gang return in their second comic strip compilation! Book is A5 size (5.23"x8.27"), saddle-stitched, with 36 full-color pages. Features full-color comic strips and Sunday comics!

3. Callous Comics - The Land of the Guardians (Php150)

An ancient evil threatens the world of the Guardian Ducks and Dr. Rianne Nicah is made to brave their world! Could she be the key to stopping this menace? Book is A5 size (5.23"x8.27"), saddle-stitched, with 32 full-color pages. Features "The Land of the Guardians" and two bonus storylines.

4. Webcomics: What's Cooking? (Php740)

    Callous Comics is a proud contributor to the Webcomics: What's Cooking? project, a campaign to help raise money to benefit food banks across North America! The book features full-page, custom-created comics and/or artwork by over fifty great webcomic creators from around the world, paired with a fun, tasty recipe! Satisfy your hunger, tickle your funny bone, and help those in need at the same time! Read more about the cookbook HERE.
    For KOMIKON 2011, those who do purchase the cookbook will receive a limited-edition Captain TGT magnet featuring artwork by Lar deSouza for FREE! That's a combined value of USD $21.95! Also, I'll put in a free sketch into the book's sketch page to start off your collection.
    If you'd prefer to purchase the cookbook online, get a special discount by entering the coupon code: "Dr.SanJuan" (case sensitive and includes the period).

5. Callous Comics Button Pins (Php 30 each)

Note: The pin on the lower left with the Guardian Ducks is no longer available

6. Commissions
I'll be happy to do commissioned sketches during Komikon 2011. If you'd like me to draw characters that are not my own, please provide me with a reference image! That goes too for Amami Bunny cosplay requests. Sketches will be on 5" x 8" cards and will be penciled with blue lead then inked over and will cost Php100 each. If you'd like it on different paper and size, please provide them. Also, if you'd like the pencils to be erased afterwards, please specify this. If you give me a cold can or bottle of Coke Zero, you get a free sketch! If by some miracle you get me a cold can or bottle of Diet Mountain Dew (original flavor) or a Diet Orangina, you can have any Callous Comics book you wish for free!
Since Komikon 2011 is a one-day event, I cannot do colored sketches due to time constraints.

Don't forget to "Like" the Callous Comics page on Facebook and follow Callous Comics on Twitter!
See you all at Komikon 2011!

GTMACCON 2011 - My Report

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:31:59 +0100

I'm a relative newbie when it comes to the cosplaying culture. However, last October 22nd, 2011, I was immersed in it more than I have ever been in the past. The first-ever Games Toys Manga Anime Cosplay Comics Convention (GTMACCON, pronounced "jee-tee-mah-con") event decided to do something different and feature a cosplaying competition that showcased only indie comic characters created by Filipino artists.
I admired the vision of GTMACCON founder Kit Perez and Andrew Villar of Ambush Comics and the thought of Dr. Rianne alongside costumed superheroes and crimefighters was an intriguing one. It would be like Charlie Brown placed next to Batman or Son Gokou! I then presented my cartoony comic strip characters from Callous Comics to the cosplaying world.

Cosplayer Veronica Vergara

My memory was good enough to recall a young cosplayer who purchased Callous Comics before and thankfully she was interested to play Dr. Rianne! So Veronica Vergara and I began our preparations for the contest. The costume was easy enough. Scrubs, white lab coat, stethoscope, done! But she had the idea of having a Cal Duck plush doll as well. I asked around if anyone would be able to make one but no one I knew could. So I decided to get myself a Donald Duck plushie and give it a makeover!

Nurse, pass the glue gun please...

Cal Duck!

The week leading up to GTMACCON was a busy one with preparations and daily routine that I didn't even have time to draw comics! Finally, the day of the event arrived and it was my first time to see Nica as Dr. Rianne. I thought she looked great! Those who were familiar with Callous Comics instantly recognized her! Of course, it helped that she had a Guardian Duck with her.

Dr. Rianne Nicah and Cal Duck... cosplayed!

Nica and I representing Callous Comics!
(upper photo from Kit Perez)

Indie comic artists had an area to exhibit their books. Also pictured here is Gio Paredes who does Kalayaan

With fellow comic artists Mel Casipit, Paul Michael Ignacio, Gio Paredes, Ramil Antonio Ibay, and Gener Pedrina
Also with GTMACCON founder Kit Perez, BeL San Juan (the wife!), Nica Vergara, and Cal Duck
(photo from Kit Perez)

One thing Nica and I were a bit ill-prepared for was the participants' presentation. We had five minutes to do a little skit with our characters. Most had a full-on elaborate action scenes where their characters fought villains of some sort. It was great to watch! Then it was our turn.
Dialogue is a vital component of Callous Comics, so I decided to show Rianne and Cal's first meeting on stage with Nica. My wife, BeL, and I did live voice overs (she spoke for Rianne and I for Cal Duck) while I did meager puppeteer work behind a guitar amplifier. Nica apparently did well acting out the dialogue as Rianne (I couldn't tell, I was hiding behind a speaker)!

