Whatayear!

New friends, new problems, more problems, more work, more opportunities (drawing, comics, music, ministry & other stuff), was able to release my own actual printed comic, was able to release The QBCCC, most importantly proposed to my lovely then girlfriend, now fiance & so so so much more to be grateful for!

Thank God for all these things! looking forward to 2011!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Greetings!

MERRY CHRISTmas ONE AND ALL!

God bless!

Singil (Original Draft)

The non-linear version...

01


02


03


04


05


06


07


08

To those who read the QBCCC please tell me what you think of this version compared to the published one. if you haven't read the published version, your comments are also very much welcome. thanks! :)

Singil is a silent / wordless crime story, viewed in the first-person.

???

The Xeroxography event was fun! many thanks to all the peeps who stopped by our table & browsed our wares. many thanks to Adam for organizing the thing & inviting us. many thanks to those people who bought the QBCCC & the first issue of my 18-paged uber-dumb komix, ??? (yes that's the title! and i hope the 19 people who got it didn't regret buying it...) & here's the cover...



Please gimme reviews! i can handle the pain, don't worry. will resume (start is a better word i think, didn't get far with it anyhow) working on Baro Investigations. hopefully this time i'll actually have progress.

Better Living Through Xeroxography

Cover to the komik i'll be releasing at the event / poster. see you later!

Directions: map 1 & map 2

Note: sorry for the wrong spelling...

Komik Events - Past & Future

DELAYED REACTION: Komikon 2010 was crazy! the place was packed! and of course the debut issue of The QBCCC finally came out! seeing it as an actual half-A4-photo-copied-komik was a bitter sweet moment. Josel, Mervs & all the contributors, congratulations to all of us! WE WANT REVIEWS!!!

Very much enjoyed my first time participating, albeit as a squatter. had a great time hanging out at the table while selling stuff (Josel Nicolas, Tilde Acuña & Carljoe Javier many thanks!). met some of the QBCCC contributors. got some komiks, not as plenty as before but got some really quality stuff. got a shirt (thanks Mervs!). got sick afterwards. fun!

Still not finished reading some of the stuff i got, but here are the good stuff so far:
- The El Bimbo Variations by Adam David
- Windmills 3 by Josel Nicolas
- Askals & Noisy Blood by Dodo Dayao & Bong Leal
- WIP vol.1 by Hub Pacheco & Teddy Pavon
- School Run 3 by Macoy

Check out some of the other komik / semi-komik events happening before the year ends:

Sputoniku No Koibito!!!

The El Bimbo Variations & The Kobayashi Maru of Love are both wonderful books. buy them & meet the guys who wrote them. buy Josels Windmills too! copies of the QBCCC will probably be available for sale here as well.

Better Living Through Xeroxography

Plenty of books, komix, zines & other stuff for sale made by very very talented people. the QB crew will be here.

Will try compiling & publishing my dumb strips in time for the Xeroxography event. need to add more strips tho. so many things to do, so little time...

Singil (Revised & Finished)

Two days to go before Komikon & we are finally (!!!) finished with the 1st volume of The QBCCC. of to the printers we go!

Did some last minute changes to my contribution (thanks to Adam & Josel for their inputs). mah 1st komix story is done. me. happy. yey.

here is a preview of the first page...



Singil is a 9 page, wordless / silent, crime story viewed in the first person. will post the original draft soon. buy the komix first! :)

Komik releases at the Kon...
- from Macoy's blog
- from Mr. Gerry A.'s blog

The QBCCC Vol.1 UPDATES!!!

Volume 1 is now divided into 2 zines! we have new people on board as well. here are the covers (both by Mervin Malonzo)...





the pink / blue logo on the cover is actually a dust jacket / bookmark that comes with the book. so yey free bookmark!

only 5 days to go before Komikon... still need to do final revisions for my story.

