I wasn’t really sure if I was going to be able to attend the Read or Die Convention since I was busy finishing my submission piece for an anthology I’m joining. Indeed, I missed the first day (February 3, Saturday) of the two day event.
Thankfully, however I managed to wrap the submission up, send it off, and I was finally free to go…at last!
I packed my digital camera and off I went to the Hotel Intercon at Ayala, Makati eager to see the gang and, of course, buy books!
I arrived at around 11:00 AM and bought my ticket. A bit expensive at Php 200.00 especially compared to the KOMIKON whose entrance fee was pegged at Php 50.00 but it was for a good cause after all.
One of the first comic book people I saw was Gerry and Ilyn at the Komikero Publishing booth where they were selling issues 1 and 2 of Elmer and some back issues of old comics he worked on. Gerry informed me that I was going to be included for a forum he was participating in about comic books scheduled for 5:00 PM later.
We were going to be joined by Elbert Or (Cast) and Carlo Vergara (Zsazsa Zaturnnah).
I made a beeline soon after exchanging quick greetings to (where else?) the Comic Quest Booth where they had a very nice spread of must-have and must-read comics.
I was particularly enamored with DC’s Identity Crisis TPB and Batman by Gaslight and made a mental note to buy them at the end of the day.
Elbert was manning the booth and I decided to sit in for a couple of hours, catch up, and generally talk shop.
Elbert was like a whirlwind: chatting one minute, talking to a customer who wanted to buy a book next, and then adding details to a drawing he was doing to pass the time.
Charles Tan arrived a bit later to keep Elbert company which gave me the chance to check out the rest of the place and the other booths.
I met a few other comic book people while roaming around like Randy Valiente and Carlo Vergara (who arrived a bit early to check out a few books himself). The highlight of the event for me is probably meeting Norman Isaac (editorial cartoonist for the Manila Bulletin among other things).
I went fanboy mode and had my picture taken with him.
He was carrying a piece of paper with him and he had Gerry, Randy, Carlo, and I do a quick sketch for him as a sort of remembrance.
Soon enough, it was 5:00 PM and off we went to a session room for the open forum about comics. What was supposed to be an hour long session stretched into a two-and-a-half hour marathon. We had a very attentive audience and the question and answer sessions was invigorating.
There were actually more questions from the audience but we unfortunately ran out of time.
It was a good event, all in all.
Not as much people as most conventions but I kinda liked it because for once I didn’t have to shout to make myself heard over the din. It was also great seeing the guys again, since everyone is so busy nowadays we rarely have enough time (if at all!) to get together like the old days.
Here’s to ROD Con 2008!
9 Responses to “Read or Die Convention 2007”
Hey Jonas! I was able to attend your talk yesterday (front row pa hehe), which was really interesting and fun. It was really great to see you, Gerry, Carlo and Elbert. Even though I’ve read some of the stuff you’ve talked about in your blogs, it was still nice to hear it coming from you guys straight.
Haven’t been around for a while. Had to sort out things and all. Anyway, hope to see you around more! ^_^
Kat! You should’ve said hi. I hope to see you around more too (and I’ll bring my glasses next time).
[…] Check out Jonas Diego’s blog for more photos and an actual photo of Norman with the sketch I did. […]
Hi po! Nice meeting you. You, Ka Gerry, Elbert and Carlo have restored my faith in the komiks industry. And you and some of your other blog friends have restored my faith in the local blogging scene. d^_~b I’ve linked my Blogspot to this already. Salamat po!
Ligaya: Thanks and thanks for the link! It was great meeting you at the Con and I hope to see you again at some of the next events coming up this year.
Hello po, sir Jonas!
I’m really sorry for the fiasco regarding my full-blast “Harry Potter Theme” ringtone (much to my horror!) because my stupidity. I hope it wasn’t a stopper to anyone’s momentum or anything. Otherwise, it would be absolutely horrid. I guess, then, I made a pretty dark (and ugly) mark on you folks.
Thanks so much for answering my question as to how to tell your parents about steering away from their dreams for you. (Hehehe, a nice way to put it!) It was really interesting and inspiring to see all of you talk and share with us your thoughts, as well as your opinions and often funny experiences.
Maraming salat! Kudos!
Sha: Think nothing of it. It happens to the best of us. It brought a smile to our faces (so I guess it pretty much gives away that we are, in fact, Harry Potter fans).
Well as Gerry said, despite everything they do, our parents only want the best for us but we also have to remember that it is our life. Sometimes, in order for us to really live our lives, we have to deviate from the path laid for us by our parents.
It doesn’t mean however that we love them any less.
You guys were a great audience. I don’t think I’ve had as much fun in a public forum before.
Yay! That’s a great thing to know. I’ve attended quite a few talks before and I must say that it was definitely one of the best. May chemistry talaga kayong lahat.
Buti na lang! I’m one huge Potter geek. July 21, Deathly Hallows, the last book!
I’ll keep that in mind. It’s like I’ve been trying to burst out of my rigid box ever since I was in high school. I think it’s time for me to follow my own dreams.
I hope you don’t mind if I like your site sa aking maliit na Multiply account.
Salamat po ulit!
**Because of my stupidity pala dapat ‘yun.**
Sha: I guess it’s because we’re all friends despite the fact that we tackle such diverse subjects in our comic books (Gerry does violence, Elbert goes for cute, Carlo has gay themed stories, and I…well, bastos comics ko).
Can’t wait for the last Harry Potter book myself.
Link ahead. It’s very much appreciated. Thanks!
Leave a Reply