Hiding behind a guitar amplifier, I was ready to play puppeteer to Cal Duck while speaking his lines

Rianne and Cal Duck LIVE! (photo from Mel Casipit)

Bravo!

All the cosplay contest participants!

Is there a doctor in the house? The Webcomic Doctor amidst superpowered greats, mystical beings, and supernatural hunters. I guess every now and then they could use some medical help! (photo from Kit Perez)

The Participants:

Gio Paredes' Kalayaan
Freely Abrigo's Kapitan Tog
Paul Michael Ignacio and Gilbert Monsanto's Boy Ipis
Mel Casipit's Prince Eric
Gener Pedriña’s Narra
Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo’s Trese
Matt Jabanette’s Kapayapaan
Carlo Jose San Juan's Callous Comics
Jeff Benz’ Junior
Ray Adrian Necor Magbanua's Luzviminda
Ramil A. Ibay's Maso

The Winners:
1st Place - Boy Ipis
2nd Place - Kalayaan
3rd Place - Trese

    In the end, I had a great time! I learned a lot from my cosplayer, Nica, as well, as she provided some interesting insights on the cosplaying world and philosophy.
    It's incredibly heartwarming that so much affection is being given to the local indie comic community. Hopefully there'll be more contests and events showcasing such characters and series and that GTMACCON will grow bigger each year!
    Thank you so much to Kit Perez, Andrew Villar, and everyone who attended and participated! It was a wonderful opportunity and a delight to be a participant!

    But wait, there's more! See more pics from the event and Cal Duck schmoozing with other cosplayers!

Update (October 25, 2011):
    Gener Pedriña was nice enough to post a video of the Callous Comics entry. Enjoy!

"On Lighter Dreams" Updates

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 09:37:31 +0100

    Storylines, it seems, are never finished, they escape! Featuring the "On Lighter Dreams" Special Edition!
    You may have noticed that the "On Lighter Dreams" storyline recently ended a bit abruptly. Unfortunately, time and daily energy demands are not on the side of Callous Comics recently, and I had to decrease my comic output per week from seven to three (and then two towards the end of September 2011). I did not want to do this while in mid-storyline, so I heavily edited the latter part of the tale to the bare essentials of the ending.
    It had been my plan to add the exposition stuff and some battle scenes that were edited out to the future printed version of the storyline. So during my spare time, I've been drawing additional scenes to "On Lighter Dreams". Then I figured I might as well add these new scenes to the website once they were all done. However, a recent query from a longtime reader on the nature of the ending has prompted me to release these new scenes as they are completed!
    The links below will document the new strips as they are published on the site! Enjoy!

September 18, 2011 - New scenes for "Soar Above" and "Mystic Swords"
October 27, 2011 - New scenes for "Sparking Sword"

The Digicon (September 2011) - My Report

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 00:21:20 +0100

    On September 10-11, 2011, the first official DigiCon took place. Upon hearing of this event I already felt the daunting task of co-organizers Ryan Fisher and Casey Curtis. It was a great idea, having a comic con on the worldwide web. It eliminated many obstacles a lot of comic fans had to face with such events. Location was no longer an issue! I'm sure many of us had thought of the value of such a gathering but here are a couple of people who actually went ahead and did it. And how did they do? Marvelously.
    The event was not without its hiccups, though. Once the comic con officially went underway the Audio/Video chatroom froze after a few minutes, presumably due to heavy traffic. With free admission, the incoming traffic could have been limitless. The AV chat and text chat were then given separate "rooms" which more-or-less lessened the congestion. The first panel, composed of international artists (of which I was a part of), was going to be pre-recorded then posted on the site. Then suddenly it was going to be live. I got the feeling that it was all a learning process as the convention went along but considering it was the first DigiCon ever, that was perfectly fine.
    With a predominantly webcomic-oriented array of guests and attendees, no one was a stranger to online glitches. It was remarkable how forgiving we all were and it perhaps spoke of how much we all appreciated the DigiCon, hiccups and all. (Did anyone love the gargantuan task of logging-in to the tinychat Video chatroom?!)
    One of the notable positives from the weekend were the outstanding panels. All of them were fun and a joy to listen to! Lots of them were quite insightful.
    Personally, however, like in any comic con the biggest plus from the weekend was getting to meet fellow creators "face-to-face" albeit through video chatrooms as well as getting to make new friends. The technical glitches were ironed out too. My only regret is that due to time zone differences, I missed out on a lot of the fun due to that thing called sleep. Nevertheless, what little time I spent there was well worth it.
    So, I applaud Ryan and Casey for providing the comic community with a great weekend! I hear the DigiCon is not an annual event and may take place several times in a year. I'm looking forward to the next one!

