COMICS WITH REAL BLOOD! An Essay on the Life of Being an Independet Comic Book Artist: Our Kuro Saku Summer Komikon 2017 Experiece

Summer Komikon 2017 was a blast! Here's our Kuro Saku experience at Komiks Karnabal!

Photo credits to Emile Josef Garcia

Photo credits to Komikon Inc.

After much preparation of our independent comic books we are now ready to launch them at this event!

  

Photo credits to Komikon Inc.

Here's how it looked inside, I took this almost at the end of the event but  if I'm not mistaken, this Komikon event had more attendees than their last. It's always great to have more people, art and comic enthusiasts to gather at an event like this. People who are hardcore fans of comics and the like get together at these events to celebrate their love for art and literature combined into independent comic books!

Summer Komikon Komiks Karnabal April 1, 2017

Here's us at our Kuro Saku booth arriving only minutes before the doors open to the public. It's always exciting to welcome people and show them for the first time what you've been working on for the past month or so... heck even if you've been working on it for years, you'd be surprised to know that someone would be interested to read or see what you have to offer, but more on that later. Right at that moment, no one really knows what to expect and it's exciting that way.

Photo by Rheimaru from his FB fan page The Art of Rheimaru
https://www.facebook.com/ArtofRheimaru/

With that in mind, I'm always amazed that we are always graced by friends and new people alike curious about our craft and stories. It's one thing that you're able to come up with a good story, and it's another if people want to buy the stuff you produce.    

Here are some of our friends, fellow exhibitors and new encounters who purchased our works!

 

Thank you for buying Planet of the Masochists Mikee! :D

 

Thank you for your endless support Jiro! :)

Jiro is a friend of ours and he really liked our newest title Samurai Takeover, he bought the second issue of it and as well as Guadix's Da-ib 1 & 2! Thank you Jiro! :D

  

Samurai Takeover synopsis: what happens when you come across a katana and if you wield it, the spirit within the sword takes over your body that goes on a killing spree?

Dive into mystery as Sam recently acquires his latest possession for his collection finds out that he will be the one to be possessed!Here's a preview of Samurai Takeover #2:

Here's our announcement of Samurai Takeover being available at the event. It's awesome that we're able to make our own posters in letting people know that we have a new issue of one of our own ongoing titles.

Here's a closer look at Samurai Takeover #2's cover.
Is it kabuki inspired you ask? Noh.

Samurai Takeover #2

Here are the other samurai lovers who bought issues 1 and 2, thank you everyone!!
You won't regret reading our books!  

 

Alternate cover of Samurai Takeover #2

 

Here's a teaser splash page inside Samurai Takeover #2.
I won't spoil much, but consider them as important characters to the overall story.

  

Samurai Takeover #2 Preview art

We also still have our Clowder series available and the first four chapters combine as its first story arc.

Michael is the brother of my classmate in high school, and is happy to tell me that upon reading the books he finds it a good read and even loves the dark aspect of it!

Photo credits to Michael Tolin

So much so that he plans to buy Satan High next! Thank you again Michael! 

Spidey even dropped by our booth to strike a pose for us. Thanks Spider Dan! :D

Spider-Dan!

Speaking of Spidey, how about that new Spider-man trailer? So far so good eh? Don't fuck this one up Sony!! Thank God for Marvel having to guide them in the film.

But any who, speaking of Marvel. During the convention, a talk was being held by former Funny Komiks artists! The panel was with Berlin Manalaysay (Combatron), Stephen Jorge Segovia (Tomas en Kulas, Amazing Spider-man, Dark Wolverine), Dexter Roxas (A.X) and Harvey M Tolibao (Tomas en Kulas, X-men, Uncanny X-Force).

We weren't able to listen or go to the talk because we were manning our booth, but thank goodness Charles Tan took a video coverage of their entire talk and posted it on YouTube. It's really a blessing and I hope he keeps this up, because it's not easy to leave your booth unattended.  And even though we're already an exhibitor at the event with exceptional drawing skills of our own, we still want to learn new things about other comic book artists' experiences and tips on how they were able to make it in the field.

