Friday, September 1, 2023

Guides: Free Passes to MIBF Lit!


Planning your Manila International Book Fair (MIBF) experience this 2023 entails a lot of things like figuring out the schedule of book launches and budgeting your estimated expenses.

One of the things that should be planned is the entrance ticket. Here at One Mantra we got you covered with this list to help you in your MIBF 2023 experience.

These are the different publishers and groups who will be giving away entrance tickets for free.


1. Fully Booked


Drop by at any Fully Booked Metro Manila branch to get a bookmark ticket for MIBF for free. Just head on to the service counter/cashier of the branch. Each bookmark admits two (2) individuals.


Be sure to get those free passes now and see you at the 2023 Manila International Book Fair on September 14 - 17, 2023 at the SMX Convention Center, Pasay City.

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Comics: Tuesday Mornings

Illustration and Story by: Hench Dulin
(4/5 ★★★★☆)


The Good:
The cute way of meeting someone with the help of Pollo the chicken paves the way of how the two characters cross paths.

The idea of a meet up for a breakfast meal, offered by a food truck that has a chicken running around to advertise, is such a cool and simple plot.

A food blogger meets chef meet cute story is such a joy to read.

This story has also made a great representation of the LGBQTIA+ community by having an inclusive "bear" type of character. The artist portrayed that not all boys love (BL) themed stories need to have characters that have a chiseled and well defined muscles. Sometimes, they may be on the plus size.

A nice easter egg can be seen of Komiket in this comic.

The Bad:
I guess the only bad thing here is that we don't know why they gave out free coffee refills during Tuesdays.

The Verdict:
Tuesday Mornings is a very simple meet cute love story that subtly represents a different demographic of BL. This representation does great as it shows the reality that not all queers have a six pack abs. Some only have one but is a great chef. Ultimately this comics is a win a for love.

More of the creator's works can be seen at:
Facebook Page: Henchman Draws
Instagram: @henchmandraws

Friday, July 14, 2023

Comics: My Special Relationship with Art

Illustration and Story by: Gusstelier
(3/5 ★★★☆☆)


The Verdict:
This comic deals with an assessment of one's self for the past years. It takes a look at the soul of the artist on his relationship with his work.

This a nice reminder to all of us to never forget to pause and examine one's passion on how far we have improved ourselves.

It advises that the first step that must always be undertaken is to always practice your craft everyday for one to be a master of it.

"I can make my canvas my soul."

More of the creator's works can be seen at:
Instagram: @gusstelier
Twitter: @gusstelier
Facebook Page: Gusstelier

Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Comics: School Run ~ Issue 1

Macoy x Ardie Aquino Edition
Illustration and Story by: Macoy and Ardie Aquino
(4/5 ★★★★☆)

"In post-zombie apocalypse Philippines, life is good! Or at least as good as you can expect in a third-world country with 80's technology and an everpresent zombie plague. But as Maki and her friends will soon discover, just getting to school in the morning can be a real killer.

SCHOOL RUN is a tongue-in-cheek zombie story with everything you look for in the genre: humor, action, social commentary, and the undead munching on kids."

The Good:
After almost a decade, School Run is back as Macoy made a collaboration with Ardie Aquino.

This update is thrilling to see in so many ways. It now comes in color with the dialogues updated from Filipino to English.

The cover has been changed to show a crowd full of zombies with some of the main casts in it. Also within the hoard are the creators so one would find it amusing to try and guess which one are they among the zombies.

The previous panels and script originally drawn by Macoy has been given a new look by Ardie. The details that can be seen at the background of the characters are worth to look at. Knockoff logos of familiar companies and brands can be seen like Food Panda, Angkas, Skull Head, and Meralco. An added bonus was the additional signage stuck on a post promoting Ardie's Home Massage Service beside a Mackoy Plumber post.

The story describes of a post-zombie apocalypse world that occurs in the year 2035. It still gives a fun and fresh look of the Philippines with young children as the main characters.

The Bad:
One of the biggest concern with this post-zombie apocalypse version is the NZP or the anti plague medicine that everyone appears to be taking. The presence of this item, which was also present in the original version, leaves a lot of questions. It insinuates that by forgetting to take this pill will turn you into a zombie aside from the primary means of exposure to a contaminated blood or body fluids. It begs to question if the zombie virus was also airborne. It is also appalling that no new drug has been invented yet in order to increase the interval time for this medication be taken by the general population. The need to take a pill every 4 hours is going to be a tiresome chore because it means setting an alarm so you could wake up from your 6 to 8 hours of sleep just to take this anti plague pill.

The Verdict:
Zombie apocalypse themed stories is still a nice story to dwell on. This updated version is more child friendly in comparison to the original one. This can be seen as the head of one of the characters pop up at the back of the school bus. Looking at it in black and white back then gives a more chilling scenario in comparison to the current multicolored zombies in the series.

Most of the original fans would be pulled back to rediscover the story of Maki. I just hope we can finally see the ending of this series.

More of the creators' works can be seen at:

Ardie Aquino:
Instagram: @chikidoodledoo

Macoy:

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Events: Komiket Schedule 2023


Komiket is ready for 2023 as it already gives us a list of the events that will be held this year.

