PIMP MY STUFF
SEROKS ITERATION 2: ONCE IN A LIFETIME

All right, the time is almost upon us...

I’ve been informed that SEROKS Iteration 2: Once in a Lifetime is currently in the process of actualization (i.e. it’s at press even as I type this).

SEROKS Iteration 2: Once in a Lifetime follows the original SEROKS Iteration 1: Mirror Man.

It, like its predecessor, is a collection of short stories set in the dystopic future world I first visited in the Palanca Award-winning “Kaming Mga Seroks.”

As with the first Iteration, the stories are by yours truly, with accompanying illustrations by the mighty fine Alan Navarra, all brought to us by the Visprint crew.

Keep your ears tuned for another announcement when the book’s ready for dissemination and it becomes available in bookstores across this grand nation of ours…

Huzzah!

Plus, if you have yet to pick it up, please check out SEROKS Iteration 1: Mirror Man at those aforementioned bookstores... 

(SEROKS Iteration 2: Once in a Lifetime Front and Back Covers and SEROKS Iteration 1: Mirror Man Front Cover by Alan Navarra; the Iteration 2 images are the original files Alan sent me, so I imagine they may look slightly different in the final print.)

SEROKS: PALADIN(S) CHARACTER DESIGN CONTEST
UPDATE

Greetings, Earthlings.

So we’ve officially come to the close of the Character Design Contest tied into my latest Visprint title, SEROKS Iteration 1: Mirror Man.

At this point, I’d like to say “Thanx” to anyone and everyone who’s shown support for SEROKS, by picking the book up, by spreading good word of mouth, by prattling on about it on that darn newfangled thang they're calling the Interwebz, or yes, by joining this just-concluded contest.

The winner will be informed via email of his (or her) triumph in the senses-shattering bloodsport that was this contest within the next week, and will see his (or her) winning entry published in the pages of SEROKS Iteration 2: Once in a Lifetime.

And yes, for the official record, there will only be one winner, because for some reason, no one chose to send in an entry for Taylor’s costume; all we got was for Roqué’s.  (And I don’t need to tell you, Taylor’s bummed about that.)

Meanwhile, the quasi-contest/comic book Artist Search continues, with a slight tweaking: if you’re interested in a comic book collaboration with me, then just email me (bakemono68@yahoo.co.uk) with samples of your art (sequential comic book pages, preferably; 3 to 5 pages, or more, if you’re so inclined--the more, the better, so I can more effectively gauge your strengths and range; also preferably featuring established comic book characters--try not to send in any pages which feature your original characters).

You can also choose to send me links to any online galleries (deviantart pages or the like).

Please use the Subject Heading: Art Samples – Your Name.

There’s no longer any need to prepare samples based on SEROKS. I’d just like to see your art, the particular style you call your own, the way you tell stories via panels and pages.

As always, any questions, you can leave them in the Comments section of this post, or email me at the above address.

Once again, thanx to everyone who’s shared their kind words about SEROKS with me, and those who’ve spread the word on the vast and sprawling Interwebz.

Your generous support is heartily appreciated.

If you haven’t picked up your own copy, SEROKS Iteration 1: Mirror Man can now be found on the shelves of the country’s leading bookstores.

And if you don’t see it on the shelves, please ask for it.

And don’t forget, SEROKS Iteration 2: Once in a Lifetime is soon to follow.

You can check out a preview of it, courtesy of the mighty fine Alan Navarra, here.

you can’t drink just six,

Dave

PIMP MY STUFF
SEROKS
 
In case this is all new to you, SEROKS Iteration 1: Mirror Man, from Visprint, is a collection of linked short stories all set in a dystopic future world where everything can be pirated, even people, a world first seen in my Palanca-honored SF short story, "Kaming Mga Seroks."

It's got illustrations by the mighty fine Alan Navarra, and, as can be construed from the full title, it's also the first in a series of SEROKS collections.

For those who are interested in reading the original Palanca awarded short story, it can be found online here, at the mighty fine InterNova, run by the mighty fine Michael Iwoleit. (Look! Downloadable as a PDF!)

And, courtesy of Alan, we're giving you the first look at SEROKS Iteration 2: Once in a Lifetime.
Crazy-awesome, yeah?
And for those who've read Iteration 1, yes, there will be more Dolores in Iteration 2...

you can't drink just six,

Dave
 

SEROKS: PALADIN(S) CHARACTER DESIGN CONTEST
UPDATE

Greetings, Earthlings.