I especially loved what Harvey said about having your friends with you and keep them close because even though most people might say that your art is bad, it's your real friends who will tell you not to listen to those who are trying to bring you down. It's really a great listen if you're into comics or aspiring to be a comic book artist. The wisdom and experience they have and shared are invaluable to some of us who are just beginning our journey into the comic book making scene.   
You can watch the video of it here:  

Also in this video, Berlin Manalaysay explains how the ending of Combatron wasn't his idea but was someone else's that's why the fans really didn't like it. That's really something heartbreaking to hear and to experience reading the final chapter of Combatron if you're a fan, but worry not! He said that he's actually making the REAL ending of Combatron as we speak! And he's planning to release it mid this year! So stay tuned for that! 

Also, for people who want to read Combatron back issues online, you can go to this BlogSpot site to read the entire archive. I know some friends of mine will jump with joy with these news, so help yourself with some nostalgia and read some robot violence from the 90's over at:
http://projectcombatron.blogspot.com/ ENJOY!! :D

Here are more comic book enthusiasts and co-exhibitors who bought our works:

Thank you Tepai! :D

 

And while we're on the subject of co-exhibitors, we also bought other artists' indie comic books! Among the comics we bought from our fellow exhibitors are these two gems:

Tofu Black's FU! and
Jieson Toling's Demi

Tofu Black's comic from Cosmic Cube Comics (I really love that back cover of his! It's so friggin' funny! hahaha!) and Jieson Toling's Demi of Studio Serverus and Red Manga Alliance. 

Congrats to the both of you for your new releases! We haven't read these books yet so we aren't able to review them as of now, but when we do, expect us to message you guys for it! :D

Here's one of our neighbor exhibitors, Carlo and Elle. Hi guys!  We took a candid shot hehe

  

Beside us were the group Chain Mason and on our right (not seen in this photo) is Red Manga Alliance. And that's our booth in the middle with our comics and my wife Guadix selling our comics.

These are Guadix' independent comics E & D and Da-ib! It's about a world that is almost filled with water and the humans that are left are all living at the tops of mountains to survive. And that's just the tip of the iceberg of the story!

  

Da-ib #1 story and art by Guadix

You should go check it out if you haven't, it already has a second issue! :D

Da-ib #2 story & art by Guadix

Here are just some of the people who bought Guadix' works:

A few days before the convention, she managed to make a new artwork as a post card about her characters in Da-ib. It's pretty well done, and even though you can't see what they are looking at, you can tell it's something beautiful  by how calm all of them are.

  

Black and white Da-ib postcards! <3

She was able to draw and color it in just under a day more or less before the time we have to get it printed. She was a bit nervous if she was going to be able to finish the artwork. 

hehe >:P

But thankfully she did and here's it is now in its full color glory!

    

I told you it was good. You can get it for free when you buy Guadix' comics. :)
We also implore you to like her Da-ib Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/DaibKomiks/

Here's another shot of our booth and of the comics that we have.

  

 If you can see the three books that look alike at the lower right corner.
 It's my re-released works The Black Book Trilogy.   

These covers are scented, you can smell them and weep :)

The Black Book Trilogy contains 3 separate stories about love. Couples who are fighting, couples who don't have much time for each other, and a young man's confession of love to a girl she likes who already has a boyfriend.

Originally self published in 2001

Here is Someone Else's Life, I won't go too much about the story so that I don't spoil it. but I will say that I made this book back when I was in high school and it still holds up today.

Preview of Someone Else's Life:

So much so that back then, it was reviewed at Culture Crash Comics #8 by Evil Dex on their 8th issue! Thank you for this review CCCom and Evil Dex! :D

Indie comics review of Someone (Somebody) Else's Life
at Culture Crash Comics issue #8

The Black Rose is emotionally similar, with a more personal look on the story telling of a girl and her experience through high school life with her boyfriend.

 

Originally self published in 2002

Here's a preview of The Black Rose:

I also made this one back in high school and it was  also well received by fellow comic book artists specifically Joanah T. and Gerry Alanguilan! Thank you for these reviews guys! :D

 

Thank you Joanah and thank you sir Gerry! :)

The last installment of the trilogy is about a guy who confesses his love for a girl who already has someone she loves in her life.

