Babbling Point

A talk about men with capes and women in tights; about mutants with claws and aliens with a lot of angst. If you like sci-fi stories, romance novels, crime shows, horror movies, then there's a comic book or graphic novel that you'll definitely like.  Join us as we guide you through the shelves of graphic novels and find out which titles will grab your interest and open new worlds for you.  The seminar will be led by Budjette Tan, comic writer and editor, and co-creator of the graphic novel Trese. Date: Saturday, May 8, 2010 Time: 2:00pm - 4:00pm Location: U-View Theater, Fully Booked, Bonifacio High Street This seminar is for free. On May 15, Raymond Sison leads KONICHIWA MANGA, a discussion about manga and anime. 2:00 to 4:00PM at U-View, in Fully Booked Bonifacio High Street. These seminars are organized and hosted by The Center for East Asian Languages. Learn more about it at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Makati-Philippines/The-Center-for-East-Asian-Languages/80...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pngd_lPVzVE Many thanks for Dan and Dang of IDEALS Creatives for inviting me to be part of last year's Pecha Kucha. In Pecha Kucha " each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up." So, I decided to do make my presentation a tour of Trese's Manila, which became a 6 minute 40 second Trese short story. Doing this event was a dream come true. One of my favorite scenes in the move CAPOTE was the part where he read the opening chapter of his book to jam-packed theater. It amazed me at how people were willing to spend a night watching a man standing in front of a podium and slowly read his tale to them. No special effects. No grand soundtrack. Just the man, his story, and the sound of his voice. Watching that scene, I wondered when I would get the chance to do the same thing. It was wonderful to be given the chance to do just that. So, thanks again to Dan...

FEB 12(FRI) I will be at U.P. DILIMAN along with Manix Abrera to talk about comic book writing (so says this poster below) And on FEB 13(SAT) I will be at U.P.L.B. along with the other guys from Alamat. (Kajo will not be able to join us on this day, since he will be far, far away.) More details at: http://komikstrip.jonasdiego.com/

This is our contribution to the Renaissance project -- the benefit project organized by Whilce Portacio, Philip Tan, and Ernest Hernandez of Hobbylink. Whilce recently did an interview with USA TODAY about the project / event which will happen on January 9, 2010 at the Megatrade Hall: Whilce said, "We're working on an event right now called Renaissance. It's a charity auction that's going to be held on Jan. 9 that will provide money to some of these artists who have fallen on tough times. I got the top Filipino artists together to create pieces for this auction. Their mission was to create a Filipino superhero. I told them, 'You're world-class artists, make a character that kids in the Philippines can look up to, can be inspired by.' I want these kids to see artists creating heroes that look like them and that live and interact in local places that they recognize. It's a key part of establishing that sense of history, pride and legacy. If we can do that...

The 2008 National Book Awards was held last Saturday night at the Ayala Museum. TRESE: UNREPORTED MURDERS was the only nominee in its category. We did not win. We did not get the unanimous vote of the judges. We did get to bring home some nifty certificates of recognition that say TRESE is the Finalist for the Best Book in Graphic Literature category. Below: Kajo, my partner-in-crime; Nida, our publisher and willing accomplice; and me We keep on writing. We keep on drawing. We try again next year. thanks to Wella for the pictures and for being there

During the 2005 Komikon, we launched the very first issue of TRESE. We sold that Xeroxed edition of TRESE: AT THE INTERSECTION OF BALETE AND 13TH STREET for P30. Six hours after the gates of the Komikon had opened, we had already sold out all the copies of TRESE. I excitedly texted family and friends that my comic book was sold out. Great! Wonderful! Congrats! How many copies did you sell?, they all asked. I replied : 50 copies! In the recently concluded 2009 Komikon, we launched TRESE: MASS MURDERS. Two hours after the gates had opened, we had already sold all the copies. I leaned over to Ella of Visprint to ask how many copies did they bring. 180 copies, she replied. That did not even include all the copies of TRESE Book1 & 2 that were sold. So, if my 2009-version traveled back to talk to my 2005-version and told him we’d sell almost 1,000 copies in a single day, I would’ve probably told him he was insane! Which would not have been surprising considering this whole TRESE experie...

