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Comic Odyssey’s Secret Empire #4 Signing Event (June 17, 2017)
Clockwise: The stuff I had signed at the event.[i] | Gerry (left) and Leinil. | Thanks again Gerry for the sketch[ii].
After work this morning, I proceeded to Comic Odyssey in Fully Booked, Bonifacio High Street for the Secret Empire #4 signing event featuring Leinil Francis Yu, Gerry Alanguilan, and Romulo Fajardo, Jr.
The afternoon signing–scheduled from 1 pm to 4 pm–served as a reunion of sorts for the longtime creative team of Yu and Alanguilan who haven’t had a signing together in well over a year. It was great to see them both.
CapWolf finds a new home (May 21, 2017)
Ah, CapWolf.
The CapWolf head joins my other artifacts. | Want a challenge? Can you name all the 19 artifacts in this picture? How about the toy lines that I took them from?
Another addition to my personal collection.[i]
For those of you who may be too young or unaware of the history of CapWolf, it is a Captain America (Volume 1) story that ran for six issues (#402-#407) way back in 1992. The gist of the story: Captain America turns into a werwolf and dukes it out with Logan. After the dust settles, Cap manages to regain human form.
I know. It not one of the better ideas of the early 90’s but it was certainly one of the more memorable ones…so memorable in fact that it was released as a graphic novel a couple or so years ago. Read more…
Jomar Bulda Fundraising Drive (May 10-23, 2017)
Superior (Issue #4 | Page #15) summary: “Chris, Simon Pooni’s best friend, is roughed up by Sharpie and his gang while attempting to take an ill-advised shortcut through “Sharpie’s neighborhood.”
As a way to join in on the collective efforts of the comic book community, I have donated this original inked Superior page (Issue #4 | Page #15) and left it with the kind people of Druid’s Keep/DK Collectibles, Inc. over at their Fort branch.
Art by Leinil Francis Yu and inked by Gerry Alanguilan, Superior (2010) holds the Guinness Book of World Records for being the fastest comic ever produced as well as having the most number of creators working on a single comic.
Sir Gerry signed the piece at the Komikero Komiks Museum in San Pablo City on August 13, 2016, while Leinil added his signature during Free Comic Book Day 2017 at Filbar’s Megamall.
Contact Druid’s Keep/DK Collectibles, Inc. for pricing and other details. Read more…
From Filbar’s to Comic Odyssey to Druid’s Keep: My Free Comic Book Day 2017 Experience (May 6, 2017)
Clockwise: The calm before the storm: Leinil’s desk. | First in line! | Leinil signs Page 33 of Supercrooks #4. | My copy of Indestructible Hulk #1 signed by writer Mark Waid, inker Gerry Alanguilan, and now penciller Leinil Francis Yu. | Lenil and Gerry’s signatures at the bottom of the aforementioned Page 33. | Thanks again Leinil!
For many, Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) serves as an annual opportunity to get new readers (as well as old ones) into the hobby by offering a wide selection of books that they would not normally pick up. But in recent years, the status quo of FCBD in the Philippines has evolved beyond its original purpose and into an event wherein the local comic distributors and artists give back to comic book community.
For me, the highlight of FCBD 2017 was being able to attend Leinil Yu’s signing over at Filbar’s Megamall.[i] Without going into great detail, Leinil was very gracious and accommodating. Thank you again Leinil!
After lunch at Pepper Lunch[ii], I proceeded to Fully Booked in Bonifacio High Street where I was able to get free copies of Wonder Woman: Rebirth (Special Edition) #1 and Skottie Young’s I Hate Image before they ran out of stocks. From what I heard, I Hate Image is an amalgamation of a number of Image Comics’ popular titles and that it’s original art Read more…
The difference between single issues and trade paperbacks and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (Non-spoilers) (April 25, 2017)
Aside from getting into an early screening of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 | I was able to find several issues on sale for P200 over at Comic Quest. Issues 7-9, 17-18 of Fatale, Issue 2 of High Roads and Issues 6-7 of IDW’s Ghostbusters for the Fam
As part of my education as an aspiring comic book writer, I have made it a point to find time to listen to the creative process of other writers. It is a mandate has also made me more open to the idea of reading books that fall outside the Marvel and DC Comics spectrum.[i] This will be the first of many posts where I’ll try to pass on what I’ve learned about the creative writing process or maybe something about comics in general.
The difference between single issues and trade paperbacks
In one particular interview featuring writer Ed Brubaker (Captain America, Kill or Be Killed), someone asked if the essays located in the backspace[ii] of several issues of Fatale[iii] would ever be compiled into a trade paperback or featured as additional material in future editions of Fatale.
Brubaker’s response was simple: No.
He reasoned that it was a complicated process as there were many authors who had contributed essays throughout Fatale’s 24-issue run. These were published as one-offs–meaning that any subsequent publishing would require consent from the aforementioned authors.
Therefore, the essay material would then remain exclusively in the single issues and serve–at least in my mind–as an added incentive to get them.[iv]
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (The non-spoiler edition)
Was with the Fam yesterday and we were able to catch the 9:00 pm advance showing of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
What do I think?
Fearing the Sun: The Awesomeness of Eclipse (April 14, 2017)
Thanks again Zack for sending me a signed copy of Eclipse #1 as well as a personalized note.
First-time comic book writer Zack Kaplan had been making comic book pitches for a number of years before Top Cow Productions’ President and Chief Operating Officer Matt Hawkins gave him his big break. The pitch–and I am paraphrasing here–probably went something like this.
Eclipse is a science fiction, murder mystery set 10 years from now where the world as we know it has changed. Sunspots have made the rays of the sun lethal to organic life[i] and civilization is now forced to live underground. Several murders have also been discovered with the main suspect (a vigilante?) somehow unaffected by the killer sun.
Hope I did that some justice.
Now Zack was tasked to find an artist for the then projected 4-part mini series. He looked through several portfolios and decided on Italian artist Giovanni P. Timpano who had done work with a number of franchise properties such as G.I. Joe: Infestation, The Shadow, and The Lone Ranger/Green Hornet. However, there was a catch–Giovanni was committed to another project for the next five months. Top Cow informed Zack that he would either have to wait for Giovanni or go with another artist. But in his mind, Zack felt that waiting another five months for Giovanni was the right thing to do for the book.
It was; the Eclipse creative team was formed and they haven’t looked back since.
What I like most about this book is the world building as well as the transparency of the creative process detailed at the end of each issue. In the first arc[ii], the writer (Kaplan), artist (Timpano), colorist (Chris Northrop), and letterer (Troy Peteri) all take turns in sharing their experiences in putting Eclipse together.
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[i] But according to Zack, the scorching heat has not affected water.
[ii] If you guys haven’t had a chance to read Eclipse, Image Comics released the the trade paperback last February and Issue #6 is scheduled to be released on May 20, 2017.
The day I stopped collecting Marvel Comics (February 26, 2017)
Came home today with Amazing Spider-Man #24, Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy #5, The Fix #8, and Motor Girl #1, #2, and #3.
Do you remember when you stopped collecting comics?
I do.
The day, February 26, 2017.
The History
It was coming as I had grown increasingly weary of Marvel’s continuing reboots and simply wanted to finish Dan Slott’s current Dead No More: The Clone Conspiracy arc–the first current Marvel title I’ve collected since that late 90’s.
Slott, Spider-Man’s incumbent writer, had caught my eye in 2015 with his Superior Spider-Man run. For those unfamiliar with the book, the premise alone was intriguing: What would happened if a dying Doctor Octopus was able to switch bodies with the Amazing Spider-Man Peter Benjamin Parker?