    Author's note: In the weeks leading up to the DigiCon I had erroneously been referring to it as the first online comic convention. It was later on pointed out to me that there had been at least one comic con based in the internet, specifically within Facebook. Looking back at the DigiCon's promotional materials, it was called the web's first online comic con. If you recognize a distinction between the worldwide web and Facebook, then Digicon may have made no mistake in its claims. However, if you don't see a distinction, then I believe that it really doesn't matter who was first, as long as people were having fun! :) I don't feel it would lessen the event's value at all.

Callous Comics on "Umagang Kay Ganda"

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 02:55:09 +0100

Last July 19, 2011, several newspaper and independent comic artists and myself (representing webcomics) appeared in ABS-CBN's morning show Umagang Kay Ganda. The show wished to feature local comics (known as komiks) which have been undergoing a dramatic resurgence lately.

I met up with Lyndon Gregorio, Ariel Atienza, Michael David, and Melvin Calingo at an astoundingly early hour in a McDonald's and then headed together for the ABS-CBN studios. There, we were directed to a series of long tables where we could exhibit our books and those of other Filipino artists. Behind our tables were a bunch of mannequins wearing various Darna costumes and several comic-book themed movie posters. We also met up with Andrew Villar, Amos Villar, and Rommel Estanislao.

Setting up our tables

(L to R) Lyndon Gregorio, Ariel Atienza, Michael David, Melvin Calingo, and Andrew Villar
Photo by Rommel Estanislao

(Front to back) Amos Villar, Rommel Estanislao, Lyndon Gregorio, Ariel Atienza, Michael David, and Melvin Calingo

The wait... that's me on the leftmost end.
Photo by Rommel Estanislao

We were asked to appear on the show to showcase different aspects of Filipino komiks. As the webcomic representative, I was requested to bring the tools I needed to produce such material. So, I had a laptop, a scanner, and my drawing tools present! We were also asked to actually produce drawings and comics as a demonstration, so I used the time to do the next Callous comic strip.

Webcomic artist at work.

My POV. That's the show's indoor set past the windows.

ABS-CBN gave us coffee and breakfast. I'm here with my usual seatmates, Andrew and Amos Villar.

In case you forgot what I do...

The sun's out! And we're all "working"...

Yeah! Free pearl shakes!

We were later informed that due to time constraints, we would no longer be separately interviewed but we would still be featured as a group on camera. We were all disappointed, of course, but we were having fun nonetheless.

A screenshot from the actual broadcast.

In the end, after several long hours of waiting for a few seconds of screen time, we all headed back to our lives in good spirits. Thanks, ABS-CBN!

With the show's hosts!
Photo from Rommel Estanislao

First Baguio City Comic Convention (FB3C): My report

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 16:57:47 +0100

    Last Saturday, July 16, 2011, Baguio City held its first ever Comic Convention (at least to my knowledge) and Callous Comics and I were more than happy to participate!
    The whole event was spearheaded by Gerald "Majic" Asbucan, a local Cordilleran artist who recently made waves in the Filipino independent comic scene with his work on Big Fat Ben. He has hopes of reinvigorating the interest in comic books in pretty much the whole mountain province and several artists, myself included, stepped up to help his cause.
    And so, the epic journey of many comic artists and writers, many of which were based in the nation's capital region (again, myself included) to join this historic event began!
    Baguio, a highly-urbanized city, is nestled high in the Cordillera Central mountain range in the northern part of the Philippines' largest island, Luzon. At approximately 1,500 meters above sea-level, it is known for its cool climate and lush evergreen trees. Thus the nicknames, the "City of Pines" and the "Summer Capital of the Philippines". Its surreal atmosphere is in such stark contrast from much of the rest of the country which made it a favorite destination for many Filipinos and tourists. To put things into perspective, it is a four to eight hour trek by land from the nation's capital, Manila, but those who embark on the journey don't mind. Most believe Baguio City is worth the ordeal.