The QBCCC Vol.1

Contributing creators:
- Adam David
- Ammathorn
- Apol Sta. Maria
- Bugsy Garcia
- DJ Legaspi (yey!)
- Hub Pacheco
- Jim Faustino
- Jobert Cruz
- Josel Nicolas
- Mervin Malonzo
- Norby Ela
- Rex Romano
- Tilde Acuña
- Teddy Pavon

and maybe... AJ Bernardo :)

70 - 80 pages of craziness! November 13! Komikon!

Still haven't finished my entry tho...ugh... cramming mode!

Singil

The Kurosawa Fest was awesome! it's still ongoing, so for those who missed it. you owe it to yourself to watch at least one of Kurosawa-san's movies.

On to the preview (of sorts), haven't been posting any drawings lately. just so i can post something here is a 1 panel preview of the 8-page story i'm working on (for 5 months! ugh...) for The QBCCC (out hopefully this November).



Singil is a Filipino word that means "price quoted, charge or collection of payment of debt". a crime story. first comic story to be published, so yes very excited :)

Hope my co-editor won't kick my butt for posting this without asking his permission...

I (heart) Kurosawa!

Akira Kurosawa film fest! WOOOHOOO!!!

See you there...

Post-MCC Update

Metro Comic Con has come & gone. it was fun (way better than last year). got to buy some komiks. got an original piece of drawing. got to meet one off the QBCCC staff in person (say hi Mervin!). but it wasn't all just getting, gave away some QBCCC stickers & my Maskot fanart to Macoy.

Random komik reviews from MCC:
- School Run#2 - this was awesome as expected. the only complaint i have with this komik, is it was too darn short!
- Trese: Cadena de Amor (or something like that) - more fun adventures with Trese.
- Dra. Yap - had a great hook. execution was really not great. still fun read tho.
- Songs of the Lewenri - very Gaiman-esqe story. love the art.
- Bathala - great art. story didn't really click with me.
- Anak ng Tumang Itim 2 - short but sweet. great production quality.
- SSM 5.55 - free komik! thanks Chapel! crazy fun stuff.
- there are some other books i'm forgetting, anyway...

Been busy...
- with work, first and foremost. it has been taking up most of my life...
- intervening extra curricular activities :)
- doing the editor thing for The QBCCC. which is tiring & frustrating & fulfilling & fun & sad all at the same time.

Need to draw. double time. only have 2 months till the next Komikon.

*sigh*

Metro Comic Con 2010

KOMIKS!!! * looks inside wallet... :( *

Will be at MCC this Saturday only, along with Mervin (production dude for The QBCCC, 1st issue cover artist & creator of the aswang epic-to-be "Tabi Po"). we will be giving away FREE QBCCC stickers to those people who will ask for one. hehehe... just say "hi!" & introduce yourself :D

we only have a few of these (due to budgetary constraints), so we can only give one sticker per person. here it is...



Only the actual sticker is PINK!

Behold!

Cover for the 1st issue of The QBCCC...



by the amazingly talented Mervin Malonzo (check out his web comic "Tabi Po")

And the very, very cool logo. which i so love! this was just wonderfully done (by Mervs as well)...



So yeah, this simple idea which started on a message board is now real. yey!

Join us!

P.S.: 2 pages of my contribution for this is done. just need to get it approved by my co-editor.

Post-Birthday Report

Had an awesome birthday week (also added some pound sadly). Got some nice gifts (Vic Firth Drum Pad! thanks sweety!). Thank God for life!

Haven't been able to post any drawings in a long time. Work has been crazy. Still doing my contribution for The QBCCC. Progress on that is really slow. Will try to finish it this coming week. Hopefully i can still get Baro Investigations on track for the November Komikon.

A quote i read somewhere...
When I hear somebody sigh, "Life is hard," I am always tempted to ask, "Compared to what?" - Sydney J. Harris

:)

Tired...

