Bubog in the Inquirer

There are times you realize you have finally crossed the Rubicon. Although I have been busy with a thousand little things for the past few months, I am quite certain one thing will happen: BUBOG: The Horror Anthology WILL be published.

Even Mr. Gilbert Monsanto announced it to the world---to the Philippine Daily Inquirer, in fact. Although I wasn't able to secure a copy because it was shown on the same day the test results for the nurses' exam were released, and thus, the copies of the broadsheets sold out pretty quickly. But take a look at the last part where he mentioned our comix. Hmm, now I got to move my lazy ass to make that a reality.

Make way for the Bayan Knights!

By Ruel S. De Vera
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Last updated 19:22:00 02/20/2009

LIKE any epic tale, this story begins with a secret—a secret stash, that is.

When Gilbert Monsanto was young, his older brother George kept those prismatic treasures—comic books—hidden away.

“Which is actually a good thing because it made me more curious about comics,” Monsanto explains. George taught him how to draw, giving Monsanto a piece of advice he never forgot: “Drawing is about dots and spaces.”

Those dots and spaces came into play early as Monsanto actually got his work published in second year high school, a superhero tale he created with George called “Midgard” for the weekly title For Children Only. “But after just two outings, I decided to stop since I was still just too young, at 16, to seriously think about work,” he says.

In time, Monsanto would work in komiks like Super Fantasy Komiks, lend his art to covers for Psicom’s Philippine Ghost Stories and oversee the art chores for Mango Comics’ Darna revival.

He also worked behind the scenes for foreign comic titles. He self-published titles such as “Exodus: Revelations” and, recently, rolled out his most ambitious project yet through his Sacred Mountain Publications.

Monsanto, 36, has been toying with the title “Bayan Knights” for a while. Coming home from San Diego Comicon last year, Monsanto was on Deviantart.com when he noticed that someone wanted to create a Filipino superhero database.

Reading the entries, he realized this was what he was seeking.

“I actually said to myself, only if there’s a publisher who would have faith in these characters and give these creators a chance to get their stories out there.”

He invited the creators to join him and formed a team of Pinoy superheroes called the Bayan Knights, the focal point of a comic book series that took three months to construct.

Quarterly

Its second issue out soon, “Bayan Knights” is a quarterly series at P60 an issue, about a group led by Monsanto’s own creation, the former cop Sarhento Sagrado who has lost all his brave men.

“He realized he can’t trust anyone at this point, not even the government,” Monsanto explains. “His last hope is to seek aid from a different kind of hero—superheroes.”

Enter the Bayan Knights. “I placed them all in a single scenario or threat that anyone of them can relate to—their extinction. Their purpose in life, to be heroes, is suddenly being challenged. As Bayan Knights, they might stand a chance to get through this alive.”

From Manila Man and Luzviminda to Maskarado and Boy Ipis, it is clear these are Filipino heroes in a team unlike any other.

“It is all about character,” says Monsanto. “Anyone of us can don a superman costume or wear imported clothing, but when we speak, we are Pinoy to the core.”

The jokes and the dialogue—a mixture of English and Filipino—are authentically Pinoy as well. There are the ingenious, myth-based concepts of the Barong Tagalog as armor, the cockroach as terror bug, even a flying banana leaf. “If you look closely, you’ll find yourself in each of these characters, diverse and full of color.”

Flagship

“Bayan Knights” is the flagship in the expansion of the Sacred Mountain line, including the horror anthology Bubog and perhaps even individual Bayan Knights titles. But for Monsanto, it is the first strike in his own knight’s quest, where he seeks to empower a new pantheon of young Filipino creative powers.

“They (the respective creators) get to keep the rights to their original characters and create their own titles without hindrances,” he says. “I hope by giving them the right help, they’ll turn into the next generation of comics makers who will usher new readers into the future of comics entertainment in our country.”


“Bayan Knights” is available at National Book Store, Comic Odyssey and Comic Quest. For more information, visit http://bayanknights.blogspot.com.

here's the link to the article

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

This video of Dr. Randy Pausch has re-ignited my desire to pursue my childhood dreams---chief among them is to publish my own comix(yet again).

There are a lot of frustrations,true. A lot of brick walls that keep us from pursuing our dreams. But as Prof. Pausch says:

The brick walls that are in our way are there for a reason: they are not there to keep us out. They are there to give us a way to show how much we want it.

