I decided to have my once in a blue moon “habit” (lol) of cleaning my lair last Saturday and guess what I found. I happened to unearth the keys to my past… the perfect instruments to reminisce the moments that I used to share with my first love: drawing.

I’m not really a “gifted child” like those advertised in Promil commercials, but I’ve been drawing since I was young. Too young that I can’t even remember what age I started. I love drawing and I love telling stories. Combining these two, you get manga*.

As my blogspot states: thefrustratedmangaka.blogspot.com, I am THE frustrated mangaka*. I don’t know why but I’m too awkward to let others see my work. (It took me quite some time to gather enough guts to give you a peek on my works. Lol~)

FYI: manga = comics, mangaka = someone who creates manga ^^

The first manga that I made was entitled “Claire.” It was inspired by the anime Judy (ABS-CBN) that I used to watch during my childhood days. The funny thing about Claire is that the femme fatale appears to be the protagonist. [When I was younger, I liked the female antagonists more than the martyr, api-apihan protagonists. To be honest, they piss me off. That may be the reason why I was biased in creating Claire. HAHAHA.]

Anyway, there are tons of mangas that I’ve already created since then. BUT, the first ever manga that I’ve really put much effort to was “Nina: Witch of Trouble (2005).” This was my first manga to reach almost 300 pages, and the first to be book-binded. Parang may mali sa grammar? Haha.

I was a high school junior in 2005 that time. When I finally finished Nina, Towties [my circle of friends, barkada] keeps on borrowing it one after another until before I knew it, most of our batchmates [and some of our juniors] have already read it. (0____0)

Nina: Witch of Trouble

My “second” project was “Wedding (2006).” To be honest, this was the most memorable manga that I’ve ever created so far. Why? First, all of the characters’ names were taken after Towties and some high school friends. Second, my friends helped me with the erasing. Note that Wedding is my first inked-manga [Nina’s in pencil]. Third, one of our high school teachers was able to read it. (0____0)  Lastly, I used Wedding as the basis of my script for our Introduction to Film class (Bridal Masquerade). 

Wedding

After high school graduation, I somehow managed to come up with another project entitled “Hapi Haus (2008).” I was able to finish it, but unfortunately wasn’t able to continue with the erasing.

Hapi Haus

After Hapi Haus in 2008, I started working with what I thought was my last project: “The Apocalypse (2010).” Before graduating high school, I promised one of my friends that I would make a manga especially for her. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to fulfill that promise. Not keeping my word is a taboo to my principles that’s why I forced myself decided to create one and give it to her as a “Christmas gift.” A Christmas gift that eventually became a college graduation gift. I asked one of my closest friends (her neighbor) since she’s still studying in Manila. Until now, I’m still not sure if she already has it. HAHA.

The Apocalypse

All in all, I still have 52 projects on queue. These projects are stories that I actually made when I was still in high school. Whenever an idea (or story) crosses my mind, I write it down as a synopsis and are eventually added on my list.

As of now, you may be wondering about my status as a mangaka. Since I was so inspired after finding these treasures of my first love, I am currently working on the manga version of How to Become a Tough Guy. Yes, the story I wrote in wattpad is supposed to be a manga. So wish me luck, guys.



1. Sydney Francisco and I. 
2. Take a peek at my desk. How to Become a Tough Guy still on-going. :) 
3. Character sketch of my next female lead. 
4. Thinking hat on! I usually wear this hat while drawing. Feeling ko ang galing ko mag-drawing pag suot ko 'to. Lol~
5. My inspirations. Pangarap ko magkaron ng library na puro manga ang laman. Hihi. 
6. How to Draw Manga by Hikaru Hayashi. Grade School graduation gift from my mom. O diba, very supportive! 
7. Shinshi Doumei Cross by one of my fave mangakas: Arina Tanemura. Hoping to be like her, soon. Charot. 
8. Haze Gatcheco, How to Become a Tough Guy.
9. Another gift from my mom: Basic Anatomy for the Manga Artist by Christopher Hart.