We arrived past 2 and it was clear that this years Komikon had a lot more attendees... which meant it was several degrees near uncomfortable, but nonetheless enjoyable. lot more new indies on sale plus the release of 's Sacred Mountain Publishing and 's Elmer #2.... I had reserved my time to buy Trese much later since Budjette Tan's booth had people rummaging through their comics from both ends of their table. And after all arriving past 2 meant I alone have a very short time to circle the venue. Now I regret it as I didn't get any...

Met new people, and now properly introduced to a few people who I had met a year back but never got to talk to; sorry was really starving last year at that moment . But then again I was also drowsy this time around after taking a a pill for my cold.

Also never got to talk to the classic artists who also were in attendance... at least Harvey got a chance to talk to Alfredo Alcala's son. And it was unfortunate that neither Steve Gan or Alex Niño didn't get to join the event... Hero TV is also going to feature this event as well as last week's Comics Seminar, mainly centering on our local industry.

And we saw (and touched) artworks that showcased the mad talents Hannibal Ibarra, another local artist who had an Alcala/Niño/Dell Barras/ [edit: I forgot Floro Dery as well ] thing going on in his artworks. Leinil Yu was bowled over by them, and I had my chewing gum literally fall from my mouth. Here are just a few of them artworks:
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Cutness, Sexy, Warmth and innocence...
We're convincing him to put up a deviant page at the moment (harvey, MJP, i-sign up niyo na)

I could see him illustrating Narnia, Lord of the Rings, and DC's Fables... and even more

We also went to look at the Lead Slinger booth, unfortunately we didn't stay long enough for the announcement of the winner. 5 artists were all busy trying to beat the clock for 3 challenges.

Comics Odyssey and the owner Sandy was also there. And as reluctant as I was to accepting a free Magazine that showcased Filipino artists and an Alex Niño limited print, I couldn't resist knowing what those were... And the print was the closest I would get an Alex Nño autograph. Again Sandy Thank you!

Next year sounds hopeful as one corporation was offering to sponsor the venue, and I think another one was a very good option

And now for Part 2 of 120 years of KOMIKS

The United States acquired the Philippines from Spain following the Spanish-American War of 1898.

Therefore, it’s undeniable that the Americans had a huge effect on komiks in the Philippines as the nation was under the U.S. rule at the turn of the 20th century.

In the concluding chapter of our 2-part series on Philippines komiks, we take a look at the current state of the industry.

Today, there are new players that get to publish/release new titles on a more frequent basis. “Mango Comics and Nautilus Comics have their bi-monthly comic books,” Budjette Tan explained. “A comic book called Culture Crash also energized the scene with the anime-inspired comic book anthology. The publishers of Culture Crash later organized two comic book/anime/cosplay events that brought thousands of fans together.

“The group Artist’s Den launched the first Manila Komikon last year and already in the works of organizing this year’s event [to be held in Quezon City on October 21]. The Komikon successfully brought together generations of comic book creators.

“A couple of years ago, Adarna Publications, one of the Philippine’s successful publisher of children’s books ventured into publishing graphic novels,” he added. “Their titles: Arnold Arre’s After Eden and Mythology Class have done well, in terms of sales and critical acclaim. Another publisher, Visual Print Publications, also dipped their feet in the comic book publishing arena with Carlo Vergara’s A Kagilagilalas Na Pakikipagsapalaran Ni Zsazsa Zaturnnah graphic novel. That title was in National Bookstores Top 20 list a couple of months ago. Its story has already been adopted into a musical and will soon be seen as a full-length feature.

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