This is my personal blog! Here I talk about many things pop culture, including (but not limited to) comics, webcomics, movies, TV, and music! And of course, I'll talk about Callous!
To join a discussion, just click on the title of the blog post that interests you then you'll be directed to that post's page where comments and replies to that entry reside.
If you've somehow ended up here while looking for the Callous comic strip, just click on the "Home" link above!
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 29, 2014,
This Saturday, August 2, 2014, is Komikon's third grand independent komiks market, or more popularly known as Indieket 2014. It'll be at the Bayanihan Center once again, which is along Pioneer avenue in Pasig City, Philippines. The Indieket showcases up-and-coming talents in the local comic industry and top indies receive a free booth in an upcoming Komikon event, among other prizes. I'll be there at table E04! Highlights of my booth include all Callous comic books, M.O.U.S.E. Cha...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Monday, January 13, 2014,
The White Queen concept art by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD
It's been a while since we last saw Dr. Rianne Nicah as the Black Queen. To be honest, I thought "Heartstring Pizzicato" would be the last of the fantasy stories in Callous. With Callous appearing in the newspaper, I had to focus on producing gag-a-day strips. But when inspiration strikes it is hard to ignore! The tale of the rage-filled White Queen began to form in my head and I just had to bring this story to life. But there w...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Sunday, September 29, 2013,
I'm not a big anime follower. The only ones I ever got truly invested in were few and reasonably far between (Dragon Ball Z, Super Dimensional Fortress: Macross, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Macross Frontier, and Blade of the Immortal). I would hear about One Piece, Bleach, Naruto, and whanot but I just couldn't seem to get myself to give them a chance. For several months, the same was true about Attack on Titan. It took a lot of pushing and clamor from comic convention attendees passin...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Thursday, August 23, 2012,
Callous Comics ARTIST ALLEY - BOOTH F48
Yes, you read it right! Callous Comicsis 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 ...
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 Friday, July 22, 2011,
In :
Comics and Webcomics
Last July 19, 2011, several newspaper and independent comic artists and myself (representing webcomics) appeared in ABS-CBN's morning show Umagang Kay Ganda. The show wished to feature local comics (known as komiks) which have been undergoing a dramatic resurgence lately.
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, March 6, 2011,
In :
Art
Inspector Gadget
So what is it about this fit of nostalgia lately? Well, it all started with a new iPhone app called Inspector Gadget's MAD Dash! The game itself it frustratingly difficult but is filled with glorious bits and pieces of features that truly made me recall the good old days of watching the series on Saturday mornings in my younger years. I previously published my take on Penny and Brain from the cartoon. As for this drawing, I didn't change much. Gadget still has all hi...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Sunday, February 27, 2011,
In :
Art
Penny and Brain from Inspector Gadget
"Inspector Gadget... hoo hoo! Inspector Gadget... Go! Gadget, Go!" Man, I LOVE Inspector Gadget (the 80's animated series, not the live-action films) and I've recently been nostalgic about the old cartoon so I decided to draw Penny and Brain. From the inspired theme music to the delightful animation to the fantastic voice acting... there's very little to not love. For those who weren't exposed to this great series back in the day, Inspector Gadg...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Saturday, February 26, 2011,
In :
Art
Candace Flynn and Vanessa Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb
When I first encountered the show Phineas and Ferb on the Disney Channel a few years ago, I dismissed it as another abrasive, cheap, and annoying animated series with nothing but juvenile jokes. Then in the past year, since my son became old enough to appreciate the show, I became more exposed to it and was often "forced" to sit through it. Much to my delight, it was far more appealing than I originally assumed it to be! Nowad...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Saturday, February 12, 2011,
They say a hundred travel books aren't worth one real trip... or that it's about the trip, not the destination. My journey with the Philippine Men's National Football team began not too long ago (circa 2006, "long ago" is relative, I realize) though it has mostly been through television broadcasts of their matches (2007, 2010 AFF Cup, now called "Suzuki Cup", 2008 AFC Challenge Cup Qualifiers) and through the various internet forums that have come and gone. The team was already lovingl... 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:
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 ...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Tuesday, January 25, 2011,
Needless to say, today didn't start out like any other day. Just yesterday, I woke up and was surprised to find that I had lost my voice! Then, while in the long process of crawling toward being 100% awake (coffee was still brewing) my celphone rang! It was an unknown number and I contemplated for a few rings whether or not to answer it. After all, with no voice what could I do? But like many times I threw common sense out the window and answered the call anyway. I took a deep breat...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Tuesday, January 25, 2011,
In :
Art
Whoa! What a surprise! The fantastic Andrew Villar who does the comic strip Ambush sent me this brilliant drawing of his titular character bloodied and bruised with doctors Rianne Nicah and Aimee Queens tending to her wounds, seemingly in mid-battle too!
Ambush is published in the Manila Bulletin, the Philippines' largest broadsheet newspaper by circulation. You can follow Andrew on Twitter as @ambush007!
"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.
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Thursday, December 23, 2010,
I love December. This month, the humid heat of this little nook in the tropics I call my home gives way to a nice, cool breeze. Even as you walk down the street there seem to be a lot more happy faces than usual. It's a great time to be in my part of the world!