It's going to be a bloody Sunday at the Komikon! Join us for the launch of TRESE: MASS MURDERS at the Komikon 2009, Oct 18, Sunday, Megatrade Hall . 12 midnight at Metro Manila. Try to remain calm if you suddenly spot a tikbalang speeding down EDSA or a manananggal swooping across the Makati skyline. While partying at the Fort, never ever let the enkanto at the bar buy you a drink. Yet, there are deadlier things than walk the streets of this city. One of them now demands blood and sacrifice. When crime takes a turn for a weird, the police call Trese. TRESE: MASS MURDERS contains the following: Case 9: A Private Retaliation Case 10: Patient 414 in Mandaluyong Case 11: The Fort Bonifacio Massacre Case 12: The Baptism of Alexandra Trese Case 13: An Act of War This book has an introduction by Mark Gatela, who was my co-writer in that horror radio show "The World of the Unknown". Mark was the one who thought of the name Anton Trese, so I thought it was only appropriate for Mar...

meanwhile... at Powerbooks-Philippine Star Supreme Ideas Alive Seminar... i babbled about... Trese, comic books, and the importance of a strong, unique idea http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofw0h4z2hN8 my babbling continues... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGAR4Q920wY I shared the stage with Jomike Tejido, creator of the Foldabots and Robotars. Jomike's talk was more organized and fun and he didn't babble. Powerbooks-Philippine Star Supreme Ideas Alive: Jomike Tejido on Foldabots http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYrTpQx8LxA Jomike Tejido on Robotars http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bb4zhXD8UH8 Thanks to Jan Vincent Ong for organizing the IDEAS ALIVE seminar. And many thanks to Supreme Philippine Star, Powerbooks, K-Zone, and Jack N Jill Pretzels. And I would like to thanks Bruno's for my hair and nobody for my make-up.

Ideas Alive! A seminar and workshop on how to be a media creator. Speakers : comic book creators Budjette Tan & Kajo Balidismo (TRESE) and art entrepreneur Jomike Tejido (FOLDABOTS) A talk on how to make your creations come alive in different mediums. Your ideas don’t have to be boxed in one medium. Don’t just be a comic book creator or a toy inventor-- be a media creator! Powerbooks, SM Megamall October 10, 2009, Saturday, 3 – 5 pm Sponsored by The Philippine Star, SUPREME, K-Zone, Jack N Jill Pretzels, and Powerbooks

No... no... this is not the latest incarnation of the Justice League. This is a picture of me and Kajo at the Visprint booth at the recent Manila International Book Fair. (Thanks to Wella for taking the pic) And before you ask, "Who's that character beside Gloomy Kambal?" ... let me tell you that that's Bob Ong. I meant ... that's Bob Ong's KAPITAN SINO character. (Now that I look at all these characters together, it might be a bad idea to do a "marvel team-up" starring all of them. Maybe we can do that next year.) Anyway, we just wanted to say thank you to every one who dropped by the Visprint booth while we were there. Thanks to every one who pre-paid for Book 3. Thank you for being so excited and for being so patient. We're just putting the finishing touches to it right now. The Book Fair also gave us the chance to sit and chat with Alan "Girl Trouble" Navarra , David "Penumbra" Hontiveros , Carlo "Ang Kagilagilalas n...

GOOD NEWS! The MANILA INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR aka MIBF is happening this week! September 16-20, 2009 10:00 AM - 8:00 PM SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City http://www.manilabookfair.com/ GOOD NEWS! Visprint will have a booth at the MIBF. http://visprintpub.blogspot.com/ BAD NEWS :-( Trese Book3 will NOT be available at the MIBF. (sorry!) GREAT NEWS! You can pre-order Book3 “TRESE: MASS MURDERS” at the MIBF! We’ll deliver your autographed copy free of charge*, 1 week before the book's commercial release! You’ll even get the chance to win an original Trese artwork from Kajo Baldisimo. You can also pre-order these upcoming Visprint books: CRASH, a Not Quite Unreal sequel , by Carlos Malvar 12 , by Manix Abrera MECHANICS: 1. Promo applies to Metro Manila addresses only*. 2. Advanced order and payments should be made during the MIBF. 3. Promo forms available at the Visprint booth. See you at the Book Fair!

Congratulations to the organizers of the first METRO COMIC-CON! From out side of the conventional hall, everything was pulled off without a hitch. (I think the only untoward incident of the event was when Chez Fidelino's Powerbook was stolen from the Sputnik Comics booth .) Thanks to everyone who bought copies of TRESE. Thanks to the ones who already had copies but decided to buy new ones because they forgot their copies at home and they really, really wanted us to vandalize their mint condition copies of Trese. It was great to finally meet the people we originally met online, especially the ones we’ve met on DeviantArt. Thanks to everyone who also got the Trese Amulettes (and to everyone who laughed at my joke about the amulettes having magical powers – yes, I know only two of you laughed, but I kept telling that joke anyway). If you were not able to get any Trese Amulettes, we’re planning to make them available soon. Just give Ronnie and Ceres time to make more. (Yes, each one is...

