ARNOLD ARRE Filipino Fantasy Artist

The Mythology Class Mobile Lockscreens

Comics, Free Downloads

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Here are new The Mythology Class lockscreens for 2021! Enjoy!

the mythology class lockscreens

4. Mga Tambay – download
5. Pitik-balang – download

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The Mythology Class Mobile Wallpapers

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Here are lockscreen wallpapers for your mobile phones, absolutely free. Features characters from The Mythology Class and The Children of Bathala, Download links are below. Enjoy!

  1. Himig – download
  2. Yugto – download
  3. Indak – download

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After Eden 2016 Edition — Out in April 16

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Hi guys! As mentioned in the previous post, the 2016 edition of my graphic novel After Eden will be launched at Komikon 2016 on April 16, Saturday, from 9am-7pm at the Bayanihan Center in Pasig. If you’ve read the original that came out in 2002, you’ll find this issue to be a little different — there are a few scenes that I deleted to give way to new plot points. It also has a brand new cover:

After Eden by Arnold Arre

I also thought that the title logo could use some updating so I commissioned talented young calligrapher and designer Patrick Cabral for the beautiful redesign.

Other than that, I kept the essence of the story close to the original, just slightly tailored to this new literary landscape we’re in. :) For more information, please check out the After Eden section.



Hope you can check it out! Look for it in the Nautilus Comics booth. If you can’t wait til the Komikon, you may preorder the book until April  through Chamber Shell Publishing or via the “buy now” button above.

Social media links:
Facebook — After Eden by Arnold Arre
Instagram — @afteredengraphicnovel.

You can also check out images with the hashtag #AfterEdenbyArnoldArre

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After Eden 2016 Reprint — Coming in April

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after-eden-komikon

Hi guys! Just wanted you to know that my 2002 graphic novel After Eden is finally getting a reprint! To be published by Nautilus Comics, the 2016 edition will have a new look (which I can’t reveal yet) and will be launched at the Summer Komikon on April 16at the Bayanihan Center in Pasig. Please stay tuned for updates on these sites:

Facebook — After Eden by Arnold Arre

Instagram — @afteredengraphicnovel.

You can also check out images with the hashtag #AfterEdenbyArnoldArre

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Halina Filipina book launch & signing on October 3 2015 at the Komiket

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My new graphic novel Halina Filipina — my first title since Martial Law Babies was released in 2008 — will have a launch and signing event at the Komiket on October 3, 2015 at Elements # Centris in Quezon City, thanks to  Nautilus Comics. You can purchase a copy at the event for a special introductory price of P350.00 (regular price is P395.00).

Halina Filipina graphi

Halina Mitchell is a half-Filipino half-American New Yorker who visits the Philippines for the first time to meet her relatives. Here she also encounters Cris, a struggling film critic whose passionate loathing for bad local movies reflects his views of modern Filipino society.

Coming from completely different worlds, the two eventually learn from each other. Through Cris, Halina gets a quick course on Manila life, from driving through midnight traffic to listening to the Eraserheads, while she helps him gain a newfound appreciation of living in his own country.

From National Book Award-winning author Arnold Arre, creator of The Mythology Class, Martial Law Babies, After Eden, Ang Mundo ni Andong Agimat, and Trip to Tagaytay comes Halina Filipina, a story about friendship, understanding, and love; about finding one’s identity and experiencing the joy of finally having a place to belong.

Mature readers | 200 pages, black & white | English and Tagalog

Visit Halina Filipina on Facebook for further updates: https://www.facebook.com/HalinaFilipina

Directions to Elements @ Centris —

Here’s another short excerpt from the book.

sample-page-1sample-page-2

Hope to see you guys at the Komiket!

 

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Preview pages from my new graphic novel “Halina Filipina”

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I guess it’s time to announce that I am working on a new graphic novel and it’s called “Halina Filipina,” to be released later this year under Nautilus Comics.

Halina Filipina graphic novel Arnold Arre

Technically it’s not really “new” since I began writing and drawing it way back in 2002. The story revolves around Halina, a Filipino-American girl who comes to the Philippines for a visit. Here, she meets a guy named Cris and with some help from him rediscovers her roots… That’s all I can say for now. :)

Some of you guys may already be familiar with “Halina Filipina” since Esquire Magazine gave an exclusive preview of a few pages in 2012. Early this year I decided to continue developing the story and I’m glad to say that it’s officially going to be my next graphic novel after “Martial Law Babies.”

Here is a 7-page preview Enjoy!

Halina Filipina by Arnold Arre

Halina-Filipina-preview-2

Halina-Filipina-preview-3

Halina-Filipina-preview-4

Halina-Filipina-preview-5

Halina-Filipina-preview-6

Halina-Filipina-preview-7

You can reserve your copy by emailing preorders@nautiluscomics.net

Also check out the hashtag “#HalinaFilipina” on Instagram for more scene previews. :)

Excerpt from “Halina Filipina,” a graphic novel by Arnold Arre
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without express written permission.
Copyright © 2015 Arnold Arre | www.arnold-arre.com
Featuring “Torpedo” by the Eraserheads. Lyrics used with permission from Ely Buendia

Thank you Ely, Raymund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala, and Marcus Adoro for your music.

