The Super-duper, Extra-special, Out-of-this-world, Headspinning (with matching Cartwheels) Adventures of Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah


Carl Vergara deconstructs Darna in his irreverent new opus

My friend and comic book creator Carlo Vergara (One Night in Purgatory, Isaw Atbp) has just released his latest comic book creation; Ang Kagila-gilalas na Pakikipagsapalaran ni Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah. For english-only readers, the translation of this long title is pretty much encapsulated in the title of this post (at least, I think, in spirit. Heh).
It's all about a beautician named Ada, whom fate chooses to be the bearer of a mysterious stone, which when swallowed endows it's user with super powers. If this reminds you of various superhero myths, especially the Philippines' own classic Darna, it's on purpose. Carl's twist on the theme however, is unique. For Ada is a homosexual, and the owner of his own beauty parlor. When, at the suggestion of his assistant Diddy, he swallows the stone and shouts the name 'Zsa Zsa' (the name is engraved on the stone), Ada turns into a voluptious, superhumanly strong woman!
But it seems that with great power comes great responsibility since as Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah emerges, so do various threats to the land. Giant frogs, zombie hordes and a group of alien Amazons are only the first challenges to meet out hero (heroine?). But with Diddy and her object of affection Dodong at her side, Zsa Zsa goes into every fight fists and boobs flying! Oh. Did I say boobs? Heh.
This book is HILARIOUS. I have to say that Carl has outdone himself this time, and the tone and mood of Zsa Zsa is a refreshing change from the more serious, heavy drama of his past works. Comedy in comics is hard... but he pulls it off excellently with great dialogue that is sometimes tempered by biting honesty. Also captured is the classic campiness of the old Darna movies, but this time with a loving touch of sarcasm and parody.
It doesn't hurt as well that the art is gorgeous, with lots of great action, over-the-top facial expressions and even manga-esque SD, and more of Carl's trademark 'muscular' art. Suffice to say, both male and female readers get fan service in this one.
Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah is now available at Comic Quest branches, at P120 for 65 pages (black and white). It's been rated for mature readers ever due to some strong language and mature themes. Get yourself a copy now and more for a friend in time for Christmas, folks!

Cheese Pops and Blue Fizz

I finally got the chance to try a couple of things I have been eyeing for some time now; cheese-flavoured microwave popcorn and Pepsi Blue cola. The latter I've been wanting to try solely for my desire to find out just what the color blue tastes like (I kind of imagined it to be similar to chlorine and swimming pool water). Well, I popped the corn and got a glass full of ice for the cola. Mike advised me to virtually freeze the Blue cola and drink it as it's near frozen. Of course, I didn't have patience for that.
The popcorn was on the salty side; the cheese taste was recognizable, but unfortunately wasn't as zesty as the cheese popcorn you could get at the cinemas, or the ones that came with cheese flavor bags. Maybe I didn't mix it well enough. Oh well. As for the blue cola, it tastes very bland; it didn't even have the aroma of say, Dr. Pepper. Very forgettable, but it was a cola. Well, the blue color is kinda cool. And it was pretty nice to see blue fizz. Not as great as purple fizz, but what can you do?

Car Sick

Today I spent most of my time in a car. We had to present some storyboards for a TV commercial to client, and they were all the way across the world from Makati at Aurora Boulevard. The traffic was predictably heavy, so our vehicle was crawling most of the way. When we finally arrived at the client's office/factory, our entire presentation (which went quite well) took only an hour or so. After the meeting, we piled back in the car for the trek back to the office. We left the office at two. We got to client at three. Finished at four. Arrived at the office by five. Three hours, but it felt like double that. Yawn. Oh well. This is the last working week of the year 2002, so it should be just a sprint before we break the tape to our vacations. Not doing too bad. Not bad at all.

Waiting for The Two Towers (Some Spoilers)

I HATE waiting. I really do. So much that I often wish I had a cryogenic chamber to jump into so I can 'fast forward' to stuff I want without having to... wait. The second part of The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, The Two Towers, will be showing in the US a few days from now. But we poor Manilenos have to wait till early January. DAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMNNNNN!!!
Anyway, reviews are beginning to filter in at sites like Aint It Cool News, and so far they are all uniformly raving about TTT. Remarks are generally that the action has been kicked up a notch, Helm's Deep finale kicks butt, and Gollum is one twistedly realistic dude who could make actor Andy Serkis (the actor who 'plays' the corrupted hobbit) a contender for Best Supporting Actor. I've seen the new 30-second trailer showing on US television, which features more of the film's CG creatures- Wargs, Ents, Nazgul on Fell Beasts, and tantalizing glimpses of HUGE battle scenes. My GOSH. Can't wait till January. It will be hell resisting bootlegs till then.