Baro Investigations is currently not on track for its supposed November Komikon release. due to the fact that i am really swamped with work & doing my contribution for The QBCCC (of which i have completed a page & a half).

I need a vacation!

Randomness:
- Inception was amazing!
- Wanna watch Predators...
- Need some practice on the drums before Thursday (Lord help!)
- 99 HC book sale at National Bookstore. yey!
- Missing laptop charger (Lord help!)

The QBCCC FB page, Like it! :D

G'day mate!

Baro Investigations (Update I)

So far finished outlining the plot & thumbnailing almost half of the story already. Also done penciling two pages, i'll just be adding the dialogue once the pages are finished. It's taking a lot of time just to write the talki talki stuff. Research is still ongoing, been reading criminal law and it has been inspiring. got a lot of future story ideas off of it. Hoping to publish the komik by November in time for the next Komikon.

For now, tease number 2!

Break!

Promised myself not to draw for a while since i need to concentrate on writing my komik project (Baro Investigations). my hand was itching over an idea that popped into my brain this weekend. just had to draw it. so here it is...



Ang Maskot by Macoy. tribute to the indie komik that means a lot to me.

Back to writing.

wacomwacomwacom...

First time using a Wacom tablet (old-school, CTE-440), drawn in MS Paint. Thanks again to Aki for giving (loaning = giving) me the tablet. Spidey's head looks weird. hehehe...

Pretty hard drawing without looking at your hand. Quite enjoyed it. Will do more practice once i have some free time.

Tungo (In Color!)

Tungo - colored by ~djlegaspi on deviantART

Thanks Aki (office mate, crazy person & all around decent dude). Checkout his DA page -> http://scarknightchaos.deviantart.com/

Uncolored version here.

Tungo

Tungo by ~djlegaspi on deviantART

Companion strip to Tingala. In the office. Looking down.

Baro Investigations

Is a crime-noir-pulp-70's/80's-pinoy-action-b-movie komik project i'm working on. Born out of my love for crime / pulp fiction & the fond memories of them crazy Pinoy action movies. Already have an idea for the plot, still need to hammer out the details. So far i've been doing a lot of research. Police procedurals, PI guidelines, gun handling, CSI stuff, etc. On top of this, i've been reading on tips / guides on how to write a (at least, a decent enough) crime story. On top of ALL these things, still have a lot of work to be done in the office.

Research is HARD! Really excited for this. Hope i can pull it off.

Update: Update!

Without Fear...

Who hasn't read the Frank Miller Daredevil run? Well, me until recently anyway. The run ended way before i started reading comics. First DD issue i read was from the first volume of the series, issue 301. DD versus the Owl.



I loved it! A lawyer-ninja-superhero-blind dude in a devil costume(my mom was kinda iffy about the costume but she got over it, hehehe...) is just cool! DD became my favorite superhero when i was a kid. Still holds true today. With that, here is my tribute to the Man Without Fear...

Initial concept (done on a piece of scrap paper, recycle!).


Used an actual church in Hell's Kitchen (Saint Malachy's Roman Catholic Church) as reference for this.



Painted on and off for a month. Ended up looking like this...


Daredevil: Without Fear by ~djlegaspi on deviantART

This was my second oil painting (click here for the first one), so it's still kinda rough. Will probably retouch this soon.

For more Daredevil info check out this awesome site... http://www.manwithoutfear.com

Reminder sa CR

Ang Comfort Room by ~djlegaspi on deviantART

Made this after coming from the office CR...

Iron Man 3

Iron Man on My Desk by ~djlegaspi on deviantART

I ♥ Mighty Muggs! :D

Sa Bus Pangalawa

Sa Bus Pangalawa by ~djlegaspi on deviantART

Happy Birthday Sweetie!

You make even the most mundane things enjoyable :)

Also, a companion piece to this one.

Sa Bus Una

Sa Bus Una by ~djlegaspi on deviantART

Yojimbo Project

I love Akira Kurosawa movies. Love. Them.