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Milkyboy at the Winter Film Awards and some updates

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Hi guys, just a few updates —

My animated short film Milkyboy is an Official Selection at the 2014 Winter Film Awards which will be held in New York City from Feb. 25-28.

winter-film-awards

I’m also working on several projects, one of which is another animated short. Here’s a quick clip:

A video posted by Arnold Arre (@arnoldarre) on

You can also now find me on Instagram if you’d like to see what I’m working on these days.

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The Mythology Class (2014 Edition) – Now Available

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I’m very happy to announce that my graphic novel, “The Mythology Class” is FINALLY back in print. (If you were at the Komikon last weekend though, you already know about this. Thanks to everyone who came by the booth. :))

I’m very, very grateful to Nautilus Comics for their interest and willingness to publish reprints of my books (“Trip to Tagaytay” was also reprinted earlier this year) and I’m only all too glad that a whole new generation will be able to read them.

By the way I’d like to share this interesting story. My good friend and publisher Jamie Bautista of Nautilus (author of “Cast Comics” and “Private Iris” among others) actually e-mailed me as far back as 2002 or thereabouts and asked if I would be willing to let him reprint Myth Class which, back then, hadn’t been published as a collected edition yet. At the time I had already committed the title to Adarna’s Anino Comics so I had to decline his generous offer. A decade, a Bucheon Korea Comic Convention trip together, and many comic collaborations later, I’m very happy that Mythology Class has found a new home with Jamie, his wife Iyay, and Nautilus Comics. :D

The three new covers:

The Mythology Class graphic novel

* Cover #1 (Tala) is a special events-only cover so you’ll be able to purchase it in events like comic conventions and signings.
* Cover #2 (Nicole and Kubin) is a comic book store exclusive cover and will not be available in events.
* Cover #3 (The Orrery) will be available in events and comic book stores.
However, you can order any cover directly through Nautilus Comics’ Jamie Bautista. E-mail him at jamiebautista at gmail dot com or message him through Facebook.

As of this writing, the book is now available in Comic Quest Megamall and Filbars Megamall (along with my other books “Trip to Tagaytay” and “Martial Law Babies”). It will soon be available in other branches and in other bookstores.

***

A few of my favorite scenes.

This scene with Nicole and the class meeting Lusyo, a Tikbalang, for the very first time was the very first page I drew, September 1997.

the mythology class comics tikbalang

“The Chase”: A raving mad tikbalang runs after Lisa and Bob down South Superhighway. (1999):

tikbalang chase the mythology class graphic novel

And this is a digital painting of the tikbalang chase scene for The Mythology Class’ new edition (November 2014):

tikbalang chase the mythology class 2014

I video-capped my drawing / painting process and you can watch it here:

 

***

And now that it’s available again, I hope you guys enjoy the book!

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Notes on “Lakas ng Lahi,” an animated short film

Animation, Musings

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My friend and colleague, writer and U.P. Professor Emil Flores, and I have always enjoyed watching and talking about action movies. We’re both frustrated with the fact that VERY FEW Filipino movies are showcasing Filipino martial arts like arnis and eskrima. Since I was already doing animation, I thought it would be fun to make a film to showcase these fighting techniques.

I called up Emil one night in October 2013 to ask if he wanted to collaborate on a fantasy / action / adventure story. At first we dubbed it “the Katipunero project” because the story initially involved Katipuneros. It evolved into a group of Filipino martial arts fighters who travel to the past to fight in the Filipino revolution.

lakas ng lahi storyboards

Later, we decided to set the story in present day Manila and just make them vigilantes who are keen on arnis and eskrima. Finally, we settled on the characters being Katipunero warriors who are brought to the present to fight crime using age-old fighting techniques and weapons.

I’m very honored to have worked on this story with Emil and here he is to tell you more about how the project came together.

***
I’ve always loved action movies. Martial arts movies are particularly fascinating for me because a fighting style can reflect the culture that developed it. I think that martial arts movies are good vehicles for cultural exchange and even cultural pride. I love movies like Heroes of the East that showcase styles from different cultures namely China and Japan. In a film conference I attended in Singapore, a scholar from Thailand included Ong Bak in his discussion of nationalism in Thai films. Indeed, that particular film put Muay Thai on the global entertainment map. Then The Raid showcased Indonesian Silat to the global audience to rave reviews.

The Filipino martial arts have been proven to be effective combat systems and have been successfully portrayed in Hollywood movies like the Bourne series and even 300. But that’s precisely what I find baffling. Why are Hollywood movies showcasing Filipino martial arts and not FILIPINO movies? I can bring in a host of colonial and postcolonial discussion here about our relationship with the US. But I won’t.