Araw Awards

I got to see the Araw Awards on TV, which celebrated the years' best in Philippine advertising. Lots of ads, and I saw quite a few familiar faces. I really have to admit that I have little interest in the pomp and pageantry of these gigs. It doesn't help that I just got to my present agency so I don't have many entries in.
My takeaway from the awards show... WEIRD. Lots of really bad use of talents (including a very embarrassing segment/spoof by the actors from the hit McDonald's commercial 'Lolo') through horrible spiels and writing, and direction. And what the hell is Ronald McDonald doing as a presentor? THE HELL? He's a MASCOT for God's sake!!! Well, it could have been worse... Jollibee can't even talk. Maybe he would have had an interpreter...
And one more thing... haha... can't get out of my mind the sight of Monobloc chairs being used in such a prestigious event. Well, maybe it just shows how ad people can be frugal. In some ways. Heh. Monobloc. Sheesh.

Hard Work. Hard Life.

I went with my dad to have my four pairs of denim jeans cut. I think it's pretty much been more than two years since I got them, but I only NOW thought about cutting them to size. All this time I had been making do with just folding them (Levi's style). I don't know... I just felt I had to. I needed a change. Perhaps it started with me buying a two new pairs of shoes (one pair of classic anyday black leathers and one pair of black rubber shoes) last Friday. I got rid of my old pair of leathers, which had been serving me for the past two years as well, weirdly enough by leaving them on the bus I was riding on. I imagined quite romantically that they'd find their way into the hands of someone who would have them repaired and use them again. Later, Carl told me that more likely, they'd probably be mistaken for a bomb. Well, they weren't, so I wasn't worried. Heh.
Anyway, I had decided to cut the pants; me and my dad drove off to where my parents usually had their tailoring stuff done. Thanks to my dad's wonderful directional sense, we almost missed the hole-in-the-wall tailor shop. The tailor, Mr. Olympio, was an old man who lived in his tailoring shop with at least two of his grown children and their spouses, and at least two kids. We walked in and gave my pants, which turned out, needed not only cutting, but quite a bit of repairs to the pockets, and patching some frayed parts. The whole time I looked about the somewhat untidy, grimy shop. It wasn't the most furnished of places; there were two sewing machines, lots of threat and spools about, a calendar on a wall, a Sto. Nino picture hanging on another, and a cabinet with an old guitar that had only one string left. Atop a cabinet were, seemingly out of place, numerous trophies for bowling and darts.
The old tailor worked on the pants, all the while talking with my dad on various subjects, though mostly on his health (which was apparently failing since the man was pretty thin). I gathered that he had to go to the hospital recently; my dad would later tell my mom that the man had cirhossis; a result of heavy drinking in his earlier years. As Mr. Olympio and my dad talked, my dad would try to insert advice to the man to quit alcohol. Of course, Mr. Olympio agreed. When the job was about finished, one of the tailor's chums came in, apparently inviting him to drink. From what we hears, going cold turkey wasn't a priority. Oh well. It was his life to live.
I had my pants finished after about an hour or so. I paid the man, and my dad gave him a bit of extra for Christmas. As we left, I regretted not giving him even more, but to go back and give him extra worried me that it may seem like pity, which I did not want to project. Man still had his pride.
I reflected on how the old man sewed the reams of cloth in the pants, manipulating it with grimy old fingers and working the manual sewing machine with expertise that has been honed through years of labor. You need to be damn precise to do that kind of thing; yet he gets paid very little relatively to people in business. In contrast, I get paid quite a bit more doing rough concepts and vague thoughts. That's why I guess in the US, menial laborers are paid more. Here, it's pretty different and quite depressing.
Oh well.
He did a good job with my pants. Damn good job.

The Other "Ring" Movie


No-brainer Tip: Don't watch cursed videotapes.

