Welcome to Kwento Comics

Position: Writer of The Mask of Haliya Issues #1-10

Origin story: L.A. born and raised Filipina tries to become a TV/film/stage actor/singer, but realizes there aren’t any good roles for people of her ethnic background. She undergoes an unsettling dark night of the soul experience and realizes that she needs to be the one creating stories behind the camera so that women like her can make it in media and entertainment. Becomes a freelance filmmaker and fiction writer, leading her to join forces with The Goddess of Creation and create The Mask of Haliya.   

Secret Weapon: A special codex that allows her to magically make up bullsh*t on the spot (even though she never knows what she’s talking about)   

Tragic Flaw: Gummy bears, trashy romance novels, Instagram 

Position: Editor/Writer of The Mask of Haliya Issues #1-9

Origin story: Would-be English professor gives up her initial career trajectory to pursue Acting, and reaches a Renaissance-of-the-mind when she is chosen to study at the prestigious CalArts school of drama. Since then, she uses her eclectic set of creative skills in performance, writing, filmmaking, immersive theater, video game streaming, and art-making.  

Secret Weapon: Mirror of Clarity- The ability to hold a mirror up to any point in the process and see what needs strengthening     

Tragic Flaw: North Sea Fishnacks (if you know, you know) 

Position:  Writer of New Series Coming Soon

Origin story: Armed with a laptop and a dream, an Irish-Filipina-American journeys from the Bay to L.A. Repelled by the lack of representation on-screen, she creates her own stories. Her coming-of-age drama feature script, Clementine, won the 2021 Final Draft Big Break Grand Prize. She is currently conjuring Maharlika for Kwento Comics and her first feature film, Aphrodite & the Apocalypse, an apocarom-com. She is passionate about using her powers for good and telling universal stories featuring underrepresented communities, specifically Filipinos and Filipino-Americans.  

Secret Weapon: Orb of Optics - ability to manifest characters and bring them to the light 

Tragic Flaw: Her home (she's an introvert who never wants to leave), trashy reality TV, dogs (especially Shih-Tzus), and bread. 

Position:  Editor on The Mask of Haliya and New Series Coming Soon, Cover Artist for The Mask of Haliya Issue #7 

Origin story: Named after a cartoon mermaid, Arielle subsequently fostered a lifelong obsession with stories and the minutiae of visual language. She has drawn a bunch of comics for some cool folks (DC, Disney-Hyperion, Marvel among others) and is excited to bring that experience to editing and helping her fellow artists on Kwento's brand new series!

Secret Weapon: A well placed emoji. And that maybe, just maybe, the real comics were the friends we made along the way. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧

Tragic Flaw:
"Do you wanna get boba?"

Position:  Assistant Editor on The Mask of Haliya

Origin story: Though animation was what molded her, Yssa was actually born from the primordial goo of her love for manga, anime, and comics. Beyond being a director, animator, and artist, she will spend at least six months on various knitting and crochet projects.

Secret Weapon: A laugh that cannot be contained

Tragic Flaw:
Easily persuaded by a bag of chips

Kathryn is a Filipino artist based in her hometown, Cebu. She is passionate about bringing stories to life through her various illustration work, coloring and drawing comics, and composing music. 

She has colored for comics under DC (Batman Legends of the Dark Knight, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe), BOOM! Studios (Irredeemable), Image Comics (Eisner-nominated One Week In The Library), Action Lab (Skyward), and Powerhouse Animation Studios (Castlevania). She has drawn for independent comics for IDW (Womanthology : Space), 16 Debut A Comic Anthology, Mike Garley's Dead Roots, David Lloyd's Aces Weekly and Sequential Muse. She has also done illustration work for Brandon Sanderson's Shadows Beneath Anthology. 

She was a speaker at Visual 4 Graphic Design Conference and is currently supporting the growth and development of the artistic community in Cebu as member of the Cebu Illustrators Guild and a Huion brand Evangelist for the Philippines.