Somewhere along MacArthur Highway en route to Baguio City

My expedition to the mountaintop city began the afternoon before the comic con. It was an unusual time for me to begin a trip to Baguio, as I traditionally leave in the early morning. It was an unusual time of the year as well. I was thus treated with rural landscapes so different from what I was accustomed to seeing along the way. The sun shed quite a different light too, flooding the scenery with gorgeous contrasts as it began to set. Consequently, I could see very little of the mountains as we began the climb up the snaking roads to the city, as night had already fallen.

At a rest stop. Yup, all roads to Baguio City Comic Con are okay!

    The morning of the comic con I was up quite early. Ingress began at 6:30 AM, I was told. So I got dropped off at the entrance of Baguio City National High School, where the convention was being held, and made my way to the gymnasium.
    By now, after several comic cons, I had streamlined the transport of my wares. I have a rolling bag with everything I need in it and my banner and stand inside a bag I could sling over my shoulder. But still, with the not-exactly-smooth pavement of the high school, the distance of the gymnasium from the gate, the oxygen-deprived high altitude, the stairs, and plain old being out-of-shape, I was catching my breath by the time I got to the venue.
    All that went away pretty quickly as soon as I saw the event marshals in a little pow wow seemingly planning out how to efficiently go about the day. But as I inched closer it dawned on me just what it meant to be a part of a "first-ever" anything. The organizers were in an admirably very controlled state of panic as pretty much everything they needed for the convention had yet to arrive. Tables, sound equipment, food... everything.

The entrance to the event's venue... a high school gymnasium!

There was a school entrance closer to the gym than the one I entered. Phooey. At least I got a nice walk. Yeah.

So Gerald kept telling his faithful troops what to do when the convention paraphernalia they needed would arrive. About an hour or so later they did, all at the same time, and the mayhem began.
It's an endearing (and often annoying) inside-joke among Filipinos regarding lateness. Hey, it happens. Thank goodness we're used to picking things up after the fact. Because what I initially saw as mayhem turned out to be a swift and efficient construction of a comic convention. Granted, it was a small one, but in no time at all we had a convention venue set up, be it ever so humble.

My table at the independent comics area. I had once again forgot to bring my tablefront banner. Oh well.

The convention began and a few people trickled in the entrance. Since my table was pretty much the first thing an attendee would see I was often treated as the person-to-ask-questions-to. Questions like, "so, what is this 'comic con' thing all about?!" I happily answered such questions anyway. A lot of parents brought their kids too and a lot of them purchased my button pins. Good times!

Doing my thing!

    However, I was beginning to get worried that morning. There were hardly any attendees present since the doors opened. In a way it was nice because I got to leave my table and talk to my friends in the indie comics area. We joked around and laughed. Some of us talked about collaborations and whatnot. I was later told by Gerald and other local artists that the morning lull was actually a cultural thing. Mornings in Baguio City were apparently relatively slow compared to Manila, especially on the weekends. I was assured things would pick up in the afternoon. I took their word for it.
    And they were right. More people came in around noon time and then things started to feel more like the usual comic con. Cosplayers arrived too and in decent numbers!
    It was a striking characteristic about this convention that most of the things available for purchase were independent comic titles. Whether this was intentional or by some twist-of-fate, it was wonderful to see such focus of attendees on the indie comic scene. There was one group from Baguio City too and it seemed like they were having a blast!

The independent comic tables.

Artist Alley

I was incredibly surprised at how many people from Baguio were avid webcomic readers and some even knew about Callous Comics! My books did well, particularly Chocolate Chip Wishes and Caffeine Dreams and The Land of the Guardians. There was once again a lot of interest on the Webcomics: What's Cooking? charity comic book/cookbook.

Callous Comics at FB3C

Thhwwwiiiip! The dancing Spider-Man swings up to Baguio City!

Rikimaru and Ayami from Tenchu. I loved the game, they loved the premise of Callous Comics. Ayami's even considering cosplaying as Rianne from The Land of the Guardians in the future. OMG, Please do!

X-23 from X-Men: Evolutions is one of my favorite Marvel characters. Apart from choosing to portray an awesome, little-known character, this cosplayer actually bought this copy of The Land of the Guardians! So that makes her double-awesome!

