Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Saturday, May 9, 2020,
Update: Deadline has been moved to August 30, 2020!
Hey everyone!
I hope you're all staying safe and healthy!
August 7, 2020 will be the 24th anniversary of
Callous and I'd like to celebrate this milestone by once again opening up for guest art and artist promotion! But this time, we'll do something a bit more fun and perhaps help someone in need.
If you're interested, you'll be making the middle panel of a three-panel comic strip! Following the guidelines below, you can pretty much do whatever y...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Tuesday, July 9, 2013,
As many of you know, August 7th is the day the first-ever
Callous comic strip was published way back in 1996. That makes August 7, 2013 the 17th anniversary of the series!
This past year in particular, with its ups and downs, was the most significant of the comic's history. First, I made the jump across the seas to join the artist alley of a convention outside my own country at STGCC 2012, the
Singapore Toy, Game, and Comic Convention (
Facebook Page)! It was a great experience and o...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Thursday, August 23, 2012,
Callous Comics
ARTIST ALLEY - BOOTH F48 Yes, you read it right!
Callous Comics is going to Singapore!
This is the first time I'll be appearing outside my own country in a convention, so I'm really excited! I have no idea what to expect as I haven't even attended STGCC before. Braving the world, indeed!
It's also quite heartening to discover that many of my friends from
the Philippine comic community will be there as well. So be sure to pass by my booth (F48) and that of the incred...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Sunday, August 19, 2012,
The August 19, 2012 issue of
Manila Bulletin and its first published
Callous comic strip!
I have a sort of superstition that if I divulge too much of what I'm working on, particularly things that really matter to me, it will probably not succeed. Indeed, I had been pushing for
Callous Comics to be in the newspapers for some time now but had kept really quiet about it.
For those not in the know, the
Manila Bulletin is the Philippines' largest broadsheet newspaper by circulation. It's t...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Monday, July 16, 2012,
Rock on! (Photo by Kit Perez)
I've
mentioned before how brilliant the
Indieket was as a proposed event. After the fact I realized how much of an understatement that was!
Within the independent komiks community, the Indieket (short for
Komikon's Grand Independent Komiks Market) was one big contest of sorts. Most of the participants were vying for the limited free spots in the independent comics area of Komikon's main comic conventions. The top ten highest-earning comic groups would ge...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Wednesday, July 11, 2012,
Callous Comics is part of another first and an exciting one at that! This Saturday, July 14, 2012, the first-ever
Komikon Indieket will take place in the
Bayanihan Center in Pasig City.
You can find
Callous Comics at table I15 along with Komikon 2011 Webcomic Readers' Choice awardee
Work in Progress (WIPComics) and the incredible folks of Happy Lockjaw who bring with them their book,
Drop Dead Dangerous!
Just this week, the good folks that bring us
Komikon announced a
new event that's, surprisingly, coming up really really fast! That event is the
First Komikon Grand Independent Komiks Market, or "Indieket", for short. It'll be on
July 14, 2012 in
Hall A of the
Bayanihan Center, Unilab Center, in Pasig City from
10am – 7pm. For more information about the event, check out
the announcement at the Komikon website!
Much has been said regarding the role of the independent comic scene in...
Continue reading ...
Hey everyone!
It's summertime once again here in the Philippines and the premier comic event of the season is just around the corner! On May 26, 2012, all roads of fantasy, adventure, humor, and superheroic excitement lead to the
Bayanihan Center in Pasig City! Here comes
Summer Komikon 2012!
Once again,
Callous Comics will be at the independent comics area, known in
Komikon events as the
Indie Komiks Tiangge (
see the other indie comic creators in the area)! Here's what's in store fo...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Tuesday, January 31, 2012,
Hello everyone! I just thought I'd give an update on things.
First of all, my break from comics that started last October 2011 is over. I realize I never got into the details of why I had to go on break. Although the nature of my comic does deal with my other, more demanding profession, I do try to keep the two worlds apart, hence my reluctance to divulge such information. I will say, however, that I did have to focus on an important task when it comes to my being a doctor, and it h...
