The Tianxiaverse Blog

Dear all,

I met the editors and directors last Friday and introduced them to their team members. All your projects are currently with them as they work from now until Tuesday to build the different creative teams. By Tuesday, all of you should know who you are working with.

Their first goal is to create at least one creative team, consisting of one writer and one artist, for each chapter of the storyline. Together, the writer and artist will create one 8 to 15-page comic book which they will try to get into the Top 28.

Their second goal is to design an anthology which several writers and artists would work on. An anthology is a loose collection of stories that revolve around a particular theme, and may or may not be connected through an overall story. The concept of the anthology will be totally dependent on the editor as long as it fits their assigned storyline.

Our two directors, DR (Camia) and Timmy (Adelfa), also have their hands full. As the Managing Director, DR is the over-all coordinator of the project, after me. His job is to make sure that people get to know each other and that everyone passes on time. I would describe his task as being the person that makes sure each creative team has the potential to be great.

Timmy, as Creative Director, will be around to keep up the quality of our books. Her first task is to provide references for our artists, so watch out for a Multiply page and/or a reference album in school very soon. She is also in charge of the logo design contest which will begin within the next two weeks.

The editors and directors have a lot of work to do. They aren't around to be dictators and I hope that they look after you and help you out in the creative process. I want this project to be an experience in cooperative learning and discovering more about Asia, while adapting to one another in this real-world creative setup we are using.

If everyone does their dharma well, everything should turn out great. Writers, create fantastic scripts and weave awesome stories! Artists, do your research and don't hold back your time and talent in bringing out the best in you! Editors, create possibilities for all your team members to shine! And directors, remain strong, calm and responsible so that others may perform their duties to their utmost best.

And I, as your sensei and publisher for this project, am here to help each one of you be the best you can be. We won't get it right all the time, so I hope you keep open channels with me. If there are any problems with any aspect of your work, whether it's the comic book itself, your creative team partner, or your editor or director, feel free to tell me all about it. The job of the publisher is to make sure that all your work sees the light of day, and that it becomes meaningful and important to you in the end.

Thank you very much and good luck to everyone!

Sir Martin!

After long deliberation and evaluation, I would like to introduce the Tianxiaverse Editorial Board (TXV EdBoard)!

Publisher: Sir Martin Perez
Managing Director: DR Gaerlan (Camia)
Creative Director: Timmy Caparros (Adelfa)

Editors:
A Storm in the Desert (ASD): RC Denia (Ilang-Ilang)
The Land Between Two Rivers (BTR): Carmel Saldaña (Camia)
The Lost Epics of India (LEI): Sarah Penir (Camia)
Hunt for the Dragon King (HDK): Julien Dio (Adelfa)
Tales of Bushido (TOB): Bea Gana (Adelfa)
Kingdom Quest (KQ): Quintin Eusebio (Dahlia)
Between Swords and Dragons (BSD): PJ Tolentino (Jasmin)

Phase 2 of the project has officially begun. I will call a board meeting soon to meet my editors and directors, and then they will meet the people they will be working with.

The editors (which I will also call my "Seven Samurai") will be the ones working directly with the different writers and artists. During our first meeting, they will be given all of the phase 1 submissions and will build the creative teams from there.

My two directors will make sure that the project keeps moving until the deadline. Timmy will be in charge of keeping quality up while DR will be coordinating the different editors and managing other TXV-related activities. My directors almost wield the same power I do, and have the authority to make decisions and call the shots.

But as the publisher, I have the final say in everything. I can effectively veto any decision, hire and fire people, and dictate creative teams and directions. However, I cast myself in a guardian role only and see to it that I won't have to use my power because I trust all my directors and editors enough that they will do their jobs. (Right guys?)

So again, congratulations to those who have been hired. It's gonna be a lot of hard work but I believe that we have the potential to create something really cool.

Just a quick update regarding our search for editors and directors.

I have already identified two EDITORS (she's from Adelfa, he's from Jasmin) and one MANAGING DIRECTOR (he's from Camia).

I'm still leaving the application process open for the remaining five editors and one director until tomorrow, Thursday.

Just submit an outline of two storylines of your choice -- show me how you'll handle them -- as well as your "resume" of your achievements, leadership experience and creative influences. And in one paragraph, tell me why I should choose you for the position you want.

Good luck!

Hello everyone!

Phase 2 begins the moment I announce the editors and directors for the project. After that, I will give all of us exactly one month to work on the comics. Therefore, the deadline of the project may change from November 6.

So far, I have identified possible editors and directors already, and I have begun talking to those frontrunners in my shortlist. Who these nine people are will be announced very soon.

Stay tuned!

Sir Martin!

Hello everyone,

Just a quick update. All the deadlines for the TXV project will remain the same unless classes are called off again tomorrow (Sept 29, Friday).