I finally got to watch The Ringu, the Japanese horror hit that's been making the hairs stand up on the backs of many Filipinos' necks for the past weeks. I am glad that I caught it; the only hitch is that I hope I don't get visited by some evil spirit now...
The Ringu revolves around a strange urban legend and myth about a cursed videotape that brings death to whomever views its eerie contents. When a young girl named Tomoko and several of her classmates die after watching the said video, her cousin, a reporter named Reiko, feels compelled to investigate. As she delves into the mystery, she uncovers strangely distorted photos, a quiet cabin in the province, and finally, the sinister video itself. After she watches the images... strange, blurry clips of a woman and some disturbing scenes, she suddenly receives a phone call. "Seven Days." says the voice. Seven days till she dies. In her desperation and growing fear, Reiko calls upon her ex-husband, Ryuji, to help. A professor and psychic, Ryuji himself watches the tape, apparently dooming himself as well. But perhaps they can escape the horror that awaits them if only they can unearth the secret behind the tape...
Okay, this film is freaky. If you're used to Hollywood slashers, gore-fests and CG monster movies, this should be a breath of fresh air. It is alien... the pace is different, the look is very un-cinematic and ordinary (it kinda reminds me of a low budget short film) but that all just contributes to how mundane life is until something supernatural bursts in. After that, the buildup starts piling up as the days count down to the inevitable. The Ringu relies a lot on disturbing (but not really gory) images, some sudden bursts of music and peripheral vision tricks to unnerve and scare. It also has the somewhat funny way of making people just 'pop up' out of nowhere; Reiko is just standing alone, and then some other character is just THERE. I speculate that either they are all descended from ninja so no sound is made when they approach... or it's because of their socks. Hmm.
Anyway, I liked it. I can't say I was scared by it, desensitized as I am, but I was fascinated and creeped out. I found the images freaky and disturbing, and the plot was very intriguing... so that even through the quiet, long pauses I was held in place. It doesn't hurt as well that lead actress Nanako Matsushima is quite easy on the eyes (actually most of the women in the film are; gotta love Japanese women). On the con side, the film does take a bit to build up, but maybe that's intentional so you're lulled into a false sense of security before the GHOST LEAPS UP BESIDE YOU!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Ahem. Watch it if you can. If you dare. I liked it so much, I am now actually considering watching the US remake. Just to see if Hollywood can elicit the same chills... or if they can improve on it.

Hmmm. Cursed videotapes. Good thing I prefer DVDs these days.

Anime Overload

Was looking through Virra Mall's anime shops and I saw DVDs of anime series such as Aquarian Age, Witchhunter Robin and quite a lot of hentai DVDs. I eventually just turned them all down and bought Chobits. Hmm. Not too much in an anime buying mood ever since I spent a bundle getting stuff from Comic Alley. Anyway, it's fine since I have a backload of anime at home that I have yet to watch: Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, Tenchi Muyo Galaxy Police Transporter, The 4th Inu Yasha Box Set, Fushigi Yuugi OAV, Love Hina Again (VCDs though), the whole Full Metal Panic series (VCD as well) and more. Sheesh. Now that I look at it, I have enough anime to last me throughout the holiday till the new year. Still, it would be perfect if I got my hands on the second half of Gatekeepers 21. That eludes me. Grrrr.

Hits and Misses

Not everything went as planned this afternoon. Getting a cab was a maddeningly frustrating experience, so I wasn't able to meet Dean at Greenhills. Instead, I talked him through the cell to the gameshop where he could get his PS2. Everything apparently went smoothly, except for the fact that they will have to wait a bit to play Suikoden III since their copy is with me. Anyway, I got to Virra Mall at about 3:30 pm and proceeded to go about my usual Saturday ritual. I was finally able to start my Christmas shopping by buying a DVD set of Band of Brothers for... my brother. Yep, I am sure he won't be seeing this blog, and even if he does, he already knows what I am getting him anyway. Heh. I also got some discs for myself; a Japanese movie entitled The Phone which seems eerily similar in theme to The Ringu, except... this time, it's all about a phone. Hmm. Also, I finally got myself a copy of Volcano High, so I'm happy for that.
I passed through some anime shops and got myself a copy of the cutesy romance/sci-fi anime, Chobits, which is supposed to be very popular in Japan. It's all about a time when in Japan, guys can buy themselves a 'girl', which is in this case a robot or computer in humanoid form. The hero in Chobits finds himself one such computer girl in a junk heap, and takes it home. Later, he finds out that the girl isn't the ordinary robot that she seems to be. Hmm. Robotic girlfriends. This is probably set in a future Japan. Say, about three years from now. Heh.
I finally got tired of the crowded alleys of Greenhills and decided to bail. A long line at the FX terminal headed for Megamall made me just take a straight jeepney to Robinson's Galleria. The Ringu is showing at the theaters, so I got myself a ticket. I'll give a review as soon as I am able. Right now I am killing time before I plunge into the film that my friend Carl called "freaky". Cool.