Nothing. Nothing could have prepared me for the visceral Komikon crowd. Even after going through the insanity that was
Komikon 2010 as an attendee, I was absolutely astounded by the awesomeness of Komikon 2011 from behind the table!
Still early. People setting up their tables.
I arrived in my usual early time for the ingress. I was already quite excited due to my fond memories of
Summer Komikon 2011. Once I had my table all set up, I roamed around the convention hall before the even...
Hey everyone! Early this year I anticipated that this blog post would have to be done toward the end of 2011. Unfortunately, it has to come earlier than I originally thought. So, it is with a heavy heart that I announce that I have to go on yet another break from producing Callous Comics until mid-January 2012.
It's sad because the end of any year is a great time to be making comics and to be involved in comic-related things. However, due to non-comic matters it is necessary to ste...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Sunday, November 6, 2011,
I'm a relative newbie when it comes to the cosplaying culture. However, last October 22nd, 2011, I was immersed in it more than I have ever been in the past. The first-ever Games Toys Manga Anime Cosplay Comics Convention (GTMACCON, pronounced "jee-tee-mah-con") event decided to do something different and feature a cosplaying competition that showcased only indie comic characters created by Filipino artists.
I admired the vision of GTMACCON founder Kit Perez and Andrew Villar of Ambu...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Sunday, July 17, 2011,
In :
Callous
Last Saturday, July 16, 2011, Baguio City held its first ever Comic Convention (at least to my knowledge) and
Callous Comics and I were more than happy to participate!
The whole event was spearheaded by
Gerald "Majic" Asbucan, a local Cordilleran artist who
recently made waves in the Filipino independent comic scene with his work on
Big Fat Ben. He has hopes of reinvigorating the interest in comic books in pretty much the whole mountain province and several artists, myself included, ...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Sunday, May 15, 2011,
In :
Callous
On August 7, 2011, it will be
fifteen years since the publishing of the first
Callous comic strip! The series has had a long and wonderful
history yet, truly, it's all just beginning!
Nevertheless, fifteen years is a significant milestone and I'd like all of you to join
Callous Comics in celebrating it! Here are what I have planned:
Open for Guest Art / ComicsOne of the features of the
Callous Comics website is the
Guest Art / Comics page. I've been extremely blessed to receive great contrib...
Continue reading ...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Monday, May 9, 2011,
My experience with Metro Comic Con in 2010 was so overwhelmingly positive that I absolutely had to take part in MCC again in 2011. I had
far more material this time for con-goers to enjoy so I was pretty excited!
Once again, like last year, I was the first among the artists in the
Indie GO! Valley to arrive. This was the area for Independent comic creators such as myself to set up shop for the convention. The indie tables were located this year in the venue's periphery, albeit right...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Wednesday, May 4, 2011,
Summer Komikon 2011 is coming up fast! This would only be my second comic convention appearance (behind a table, at least) and I'm thankful to say that I'm at least not as blind in my preparations as I was prior to my first 'con. Nevertheless, my excitement has escalated quite significantly after this morning's exhibitor meeting.
This year, the event has been given the alternative name,
2011 Komikon Summer Bayanihan. A "bayanihan", originally, was a term given to the Filipino commun...
Hey everyone!
Got some
Callous Comics news!
Callous - The Comic Series: Chocolate Chip Wishes and Caffeine Dreams is now available in the following comic book stores:
- Comic Odyssey - 3rd Level, Robinson's Galleria, EDSA cor. Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City, Metro Manila, Philippines
- Planet X Comic Shop - Level III, Glorietta 4, Ayala Center, Makati City, Philippines
And I'll be at the following comic conventions:
1)
Komikon Summer Bayanihan 2011 - April 16, 2011, Bayanihan Center, Pasig City
2)
Metro Co... Continue reading ...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Friday, February 11, 2011,
As you can see on the main navigation bar, there's a page under construction for the store! However, I'm having problems figuring out the shipping of the items that will be on sale there, so for now I'll be selling
Callous Comics books and merchandise via PayPal e-mail invoice until things become more streamlined. Look at the items for sale below then
send me an e-mail by clicking HERE (
caz@callouscomics.com) with the following information:
- Name
- Delivery Address (Please write exactly as i...