Trese is the National Book Development Board Book Club's pick for July http://nbdb.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=740&Itemid=1 Join the NBDB Book Club as we follow the trail of Alexandra Trese as she roves the streets of Manila to unravel crimes involving paranormal creatures Sherlock Holmes style. This July’s book pick is Trese, the highly acclaimed series of graphic novels by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo. Contributing to the renaissance of Pinoy comics, Trese reintroduces us to the rich Philippine folklore with its inky sketches detailing creepy stories of dark creatures looming the streets of Manila. The NBDB Book Club will be joined by author Budjette Tan and illustrator Kajo Baldisimo who will talk about their work and answer questions from fans. Trese is published by VisPrint and is available at Comic Quest, Comic Odyssey, Pandayan, National Bookstore, Best Sellers, Fully Booked, Powerbooks and other leading bookstores and comics outlets. The ...

THIS SUMMER... ... SEE TRESE ...LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN HER BEFORE ... AT THE U.P. BAHAY NG ALUMNI THE FLOOR PLAN : FIND US AT THE VISPRINT AND ALAMAT BOOTH THE MAP: JUST IN CASE YOU STILL DON'T KNOW HOW TO GET THERE KOMIKON SUMMER FIESTA 2009 UP Bahay ng Alumni, UP Diliman May 16, 2009, 10am-8pm, Saturday Entrance Fee: Php 50.00 http://komikon.blogspot.com/

Hey kids! Kajo’s first art gig for Dark Horse ( THE DEFUSER ) comes out this week and this Saturday (April4) he’ll be at Comic Odyssey, Robinsons Galleria for an autograph signing session (1pm to 3pm). See you there! “My comic will be hitting stores April 1st. I had a hand in the story and have seen all the art for the book. Very great style. I love the artist; Kajo Baldisimo.” – The Defuser Yup, that quote came from the The Defuser himself, which he posted at http://forums.scifi.com/index.php?showuser=2953422 The full-color preview pages of THE DEFUSER comic book came from http://www.comixology.com/previews/FEB090051/ Art from : http://kajobaldisimo.blogspot.com/ More artwork can be viewed at: http://www.glasshousegraphics.com/creators/pencilers/kajobaldisimo/index.htm

Announcement from PLANET X Be there for the grand opening of Planet X Comic Shop 3rd Floor Ayala Mall Glorietta 4 Ayala Center Makati City Sept 27 (Saturday) We will be giving away THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of FREE COMICS (similar to Free Comic Book Day) The First 50 people in attendance (starting at noon) will receive a special print created for this event. Featuring Special Guest Artists: Leinil Yu (Secret Invasion, Wolverine, X-Men) Gerry Alanguilan (Superman, X-Men, X-Force, Elmer) Gilbert Monsanto (Bayan Knights, Hellcop, Tropa) Edgar Tadeo (Wolverine, X-men) Mico Suayan (Moon Knight, What if) Stephen Segovia (Wolverine, Countdown to Mystery) Harvey Tolibao (Ultimate X-Men) Budjette Tan (Trese) Kajo Baldisimo(Trese) And more artists to be confirmed! Artists will be signing from 1pm-5pm. Autographs will be free of charge. Full sketches/drawings of the character of your choice will cost P500 each done on a standard comic sized cardboard (10.5 x 7) (with the exception of Leinil who wil...

MangaOverload Thanks to Emman, Xavier, Ian and the rest of the Mangaholix Crew for inviting us to their event last Saturday. Thank you for letting us hang out at that one corner of your booth and for allowing us to sell TRESE. When Emman invited us and said we were going to their “guest stars”, I assumed there would be other “guests”. (Well, there were musical guests, lots of bands played before the cosplay event-- which was what everyone was waiting for). I just thought there would other comic book creators would also be on stage and we’d all talk about making comic books. As it turned out we were it. Just me and Kajo on stage with the hosts. I looked out into the crowd and thought, “99.99% percent of these people are here for the cosplay and anime and manga. Will they really be interested in our book which isn’t really manga?” Thankfully, the hosts had some questions at hand and that prevented us from having any dead air. Then there were the four very nice people also went up to the...