New to the schedule is the first physical event of Philippine International Comics Fair (PICOF) and new venues for Komiket to be seen.

Here are Komiket's schedule for 2023:

  • Komiket BGC
    • January 28 - 29, 2023
    • 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
    • Market Market Activity Center, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City

  • Komiket
    • March 4 - 5, 2023
    • 10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
    • SM Megamall Megatrade Hall 2

  • Art in the Park x Komiket
    • March 19, 2023
    • 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. 
    • Jaime Velasquez Park, Salcedo Village, Makati City
 

  • Komiket Katipunan
    • March 31, 2023 - April 2, 2023
    • 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
    • UP Town Center, Quezon City

  • Philippine Book Festival x Komiket
    • June 2 - 4, 2023
    • World Trade Center Manila

  • Komiket Pride
    • June 16 - 18, 2023
    • 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
    •  Ayala Malls The 30th

  • Toycon 2023 x Komiket
    • July 7 - 9, 2023
    • SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia, Manila



  • #KomiketU
    • 9th Comic Book Creator's Workshop
    • August 5, 6, 12, and 13, 2023
    • 2:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
    • via Google Meet

  • Philippine Book Festival 
    • August 18 - 20, 2023
    • SMX Davao

  • Manila International Book Fair (MIBF)
    • September 14 - 17, 2023
    • SMX MOA

  • Komiket
    • October 21 - 22, 2023
    • 11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
    • SM Megamall Megatrade Hall 1

  • Paskomiket
    • November 25 - 26, 2023
    • SM Megamall Megatrade Hall 2

  • Komiketmas
    • December 2 - 3, 2023
    • 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
    • Ayala Malls the 30th





More information about Komiket 2023 can be seen at:
Facebook Page: "Komiket"


* Note this list will be updated regularly

Tuesday, October 25, 2022

Anthology: Kommunity 2017

Created by: Budjette Tan, Ian Sta. Maria, Carlorozy, D. Borja, Hulyen, Manix Abrera, Toto Madayag, Ardie Aquino, Asshulz (Mae Andre Arboleda), Richard Mercado, Gaby Taylo, Buhay Kolehiyo (Mod Ryan, Mod Ton, Mod Lirip, and Mod Japh), Lyndon Gregorio, Josel [Nicolas], Cy Vendivil, Reginald Abisado, Ivyree Rosario, Elbert Or, Juris Go, Mich Cervantes, Jess Guanco, and Arnold Arre
Edited by: Paolo Herras and Richard Mercado
Komiket Inc.
(4.05/5 ★★★★☆)


"From award-winning
comic book authors

and prolific art market
and convention regulars

to the names behind the
most shared comic pages
in social media.

Meet the creators in your
neighborhood."

The Good:
The anthology features insights on how Komiket feels in the eyes of a comic creator, an artist or even as a regular comic con goer. 4 out of the 19 stories tells about this Komiket experience.

However, the best story in this anthology did not tackle the comic con experience but rather brought us a slice of life story. Little Things PH by Reginald Abisado and Ivyree Rosario. A story about life, love and death. This short silent comic would give chills as it shows off the same first 10 minutes that the audience felt to Pixar's Up.

The Bad:
One would agree that this anthology does not have a single story subject or art form. However, it does not look good if within an anthology there exists a set of comic strips that has one story line who unfortunately uses different art styles. It is difficult to love the comic Buhay Kolehiyo since the art deviates from one artist to another. It is confusing to know if the characters that exists in the other panels are the same or not.

The Verdict:
This compilation houses some of the best spin off stories from their main character arcs like Kambal: La Calauera Catrina (The Elegant Skull). Anthologies really gives a surprise story which could be an explored material in the future such as the mention of "Luha ni Lucifer" in the Kikomachine Komix. But in the end, sometimes the best gags can be seen in the sketchy illustrations of a sketchy guard in the story Security.

"People are doors. Lives are rooms. And sometimes doors leave." - Josel


* Breakdown of Rating:
★☆☆☆☆ -
★★☆☆☆ -
★★★☆☆ - First Komiket Experience; The Other Gonzaga; Uy Si Crush; Buhay Kolehiyo; Beerkada; Jan Jan Comics; Your Secrets Aren't Safe Here
★★★★☆ - Comics Convention; Security; Josel; The Wave Queller
★★★★★ - Kambal: La Calauera Catrina (The Elegant Skull); Hunghang Flashbacks Goes to Komiket!; Kikomachine Komix; Libreng Komiks; Little Things PH; Little Questions; Other People; Salamin

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

Events: Extended Voting Period for the FRCA2022


We got an extension! Voting for the best books for the Filipino Readers' Choice Awards (FRCA) 2022 has been extended until October 2, 2022.

It was said to have been extended due to changes in the schedule of the next Philippine Book Fair of the Book Development Association of the Philippines.

The FRCA Awards Ceremony is said to be held between mid November to early December.

For those who haven't voted yet, the online ballot can be seen by clicking the link below:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...