Game Monger

Today I accompany Dean to Greenhills where we hope to get him a Playstation 2. The Alfars finally gave in when their favorite RPG, Suikoden, finally came out with an installment on the console. Along the way I hope to pick up some anime and games myself. Since it's kinda early, maybe I can try to watch The Ringu at Megamall later.
After the customary Saturday Lunch with the family, my brother showed me his tiny Umax digital camera. It was pretty handy and cool since you could just snap away. Of course, it was just a quickie camera, not one of those megapixel things... it may not be great for hi-res, serious photography, but at the very least with it I can take fast pics that I can post online and stuff. I am still deciding whether it's worth the 3000+ pesos to spend for it. Or maybe I should just hold off on spending too much. Well, whatever. I like these kind of problems. Heh.

Weekend Prospects

It's the end of the second-to-the-last working week of the year 2002. With pitches, print ads, TV commercial concept design and all the rest of the work pretty much done, I expect only light stuff before our inevitable Christmas party and the long break till the new year. My boss, our creative director, has already left for her much-deserved vacation. I won't be seeing her till 2003. I intend to put in for vacation leave so I'll have a solid 2 weeks of vacation time. That's time I ought to use to finish up all my requirements, including writing gigs, artworks and new pages for several comic projects. I also have to finish Suikoden III, which I put off due to the high amount of work.
Oh gosh... I also have to start my Christmas shopping. My priorities are my family, and then the barkada, and then close officemates. Darn. Have to start on that... pronto.
Have to start taking vitamins so I don't waste any of my holiday just stuck in bed. Have to do some serious fun and productive stuff.

Look what mom brought home...


No home should be without the Croc-o-rock.

My mom showed me last night this hilarious little gift she got from one of her amigas. At first it appears to be a painted statuette of a crocodile, standing on top of a flat rock. It's kinda painted dark green, with white teeth. Looks a bit menacing, actually... until you press a button and it starts SINGING. Yep. A jazzy song with lyrics about how the croc wouldn't like to go into a hot pot start blaring out... and during the refrain, the croc actually moves and opens its mouth to sing the words, swishing its tail along with the tune.
In a word... freaky. But funny. And according to my mom, my sister got a similar singing toy... except hers is a fish. Yes.... Freaky...

An Impending War of Boobs and Balls

DOAX's Tina versus Outlaw Volleyball's Summer. Anime perfection versus Offbeat sluttiness.

Next year, not one but two beach volleyball games are hitting the Microsoft Xbox. One is the massively-hyped Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball, while the other is the irreverent Outlaw Volleyball.
DOAX features graphical beauty and expertise from Tecmo of Japan's star development team, Team Ninja. These programmers have fashioned games that have consistently pushed the capabilities of every platform they've worked on, from the original Playstation to the Xbox. They've always produced graphically-superior games and gameplay, but unfortunately they are most famous (or infamous) for the Dead or Alive series' bouncing breast animations. If they ever really tried to conceal their use of sex and skin to spice up and sell their games, they've dropped every pretense of it in DOAX. Set entirely in a place called Zack Island, DOAX stars the women of the DOA fighting game series as they take an impromptu vacation, earn money by playing volleyball and other minigames on the island, make friends, form a killer volleyball team, get a tan, and fill up their closets with as many of the estimated 300+ swimsuits and accessories available in the game.
DOAX will require players to find a partner for their main girl, and then 'build a relationship' with that girl to make the team stronger. This means buying gifts and lots of them (a lot like real life), which gives DOAX aspects of dating simulations (another popular genre in Japan). Of course, the teammates are both girls, so don't expect anything more than close, huggy and affectionate friendships. Aside from the main volleyball game, DOAX will feature tons of other activities and minigames to do, including gambling at a casino. It also features the ability to watch certain animated situations wherein the girls 'relax'... of course, the voyeuristic camera will be yours to control. Yes, this is a Japanese game through and through.
The US-original Outlaw Volleyball reflects its more occidental roots.The visual style is more western and realistic as opposed to the idealized anime-esque characters in DOAX. A volleyball game through and through, OV will feature at least 18 players, which consist of an equal number of males and females (as opposed to the sparse 8 all-female playables in DOAX). In contrast to the idyllic island setting of DOAX, OV will send players to such colorful venues like a women's prison, an oil rig and a sewer. The playable characters match the surroundings; they will include strippers, tattooed bikers, British punkers, Elvis impersonators, hillbillies, trailer trash and more pleasant folk. As with the developer Hypnotix's previous game, Outlaw Golf, you will be able to initiate fights during a volleyball match, letting you steal momentum from a winning opponent.
Anyway, I have to say that both games are pretty intriguing, and I'll be sure to check them out. My money's on DOAX, of course, since I'm a longtime DOA fan. Still, slutty biker chicks in thongs are strangely appealing. Don't know why, though... Heh.