If they are, this will be the new schedule:

APPLICATION FOR EDITORS/DIRECTORS – Monday, October 2

SUBMISSION FOR ALL – Wednesday, October 4

For those who still need help researching, just tell me and I’ll offer you some references. I may no longer get online after this since everything has been knocked down (electricity, phone) in my area and I’m using a GPRS connection but my laptop has only 40% battery left. So, you contact me at (0918)913-7987. My cell’s batt will hold for the next 18 hours or so.

Until then, stay safe everyone. Don’t leave your homes. Mitra and Shiva are both mad. We got a big one here.

Ingatz,
Sir Martin!

Uhm. Hi. I just want critique on what I'm doing right now. From everyone, if possible. Point out mistakes and improvements and stuff. Yeah. I'm doing "The Lost Epics of India: Chanakya's Revenge" nga pala. This is only what I've done so far, and I don't know if I'll be able to do everything by Monday. Maybe not, but I'll get there. I think the comic book for this might be a little longer than expected. Something like graphic novel long, 'coz I'm doing the whole thing. Yyeeaah.

This part is set when Chanakya offends the Nandan king, Mahapadma, and he's kicked out of the kingdom. Well... 'yun. This is basically what I'm submitting first, then I'll build quickly on it after the TXV Phase 1 deadline. I titled it "The Reason for Revenge." Uhm... enjoy.



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.

Tapos na po 'tong part.. Comments, flames, and criticisms are greatly appreciated, especially when they come really fast. 'Yun lang po. Thank you thank you...

[[Cross-posted in my journal.]]
Comicbooks have always had their share of heroes. Except, well, with the trends today it seems like comic books (like everything else) are experiencing a bit of a shortage on the whole hero thing.
I wonder when we'll have a new comic book character whose influence is as eternal as Superman's XD I mean, if you compare stuff, it kinda seems like the "heroes" we've got these days would fit the roles villains filled in the past XD Comic books don't need an overdose of grit to apply to older audiences, don't you think?
I think what comic books really need is a character who'll do what's good because it's good; someone in the same hero vein as Superman, maybe ;P

Anyway, I just remembered this book I read last year: Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Basically it deals with the recurring theme of the hero,and how most hero stories are just different versions of the same basic thing. And if you look at it, the ideas he presented are still applicable today--from Star Wars to Harry Potter.

( LJ-cutting so the outline of ideas doesn't take up too much space... )

This is not to say that all hero stories are just rip-offs of each other. It just goes to show that the same basic idea of what is good and noble is basically the same in most places and cultures, as shown by the recurring trend of the hero.
Of course, the Hero outline is just a skeleton, a guide of sorts. It can be overlaid with various details and ideas, leading to another version, one of an infinite number when it comes to the Hero mold.

Meh. I hope this helps (especially for people who need some plot inspirations ;P), TXV people :D

A free comic book from India containing two sample stories of Devi and Ramayan 3392AD.

Devi is India's version of Wonder Woman. An ordinary woman is destined to be the next Devi, the goddess protector of Earth.

Ramayan 3392AD is a modern re-telling of the Ramayana. It's not an exact version of the story, but uses the material to tell a new story. Kind of like what we're doing in TXV.

All you'll need is a PDF reader like Adobe Acrobat or the free FoxIt Reader.

Download the free comic here.

Have fun!

Okay, people (most especially writers), I've got two books I'm willing to lend out for others to look/ogle at. One is a dictionary of Asian Mythology - advised for writers of India, as there are loads of Indian terms in there. The other is a Buyer's Guide for Chinese and Japanese (plus some Korean) antiques - it's good for artists as there are loads of design ideas in here (Japanese armors, anyone?), but writers can also benefit if they know how (i.e. the captions/extra tidbits and word definitions).

So... yeah. Contact me over YM or at school on Monday if you want to borrow.

As I have said before, I'm working on The Lost Epics of India: Hidden Lives of the Mughals

I've already started my screenplay, but it still hasn't gotten to the part where the main character gets to be warped to India. That means I've only written about 10 dialogues.

The flow of my story would be something like the storyboards of the old ABS-CBN TV Show "Bayani", where the two kids get sent to the past and discover the real historic thing.

I am putting weird twists in here. There is actually no part of the story which occurs in the present. The "realistic" part here is Pisay in the future, and the backtrack will drive them to the time of the Mughals.

There is good competition, I know. But it does not matter to me. It may appear to you that I am super grade-conscious, but deep inside, there is a bigger goal. A goal to gain contacts. Friends. And that is what the TXV project is all about. I know that and I hope you know that all.

Good luck to each and everyone of us and may we all learn the true moral lesson of this activity xD...

-P.S. Who here is working on the same storyline? What about the exact same chapter as I will be working on? Please feel free to comment! Thanks!-