Continue reading ...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Tuesday, February 8, 2011,
In :
Callous
Callous Comics and I were featured in
Episode 149 of the
Two Guys Talking Webcomics podcast hosted by Kurt Sasso. This episode also featured guest co-host Liz Staley of the mecha comic
Adrastus! You can listen to the podcast either on the episode's page on the
TGT Webcomics website, through the
show's page on Talkshoe, or by subscribing to the series on
iTunes.
It was a grand old time as usual on TGT! Give the episode a listen and check out the rest of the podcast's episodes and disc...
Continue reading ...
Celebrate the big FIFTEEN: One of the features of the
Callous Comics website is the
Guest Art/Comics page. I've been extremely blessed to receive great entries from some of the most fantastic comic creators and artists!
I usually put out the call for guest work when I'm expecting down time from producing comics but this year is different. As you might know,
Callous Comics is celebrating it's fifteenth anniversary on August 7, 2011! To help celebrate this grand occasion, I'll be opening the ...
"Feeding the Doves" exhibit poster (left) and Callous: Chocolate Chip Wishes and Caffeine Dreams cover (right)On January 17, 2011, there will be an exhibit in the Philippine Heart Center lobby where Dr. Orestes Monzon will be showing his fantastic photographs next to painted interpretations/reimaginations of them by the amazing Angelito "Jo" Fernando. It's sure to be an exciting and interesting display of different expressions of the same subject.
Furthermore, I'll be there to sign and sell c...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Sunday, January 9, 2011,
Hey everyone! Happy New Year!
Well, it's January 10, 2011 and my break from the production of the
Callous comic strip has ended. That's right, we're back to daily comic strips! Hooray!
Thank you so much to the wonderful guest artists who have graced the web pages of the
Callous Comics website to fill in the gaps during my break. Here they are and their respective comic strip contributions!
Dustin Reese (
2)
Jess WarrenPilar Nenita P. EsberSteve BruteKatherine CurtisDag NygaardThorneErnest John ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Thursday, December 16, 2010,
In :
Art
I made this sketch last September because I had hoped to offer it to
Ambush's creator in person. However, such an opportunity hasn't arrived so I figured I'd post it here. :)
Anyways, this is a drawing of mine featuring Amber, the heroine of a popular local comic strip series called
Ambush. I stylized her a bit, giving her different sunglasses and all. I don't draw guns very often hence the ridiculous looking pistol. Still, the comic is a fun romp through various action-filled adventures a...
Continue reading ...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Monday, November 29, 2010,
In :
Callous
The great Rommel Estanislao, Philippine indie comic star and brilliant sculptor, was gracious enough to make this fantastic Cal Duck pendant for me! Isn't it AWESOME?! Thanks Sir Omeng!
Before you ask me if I'm planning to mass produce these... not just yet. I don't feel that there's enough demand to invest in such an endeavor yet. But I may commission him to do full bodied figures of Rianne and Cal one day (when I can afford him).
Check out more of his work at his
Deviantart page and
Multip... Continue reading ...
Earlier this year I sat behind a table at the
2010 Metro Comic Con. That was my first comic con whether as an artist or as a fan and it was an absolutely wonderful experience. The one problem with being behind a table is, well, being behind it during the whole event. I didn't get to walk around as much as I wanted to. Nevertheless, it opened my eyes to the wealth of talent in the local indie comic scene.
Last weekend, the much-awaited
Komikon 2010 took place. As much as I wanted to partic...
Continue reading ...
Comics update schedule:
As the year is fast approaching its end, my need to concentrate on non-comic matters have increased. So with great reluctance, I have to put
Callous on yet another break. From September 23, 2010 until October 17, 2010 I cannot produce any new
Callous comics. Then from October 18, 2010 until October 31, 2010, I'll be updating twice a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays). Then from November 1, 2010 until January 9, 2011, I'll be updating only once a week (probably Sundays). ...
Continue reading ...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Monday, August 30, 2010,
Early 2010 while my fellow webcomic creators were having a grand time in comic cons around the world, I felt a twinge of jealousy. At the time, however, I felt Callous was not ready for a comic con debut especially in my home country where it was practically non-existent in the local narrative illustration scene.