Live-action Anime

Last week I was able to watch the recent Korean film, Volcano High, which is quite simply, an anime with real people. It's all about Kim(Jang Hyuk) a transferee to the school, and how he mixes in with the local faculty and students... which is quite a blast since everyone seems to have either super-powers or super martial arts skills. What you have are people flying across hallways ala Matrix, blows sending opponents through walls, psychic powers that can change the weather and control the very molecules of water and other cool stuff.
In order to re-establish order in the chaotic campus, the evil vice-principal is seeking a certain codex or mystic book that will give him ultimate power. With a group of powerful, evil teachers/masters of death on his side (including a totally awesome dude in a cool flowing trenchcoat), he's out to crush everyone who dares resist his rule.
Of course, Kim won't stand for that, and along with his rival Jyang (Kim Soo-roh) and the icy-cold kendo mistress Chai-I (played by the quietly beautiful Min-a-Shin), he's going to win back the rights of the students to rumble in Volcano High.
This film is hilarious. There isn't really as much action as there is attitude and posing, but when things start flying, you can't take your eyes off the screen. The plot really is inconsequential to the style, fun and special effects, so don't try to reason or rationalize this wacky but masterfully-done film by director Kim Tae-Kyun. The cast and crew just look like they're having so much fun. And this is one of those HK-type films... the stars often do their own stunts. Just watch it and laugh your head off.
Had the chance to get the DVD of this last week. I should make it a point to really just pick up a copy the next time I have the chance.


Kendo queen Chai-I (Min-a-Shin) strikes a pose.

On a side note, Director Kim's next movie will be titled Fist of Chosun (Chosun is the old name for Korea) and will start filming in February 2003.

Prepaid Internet

On my jaunt around Glorietta, I bought a Blast Internet prepaid card. I haven't really tried too many cards; I just started with Blast and just got used to the fast, sure log-ins and the relatively brisk connection speed. I get 9 hours of internet for 100 pesos, which is not bad; and far more affordable than the thousand-plus I spent on an internet subscription. I also occasionally buy I-Tipid, which gives you no less than 20 hours of browsing time. However, the flaw is that it's often HELL to connect (lines are always busy). I have found out though that there are certain times when connecting is a lot easier, so I got used to using it. However, there were no I-Tipid cards at the stall I went to, so it's Blast for now. There. Now I can surf (and blog) again at home. Cool.

A Short Break

After a somewhat productive morning, I went out to have lunch and a walk. After a little deliberation I finally decided on a simple but satisfying barbecue pork chop at Sizzler Glorietta. The meal was made exceptional by its speed; I had just sat down on my chair when lo, my order was already before me! Talk about fast food. Maybe there was another person who ordered the same thing but left without claiming it before me. Or maybe I blacked out into a time warp without knowing it. Who knows? Anyway, after that I walked around and revisited the stall where the rainsticks were being sold. I resolved to buy one soon; I just had to decide whether it was as a gift or as a neat knick-knack at the office or sanctum.
Walked a bit more, getting myself several VCDs of The Breed and De Sade at Tower Records. Hmm. Feeling R-rated today. Heh. After that, I walked back to the office, resisting the urge to just take a cab. I passed by the underpass and noticed that the stink of dead cat had grown stronger and had spread over a wider area. There were some maintenance men checking out the grates at the side. I hope they find it and get rid of the thing. The place smells like it really needs a good fumigating. And speaking of bad smells, I passed by a couple of foreign backpackers on the way back, and they... phew... well, they weren't as bad as the dead cat, but... Mmm.