Yojimbo (1961) is probably my favorite of them all. According to Wiki, "It tells the story of a ronin (masterless samurai), portrayed by Toshirō Mifune (who is awesome in the movie), who arrives in a small town where competing crime lords make their money from gambling. The ronin convinces each crime lord to hire him as protection from the other. By careful maneuvering and the use of his sword, he brings peace, but only by encouraging both sides to wipe each other out in bloody battles." For more info about the movie click here.

Recently re-watched it & i do not get tired of it (already seen it like, 12 times). Decided to do a series of paintings about the movie. Not specific scenes from the movie but imagined scenes, i guess.

Exercise sketches to warm up.

Then came up with a scene to put on the canvas.

Painted for 2 - 3 weeks (i think) on & off. This is what i ended up with...

Yojimbo: Taiketsu by ~djlegaspi on deviantART

Taiketsu means showdown (i think). I kept the black & white look. Very challenging to come up with different shades of gray. Just started on the next one, will post the progress soon.

Iron Man 2...

Random thoughts:
- Fun movie
- RDJ was awesome as ever
- Had some easter eggs for the obsessive fanboy (like me)
- Sam Jackson was chubby (but still bad ass!)
- Stark defending his constitutional rights was fun
- ScarJo as the Black Widow had no personality (or was that the point?)
- Tony / Pepper relationship (banter) was fun as well
- Sam Rockwell handled that cliched over-the-top evil CEO nicely
- did not like War Machines look
- the Justin Hammer showcasing his wares to Rhody scene was hilarious
- expected more from Cheadle
- Micky Rourke was wonderful (i wont my bord!)!
- the final showdown was a letdown
- everybody had their time to shine (even Happy Hogan!)
- and lastly, KRAKOOOOOOM! ('nuff said)

Octopus & Free Comic Book Day

Found a toy. Remembered an old joke. English to tagalog translation failed.


Octopus by ~djlegaspi on deviantART

Got some free comics, got Ultimate Avengers signed by Leinil Yu & Gerry Alanguilan, some Moon Knight back issues, a Dr. Strange drawing from Ed Tadeo & free pizza. Fun day (not that fun without my (♥) tho). Tired.

Thinking about doing a pulp / crime-noir komik (Why? I dunno, it just popped in my head). Need sleep first.

Tingala

Outside the house. Looking up.


Tingala by ~djlegaspi on deviantART

I was high on Pentel fumes after doing this one :)

Doing a Komik Strip: Part 4 (Finaly! Yey!)

Based on true events...


Sunog by ~djlegaspi on deviantART

Took a long time to be posted (need to get my own scanner). Very much enjoyed doing this. My handwriting sucks & i need a better pen. Special thanks to my sweetie pie for lettering the fire alarm SFX (♥).

Looking forward to doing more strips. Yey!

Read previous parts 1, 2 & 3!

Have at Thee!

After rediscovering my love for drawing, i wanted a challenge. Something that i have never done before. So i went to the nearest National Bookstore, looked around for some art materials. Decided on trying my hand at painting. Thought about what kind of paint to use. Looked around some more, decided on oil. Looked around SOME MORE, got some cheap oil paints, a preped canvas & brushes and started painting. After wasting a lot of paint, this is what came out...


Thor: Have at Thee by ~djlegaspi on deviantART

Why Thor? Saw him in a card while playing "tex" with my friends when i was 8 years old. He was the first superhero that looked cool to me (take that Batman!). The old costume is still a classic. I love Jack Kirby!

For more painted stuff click here.

Doing a Komik Strip: Part 3 (Progress!)

Previously...

Finally have a story for the strip. I'm gonna start this thing by tell some stuff about my experiences (whatever that maybe, interesting or not). Thanks to John Porcellino's KING-CAT CLASSIX (which i got for 99 bucks in National Bookstore) for the inspiration.