If you haven’t heard, we’ve got an ongoing Character Design Contest (details here) tied into my latest Visprint title, SEROKS Iteration 1: Mirror Man, which can now be found on the shelves of the country’s leading bookstores. (And if you don’t see it on the shelves, please ask for it.)

This announcement is to inform all you mighty fine people that the contest deadline has been extended to May 25, 2013.

So, for those of you who may have thought we didn’t give enough time for you to cook up your entries, well, you’ve now got more time.

So come on, then. We’d like to see your creativity in action!

Again, all other contest details remain the same and can be found here.

Plus, there’s the other contest open to any comic book artists who’d like to collaborate with me; details for that are here.

Thanx again to everyone who’s shared their kind words about SEROKS with me, and those who’ve spread the word on the vast and sprawling Interwebz.

Your generous support is heartily appreciated.

you can’t drink just six,

Dave

PIMP MY STUFF
SUMMER KOMIKON 2013 TITLES

For all you mighty fine folk who plan to be at the Bayanihan Center this Saturday, April 13, these are the new titles that are launching:

AGYU: Surfacing

Issue 1 (of 3)

By David Hontiveros and Vinnie Pacleb

Elias Sandoval has always felt different.

Being half-enkanto will do that.

But not even the strange difficulties of his childhood could have prepared him for what he is today: a decorated proeliator of good standing in the Royal Enkanto Guard; world-renowned mixed martial arts heavyweight champion; and now, the buwaya’s chosen to bear the mantle of the legendary hero, AGYU.

And that’s only the beginning…

Join Elias months after the events chronicled in Kadasig: The Skeleton at the Feast 1, as he dons the garb of Agyu for the first time, and quickly starts to make some enemies…

Δ: A Vision of Dust

Issue 2 (of 4)

By David Hontiveros and Xerx Javier

In the many rooms of the House that is the World, there are arelim and shedim. Most men know them as angels and demons.

On occasion, both these races have been known to spill their seed onto humankind, producing hybrids forever caught between species, having characteristics of both, but belonging to neither.

Miguel Samson is one such hybrid.

He is the second point of our triangle.

Miguel has caught up with Lora… and Lucio, who just happened to be with Lora at the time. But now that he has, what’s he going to do with them?

And what’s his connection to Lucio?

SEROKS Iteration 1:

Mirror Man

(Available at the Visprint table)

SEROKS FOR SALE!

MANY MODELS, MANY USES!

FOR SECURITY, MANUAL LABOR, OR SEX!

CHOOSE FROM A WIDE VARIETY WHILE STOCKS ARE AVAILABLE.

CALL ARNEL AT 09108-SEROKS.

I first explored this dystopic future world just over ten years ago in the short story, “Kaming Mga Seroks,” which went on to be honored with a Palanca Award.

Now, alongside artist Alan Navarra, I’ve returned to that world in Seroks Iteration 1: Mirror Man, the first in a series of short fiction collections set in a world where everything is a commodity, and everything can be pirated, even people.

A world where the truth is ugly and a fake can be a hero.

The following comic book titles will also be available at the Alamat table:

KADASIG

Volume 1: The Skeleton at the Feast

Issue 1 (of 5)

By David Hontiveros and Ian Sta. Maria

Kadasig has served the Lady Ibu for centuries.

He was human, once. But today, he is a living, breathing kutummu, his skin now merely the scabbard for the seemingly infinite array of weapons he draws from inside himself, weapons he shapes from his own flesh and bone, to best serve the Lady in the only way he truly knows how.

He is the Lady’s kallaapu; her knight, her enforcer.

He is her beet tilli; her arsenal.

He is her kak daami; her bloodstained weapon.

And she is about to use him to finally lay her enemies low…

Picking up where the Underpass story, “Katumbas” left off, “A Life Less Ordinary” is the first of five chapters of The Skeleton at the Feast, chronicling the further adventures of the tsinelas-wearing badass, Kadasig.

This “second printing” is for all those who didn’t get to grab a copy at last year’s October Kon, and contains a number of Kadasig fan art pieces personally selected by Ian to run in the comic’s pages.

And, the non-‘Verse title:

BATHALA: Apokalypsis

Issues 1 to 5A/5B (of 7)

By David Hontiveros and Ace Enriquez

What if there was only one superhuman in the whole world?

What if the world was about to end as predicted in the Book of Revelation?