Even though attendance was nowhere near that of, say, Komikon or Metro Comic Con, and the fair share of freshman hiccups from the event itself were present, by the end of the day we were all pretty satisfied. The people who did show up were avid comic fans and I even had a lengthy discussion with one con-goer about various cartoon and comic ducks which was quite entertaining. One wonderful comic fan even purchased all my books, including Webcomics: What's Cooking?!
I felt that people were just happy that there even was a comic con in Baguio City and just wanted to soak it all in. It was definitely a different atmosphere in this convention, as different as the city itself. I'm sure the event will grow over time but for a small start for a small comic con, it got off on the right foot.

The following morning, one last look at the city before heading back down to Manila. Thanks Baguio City!

Comics, Creators, Fun!

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 02:39:16 +0100

Recently I ended up flying to the US for a pretty much unplanned vacation. I took the opportunity to purchase some print versions of webcomics (since shipping rates wouldn't be as prohibitive) and perhaps actually meet some of the creators I've grown to regard as friends.
My first stop was LA, California and I placed a few orders online for books, all through Amazon.com. I took advantage of their free shipping as we purchased quite a few more items.

T. Andrew Dempsey (right) and myself at a Starbucks in North Bergen, New Jersey

    Then I was off to New Jersey. There, I had a wonderful chat with Timothy Dempsey over coffee. Tim was one of my first webcomic buddies since I started Callous' online renaissance in 2009. We talked about each others' comics and life in general. I was pleased to know he had visited the Philippines before. I asked for a sketch on the back of his business card, which he gladly did. Tim does the wonderfully insightful comic, My Life in the Trenches. Please do check it out and see why I like it so much.

    Then I was off to Orlando, Florida where I pretty much was a full-on tourist taking on the theme parks and whatnot. My personal favorite, no surprise, was Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure, particularly the comic strip-themed area. I could stand in front of Hagar the Horrible's viking ship and listen to their jolly singing all day. I regret not getting the "Dagwood" sandwich at Blondie's, but there was far too much to do there with so little time. I felt I was the only one who recognized Broom Hilda and Pogo at the park that day.

    I also had arguably the best steak in my life at Charley's. After that I just couldn't eat another steak. Nothing could top it. It was that good. Bravo.

Thorne (right) and I doing a sketch exchange.

But that's not all. I met up with Thorne who does the fantasy comic, Tears and Pain, whom I've had the pleasure of being the artist of the series for a short, two-strip spell. We met up in Downtown Disney at an Irish pub, had our fill of Guiness and lamb, and did a quick sketch exchange. We had a wonderful chat and he gave me a brilliant-looking refrigerator magnet of Kiera, one of his characters.

Thorne (left) and I with our received sketches!

Upon returning to Los Angeles, California, it was like Christmas as a bunch of packages awaited me! First, a box from Amazon.com. It had both books of Dawn Griffin's Zorphbert and Fred, which I probably don't express enough to her how much I enjoy it. I also ordered one of the few remaining copies of Caanan Grall's Celadore. Celadore actually has a big place in my heart as it was the first webcomic I read through from start to its latest page (at the time). I followed it to its end after that. Unfortunately, its host, Zuda, had shut down and Celadore disappeared from the internet with it. I'm also a fan of his comic, Max Overacts, which earned him an Eisner nomination. He and I are co-contributors for Webcomics: What's Cooking?.

My comic stash from my 2011 USA visit! I also included my own comic for size-comparison (it's A5).

I also bought the latest Blade of the Immortal trade paperback. I ran into the series by accident a long time ago and it remains to be the only comic book I still "collect".

Ooo... mysterious box! My package from Dustin Reese!

I also got a nice surprise from Dustin Reese who does Plus One. If there was ever a comic that had the closest connection to Callous, it would be Dustin's Plus One. It contained a copy of Plus One: 9 Months and Counting and it looks fantastic! It also had a nice note from Dustin and a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies! How about that?!

I was also incredibly touched to find a nice section dedicated solely to Callous in his book, as Dr. Rianne Nicah does play a significant part in the story. Thank you so much, Dustin!

But there's more! I also got this padded envelope from Jande Rowe who does Aedre's Firefly!

What's this?!

It contained a stunning piece of artwork featuring Nerbert the frog from her comic. I had suggested, unwittingly, the name Froggurt for her frog but lost out to Bo Lumpkin who gave the name Nerbert. Still, she thanked me for the suggestion with this marvelous artwork.

And a drawing of me too!

I was also able to talk to George Ford on the phone, who does the comic Addanac City! I had hoped to meet him in person too but we just couldn't get to find a good time to do so. Still, it was great to talk to him! :)

And that's it for comics from my whirlwind trip! With friends like these, it was a pleasure indeed!