 

Originally published via the internet in 2005

Here's a preview of The Scars on His Wrists:

I made The Scars on His Wrist based on my own experience in college. I wasn't able to get reviews on it but I was able to get a lot  of fan art from another comics of mine EiYa and Luci and Scars was the spin off comic OVA of a sort. The one I have here is done by the one and only Taga-ilog! Thank you Ilog! :D

 

Thank you Taga-ilog for this awesome artwork! :D

Here are the people who bought The Black Book Trilogy!

 

Thank you Jeff! :)

Jeff is a friend of mine who  is a writer and komikero at two local newspapers  who also collects indie comics, you can tell by the shirt he's wearing that he knows his stuff!

Finally here's a more complete shot of our booth, but I hope you notice something I'm yet to address that's in the table. I don't know if you've notice but something stands out there more than the others... I really can't spell it out enough for you but instead of me giving out clues of something obvious, allow me to go on a tangent and tell you a story of how I got started in selling indie comics!

First off; the reason I'm bringing the roots of my independent comic book career is because there has been a bit of backlash about the rent-free-comics-booth-given- to-new-independent-comic -book-artists-offered-by-Komikon; The Indie Tiangge. The Indie Tiangge is a place where you can sell your own comics especially if you're just starting out in releasing your comics or a part college group org. that is currently creating comics and are self publishing it. 

Photo credits to: GeekMatic Visit his blog @
http://geekmatic.blogspot.com/2012/10/komikon-2012-indie-tiangge-komiks-kalye.html

It's a way for new comers into the scene (even if you aren't a student anymore) to be able to participate at  this local comic book convention if you don't have the budget to avail for the exhibitor's booth at the main hall. They do however, get a small cut or percentage of the comics you sold in the Tiangge, and that's fair considering you don't really pay for anything else other than the money you put out producing copies of your own comics via photocopying it.

 

Photo credits to: GeekMatic Visit his blog @
http://geekmatic.blogspot.com/2012/10/komikon-2012-indie-tiangge-komiks-kalye.html

The only downside of this is that the tables that are offered are not in the main exhibition hall but rather in a room reserved only for Indie Tiangge sellers, and that's where the complaints seem to come in.

I don't have all the details or have read anything of the sort regarding who or what people complained about. I only noticed the whole shenanigans when Komikon officially posted a ceasefire from receiving harmful comments and feedback after the convention. It seems that most people who were in the Indie Tiangge were complaining that they weren't able to sell that many copies of their works and that they should be placed at the center of the main hall because Komikon is trying to promote indies right?

Aren't they supposed to be they heroes in this story not the antagonists who placed the Tiangge far from the crowd and close to the comfort rooms? Isn't it unfair to these new creators to be left out like this until only horse flies flock their comics?

I say NO. It isn't unfair, Komikon is not the villain, but in all terms and purposes are still the hero in this scenario and here's why:

Komikon is a business. It's a hard to hear fact but they really are, and we can all wear tie die shirts and say peace to everyone we meet and hug them to spread the love and we should all burn our money and art should be free and the space should be free but when all of that is good and quite tempting, in reality that doesn't exist. Sure you might find it in some kind of utopia somewhere, in your dreams maybe, or we're just not there yet. But for someone like me I've been in this independent comic book self publishing business for at least 15 years.

That's more than 10 years, and I'm still at it. Why? It's because I still have a lot of stories to tell and I still have my own dreams to fulfil, but mainly because Komikon has actually made a space for us independent artists to sell their works. But not without a cost of course, because like I said, it's a business, the people behind Komikon have bills to pay too. They have to pay the rent at the Bayanihan Center for the space and also have other organizers and helping hands to care for. My point is, these ungrateful complainers are demanding a utopia where they should get the spotlight and don't have to pay for it, but I say, we already have a Utopia, it's Komikon.