Instead, I’ll just say that as a fan of animation and anime, I am tremendously excited that Arnold Arre is doing an animated series that features Filipino martial arts! I’m also grateful that he invited me to work on the project with him.

lakas ng lahi concept art

Arnold had the premise of three warriors from the 19th Century. He showed me his character designs for three fighters, and I figured they should represent three types of Filipino martial arts: pre-Hispanic, Hispanic influenced and Chinese influenced. These styles are represented by the characters’ weapons. The styles and weapons in turn, define their character backgrounds. The leader uses a kampilan, a sword identified as a weapon used by chieftains. This defines him as the leader and as a man who has lost his noble line due to the Spanish invasion. He sees the revolution as a battle not just for freedom but also for his ancestors’ honor. The female character, a Spanish mestiza, uses Spanish daggers. She has the invader’s blood in her veins but she forsook her privileged status to join the revolution. The third character uses a rope dart as he is a Chinese immigrant to the Philippines who, while keeping his own culture, still identifies himself as a Filipino as he also joins the revolution. All three now find themselves fighting a different war, a more ambiguous war, perhaps, in present day Manila.

I hope that this series will not just showcase great action and entertainment but also remind us of the warriors of the past who fought for our country and who continue to inspire us to appreciate our own culture and history.

(Emil Flores, May 28, 2014)

***
And now, just in time for Independence Day 2014, here it is:

Lakas ng Lahi (“Blood Compact”) – Filipino Animated Short Film from Arnold Arre on Vimeo.

Sila ang mga matang mulat sa marahas na pang-uusig. Sila ang patuloy na sumasaksi at lumalaban sa pawang paraang kanilang kinagisnan: Pakikipagdigmaan.

Lakas ng Lahi
(English title: Blood Compact)
Directed & Animated by Arnold Arre
Written by Emil Flores
Story by Arnold Arre & Emil Flores
Music composed by Cynthia Arre / arranged by Arnold Arre
Opening text Filipino translation by Neva Kares Talladen

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Rodski Patotski: Ang Dalagang Baby – Collaboration with Gerry Alanguilan

Animation, Comics

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Rodski Patotski: Ang Dalagang Baby

It’s been 2 months since the release of “Rodski Patotski: Ang Dalagang Baby” at the Summer Komikon and the feedback has been absolutely amazing! Thank you guys for all your support.

I am honored to have worked on this book with my friend and colleague, award-winning comic book artist Gerry Alanguilan, who I’ve had the pleasure of working with on “Lastikman” and “Darna Lives” before.  The last time I worked on a comic was 6 years ago, after which I started dabbling in film making and, later on, animation. I have to say that it was fun working on a comic again and Rodski and Gerry had a lot to do with that. :)

To know more about how this project came about, I’ve reprinted my afterword below:

I first met Rodski Patotski that one evening in Cubao after watching a short film which, incidentally Gerry starred in. (He played a drunkard who manages a brothel — a complete opposite of the nice guy that he is). Gerry, whom I’ve known since the early 90s and have had the pleasure of collaborating with on “Lastikman” and “Darna Lives”, told me all about this new story concept that he was thinking of having me draw for. It was going to be about a “dalagang isip baby”, he said, and of course it piqued my interest. A female Bondying, so to speak. How could I resist? Bondying is one of those stories we’ve known as kids and who else but Gerry could take it up a notch? Teasing and testing our imagination. Something he’s been known to do since he released “Wasted”: a remarkable book wherein, while reading, I always imagined the artist/writer wearing a Chesire Cat-like grin amid all the violence, blood, and gore.

[caption id="attachment_906" align="alignnone" width="550"]rodski-initial-sketch The very first sketch of Rodski Patotski (August 3, 2012)[/caption]

A year later, Gerry sent me the first chapter. I couldn’t work on it right away since I was busy with other commitments but I did send an early sketch of how I imagined Rodski, a female adult child, complete with hair in a high ponytail and lollipop in mouth — which pretty much looks like what you see in the book. So began this wonderful collaboration with a fellow artist whose creative mind I can’t seem to get enough of . Once I received all of Gerry’s scripts, the book was completed in under three months, proof that it’s quite a page turner even for me since I couldn’t wait to see what will happen next. I have to say, Gerry made those three months absolutely fun.

Rodski Patotski - Ang Dalagang Baby

“Rodski Patotski: Ang Dalagang Baby” is a heart-tugging, feel-good, fun book, the kind that will make you smile when you wake up. Or it could also be an exciting science-fiction-action-adventure-romance story, depending on your mood. While working on it, I couldn’t help but wonder how different “Rodski…” is from “Wasted”. One is a colorful tale about family and friends helping each other in the face of adversity, and the other, an edgy black and white graphic novel about a man who will shoot anyone who pisses him off. But now that I think about it. maybe “Rodski…” and “Wasted” are somewhat related, or at least the two books represent Rodski’s mind.

Rodski Patotski, after all, is a cute and innocent pistachio ice cream-loving girl who holds a teddy bear in one hand, and an XM25 grenade launcher in the other.

Arnold Arre
Quezon City
March 31. 2014

On that note, I will leave you with this Rodski animated ad that I made for the Summer Komikon launch. Enjoy!

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