So yeah, i got my idea. Now i got to put it on paper. What do i need?


Spongebob pencil, eraser & some scratch paper (recycle!!!).

Breaking it down.


There will still probably be some changes done, but at least i accomplished something. Woohoo!

To be continued...

On to Part 4

Post-Summer Komikon 2010 Report...

One of the best Komikons i've had the pleasure of attending! It had lots of komiks, lots of creators, lots of sweaty people & best of all cos-players we're virtually non-existent (saw only a couple i think).

Got so many stuff that my girl had to calm me down. Needed to stay on budget. hehehe...No pics of the event or the stuff i got sadly. But i'll list them down:

- Omeng Estanistlao's Love Story (loved this!) & some of his older works.
- Macoy's School Run - DVD Copy (thoroughly enjoyed this! Macoy gets better & better with each book).
- Micheal David's Kubori Kikiam 7 (absurd & funny), got a sketch too.
- Josel Nicola's El Bimbo Adaptations (haven't read it yet, but the art looks really good)
- Apol Sta.Maria's Alamat ng Panget (again, haven't read it yet).
- Ang Astiging Boy Ipis shirt (rock & roll!).
- Also got my Renaissance book signed some more (yey! Leinil Yu!).

Still haven't sorted out the other stuff. Such an amazing & inspiring day. Makes me wanna draw more.

Oh before calling it a day, my girl & i got some fruit shakes, peanuts & mushroom burgers.

Hopefully next time i'll have some pics. OK back to the strip...

Doing a Komik Strip: Part 2 (What now...?)

"To be a person is to have a story to tell." —Isak Dinesen

So why can't i think of a story? Am i real person? Saying you'll do a komik strip is one thing. Actually doing it, is a huge pain. Been mulling about what story to tell for the past few days. Super heroes? Monsters? Ninjas? Vikings? Fish? Toe nails? Rene Requiestas?

Need to set a goal. This weekend i will put pencil to paper & actually have something resembling progress to post.

Come on brain! Work! It's only a komik strip...

...to be continued in part 3.

Back to part 1.

Komikon 2010!

Komikon this Saturday! Komiks! Yey!

Doing a Komik Strip: Part 1 (The Genesis & The Revelation)

Welcome to another rehash of this blog!

What is this about now? Me trying to be "creative" (haha!) & finding a direction for this thing.

So lets start with a cheesy back story (queue violins!)...

I've loved comics since i was 7 years old and because of comics i started drawing. I still read comics but pretty much forgot about drawing. I didn't know anything about the local komiks scene (but i did read my classmates copy of Combatron...hehehe) or our country's komiks / comics heritage (still don't know much about it now, but i'm researching). Then last year i saw a poster for Komikon & decided to check it out. It was a revelation, interacting with local artists who are big name international players like Gerry Alanguilan & Carlo Pagulayan. To big name local guys like Kajo Baldisimo & Budgette Tan. As well as, meeting indie guys like Macoy & Gio Paredes (just to name a few). Seeing all the things these guys were doing with komiks was just mind blowing. Then i started reading the stuff i got, from the photocopied self-published stuff to the card-stock-covered-publisher-backed stuff. My mind was blown some more. I fell in love with the komiks scene & not just that, it inspired me to start drawing again (even painting, which i have never done before).

And now (after procrastinating for soooo loooong...) i'm gonna expand my love for komiks / comics & actually do my own. Hence, the title of this post & the start of this (dumb?) experiment. I'll just start with one strip, then MAYBE do more & MAYBE self-publish it (*rolling eyes*...yeah right). So i'll try to document my progress (or maybe the lack of it) here & post some of the other stuff i do. I am not a learned professional artist (i'm not even good at drawing) & i won't be doing some high concept / high art stuff (i don't even know how to categorize art). I'll just do what i can do with what i have & hopefully it won't be completely bad.

OK. That's enough for part 1.

Part 2 up!