When Callous began its daily run in August 2009 after thirteen years of on and off publishing in various print and online carriers, I did the cookie-cutter motions of online comic pr...
Through
Twitter, I learned about
International Read Comics in Public Day through a tweet from Hub Pacheco, the writer of the delightfully entertaining
Work in Progress webcomic. What the hey, I decided to participate.
The concept was simple enough. It started with a fella who felt embarrassed about reading comics in public. He decided to change that and invited the rest of the comic reading world to join him.
At the hospital cafeteria, reading Massimiliano Frezzato'sKeepers of the Maser - Ey...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Wednesday, May 5, 2010,
In :
Callous
When I was
interviewed for a national newspaper regarding
Callous I was asked if I considered my work as a cartoonist as a form of stress-relief. I didn't really know it then, since I felt relatively "stress-free", but since I enjoyed what I was doing I figured it helped.
Oh, how little I knew.
Now after only A DAY of not drawing comics I feel the full weight of what I do on my day job and I can hardly believe I managed to get by during years of putting cartooning on hold when I was starting o...
Continue reading ...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Sunday, May 2, 2010,
In :
Callous
I'm in a bit of a bind when it comes to
Callous for the month of May 2010 until June 11, 2010. During this time I'll be undergoing a portion of my specialization training in a different hospital from where I usually work in. Unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to work on the comic strip while rotating there so I've reluctantly decided to reduce my comic output to
one a week. These will be the Sunday comics.
I realize that this comes in pretty short notice (I've been trying to figure ou...
Continue reading ...
I do have another blog apart from this one called, "
We All Need A Philosophy" which started as an editorial column in my medical school student paper,
Medyaryo (another paper where
Callous used to be published in print). It jumped around different servers a lot since 2002 and it was an outlet for my voracious and intense introspection at the time. I hadn't heard of the term "blog" back then and it served as an online diary of my musings on life. Its current home is hopefully its permanent ...
Continue reading ...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Monday, March 15, 2010,
In :
Callous
From the start of this week-long break,
Callous will be open for guest comics for display on the website! Even when the series kicks off again on March 22, I'm willing to showcase these comics alongside my own. If you're interested, read on!
Guest material is not restricted to comic strips! You may submit artwork depicting characters or situations from the
Callous comic strip and/or anything inspired by the series.
Only G-rated material will be accepted for display on the website. PG-rated ar...
Continue reading ...
So, which is more important in a comic strip, the writing or the art?
The correct answer, of course, is that they are both important.
Nevertheless, everyone's got an opinion about it, including me. Since
I do both in
Callous, let's take a look at what I believe they each deliver to an overall comic strip. By the way, in no way do I consider myself an authority on the matter, so just take the following as an opinion and nothing more.
THE ART - The skill needed by any comic strip artist...
Continue reading ...
The Chanceborough News reports Callous
-related news, announcements, and events!I did a gift comic strip for Sheryl Schopfer's "
Deer Me" comic and she liked it enough to post it on her site's front page! Check it out
here!
Caz
Continue reading ...
The Chanceborough News reports Callous
-related news, announcements, and events!I participated in the
Webcomic Secret Santa Exchange for 2009 as a Safety Net Volunteer. I drew a gift comic strip for Johnny Lin's endearing series "
Orbit", which grew on me pretty quick! Click on the links to see more!
Caz
Continue reading ...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Monday, January 4, 2010,
In :
Callous
Yeah, I have several other blogs, but in this one I will talk about the art, writing, and overall production of the
Callous comic strip series and online comics in general. For now I'll be working on the basic infrastructure of this blog's site then I'll start writing more uninteresting stuff.
Oh wait, you're interested?! Great! See you soon!
Caz
Continue reading ...
Welcome to the Callous Blog!
Caz is a practicing licensed physician, professional voice actor/talent, writer, and cartoonist. He has been working on the Callous comic strip since 1996, winning several of The LaSallian's Silver Quill awards for his work. He has written several published short stories.
He currently lives in the Philippines with his wife and two children.