Komikon Summer Festival 2009 (5.16.9)
For years of not being able to join Komikon, here we are back again (now I’m on the group as the Editor with nothing to do) to sell the reissue (if there was any word like that) of the first one! Some of you maybe on the acknowledgements part. If we converse often you’re probably there. I’m just too lazy to add a snapshot of it...
My peers came late (need I say again? This must probably my karma for being late on Shizen) again. By the time we came at UP (for the first time on a cab) there was a long file of people, thank goodness they haven’t started. Good thing participants don’t need to be on that line (yey!) but I was disappointed we won’t be getting any loot bag. We are paying the same after all plus aren’t the Indie groups the entire purpose of this event?
We chose (well the marshals haven’t told us if we were in any other place) but that was the only table not taken anyway so we sat and started collating (as usual). Not only were we late but we are also not ready to sell yet. As we were collating, Mark noticed his freebie was missing a page so though inconvenient, he came back to print it back in the office in Ortigas. When he came back he must probably be so pissed spending on going back and forth.
It was hard to sell Indies nowadays, we haven’t been joining for what, 2 years and the community has grown so huge it seems like we’ve been away for far much longer. Not only that, most of them have multiple issues, color printed covers, packaged on plastics and other things to sell as well. The only assurance that the ones we have are at par is the fact that this particular issue have won on the 2006 Komikon which is quite handy on the marketing.
I haven’t seen Sputnik and Lyndon though, but the regular exhibitors were there plus local comic artists (I have most of I could snap a photo of on the accompanying album) who are very accommodating and are always there whenever they can (teary-eye moment #1). I don’t know it with the others but seeing them there is like moral support already who, with their mere presence encourages the rest of us that it’s possible to be ‘someone’ someday, and at this early stage, we are, in a way, an important part of the aggregate of the Filipino artists and writers striving to fuel our local literature.
Teary-eye moment #2 was this girl (oh I should have asked her name!) who said she ‘missed’ us, and she was looking for us and was glad we were back. She was the only one who remembered the team and I think I’m saying this in behalf of the group that that was very touching and was enough to cover all the bad feelings resulting from the suspicious looks and the failed attempts of selling them to those who have already procured so many indie comics but won’t even purchase ours. Now imagine what established writers/artists must feel whenever someone asks for their autograph.
Teary-eye moment #3 was when a certain Sir Donald (or Ronald?) was rounding all the indies if they were any interested in selling our works on his shop and even suggesting were best to do this and that. I do salute people like him who are genuinely interested in Filipino talents. I hope we meet more of them in the future.
My next teary-eye moment was not really ‘touching’ at all it was more of the feeling of being scared to death by being INTERVIEWED with a reporter from RPN 9! It was after I purchased and talked to Sir David on their booth that I was cornered and bombarded with questions I was too dazed to answer. I wasn’t really cool with the fact I was on their booth while I was interviewed, the mic and the camera too close on my face especially when I was holding too many comics on my hands! To the local viewer I might have looked such a geek! I’m not afraid of being caught dead seeing what I bought (good thing the rest was on my bag on our booth ahaha) but you know how it feels when the camera just focused on those zooming and magnifying. Argh, I don’t want to think about it anymore.
I had my last autograph for the day when I finally saw Sir Medina with his usual amiable aura. I bought the very first PB to be signed and promised never to be like that one who I believed just had all 21 issues signed all on one sitting. I’m enough with the only signed issue I have but I would eventually have another given the chance of seeing him again. Sir Freely was very nice (his booth actually sells Kulas 20 php cheaper than the publishing booth) he even insisted we both have our photos taken and Sir Manix, gosh. Such dedication of painstakingly lettering (I forgot how’s it called!) and doing drawings on each copy was so inspiring it is my top teary-eye moment.
By October we’d be changing venues for the first time, now at Megamall Megatrade Hall 1. I don’t know if it would be any better, I’m a bit selfish in keeping the event on a sort of ‘exclusive scale’ (I mean, I am the only *one I know of who would travel from Cavite to QC just to attend! And I don’t need to be bribed!) which keeps the posers away. For some reason I do believe that holding it on Megatrade Hall takes the purity of simply loving the craft and just like in Ed’s words, making the rest ‘join in on the wagon’ (or something like that, sorry Ed... too bad of a memory). I have nothing against cosplayers, I do, but there is more to Komikon and it’s not like in other events that showing up on costume is enough to make of it. I doubt the heavy-Jap fans would even care seeing Indies unlike their mainstream manga. I remembered in Shizen I’ve only seen one Indie group and I don’t think they are much accepted as they are on Komikons. I do hope I’m wrong with that.
Oh and by the way, visit us if you’d ever come to the event next time. It’s the SALIMPUSA booth and it goes true to its name. We are still the simpletons we always are but I’m telling you now, we are exceeding expectations for an Indie. As Jin would always say, it’s the quality that counts, and that’s what you get with every single copy. Hopefully we’d have funds so it would be better in the future, neh?!
