A Good Farewell Message

Bambi Eloriaga, Questor's editor-in-chief has just sent me a copy of her coming editorial on Questor magazine... and it really touched me. I don't remember the first time we talked but I sure remember why I didn't initiate a conversation. One day, while browsing through the files on our server, I saw a folder named "Bambi's Lesbo Files"... and that came as a shock to me. So me, being the homophobe that I am, tried to stay as far as possible from her. Turns out it was just a prank. Hehehe! But the contents were damn good! Heh! Anyway, since I've recently submitted my resignation, I now have the priviledge of having a sort of "tribute" and this one had me looking for a tissue. It's nice to be remembered, but the best to have those memories together. So here's a copy of Bambi's editorial, to Bambi, my boss, my writer, my big sister... Thank you! Those were memorable years...

Every once in a while, a writer meets an artist who knows exactly what the writer wants to come across to readers. Thus, great partnerships are born. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Neil Gaiman and Yoshitaka Amano. JRR Tolkien and John Howe and Alan Lee.

Me and Jennyson Rosero… Riiight… We wish! Not that we can even compare to how good those people are / were, it's just that in retrospect, this is how I'd like to regard my working relationship with Jens.

Of course, the fact that we have a lot of common interests helped in keeping professional disagreements to a minimum. But Jens and I didn't always see eye to eye. When I first started working for Questor, I didn't have much of an impression of Jens. Mostly because we didn't talk much. Okay, okay, we didn't talk at all. Honestly speaking, I didn't see much need to strike up a conversation with a guy who all I ever saw doing was sketch, sketch, and sketch some more with his face almost kissing the drawing table. ^ ^;

Quite serendipitously, he brought to the office one day, a Dave Matthews Live CD. For me, it was impetus enough to start having more decent conversations beyond your usual hi's and hello's since I also liked Dave Matthews and even asked if I could burn me a copy. Over the next few days, we discovered that not only did we have similar tastes in music, but we also liked the same movies and even the same food. Even the same quirks in eating food! Unlike Managing Ed Igor who sometimes mixes everything in one bowl, Jens and I don't like the rice to touch the ulam to touch the sawsawan to touch the sidings to touch the sabaw.

He became like a little brother to me, only better since we could talk about anything and everything. And I do mean everything. Even down to the nitty-gritty, often sordid, details which one doesn't really need to know in the first place. *nervous laughter*

But as the old adage goes, all good things (even partnerships) must come to an end. And so it is with genuine sadness that I must announce that the "tungaw" will no longer be part of Q's regular staff. But don't despair guys, he promises he is still readily (and willingly) available to do covers, posters, maybe even a manga or two for Q.

Though the occasion is rather somber, I am truly happy for the opportunity that has landed on Jens' lap. I'm sure it will make him reach his fullest potential and I, as well as all of us here at Q, will be proud when that happens.

But Jens, in the case of either of these two events: 1) you make your first million or 2) you become a National Artist, don't forget to take the Q bullpen out for a round of brewskies, ya hear?

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Ganbarimasu!

Bambi Eloriaga

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Sniffling EIC

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PS Thanks Jens, for bringing my stories to life. Watching you create powerful (not to mention, beautiful) images out of my words was a great, often amazing, treat.