Anyway... am back in the safety of the office. Week's almost done, so things are just peachy.

A Nice Coaster!

I went to Comic Quest yesterday for my weekly bloodletting. I got the latest issue of Official Xbox Magazine, which comes with a DVD full of game demos. I also got the latest issue of Elektra, which still comes with the customarily excellent Greg Horn cover. Luckily, the interior art isn't bad and the story seems to be getting interesting. But the pick of the night has got to be an image CD specially-made for Comic Book Artists, which features over 650 varied poses. All I can say is... WHAT A LEMON! The poses are limited and pretty useless, consisting of a few dozen shots of a white-trash couple drinking, smoking or acting weird. Along with that are some random pics of cities and... RUBBLE. WOW! I guess I can use them if I need to have references for my comic set in a city with rubble starring a girl with boots looking scared as she smokes and drinks and smooches with some guy. Woohoo! I will treasure this CD always.
Hmph. I know. I'll give it away as a Christmas present for the guys at the office studio. Reference material. BAH.

Hard Times

Today, I rode a bus to Cubao going to work. A while later, a man got on and started passing out envelopes. He dropped one on my knee, which promptly fell off. I just kept staring, knowing that it was another one of those people asking for contributions, or love offerings. To my surprise, the guy said that he was asking money for Christmas ("namamasko"). He then started singing what seemed to be a Christmas song, complete with a rattle or cymbals he had. He sang for about a minute or two, then collected the envelopes and was off.
Everyone from religious groups to workers' unions and poor families beg on buses. There's also this spot at Santolan, near Camp Crame, where the attendants at the Minute Burger stand actually board buses, selling hamburgers (2 for ten pesos). Talk about taking your product to the consumer.
It kinda depresses me to see these things. Have to not let if affect me too much though. Times are just hard. You do what you can to get a little more money. As long as you don't steal.

A Spooky Stowy!
(Based on real, and recent, events. Like, just now!)

It was after normal working hours, and I left the almost-empty office to go to the comfort room. I passed by the elevators on my way. All I could hear were my own footsteps, and the distant hum of the elevators going up or down the shafts. Mmmmm- up... Mmmmm- down... Mmmmm.
Anyway, I got to the Men's Room and answered the call of nature. I then headed for the sinks, where I proceeded to wash my hands. Now, the building being a modern facility, the water faucets don't have handles you turn or flip. The water is activated by placing your hands directly in front of the infra-red sensor beneath the faucet. Then, and only then, will the water run. Cool, eh?
Well, as I finished washing my hands... the faucet next to mine started running. It started RUNNING. There was NOONE there!!! It could only mean... A presence was... present! It was a brush with the supernatural. At long last, I looked into the spirit world, and it stared right back at me with its own baleful gaze...

Well, admittedly, it might have been just a simple malfunction, or the sensor being activated by the vibrations of the passing elevators. Or one of a thousand, thousand other reasons.

But the ghost story is the reason that's FUN. Heh.

Damn. Maybe I can get interviewed on that spook show, Verum Est. Or start my own cult. Haha. This is great.

I can feel it in the air...

It's DONE!!! Hahahahaha! Our secret project has finally borne fruit. Can't reveal it in full, but it's a website filled with tons of neat stuff from our little group. It will be launched during the upcoming Philippine Comics and Manga Convention this December 21-22. Anyway, the Immacolata comic I've been working on is part of this, along with a lot of other creative works from a bunch of fun-loving, creative individuals. Soon. SOON! HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Death and Taxis