December, as you all know, is where the holiday season reaches the peak of it's soaring crescendo. You see, in the Philippines, the build-up toward Christmas begins in September. It's that big of a deal here and the festivities are... 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).
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Tuesday, September 7, 2010,
In :
Callous
I was faced with the task of redesigning Muscovy Duck after the events of The Land of the Guardians. Will I bring his old spikey hair back or keep his DBZ-style 'do? In the end, I supposed it would have been more feasible to have his last-seen features intact, including the clawed feet. I did, however, give him his flowered Guardian Duck T-shirt back. He's still in his green robe, only it is open and sans belt. I'm currently writing his return in a new storyline which includes bringing b... Continue reading ...
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's Keepers of the Maser - Ey...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Monday, May 10, 2010,
In :
Callous
I'll be the first to admit that considering the content of my comic series, Callous is not exactly the perfect name for it! The title has little to no relation to the comic series itself! Nevertheless, I stuck with it. Truth is, much like naming your dog something silly like, "Cat", over time it does become endearing.
In July of 1996, I was a fresh face in my university's student newspaper. I submitted my first comic strip as a new artist in the staff. That comic strip didn't make it to pr... Continue reading ...
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 ...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Saturday, April 17, 2010,
In :
Callous
Callous took a somewhat darker turn this week, but it was all in good fun! The Chronicles of Chaturanga story arc came into being one day while watching a fellow physician play online chess.
Online chess had been a running gag in Callous for quite some time. It had always been a real pain for Rianne because she could never seem to win a match.
Personally, there's nothing in the world that tires my mind more than a game of chess. I find it absolutely exhausting! So I gave it up early. But t... Continue reading ...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Thursday, April 8, 2010,
In :
Callous
The April 8, 2010 Callous comic strip, "New Kicks", was actually penciled several days prior to the actual publishing. The strip was delayed because I didn't feel the original story was appropriate for the series. Sure it may have been funnier but it ended up with Rianne having a really sad look on her face which was heartbreaking to look at!
I never really paid as much attention before to maintaining an overall theme to the series until this strip. Drawing Callous is a joy and I wanted tha... Continue reading ...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Tuesday, March 30, 2010,
In :
Comics and Webcomics
One of the narrative techniques I sometimes use is the "silent frame". This can be used for several purposes such as the passage of time, a jarring pause in thought, a contemplative moment, or even just a moment of silence.
I can't speak for other artists but when I choose to use such a frame it takes me quite a bit of planning to pull off properly.
Let's look at today's (March 30, 2010) comic strip, "Tomorrow", as an example. I wanted the third frame, which is silent, to depict quite a lot. ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Friday, March 26, 2010,
In :
Callous
I'm fairly new to the online comic scene. Although there have been Callous comic strips online since 1997 (Angelfire, Geocities, and Tripod were among the previous hosts), I hardly ever explored other comics in the internet at that time. Furthermore, it seems that online comics, or webcomics, have only truly flourished in the last few years or so with internet access and reasonable bandwidth becoming more accessible to the everyday person around the world. Paperless (digital) content is qu... Continue reading ...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Thursday, March 25, 2010,
In :
Comics and Webcomics
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 Sunday, February 28, 2010,
In :
Callous
I've said before that a lot of my comics are based on personal experiences. Sad to say, the above strips are no exception. Sure, I've put some humor into it and a lot of patients are gracious enough to not make a big deal out of it but I have encountered some who long for that one-on-one with their doctor.
I was still a medical student at the time when I encountered a similar situation. We were on rounds with a notoriously impersonal physician who walks into a patient's room, discusses his ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Tuesday, February 23, 2010,
In :
Callous
Introducing a new character in the Callous gang, Ree Saint John! Ree is an admitted kleptomaniac though an honest one. She often returns what she swipes almost immediately after the act. Otherwise she is a budding artist!
Ree debuts in the Callous comic strip on February 24, 2010!
The Chanceborough News reports Callous-related news, announcements, and events!
Calvin Innes, the artist and animator who co-wrote the Callous comic strip, "Woodchuck Philosophy", gave a nice feature for the series in his blog! Check it out here! http://www.calvininnes.com/blog/?p=808
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Monday, January 11, 2010,
In :
Callous
Talk about things I never thought I'd talk about on a blog... First things first... I've been asked before why the main protagonist of Callous is a girl (considering I am a guy). My usual response is, why not? Does it make a difference whether my main character is male or female? The point is Rianne may be female but really, it doesn't matter. She has the same problems, thinks the same way, and goes through life's struggles like any other person, medically-trained or not.
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Friday, January 8, 2010,
In :
Comics and Webcomics
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 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 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.
Welcome to the Callous Blog!
I'm not a big anime follower. The only ones I ever got truly invested in were few and reasonably far between (Dragon Ball Z, Super Dimensional Fortress: Macross, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Macross Frontier, and Blade of the Immortal). I would hear about One Piece, Bleach, Naruto, and whanot but I just couldn't seem to get myself to give them a chance.
Talk about things I never thought I'd talk about on a blog...
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. 
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.