*Of course there would have been more of my kind, and I am proud for all of us. I am just being sarcastic. ^_^
More to read at http://zyrie15.multiply.com
My peers came late (need I say again? This must probably my karma for being late on Shizen) again. By the time we came at UP (for the first time on a cab) there was a long file of people, thank goodness they haven’t started. Good thing participants don’t need to be on that line (yey!) but I was disappointed we won’t be getting any loot bag. We are paying the same after all plus aren’t the Indie groups the entire purpose of this event?
We chose (well the marshals haven’t told us if we were in any other place) but that was the only table not taken anyway so we sat and started collating (as usual). Not only were we late but we are also not ready to sell yet. As we were collating, Mark noticed his freebie was missing a page so though inconvenient, he came back to print it back in the office in Ortigas. When he came back he must probably be so pissed spending on going back and forth.
It was hard to sell Indies nowadays, we haven’t been joining for what, 2 years and the community has grown so huge it seems like we’ve been away for far much longer. Not only that, most of them have multiple issues, color printed covers, packaged on plastics and other things to sell as well. The only assurance that the ones we have are at par is the fact that this particular issue have won on the 2006 Komikon which is quite handy on the marketing.
I haven’t seen Sputnik and Lyndon though, but the regular exhibitors were there plus local comic artists (I have most of I could snap a photo of on the accompanying album) who are very accommodating and are always there whenever they can (teary-eye moment #1). I don’t know it with the others but seeing them there is like moral support already who, with their mere presence encourages the rest of us that it’s possible to be ‘someone’ someday, and at this early stage, we are, in a way, an important part of the aggregate of the Filipino artists and writers striving to fuel our local literature.
Teary-eye moment #2 was this girl (oh I should have asked her name!) who said she ‘missed’ us, and she was looking for us and was glad we were back. She was the only one who remembered the team and I think I’m saying this in behalf of the group that that was very touching and was enough to cover all the bad feelings resulting from the suspicious looks and the failed attempts of selling them to those who have already procured so many indie comics but won’t even purchase ours. Now imagine what established writers/artists must feel whenever someone asks for their autograph.
Teary-eye moment #3 was when a certain Sir Donald (or Ronald?) was rounding all the indies if they were any interested in selling our works on his shop and even suggesting were best to do this and that. I do salute people like him who are genuinely interested in Filipino talents. I hope we meet more of them in the future.
My next teary-eye moment was not really ‘touching’ at all it was more of the feeling of being scared to death by being INTERVIEWED with a reporter from RPN 9! It was after I purchased and talked to Sir David on their booth that I was cornered and bombarded with questions I was too dazed to answer. I wasn’t really cool with the fact I was on their booth while I was interviewed, the mic and the camera too close on my face especially when I was holding too many comics on my hands! To the local viewer I might have looked such a geek! I’m not afraid of being caught dead seeing what I bought (good thing the rest was on my bag on our booth ahaha) but you know how it feels when the camera just focused on those zooming and magnifying. Argh, I don’t want to think about it anymore.
I had my last autograph for the day when I finally saw Sir Medina with his usual amiable aura. I bought the very first PB to be signed and promised never to be like that one who I believed just had all 21 issues signed all on one sitting. I’m enough with the only signed issue I have but I would eventually have another given the chance of seeing him again. Sir Freely was very nice (his booth actually sells Kulas 20 php cheaper than the publishing booth) he even insisted we both have our photos taken and Sir Manix, gosh. Such dedication of painstakingly lettering (I forgot how’s it called!) and doing drawings on each copy was so inspiring it is my top teary-eye moment.
By October we’d be changing venues for the first time, now at Megamall Megatrade Hall 1. I don’t know if it would be any better, I’m a bit selfish in keeping the event on a sort of ‘exclusive scale’ (I mean, I am the only *one I know of who would travel from Cavite to QC just to attend! And I don’t need to be bribed!) which keeps the posers away. For some reason I do believe that holding it on Megatrade Hall takes the purity of simply loving the craft and just like in Ed’s words, making the rest ‘join in on the wagon’ (or something like that, sorry Ed... too bad of a memory). I have nothing against cosplayers, I do, but there is more to Komikon and it’s not like in other events that showing up on costume is enough to make of it. I doubt the heavy-Jap fans would even care seeing Indies unlike their mainstream manga. I remembered in Shizen I’ve only seen one Indie group and I don’t think they are much accepted as they are on Komikons. I do hope I’m wrong with that.
Oh and by the way, visit us if you’d ever come to the event next time. It’s the SALIMPUSA booth and it goes true to its name. We are still the simpletons we always are but I’m telling you now, we are exceeding expectations for an Indie. As Jin would always say, it’s the quality that counts, and that’s what you get with every single copy. Hopefully we’d have funds so it would be better in the future, neh?!
*Of course there would have been more of my kind, and I am proud for all of us. I am just being sarcastic. ^_^
More to read at http://zyrie15.multiply.com
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