 

Me, Sherry (Carpool) and Joanah (Cresci Prophecies) sharing tables for indie comics at Toy Con 2004
Yes, this is the only table we have for indie comics at the whole Megatrade hall,
and none of us were complaining. 

Where else could you release a book without rules about what type of genre or age group you want to sell to, only at Komikon. Do they do screenings of what kind of comics you should release? No, you can do whatever you want and they won't try to take over what you do. For those who can't pay for a booth, here's two year's worth of free space for you guys, and those who can pay there's the exhibition hall.

There's a cost for everything, if you want good seats, you pay for them, if you want good comics, you work hard making them. If you want people to buy your work, then maybe you should think about the last issue you sold to them if it's crap or is poorly made or produced, if people really got something out of it or for God's sake if there's really a story in it in the first place.

Joanah, me, Lico (50 Peso Ninja), Sherry and Jon (Digmaang Salinlahi) at TOY CON 2004.
I forget how many of us shared one table but none of us really fought over anything
much less argued amongst ourselves that the event organizers we mistreating us.

Maybe you should stop complaining to others why people aren't buying your comics and start improving your works so that people would come back to your booth. Maybe don't cram making it in two weeks or maybe tell a good goddamn story for crying out loud. 

People can see through that shit, they can see right through if you're fucking them, and even if they don't and they bought your work and read it and then they realized you just fucked them over with your crappy comics, then they will remember that and would hate you because you sold them shit. It's their hard earned money down the drain because of your egotistic needs that you're hot shit but really you're just shit entirely. 

Mara and Me, TOY CON 2004
We first met at the previous comics convention when she first bought my comics,
and up to now we still remain friends. Now she's like a little sister to me.

So stop taking a shit on our utopia, we're trying to make a living out of producing good comics that is worth reading, even if you're at the indie Tiangge or at the main hall gallery, be ashamed of yourself if you've copied the ideas of others and pass them as yours because people can see it you asshole. In the end, it's only you who you're lying to. 

This is what we do to complainers then... RDJ on the axe and that's me with the mask.
Sherry and Joanah most surely weirded out but still, no one was complaining :)

Besides, there's a Komikon event entirely dedicated to independent sellers where they're not separated at the rooms, but instead they are the spotlight in the main hall exhibition along with us paying exhibitors. It's called Indieket, and this happens at least once a year. I don't see why people now would bitch and complain about these things today, they don't realize that back then in the early 2000's, we had to cross our fingers if there was an event where there was a table where we could sell our comics for free. 
 

Komikon Indieket on August 5, 2017

The first time I started to produce and sell my own comics was back in 2002, I was part of a mailing list called Artist's Den and was invited along with other independent comic book artists to share their works at the first Culture Crash Comics Convention.

We were lucky enough to get this big of a space at the first C3Con. This is where I first had my debut in selling independent comics. Photo credits to the original uploader.

At the time I really didn't know what to do, yes I have my own comics, but I've never really produced it to be sold to anyone, let alone at a comics convention. I saw my works only to be a personal thing I can read and to be shared with close friends and classmate and other comic book artists, but with strangers? I really never thought of that before.

Alas, it didn't perturb me at all at producing my comics, I thought I would try it because I really wanted to get my comics out there, it's not how I imagined it would be nor how I imagined my works that I had then would be the ones I'd try to sell but that's what I had and that's what I produced. 

Photocopying my comics for C3Con,
oh and yeah I'm wearing my coat as a makeshift skirt then.

And so I went to Copytrade that week to prepare photocopying my works, the booth and tables they offered at the event was totally free. Just show up with your comics and pay for the entrance they said it's all set up for us. We could even bring posters and fliers and multiple copies of our works. You might be thinking why I'm slightly apprehensive about sharing my work with others.

Well, it's because my comic book is entitled Satan High. I'm no Satanist, at least I don't think I am, but that's the comic book I created, it's about a school for Satanists where the 10 commandments of God was not at play, meaning anyone could kill anyone, the bullies killed weaklings students  and the teachers could also kill the students and vice versa. 

This is what the first release of SH looked like.
This one's cover is almost being torn off,
but it's still hanging in there. Just like me >:)