I'm back in Cebu and will be here until mid-march. 

Most of my activity is on Epic of the Three Stars for the months that I'm in Cebu. 

 

The ancient warrior from the Hinilawod epic, Labaw-Donggon, goes through the oddities of teenage life. What’s worse?--He’s thrown into 21st Century Philippines; adapting into an alien environ until he learns the ways of a warrior.

 

It's an entertaining concept. How would he adjust to modern life? How would he smuggle a Kampilan into a mall? There's also a wallpaper of Labaw Donggon at age 13 available in this post. You're free to download it if you want. I'm having a grand time illustrating him and his brothers: Humadapnon and Dumalapdap.

 

Please follow the Epic of the Three Stars for more updates.

Who do you think this is?

Work on volume 2 and 3 of the Hinilawod comic is finally at a finish. I will be away for some time, please don't murder me. I'll try to squeeze in some more posts before disappearing for a few months. The comic project would never have been possible if not for these people:

Ate Rosemel
Our editor / cheerleader / goddess / timekeeper... The Hinilawod comic would have turned into an unstructured mess (thanks to my brains) had it not been for her. 

Coach Bing
Just to mention one of everything that Coach Bing has done for us: she made sure the comic would best hit our target market. She made sure that creativity and form did not lessen its function.

Ate Pep, Jean, Mel and Jul
Basically, when I start to get all nutty and no one else can understand my brains, they manage to comprehend the mangled mess that I am. You've kept me sane, thank you.

Matt C and Mik
My letterers, onomatopoiea-makers, tech-guys and, at some point, story-weavers. Thank you for being such good soldiers.

My buddies at MT
They don't know this, but I also joined MT so I could observe the body in fight mode. Also, they've helped me stay physically fit while I worked on the Hinilawod Comic.

My Parents
For letting me take-up this profession despite the amount of uncertainty and risk that comes with it.

 

This list will go on for ages... I'll probably write some more in the next entries. I'll try to make a string of updates that will autopost at specific dates, stay tuned.

I've been putting up blogs and websites ever since I was 13, but I've never had visitor stats like these! You are one of these numbers and I would like to extend my gratitude for all your support.

The Hinilawod is undoubtedly a Philippine National Treasure, it is the Iliad of our nation. One day kids will talk about our folk stories instead of disney cartoons. The theatre adaptation of the Panay epic is fast approaching! It's scary, it's exciting; I'm scared, I'm excited.

Here's a sketch of the Princess Doroonon. The third volume of the Hinilawod Comic is going to surprise--a little bit. Well... just keep posted.

Working on this page had its set of lessons:

#1 - Drawing after an uphill jog is possible, but will lead you to...
#2 - STARVATION
#3 - and, two bottles of soya milk will be of little help.

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Things have been a whirlwind lately--and i apologize for the lack of updates. It's all in my hard drive... please watch for updates on the 3rd volume of the Hinilawod Comic in the next weeks.

It's another near sleepless night--and I don't mind.

Deadlines are coming in quick and my time is running out. It's almost the Ang Lahi Academy, too... and I'm 80% sure that I'll be joining the 9 month program. By hook or by crook--this 3rd volume of the Hinilawod Comic is getting printed.

That's the princess Doroonon up there, held captive by Sikay Padalogdog. I had the Abomination in mind when I was thinking of how to graphically translate a hundred hand monster from the Hinilawod Epic. Those extra appendages will extend as he attacks and he can hide them, too. That guy's deceptive.

Unlike the Abomination, Sikay--because he's deceptive--has a very presentable countenance. I like him already!

I've just come from jogging with my brother. Now I'm with Jean and she's working on the subtitles for the DVD project. We have cups of coffee in front of us and the computers on our laps. The coffee's still too hot for sipping--and I'm not really sure there's another coffee shop in IT Park that could beat a Starbucks blend.

This morning, I went about looking at kids painting a monster from the Theatre adaptation of Hinilawod. It's one of those moments that jar you back into position: this is why i do what i do.

The past month had us living our waking moments in IT Park, it's an odd thing. We'd tend to our day jobs, and run off to coffee shops at night to work on the Hinilawod DVD and the Hinilawod Comics. At times it would be work, meeting, muay thai then, Hinilawod... I'm not sure how we've managed to get by with so little rest--but, matters have been interesting in a very positive way. It could be the plant-based diet... though I've not been able to follow it perfectly.

Volume 2 is finally done and we're off to volume 3: Labaw Donggon and his second wife.

Yay!

 

Meeting with Ate Rosemel and Jean as I write this and I cannot possibly begin to jot down everything that needs to be accomplished.

The next showing of the theatrical adaptation of the Hinilawod Epic is fast approaching. I'm wishing we could go to Panay; I don't think there is enough time. I'm going through a whirlwind of comic pages---almost at the battle between Labaw Donggon and my Manaludtod Dragon!

So excited! Do keep posted for images of the fight.

I've just returned from a tour of Leyte. This country is rich.

Back to Hinilawod now; working on the comic pages. All the feasting from Leyte has taken its toll and I'm lethargic. Updated play-dates are up at the website, by the way. I'd love to see how the play is going to evolve this time around.

See you there!

This is widescreen wallpaper-sized for all of you who are interested. Christmas is just around the bend so Merry Christmas everyone.

Labaw goes on a journey for his first wife, GINBITINAN. One thing I had in mind, while working on this--we've been sought and saved at a higher price than this. Labaw-Donggon is simply reflecting another greater glory.

Also, I love football. Congratulations, Philippines! I hope we can one day join the World Cup.