Gary Granada Songwriting 102 & 103

Matapos kong marinig ang protesta ni Ginoong Granada sa net, ipinaskil ko ang MP3 niya sa blog na ito at pinadalhan ko siya ng sulat bilang suporta. Bunsod nito, regular na akong pinadadalhan ni G. Granada ng mga 'update' ukol sa kaso. Pakinggan po natin ang binansagan niyang Songwriting 102 at 103.

FREE LESSONS IN SONGWRITING

Dear friends,

Mas marami pa yata ang nakinig dun sa mp3 na "Gary Granada vs GMA Kapuso" kaysa lahat ng taong bumili ng kanta ko sa buong 30 years ko sa music industry hehe. Kaya bilang pasasalamat sa inyong suporta, gumawa ako ng dalawa pang karugtong nun, at para na rin mas liwanagin kung ano ba talaga ang totoong nangyari.

Songwriting 102: Tungkol sa Isang Salita 4:38
Songwriting 103: Tungkol sa Isang Linya 5:51

As you listen to these recordings, please bear in mind that GMA Network insists that the only thing I can claim I (and I alone) did was change one word. Pinalitan lang yung salitang "pagpupursige" ng "pagpupunyagi".

Maiikli lang ang mga ito kaya tiyagain nyo nang pakinggan. Palagay ko rin makakatulong ang mga ito sa mga gustong matutong mag compose. Magandang learning aid din siguro sa mga klase sa literature, creative writing, music and even arithmetic. Wala rin po sigurong subject na ganito sa law school, kaya I dedicate these recordings to all my lawyer friends.

Enjoy!
(at pakipasa na rin pag nag-enjoy nga kayo)

Songwriting 103(3) by Gary Granada by daybreak

Songwriting 102(2) by Gary Granada by daybreak

Gary Granada

Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Lines - (3 versions?)

by Pablo Neruda

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
Write, for example, "The night is shattered and the blue stars shiver in the distance."
The night wind revolves in the sky and sings.


Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too.



Through nights like this one I held her in my arms.
I kissed her again and again under the endless sky.
She loved me, sometimes I loved her too.
How could one not have loved her great still eyes.



Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
To think that I do not have her. To feel that I have lost her.
To hear the immense night, still more immense without her.
And the verse falls to the soul like dew to the pasture.



What does it matter that my love could not keep her.
The night is shattered and she is not with me.
This is all.

In the distance someone is singing.



In the distance
My soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.
My sight searches for her as though to go to her.
My heart looks for her, and she is not with me.



The same night whitening the same trees.
We, of that time, are no longer the same.
I no longer love her, that's certain, but how I loved her.
My voice tried to find the wind to touch her hearing.



Another's.


She will be another's.


Like my kisses before.
Her voice, her bright body. Her infinite eyes.




I no longer love her, that's certain, but maybe I love her.
Love is so short, forgetting is so long.



Because through nights like this one I held her in my arms.
My soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.


Though this be the last pain that she makes me suffer and these the last verses that I write for her.





(Ang susunod na salin ay buhat, palagay ko, kay Rio Alma.)



Maisusulat ko ang pinakamalungkot na berso ngayong gabi.


Maisusulat ko, halimbawa: “Mabituin ang gabi
At nanginginig, bughaw ang mga tala sa malayo.”


Lumiligid sa langit ang simoy-gabi at umaawit.


Maisusulat ko ang pinakamalungkot na berso ngayong gabi.
Minahal ko siya, at minahal din niya ako paminsan-minsan.


Sa mga gabing ganito, ibinilanggo ko siya sa aking mga bisig
Ulit-ulit ko siyang hinagkan sa lilim ng walang hanggang langit.


Minahal din niya ako, paminsan-minsan ko rin siyang minahal.
Sino ang hindi iibig sa kanyang mga matang malaki’t tahimik?


Maisusulat ko ang pinakamalungkot na berso ngayong gabi.
Maiisip kasing hindi na siya akin. Madaramang wala na siya sa akin.


Maririnig ang gabing malawak, at mas lumalawak kung wala siya
At pumapatak sa kaluluwa ang bersong tila hamog sa pastulan.


