Singapore!!!


Photos by ~Foodtrip

It was my first time in Singapore and I've heard all the stories from people who've come and gone before myself. Yeah, Singapore is clean. The law is strictly followed. You can't chew gum. And it's one of the most expensive cities in the world.

Well, when they say that a thousand travel books isn't even worth one trip, Singapore might be one of the places that this applies to more than others. Granted, I wasn't able to go around much as a tourist but in exchange, I think I got to see a side of Singapore more akin to how someone who lives there would see it.

First off, yes, the place is frickin spotless! It is easily the cleanest and greenest city that I've ever been to. I especially like who where ever you look, there are always trees. The air is surprisingly clean even with all the cars and buses around... or maybe that's just my perspective since I come from a very highly air polluted Metro Manila. I'm very averse to cigarette smoke as well... I can smell the slightest amount of it in the air and even long after it's gone... the fact that smoking is limited to very specific places in Singapore is a godsend for me.

While people do follow the law as far as I can tell, there were surprisingly very few law enforcers. As a matter of fact, I don't recall seeing a single police officer during my entire stay there. I saw tons of security personnel at malls and stuff and soldiers armed with full automatic weapons at the customs inspection at the airport, but nothing more than that. But then again, I'm told that the government monitors a lot of the streets now with security cameras all over the city... I suppose that sounds rather daunting until I realize that Singapore isn't exactly the biggest country in the world. I also found out that they recently started allowing the import of chewing gum into Singapore... not that big a deal for me since I'm not a chewing gum person anyways.

As for expensive... yeah. I can definitely say it's one of the most expensive cities I've ever been to. Thing is... this doesn't hold true for everything there is in Singapore. Well, at least from a Filipino's perspective it doesn't. If you want to eat out all the time, then yeah... picking a convenient place to eat at, especially in the central commercial district, is an expensive endeavor to say the least. A small meal can cost you no less than SGD 5 + SGD 1.5 for a drink. Roughly Php 210. I am told of Hawkers along some streets that are relatively cheaper than mall-based stalls but I didn't really get a chance to try these out since I was stuck at the convention center from morning till night.

As for travel... depending on the time of day, a short taxi ride can cost anywhere between SGD 6-10 (Php 190-320). The sucky part about this is that there seems to be this weird taxi shortage... waiting for a taxi can take anywhere between 15mins to 2 hours from my experience... but that's usually because there's a long line of people waiting for taxis. Then again, there seems to be a way to call for a taxi that I wasn't able to explore... but then again they charge a lot if you call for a taxi (like + SGD 5 I think). I hear other forms of public transportation is cheaper by a lot like the train or the bus which take much longer than a taxi but is far cheaper as well (Average SGD 1-2 per ride). Didn't get to try these out however since we were always lugging a big suitcase of merchandise to the convention center where STCC was being held.

Not all things are insanely expensive though. Toys from Japan are slightly cheaper there than here and a printing service we tried came out cheaper than here as well. Internet access is much higher than here (SGD 5 per hour) but is actually free for Singapore residents! Then again, I'd expect no less of the IT center of South East Asia.

Interestingly enough, their version of our VAT, the GST for example, is only 7% as compared to our 12%. I probably wouldn't mind our 12% VAT if I could see where all the money was going like in Singapore... that is a topic for another day though. Also, if you're a tourist and you buy more than SGD 100 on a single receipt, you can fill up a form and get refund on the 7% GST at the airport before you leave. I didn't know how this worked though so for those of you planning to visit, first you'll need to get a GST form from the store that you bought your stuff from, and you'll need to show your passport for them to give the form to you. When you get to the airport, you'll need to have the merchandise you bought verified and show them the receipt, form, your passport. They'll then direct you to the place where you can get your refund. Make sure to do this before you check-in your baggage if your stuff is in there to begin with. 7% may not seem that much but once you factor in the exchange rate, you're getting back a few hundred Php easy and that's always worth it when you get back here.

My experience in Singapore is hardly what I'd call complete but I did experience enough to want to go back there and experience more! It's definitely one of my favorite cities ever now and I can't wait for my next chance to go back.



Singapore Toy & Comic Convention


Photos by ~Foodtrip

This was the first time that would attend a convention outside of the Philippines as an exhibitor. It was a scary and exciting oppurtunity and I wasn't quite sure what to expect.

The convention itself was huge! Much bigger in attendance than any convention I've been to here. The booths were all really elaborate and they were giving away stuff that'd usually cost you a week's pay over here! There were toys and games displayed everywhere and even our own Mangaholix booth was facing Nintendo's huge booth full of gaming stations for fans to try out the latest Wii and DS games. There were huge booths with Singaporean and Malaysian comics as well as studio booths like Imaginary Friends and Collateral Damage. The Wizards of The Coast booth was giving away a full starter deck of Magic The Gathering for every person who was willing to learn how to play the game. I got a few goodies myself but since I was there for work mostly, I wasn't able to go around as much and collect everything like a regular attendee would.

One of the highlights for me was getting to meet at the convention and seeing and again. They would pass by our booth every now and then and I'd pass by the IFS booth every now and then as well.

I also ran into fellow local comic creator Elbert Or and as well while I was there. They actually lent a bit of help at our booth on each day of the convention. Funny since they were actually looking for each other whenever we'd see either of them.

It was a great convention all in all! I got to meet a lot of new people. Mangaholix was well relatively well accepted by the local readers. And we had tons of fun! I can't wait for the next one! I hope Mangaholix can go again and hopefully we can bring even more of the staff along next time.


