Blue Cow and Private Iris Stake Out the 7th Philippine Toy Convention

As toy collectors, anime otakus, cosplayers, comic artists and toy companies converged at the Megatrade Hall of SM Megamall last June 14 and 15 for the 7th Philippine Toys, Hobbies and Collectibles Convention, a mysterious new presence made itself known to all the attendees.  At an event where stormtroopers, ninjas, alien princesses and spandex-clad superheroes were the norm, the arrival of a character who represents the wonder to be found in hard science and real life financial literacy definitely made an impact.

Blue Cow Co., Inc. presented their new detective comic book series Private Iris at the Toy Con, causing quite a stir.  With their giant rocket-shaped booth, fun giveaways, and huge comic-panelled display board, the folks of Blue Cow spread the word about the adventures of Iris and Danton as well as the revolutionary bite-sized savings product bundled with the book, SPARX.  It was a breath of fresh air to see a locally-brewed production amidst all the foreign franchises from Japan and the U.S.  Slowly but surely, as more and more readers begin to discover Iris, our introverted heroine is going to find that her world is about to become less and less private, much to her dismay but to readers’ delight.

Would Blue Cow Co. and Iris return for the 8th Toy Con? And will they come with little Iris and Danton plastic figures?  Only time will tell...

Private Iris Goes Public!

The secretive sleuthing team of Iris and Danton was finally discovered by the reading public on April 19, 2008 at Fully Booked, Bonifacio High Street as The Blue Cow Co. launched the first issue of their newest detective comic book, Private Iris.  Over a hundred kids and parents, including members of Kids Ahoy!, flocked to the expansive bookstore to enjoy fun Iris-themed activities such as face painting, puzzles and mazes. There were even character standees that let kids pretend to be either Iris and Danton as they had their pictures taken.  After going through four floors of mystery-solving fun, the kids all gathered at the top floor of Fully Booked to witness the official debut of Private Iris.  After a lively introduction by host Kevin Uy, the audience was treated to an animated presentation featuring Private Iris and Danton that introduced the mystery special gift that is included in every copy of Private Iris: SPARX, the bite-sized savings product for kids!  Afterwards, a live comic book reading was done by Private Iris author Jamie Bautista.  As the first five pages of the story were projected on a hi-def LCD screen, Jamie was behind the audience with a microphone reading the story and doing different character voices. Afterwards, kids got a chance to meet Jamie and Private Iris artist Arnold Arre to have their copies of the issue signed.  Krispy Kreme doughnuts and a lot of other tasty treats were enjoyed by all as the program wrapped up and kids prepared to head home and read the first of Iris and Danton’s adventures.  While Iris may have wanted to stay low profile, there’s nothing she can do about it now. The word is out.  The newest and smartest kid in town has arrived and soon everyone’s going to know about her.

She is dark and brooding. She is introverted and antisocial.  She is undeniably weird and a big know-it-all.  But she is also the smartest girl in town and she’s going to help solve the biggest mysteries of the year. 
                             
Private Iris is the most anticipated comic book for kids to be launched this year by Blue Cow Co., Inc.  It tackles mysteries to be solved by none other than the young detective Private Iris herself, as well as useful facts and money saving tips that are relevant for the youth in this day and age.

Through a partnership with one of the leading financial companies, Private Iris offers a gift to parents and kids.   Each issue of the comic book comes with a free code, which parents should use to spark their children’s money management skills.  The free gift plus the financial fitness lessons embedded in the stories create a reading experience that is fun, meaningful, and practical for today’s generation.

Behind the unfolding mysteries and unbounded discoveries of Private Iris are two of today’s most brilliant minds in the local comic book scene.

Private Iris is Jamie Bautista’s latest project lined up after a career in teaching comic book classes in various universities and the creation of the long-running comic series Cast.

With him is critically-acclaimed graphic novelist, Arnold Arre, behind the award-winning graphic novels The Mythology Class (1999), Trip to Tagaytay (2000), After Eden (2002), and Ang Mundo ni Andong Agimat (2006).  Arnold is also busy doing art for Cast, which makes Private Iris another much-awaited collaboration of the duo.

Blue Cow visualized a comic book that would be informative and enjoyable for the younger generation and at the same time relevant to the needs of children and their families.  Jaime’s ideas for the comic book merged well with Blue Cow’s objectives, thus Private Iris was born.

“Jamie and I forged a friendship when we went to Korea together to attend the Bucheon Comic Festival, about 3 years ago,” Arnold recalled, “We've been working together for quite a while already when Blue Cow called on him to do a children's comic book. Jamie asked me if I was game to work on this project with him and of course I was more than happy to.”

Arnold’s unique drawing sensibilities brought to life the stories and ideas that Jamie had for Private Iris. “I wanted to make the personality of the detective just as interesting as the mysteries she solved,” Jamie said of the comic book.

Jamie’s character-driven and relationship-centered stories combined with Arnold’s Filipino-inspired sensibilities have resulted to a comic book that is reflective of the real world and relevant for its young readers.

“I think the fact that we both have very similar philosophies on writing and comics and liked each other's works helped,” Jamie shared, “ Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought an artist of Arnold's caliber would do art for me.”

Especially geared for the young generation, Private Iris features stories on friendship and the youth’s struggles of fitting-in and standing out told through mystery cases that can entertain and compel both the young and the old. 

“One thing that makes Private Iris different I think is the level of complexity the story has,” Jamie said, “ I've always maintained that this is a comic book for smart kids, as I believe that most kids are smart.   Private Iris tries to show kids the magic that is present in science and the real world.”

“Private Iris makes science and discovery more fun for kids,” Arnold adds, “I think it can also make kids more interested in learning about saving for the future. And it being locally made, Filipino kids will be able to relate more to the characters.”

More than anything, Private Iris aims to promote the lesson that the value of being smart and the value of keeping relationships go hand in hand, as the tough yet lovable lead character discovers this lesson herself.  It also aims to become the ideal medium for teaching the values of money management to children however young they may be.

“Kids will definitely be able to relate more to financial issues if a role model they can relate to is the one explaining the idea to them,” Arnold said.

The first step in learning is appreciating the medium from which such values emerge. Private Iris is poised to become a treasure chest of both excitement and knowledge that aims to initiate its readers to further read and live-out the lessons they have learned.