Ano naman kung hindi mabantayan ng aking pag-ibig.
Mabituin ang gabi at hindi siya kapiling.


Ito na ang lahat. May umaawit sa malayo. Sa malayo.
Hindi mapanatag ang kaluluwa ko pagkawala niya.


Upang waring ilapit siya, hinahanap siya ng aking mata.
Hinahanap waring ilapit siya ng aking puso, at hindi siya kapiling.


Ganito rin ang gabing nagpupusyaw sa ganito ring mga punongkahoy.
Kami, sa tagpong iyon, ang nagbabago.


Hindi ko na siya mahal, natitiyak ko, ngunit minahal ko siya nang todo.
Hinahanap ng tinig ko ang simoy upang hipuin ang kanyang pandinig.


Nasa iba. Siya’y nasa iba. Tulad noong katalik siya ng aking mga halik.
Ang kanyang tinig, malinaw na katawan. Ang kanyang matang walang hanggan.


Hindi ko siya mahal, natitiyak ko, ngunit baka mahal ko siya.
Napakaikli ng pag-ibig, napakahaba ng paglimot.


Dahil sa mga gabing ganito na ibinilanggo ko siya sa aking mga bisig.
Hindi mapanatag ang kaluluwa ko pagkawala niya.


Kahit ito na ang huling pighating ipapataw niya sa akin,
At ito ang huling mga bersong isusulat ko para sa kanya.


KAYA KONG MAGBITIW NG BITTER WORDS
Mark Angeles

Kaya kong magbitiw ng bitter words ngayong gabi.
Mag-scribble-skribulan halimbawa: "Ang gabi ay pilantod
at nangangalantutay, bugbog-sarado, ang mga bituin sa malayo.
Paruo't parito ang hangin at ngumangawang parang baka.

Kaya kong magbitiw ng bitter words ngayong gabi.
Labs ko sya, at minsan daw labs nya rin ako.

Sa mga gabing tulad nito, nilalamas ko sya sa aking kandungan.
Nilalaplap ko sya sa silong ng marvelous na kalangitan.
Labs nya ko, at minsan labs ko rin sya.
Panong di ko mamahalin ang malalaki't bilugan nyang mga mata--
parang pugita?

Kaya kong magbitiw ng bitter words ngayong gabi.
Imagine kong wala sya sakin. Ma-feel kong na-lost ko na sya.

Mapakinggan ko ang gabing OA, mas lalong OA dahil wala sya.
At ang talinhaga ay dumidila sa malay tulad ng hamog sa talahib.
Ano pa bang meron dyan, Ineng, kung hindi sya mapapasaakin?
Period. Sa malayo, may ngumangawa. Sa malayo.
Aburido ang multo ko sa pagkawala nya.

At para bagang nandyan lang sya sa tabi-tabi, hinahanap ko pa sya.
Hinahanap sya ng puso ko, kapag wala sya sa tabi ko.
Ang gabi ring ito'y nagkukulapol ng dirty white sa mga troso.
Hindi na kami ang dating kaming kami.

Hindi ko na sya labs, pramis, pero labs na labs ko sya dati.
Hinahagilap ng hininga ko ang hangin para bugahan sya.

Nilalaplap na sya ng iba, tulad ng paglaplap ko sa kanya.
Ang boses nya, ang seksi nyang wankata, ang for layp nyang mga mata.

Hindi ko na sya labs, pramis, pero medyo labidabs ko pa rin sya.
Maigsi lang ang lablayp ko pero ang makalimot,
sangkatutak na 50 golden years ang inaabot.

Dahil sa mga gabing ganito nilalamas ko sya sa aking kandungan,
Aburido ang multo ko sa pagkawala nya.

Kahit ito na ang last chance ko para magmaasim
at ito na rin ang huling chuminess ko sa kanya.

Sad Days (part 1): Lawful Demise

I have pretty much hit rock-bottom the last couple of months starting when I was fired from work.

Actually, it wasn’t just me whose employment was terminated: it was everyone else’s. The Japanese owners of the factory where I work decided that it wasn’t worth saving the Philippine manufacturing plant considering the downturn in the US economy---our main customer---whose consumer demand constitutes about 80% of our monthly exports.