What can one superman do to hold back the hand of the Almighty?

Plus, if you’ve happened to have joined either of the two Seroks-related contests, you can also submit your entries to me, at the Alamat table.

See all you mighty fine people at the Kon!

you can’t drink just six,

Dave

SEROKS: PALADIN(S) CHARACTER DESIGN CONTEST

Greetings, Earthlings.

If you haven’t heard, my latest Visprint title, SEROKS Iteration 1: Mirror Man can now be found on the shelves of the country’s leading bookstores. (And if you don’t see it on the shelves, please ask for it.)

If you haven’t picked it up, please do. It features story illustrations by the mighty fine Alan Navarra, so picking up the book will make him happy too.

And if you already have a copy, have a particularly vivid imagination, and are an artist (or happen to know one), then we’ve got a contest for you.

We’re now accepting entries for a “Paladin(s) Character Design” contest.

The rules are simple: send in your costume design of either--or both--of the Paladin characters featured in SEROKS Iteration 1: Mirror Man (that would be Paladin/Roqué and Paladin Jr./Taylor), based on the descriptions given in the featured stories.

And what do you get out of it, you may ask.

Well, should you win, you’ll get bragging rights, for starters.

And, if the Queen of All Visprint is nice, she’ll also award you with an autographed copy of SEROKS Iteration 2: Once in a Lifetime, once it’s released.

You’ll be getting a personalized copy of Iteration 2 because, lo and behold, we’ll be running the winning character designs in its pages!

Think in color and submit your entry in color as well; it doesn’t have to be fancy coloring, I just need to know what the costume’s color scheme is. Remember, I’ll be taking a look at the overall design, and not how fancily you computer-colored it.

Sure, Roqué’s decked out in black leather, but Taylor’s uniform has a color scheme and that’s what I’m curious to see. I have an image in my head of what they look like, but I want to see these characters filtered through your artistic and creative sensibilities.

Take the descriptions in the text of Iteration 1, and go from there. Use them as a foundation and a jumping-off point and feel free to run wild.

Let’s see some awesome superhero spandex, people!

But also, and this is equally important, though you’re thinking in color, also execute that design as a black-and-white pin-up, which will be how your entry will appear in SEROKS Iteration 2, should it be chosen as the best.

And again, you can submit a costume design for only one, or if you prefer, both Paladins appearing in Iteration 1. (If you choose to submit designs for both, each design will be considered as a separate entry, so it’s possible that you may win for one, and not for both.)

That said, limit yourself to one costume design per character, so you really have to send in your best.

It’s preferred that all entries be submitted in 5.5 inches x 8.5 inches size (regular bond paper size, folded in half, or 1650 X 2550 in Photoshop-speak), or any proportional size thereof.

Note that there’s also a second, quasi-corollary contest, specifically for any artists out there who may be interested in collaborating on a comic book with yours truly.

If you’re interested in working on a comic book, then check the post right after this one for further details.

Now, the contest opens up as soon as this announcement goes online and will run all the way till April 27, 2013.

For further announcements as that date approaches; hit up the Visprint Facebook page or right back here.

Also, if you have any questions that I failed to address here, please hit up the Comments section of this blog post and I’ll do my best to answer them there.

While we will be accepting entries throughout the contest period via email (address appears below), we will also be accepting them at this year’s Summer Komikon (April 13 at the Bayanihan Center on Pioneer St).

Just come up to me--you should find me at either the Visprint or Alamat tables--say “Hi,” and submit your entries to me.

If you can’t make it to Summer Kon (or would be too hard-pressed to complete your entries in the time left), then email your submissions to bakemono68@yahoo.co.uk (Subject Heading: SEROKS CONTEST) on or before April 27, 2013, and you’ll get an email acknowledging receipt of your entry.

Afterwards, you’ll only receive another email should your entry be chosen as the winner.

(And keep in mind, that’s dot-co-dot-uk, not dot-com, lest your entries end up in someone else’s bewildered and befuddled Inbox.)

Please include the following information: Name; Age; Address (Real World and Email); Contact Number (Landline and Mobile); plus, any links to online galleries of your art (if you have any, like a deviantart page).

Hurm. I think that should be all for now.

Again, if you’ve got a very specific and particular image in your head as to how Iteration 1’s Paladins look, then send that image in.

We’d love to see it.

Best of luck to all the entrants, and for those of you who’ll be dropping by, see you at the Summer Kon!

you can’t drink just six,

Dave