Elmer #2 Cover
I hope that people who had been waiting for Elmer #1 to come out to bear with me for just a little more, as I have to concede that the first issue will be delayed for at least 2 weeks, one month at the most.
It goes beyond just writing and drawing the comic book as there is the additional task of trying to formalize and legitimize my publishing company, Komikero Publishing. I had decided to do this two years ago when I registered the name at the Department of Trade and Industry, partly to reserve the name, but mostly out of a desire to elevate what was once a backyard makeshift series of photocopied comics into a serious publishing company that would exclusively publish my comics.
I figured I had to graduate from the underground and really make this something I can hopefully make a living from. I've already resigned myself to the fact that I won't be interested in doing anything else but comics so I felt very strongly that I should stop fucking around and take this more seriously.
I still believe that making photocopied mini comics is a great way of doing comics, and I still may do one from time to time, but I've been there and done all that for such a long time and now I feel it's time to move on.
Formalizing a comic book company means dealing with such things as the BIR, SSS, Barangay clearances, Mayor's permits and a lot of other legal stuff I won't bore you with, but those things come with the territory, and as such require a certain amount of attention and time.
I decided to move the release of Elmer so I can deal with all these things (as some major outlets will only carry Elmer if I can issue an official receipt). The additional time will also allow me to have more oppotunity to improve the story and the art. Doing Elmer has been a huge learning experience for me as I've had to think of doing comics and approach the art of comics differently than what I had previously been used to.
That said, I hereby promise to have Elmer #1 out sometime in May and no more, by hook or by crook. :)
By the way, the artwork at the very top of this post is very possibly the cover to Elmer #2, which is scheduled for release by July-August. The cover is done traditionally, using a mix of water color, acrylic, colored pencil and ink.
Here's one more Elmer art from one of my friends:
Jac Ting Lim Elmer Art
Jac Ting Lim is a comic book artist, whose professional credits include contributions for Siglo: Passion, Seeker Magazine, Mwahaha! and others. Check out Jac's blog here.
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Me, my wife Ilyn and our dog Eugene went away during Holy Week to hole up at our family's rest house at Maansil, Sta. Catalina, San Pablo City. It's not too far away from our house, but it's far enough and remote enough for me to have enough peace to work on Elmer. Our place there does not have electricity, no land line phones, no TV or radio or any technological gadget except for Ilyn's cellphone to be used only in emergencies. I worked in the day, and then by candlelight at night. I was able to do some substantial work on Elmer without feeling any sort of pressure at all.
Me and Eugene
Me, Ilyn and Eugene's ass.
Working on Elmer
Working at night by candlelight.
All in all, it was a terrific experience, and it's something I would love to do again sometime in the future, and probably for a longer period.
In fact, I liked it so much that I actually considered staying there on a more regular basis. Who knows? I guess I'm just sick of how too technologically dependent we have become, and although I do concede that it has become a necessity to a certain extent, it does feel great to give it the finger once in a while.