Prints by Art Germ and IFS Art Book!!!



Earlier during the convention, Derek, a business manager for IFS came by our booth and gave us a free copy of one of their art books! It was a pleasant surprise to say the least but easily the best moment of the convention for me was when himself came over to our booth on the last day of the convention while we were all packing up, and gave me 4 copies of his prints... signed and everything! I couldn't believe he brought it himself! I was so grateful since I've always been a fan of his. Sure, those were probably just left over unsold prints from their booth... he probably dropped off a few at some other studios' booths as well, but heck I don't care! It was great to meet the guy and I uber appreciate the prints! says I looked like a giddy fan boy after he left... and that's probably the only situation I'd ever tolerate anyone calling me a "fan boy."

Once again... thanks to for the prints and all! I'm definitely gonna frame these and put it up at our studio!



Art Books!!!



Sadly... I wasn't able to go around Singapore like normal tourists would since I had to be at the convention from Friday to Sunday from morning till night. Only time I had to go around was on Thursday afternoon after we arrived and on Monday morning before we left.

Luckily, I was able to visit Kinokuniya, a local bookstore which was easily the biggest bookstore I've ever set foot in. By my estimate, it has more floor space than all the floors of Fully Booked in The Fort combined... then multiplied threefold.

Anyhow, I was able to hunt down some nice art books that I've been looking out for. I had to be really picky otherwise I'd be broke on the very first day I was there. I had to muster up all the will power I could and tear myself away from that place, lest I buy out the whole art book section of the store!

^{Mental Note: Bring tons of cash next time and just spend the whole day in Kinokuniya when I'm in Singapore again.}


Toys... I wish I got!


Photos by ~Foodtrip

There were so many toys I wanted to get... of note were the tons of Gundam model kits on display at the Bandai booth and another that I really wish I got was a posable figure of Old Snake from MGS4.



Visiting Imaginary Friends Studios


Photos by ~Foodtrip

Me and went to visit the Imaginary Friends actual studio since and invited us over. All I can say is that they have an amazing place set up over there! The whole place is decorated with framed works by and everywhere you looked there were anime, games, and comics toys, merchandise, paraphernalia, and whatnot. They had a huge shelf full of art books and references that puts the one we have over here to shame.

We were hoping to meet with to discuss some possible future collaborations or projects that we could work on with IFS but he was out at a meeting when we got there. gave us the grand tour of the place while I was asking every artist there to sign the art book that they gave me earlier at the convention.

The studio was mind boggling and it took awhile to take the whole place in. It's a big studio by our standards and it was great to get a sneak peak at some of the things that they were working on... (Sorry... I'm sworn to secrecy on this one! ) Best of all was being able to meet the artists behind all the great works over there at IFS. It was a humbling experience to be surrounded by such high caliber talent and I can only hope that I myself can be as good as they are someday.

Unfortunately, we had to get be leaving since our flight back to Manila was in just a few hours time. By some stroke of luck though, as me and were waiting for a taxi, and came back from their meeting so we were still able to meet with both of them for a short while.

Big big thanks go to and for inviting us over and a big big thanks to and the whole IFS crew for their hospitality. Hope to work with ya all someday!


Original Artwork by Jennyson Rosero!!!



gave me an original art work of his while I was visiting them at IFS. Hahaha! I'm definitely gonna frame this! Thanks man!



New Mountain Bike



Got myself a new mountain bike today! I've been meaning to get one for the past month or so but work and whatnot always got in the way. I used to bike a lot and I hope to get back into it since I really need the exercise. I'm not updated on all the bike stuff anymore so I'm basically starting out as a noob when it comes to parts knowledge and all that.


30k Kiriban
For those of you who might be interested, I'll be doing a kiriban for the 30k visitor to my page. First come first serve when noting me okay?

Then again... with the length of this journal... I doubt any of you will notice this all the way down here anyways.



Get Well Orgen Art... It Finally Happened!

With making a cameo in nearly every get well art, it was only a matter of time that the paradox of Orgen having to cameo in his own get well art would come up. That time has come and this latest rendition is masterfully executed by !

Get well soon Orgen!

Mangaholix: School Tour - Season 2

It's that time of year again. Mangaholix is giving out free manga creation workshops for interested universities. Click on the image above for details!

Wanted: Full-Time Colorist

We're in search for the next full-time member of the Mangaholix staff! Click on the image above for details!

Mangaholix #6 Coming Soon!

Mangaholix Issue 6 is coming soon! Hope you guys have been able to save up for it! Get it in stores this July!



We want letters!
We'd like to thank all of you who wrote to us about our first issue. To those with praises we thank you for your candor and to those with criticisms we thank you for your honesty. Some of these letters were able to make it to the letters section of the second issue aptly titled, The Firing Squad. Please do keep those letters coming. It may just get published in future issues of Mangaholix.

As always, we are open to receiving fan mail and hate mail alike. Drop us your comments, suggestions, and/or violent reactions at letters@groundbreakers.com.ph.



Mangaholix Manga Workshop School Tour
Me and a bunch of artists from Mangaholix are touring various universities giving out free seminars on basic comic creation. Yours truly is humbly attempting to teach the art of penciling for comics/manga.

Anyhow, if you want Mangaholix to visit your school for a free manga creation workshop, you may send us your proposal at mangaworkshop@groundbreakers.com.ph