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 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 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 ...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Monday, May 28, 2012,
My spot at the Independent Komiks Tiangge
"Oh my! A BEL BEAN figurine!" That was the delightful exclamation of a regular reader as he spotted the figurines made by Rommel Estanislao displayed on my table. Another fan adored the duckling plushie I recently purchased from a bargain bin and instantly knew it was supposed to be Ling Duck! It was a wonderful feeling to see secondary characters like Bel and Master Ling get as much, if not more, love than Rianne and Cal Duck. And those we...
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...
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, September 18, 2011,
In :
Callous
Storylines, it seems, are never finished, they escape! Featuring the "On Lighter Dreams" Special Edition! You may have noticed that the "On Lighter Dreams" storyline recently ended a bit abruptly. Unfortunately, time and daily energy demands are not on the side of Callous Comics recently, and I had to decrease my comic output per week from seven to three (and then two towards the end of September 2011). I did not want to do this while in mid-storyline, so I heavily edited the latter...
Posted by Carlo Jose San Juan, MD on Tuesday, September 13, 2011,
On September 10-11, 2011, the first official DigiCon took place. Upon hearing of this event I already felt the daunting task of co-organizers Ryan Fisher and Casey Curtis. It was a great idea, having a comic con on the worldwide web. It eliminated many obstacles a lot of comic fans had to face with such events. Location was no longer an issue! I'm sure many of us had thought of the value of such a gathering but here are a couple of people who actually went ahead and did it. And how ...
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 / Comics
One 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, April 20, 2011,
Callous Comics and Webcomics: What's Cooking? at Summer Komikon 2011 (Photo by Tepai Pascual)
The 2011 Summer Komikon is done! My second comic con (behind a table, that is) was a good one and Callous Comics did reasonably well considering I was essentially only selling one book. Overall, this has been the most "chill" comic con I've ever been to, in more ways than one. To me, that's a great thing!
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...
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, 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...
"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 Monday, November 22, 2010,
In :
Art
In a recent episode of Star Wars: The Clone Wars (entitled "Heroes on Both Sides"), Lucasfilm unveiled some new CGI character models of some key characters. Most notable of which, at least in my opinion, was Ahsoka Tano who appeared to have aged somewhat and now exudes a more mature aura about her. Ahsoka by far is my favorite character in Star Wars: The Clone Wars not only due to the mystery of her eventual fate (because of the feature films, we pretty much know what happens to most of the... 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.
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 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 ...
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...
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 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, 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 Saturday, January 16, 2010,
I delved into animation before. I did several stop-motion cartoons in high school but never actually drew for animation. One day, I decided to see if I could do it. So far, it seems I "sort of" can!
There's no Callous animated special or anything coming up, though I would definitely seize such an opportunity! However, I know I'm not the kind of guy who could pull off something like that on my own. Perhaps there's a film student out there interested? Some future Phil Roman or Bill Melende... Continue reading ...
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.
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...
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.