Finally finished updating the website...for now.

Only just took a full week of time to get this thing off the ground and reformed to look the way I wanted it to. Been a complete mess having to learn how to work with html/css, but I got some nice things working now and was able to get rid of a lot of clutter that blogger typically has on their page.

I had also gotten the whole website up to around 95% before it had a large crash, taking all the images that I had ever uploaded before to here and replacing it with lovely empty black boxes. Took a few days to work up the patience to sit down and rebuild a lot of it over again, but alas it's done. Some of the oldest pokes are still missing links, so keep that in mind.

As time goes by I want to add some more stuff design wise here, especially as I learn more about programming and working with interactive content so stay tuned for that. I also have plans to try to put something together to show how I actually produce my comics sometime around christmas time. So stay tuned for that!

Symbolia Magazine Launch!

Hey everyone, I got some really exciting news about a new start-up publication set to launch on the iPad next month called Symbolia: The Tablet Magazine of Ilustrated Journalism. It's a monthly publication that fuses comics and journalism to bring interesting stories from all over the world for your viewing pleasure.

Erin Polgreen , co-founder of Symbolia, has this to say:

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Our preview issue features illustrated and reported work by many of the amazing folks on this list: Susie Cagle, Sarah Glidden, Andy Warner, Lauren Sommer, Kat Fajardo, Chris A. Smith and Damien Scogin.

I'm writing today with an early request: Can you help get the word out next week? Your support will help push the entire comics journalism field forward and bring Symbolia closer to sustainability.

Here's why your support matters: I am committed to paying Symbolia's contributors, and am working to raise my rates to more competitive levels. Our main source of revenue right now is subscriptions. The more subscriptions we can sell in the first month of publication, the sooner we can raise rates and book more content.

More about Symbolia: Each issue of Symbolia is packed with ground-breaking, insightful stories by world-class illustrators and journalists, stunning infographics, video reports, exclusive audio, and more.

Founded by Erin Polgreen and Joyce Rice, Symbolia is available as an interactive iPad app and will be available as an ebook and via PDF subscription soon. Subscriptions to Symbolia are $11.99 for six issues, and single issues are $2.99.

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You can read more about Symbolia at:
The Chicago Tribune
The National
The Columbia Journalism Review

Be sure to support!

Elections are over...

Still alive here and been meaning to update lately, so here's a little teaser from a recent page. Pampanga, I miss you.

Invisible News: Green Party Candidates Arrested Outside of Presidential Debate

On October 16th, 2012 in Hempstead New York, presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein and her running mate Cheri Honkala were arrested outside of the second presidential debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney after trying to gain access to the venue. After trying for about 20 minutes at the front door to gain access, the two candidates were turned away for "lack of credentials" to sit into the debate. Their only intent was to speak with reporters and not disrupt the ongoing debate as it was happening. After being turned away, the both of them both took a seat and draped themselves with the American flag, while a Nassau county officer asked the two candidates to move because they were "blocking traffic." Finally, the encounter leads to their arrest by police where they are taken to the local jail till at least midnight tonight.

Stein and Honkala being arrested outside the 2nd Presidential Debates

The Presidential Debate Committee (PDC) stipulates that in order for any candidate to be a part of the debates, they must hold a 15% standing in national polls prior along with having the perceived ability to win a majority of the electoral college votes. According to a campaign release, the Green Party is expected to be on about 85% of national ballots this election season. So what's the problem? Are the Democrats and Republicans really afraid of a third (or more) voice that they would have to contend with at a debate? And is this a reaction from both major parties who recently have been exposed to popular movements from the Tea Party and the Occupy movement in order to maintain their monopoly in American politics?

 

So we should be asking ourselves, what is the point of these debates when a third voice isn't even allowed to intervene? Are that far down "democracy" that we don't need that voice? I know there's quite a few issues that I don't agree with either party, not to mention a lot of topics that aren't brought up in the slightest at these debates. Where's my voice about the influence of superPACs in elections, my voice about how the US incarcerates more people than any other country in the world? And who decides the values of these national polls and why aren't they disclosed to the public? If you have anything to add please respectfully place a comment.

 

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1: Cirilli, Kevin. "Green Party Ticket Arrested at Debate." Politico, 16 Oct. 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1012/82490.html.

 

2: "Green Party Candidates Arrested at Debate." SFGate, 16 Oct. 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Green-Party-candidates-arrested-at-debate-3954374.php.

 

3: LongIslandReport. "Jill Stein, Green Party Candidate for President Gets Taken." YouTube. N.p., 16 Oct. 2012. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKwwPVO8bNk.

The American Immigrant update

Hi everyone just giving my bi-monthly post up on the blog to give everyone an idea where I'm at and what I'm doing. Below is the inks of page 16 from my graphic novel that I'm working on The American Immigrant. I'm sure I have a few followers here that can guess where I'm going to in this page ;).

 



The Red Fez "An American Toilet Paper Nightmare in Southeast Asia"

Last week, The Red Fez has been so kind to publish one of my articles in their 49th issue of their publication. The article itself, one that I did back in university a year ago titled "An American Toilet Paper Nightmare in Southeast Asia", is a fun story about my experience dealing with culture shock when I visited the Philippines for the first time. Short and sweet and it's been a while since I published something. Hoping that The Red Fez puts out another excellent issue for their 50th issue and that they make it to issue 100 someday!

The American Immigrant Pencil Previews

Hey everyone, finally got a scanner! Meaning I can finally post a few things showing what I'm working on lately. Below are a few excerpts from the book "The American Immigrant." They're pulled about midway through the first part of the Philippines book, and illustrate a little bit about the area that I traveled to during the summer of 2011 in the Pampanga province. Hope that you enjoy!

 

Chapter 6: San Juan's Blessing
Page 45 and 46

Chapter 7: Sanctuary
Page 59, 60, and 61