A Time for Graphic Novels

It’s a time for graphic novels. That might come off as an odd thing to say in the midst of awards season, and yet, I can’t help see it everywhere I go.

Anyone who is in tune with comics and graphic novels already know how structurally, they are page-turning storyboards to film and shows waiting to happen. While we’ve seen that a lot akin the superhero franchises, it’s the one-offs, the standalone graphic novels, the visual stories tapped into communities, and worlds even, apart from what we’re already familiar with that are starting to manifest into something more than what their bookworm audiences already know them for.

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6 Years of “An Absolute Mind” and the Future of that Universe

Ideally, I would have liked to have written about this earlier in the month. However, due to occurrences that I’ve made known by now, it just didn’t feel right. But I didn’t want the month of November to come and go without acknowledging it at all either, as there is more to be said about it than a year ago.

Kickstarters, Anniversaries, and Reels (Oh My!)

At a glance, it’s been a minute since I’ve made several announcements at once – since the early days of the pandemic, to be precise. There’s a lot that’s going on and a lot to go over, and I’m just going to go right ahead and dive into it:

Currently In-Progress: “Dasig”

I’ve been mentioning for a while now that there’s a writing project that’s been taking up quite a bit of time as of late, and if you follow me on social media, then you know that I finally revealed just what that is within the last week. However, for those who don’t, here’s what’s up:

I’m writing a graphic novel!

What Did I Miss?: May 2022

Published Works

More AAPI Supernatural Recommendations for Fans of Disney’s ‘So Weird’ – For The Nerds of Color, I bring a second iteration of supernatural (and some sci-fi) content, creating by and about Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, for those who grew up on the ’90s Disney Channel original series.

The Pinays on the Rise Artists Delve into Their Origin Stories and Music – For the Center for Asian American Media, I get to know the three up-and-coming artists who make up the roster for this CAAMFest 40 music showcase.

The Cast and Crew of ‘The Bad Batch’ Reflect on Season 1 and Tease Season 2 – For The Nerds of Color, I bring coverage of what was talked about and revealed at the panel for the latest “Star Wars” animated series at Star Wars Celebration.

A Look Back at Star Wars Celebration Anaheim, From a Certain Point of View – For The Nerds of Color, I reflect on my first experience attending this highly anticipated yet long delayed fan convention.

Appearances

Mifits Ep. 10 | Being Filipino and Proud, Contemplating the Complexities of Asian Identities, and Writing Science Fiction with Lauren Lola – Host Annie Prafcke and I chat about my experience growing up as a multiracial Filipino American in the San Francisco Bay Area, coming to terms with my Filipino identity, my life as a writer, and “The Matrix.”

Videography Work

The Stars Come Out for ‘Obi-Wan Kenobi’ on the Star Wars Celebration Red Carpet – These are press line interviews conducted following the Lucasfilm Showcase at Star Wars Celebration for The Nerds of Color. Interviews conducted by Laura Sirikul, filmed by me, and edited by Keith Chow.

On the Red Carpet with the Stars of Mando+: ‘Ahsoka,’ ‘The Mandalorian,’ and ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ – Here is another crop of press line interviews done for The Nerds of Color at Star Wars Celebration, this time for the Mandalorian+ panel. Interviews conducted by Laura Sirikul, filmed by me, and edited by Keith Chow.

After Three Years… On My Radar

Three years ago, I started – well, at least attempted to start – a new segment where I would talk about stories that were presently on my radar in that moment. I hadn’t done it since then – which is weird, considering that quarantine happened between now and back then – but after a month of revealing back to back projects, I decided to return to it after all this time… and hopefully not go as long in between future listicles.

With that said, here is a novel I’m looking forward to reading later this month, as well as two films I’m looking forward to seeing (one of them I will see pretty soon):

Book Bans and Reconstructing a Book’s Role: Recommended Reading

Back in 2016, I wrote a blog post at the tail end of Banned Books Week, where I analyzed a list a books I saw in a bookstore that have been banned or, at least, challenged, over the years. I mention this as we see a rise in even more books being challenged or banned; several of them for reasons where if such bans are successfully, can lead to some dangerous, long-term consequences for the audiences for whom said books are being taken away from. Most notably in recent time, Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel, Maus, which centers on the author’s family’s experiences living through the Holocaust, was unanimously banned by a school board in Tennessee from its eighth grade curriculum.

Looking Back on “An Absolute Mind” 5 Years Later

Well… here we are. Two days from now will mark five years since the release of my second novel, An Absolute Mind. Half a decade has passed since I made this work of mine available to the world, and I continue to be astonished as to how relevant some of the themes and topics covered in the novel have and continue to become.

Sarah Dayan Mueller on “Home in a Hundred Places” and Writing During the Pandemic

I don’t do interviews in this neck of the Internet as often as I did during the first year of doing this blog. However, I occasionally make space to speak with a fellow writer on their own creative process. That’s what’s happening today, and what makes this interview really special is that it’s with someone who I interviewed on here before: Sarah Dayan Mueller.

7 Years of Lola By the Bay and 2020 Year in Review

A part of me has always found it perplexing that I chose to start up my website at the end of a year. I sometimes wonder, “Why not have waited one more week until you were in the new year before finally starting it?” Well, seven years later, I look back on that decision and I think it worked out, actually. I get to both acknowledge the formation of this constantly growing website and look back on the past year in one go… and… well…. needless to say, this is quite a year to look back on.