Susan is a Chinese-American artist who works in illustration, animation, TV, film, and video games and who has called New Zealand, Australia, Canada, China, Japan, France, and the US (where she currently resides) their home.   

They developed their skills at Rhode Island School of Design, SMU Meadows School of Art, and Harvard College and has exhibited their art domestically and internationally. Graduating from Harvard Cum Laude in Visual and Environmental Studies, Susan worked at Legendary Entertainment in their comics department and received the inaugural Phyllis Craig Scholarship from Women in Animation. Their work has since been featured by A&E Network, Asian Queens in Animation, HBO, Syfy, Warner Bros, Wayfarer Studios, Women in Film Dallas, and Universal Entertainment, among others. 

   Susan serves as a local community liaison for DFW-area artists with organizations like the Crow Museum of Asian Art, Kinokuniya, and the Dallas Public Library. They mainly work in cinema with an interest in horror, fairy tales & folklore, and queer themes, and continues to work on projects dedicated to opening up new tributaries of storytelling and talent. 

Frany is a Filipino illustrator and comic book cover artist. Best known for her style in watercolor painting, her works have been featured on a variety of titles for BOOM! Studios (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Magic: The Gathering), DC Comics (Punchline, Miracle Molly, Poison Ivy issues no. 1), Dynamite (Red Sonja, Deja Thoris, Vampirella) and several others. Frany's ability to create mesmerizing illustrations with watercolor as the primary medium of expression has established her as one of the most sought-after cover artists in the comic industry. 

Frany is currently working with BOOM! Studios as their main cover artist.

Patricia is a passionate freelance illustrator based in Toronto, Canada but has called Brunei and Philippines her home. She has illustrated a wide range of highly stylized and semi-realistic digital paintings across different subject matters and genres. She is prolific mainly in the TTRPG space for companies like Brazen Animation, Beadle and Grimm's and Dirt Cheap Dungeons. 

What started as lazy afternoons in her lola’s sari-sari store- watching the likes of Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z and drawing after the colourful characters, turned out to be what she is so actively passionate about: creating the odd, the weird and the wonderful. 

Jamie likes to draw and paint and take pictures and has been doing so since the age of a little duckling.

Juliet H. Morin is a shy artist originally from upstate New York.

Patty Arroyo is a Filipina freelance comicbook artist and illustrator based in France. She is currently working for several US indie comicbook publishers doing covers, sequential art and coloring.

For over a decade of her career as an artist, she has contributed work to different creative industries such as animation, indie video games, advertising and social media.

Haining is a Taiwanese comic artist and illustrator. Her professional career began when she joined Tan Comics in 2016 and was later promoted to Art Director. Haining has created sequential art, covers and illustrations for publishers and game companies including DC, Marvel, Riot Games, and Garena.

She is currently working on POISON IVY for DC.

Sao Menguito, aka "Saowee" Is a freelance manga artist based in Manila, Philippines, and she loves working with inks and watercolors. Recently, she has done variant covers for Harley Quinn, Something's Killing the Children, Lego, and others.

Jawwy is a Filipino artist based in Toronto, Canada, but was born in Dubai, UAE. She spent a quarter of her life in the UAE, then a little quarter in the Philippines, then another quarter in Canada. Who knows where she would be next! Jawwy is a visual development artist who mainly loves doing color scripting and character designing. She have worked for Mighty Canvas as a concept artist, Spiritwood studio as a character designer, and CutThroat Comics as a cover artist. She has also exhibited her artwork in the "InSitu" Multi Arts Festival located in Mississauga, Canada.

Ebony Soy is a self-taught illustrator based in Van Nuys, California. Since 2019, she has developed a distinctive style, blending sleek lines with bold, minimalist colors. Ebony crafts standalone artworks that merge vivid art with immersive storytelling, engaging viewers through evocative narratives.

Linnéa is a experienced freelance artist and illustrator from the Visayan region of the Philippines. She has worked for several indie comics and is also known as “Papurrcat” in certain online and digital art circles.