The truth is, it’s not really me I’m worried about. I’m fairly young, sharp, and have re-tooled my skills by going back to school while working full time. There’s a considerable chance I can find employment elsewhere. I’m more worried about my co-workers. Many of them are too old to be considered for gainful employment and most have not honed any marketable skills aside from the factory work they have mastered through the years. As I listened to the spontaneous wails and cries of disbelief as the announcement was being made, I came to realize something which I may have known for years but nevertheless have taken for granted: these people meant more than mere co-workers to me.

They were my family.

Maybe that was the reason why I refused to leave the company (with its pittance pay which I get every week that I have derisively referred to as my “allowance”) even if other employment opportunities abound---like those ubiquitous call centers.

“Anak (son), what will I do,” asks a middle-aged woman. She calls me anak because I happen to be a name-sake of her son. “Don’t you worry, ‘Nay (mom), everything will turn out for the better,” I assured her, not really knowing what I mean. Another woman sidles up to me, tears welling in her eyes and says: “Arnel, both me and my husband work here. What will happen to our children?” Her voice broke and I could not do anything but hug her.

She was, after all, my mother, too.

I may be an orphan but under the roof of my own little factory I have found many mothers and fathers. It took a single day for the company to spring the unwelcome surprise. To bid us all---mothers, fathers, sons, daughters---goodbye and good riddance. The vice-president says they commissioned a third party to compute the severance pay and we could get them on that same day. A battery of lawyers, accountants and Department of Labor representatives suddenly swooped down from nowhere to bear witness to the “lawful demise” of the factory. Don’t worry, we were assured, we can still come back the next day to get our things.

After the announcement, I approached the mic and told the assembly: “Hold your heads high, as you go out of this place. You are workers with dignity, and we have worked for years in this place with grace and dignity.” As a union officer, I also appealed for them not to take the severance pay on that same day. The union will have to meet to plan the next move and we have to remain united in the next collective course of action.

The former union president stood up to declare he’s going to be the first to get “his money” and that I was in no position to tell anyone not to get the money due them. If I were you, he says, I’d get the money since the factory is closing anyway, and the offer may not stand for long.

Everyone knew the real color of that sleaze-bag and that is why he was repeatedly rebuffed during the local elections. But on that day, the people chose to follow him.

As I watched my friends and colleagues, form a queue to get their severance pay, I felt as though a thousand daggers have pierced my heart. I felt numb. Like being orphaned a hundred times over.



It was a sad, sad, sad day for me.


==========================================


The next day, the company allowed us to retrieve our personal belongings. What I took liberally were pictures, instead. Like a madman, I took pictures of every nook and cranny. I was trying to freeze-frame my decade-long memory of the place. The factory, like Willy Wonka’s, had been a special place for me, too.

I took shot after shot even under a light drizzle---something I got to rue later because it ruined the digital camera.

Meanwhile, the rest of the union officers decided to capitulate. The company deviously included the salary for that week into the computation of the severance pay. And since we practically have no more money just before pay day, the check would really come in handy. “Look at it this way,” a fellow union officer opines, “at least the management paid up unlike other companies that closed shop”. Still, I was not convinced.

I was still hurting from the stab wounds I got yesterday.

Then the union president and vice-president talked to me. I, the union secretary, was the last hold-out. They told me it’s a war I can’t win. The people have already surrendered. I knew that, of course. I knew when to accept defeat but maybe, I just needed someone else to spell the same for me.

Finally, as I approach the severance pay counter, I can hear the Department of Labor vultures and their minions heave a sigh of relief as they patted themselves on the back ostensibly, for another job well done. After I signed the check, the Japanese president, sitting at the far end of the table, extended his hand to shake mine.

I turned my back and quickly walked away.

Gary Granada vs GMA Kapuso

Gary Granada vs GMA Kapuso by dosomethingworthwhile

My heart bleeds for Gary Granada, and for all other artists who find themselves in the same predicament.

I know some comix artists gets commissioned by these giant TV networks to design the costumes for their superhero primetime programs and then gets zilch for their effort or waits for an inordinately long time to get paid. It doesn't matter if the artist devoted 15 minutes or 2 days to draw the costume design (or in Gary Granada's case, to compose it), they should be properly acknowledged and peremptorily compensated for their work.

It's high time for these companies, not to mention for all Filipinos, to respect the rights of artists to their work.

We can thank these artists by respecting their rights.