I AM beginning to be totally dependent on taxis. Today I took no less than four taxi rides. One from home to work, another from Greenbelt to Makati Cinema Square, another from Greenbelt to Glorietta, and finally a taxi from Glorietta back to the office. Damn. It's addicting to just relax and sit back in an airconditioned space you've paid for, letting someone else trouble himself to get you where you want to go. Dangerously addictive... and expensive. But at least it gets me places, unlike some other addictions. Anyway, it's still not as pricey as maintaining your own car and parking space in Makati, I guess. I tell myself I hate driving and could probably never get used to it. I'd probably make a bad-tempered driver too, with road-rage just wanting to spill out at the slightest opportunity. Then, out comes the rocket launcher...!
Hmm. I think I'll stay as a commuter. Till the day I can afford my own car. And driver/lackey/bodyguard. But who can I trust?
Maybe I could get myself cloned. Have my own little Driver-Me to take me around town. And I'll pay him with Xbox games. Nice deal, I think. Yes. That's an idea...

City Hunter

I went out at lunch to find a couple of... um... esoteric objects. Blood sample slides and particular music CD. Don't ask why... I am not at liberty to tell. Let me just say that they're for some agency purposes. That's how weird some ideas can be, requiring some pretty unusual things to become ads or merchanising materials.
Anyway it wouldn't have been too bad if the stuff were easy to find. As it was, I got strange looks from the pharmacist at one store when I asked for the blood sample slides. I had lunch at Pancake House Makati Cinema Square and got absolutely HORRIBLE service. The pancakes weren't as fresh-hot as they should have, the waiters didn't set or clean my table until they actually had the food served to me, and irritatingly, the waiter brought the bill to my table as I was eating. THE HELL?! Good thing it only took a venomous look from me that the guy took a hint and withdrew the offensive thing. FIRED. ALL OF YOU. If I had any say in it. You can't really expect great service from any place in Makati Cinema Square though... it's pretty much a basement warehouse dockyard de-militarized zone trying to pass for a mall. Bah.
Anyway, I had to ride all the way to Glorietta to find the blood sample slides, which turned out to be called Microscope Sample Slides. Ah. Well, apparently you can't buy them in singles, so I had to buy a box. As for the music CD, I actually had the option of getting either a Frank Sinatra or a Louie Armstrong CD... as long as the song we were looking for was there. I scoured the Jazz section of Tower Record to find only ONE CD to have the song. It was a Louie Armstrong compilation that cost almost a thousand pesos. GAH. I called my Creative Director on the cell, asking if we needed it that badly. She eventually said yes. I would have bought it there and then if not for a tiny voice that said, WAIT!!!
So I balked and took a bit of a walk to the only other music store in the area, Odyssey at Park Square. Lo and behold, it only took me a few minutes to find not one, but several Frank Sinatra CDs that had our needed song. And the cheapest only cost 200 pesos. YAHOO!
With my weird stash in had, I took a taxi once again back to the office. My deed was done. I hope it was all worth it though. Walking kilometers in city traffic, spending on taxi rides, putting up with bad service all take its toll on you. I might lose my belief in my fellow man.
Hahahahahahahaha!!!

Burning the Midnight Brain Cells

It's already a new day and I'm still at the office. Darn, I hate overtime. Anyway, we're doing a final sprint towards the finish since we have not one, but two pitches to handle. FYI for non-advertising types, a 'pitch' is an agency's attempt to win a business. This involves producing grade-A ads that are supposed to blow your prospective clients' socks off, and the opposing agencies' campaigns out of the water. Well, we're hoping to do just that and have a merry Christmas. The office is pretty empty, dark and kinda creepy at night, despite there being a cheery tree and blinking lights on the doorway. Hopefully I'll be on a cab headed home in a while. At least before daylight starts creeping up the skyline.

A Quiet Despedida

Tonight we had a little office get-together to say goodbye (kinda ironic, I guess) to one of the writers from the Creative department. We gathered at Frescano restaurant behind the office (chosen so we could easily walk back after since we had overtime) and had a simple eat and drink party. Anyway, the air was kinda subdued but everyone was glad that the guy seemed to be doing well as he already had a job as a deejay in a popular radio station. Apparently, aside from getting paid more, he also worked for only 3 hours a day. Whoa. Nice deal. Well, if you're willing to put up with the wild life of a radio jock, calling people, getting weird calls from all types of psychotics and whatever, and being able to work a turntable. Sounds like fun... but not my bag.
Well, after dinner we said goodbye and went back to the office. Life goes on.

Almost Too Good To Eat

Last night, just before I admitted defeat to the Sandman, I caught several minutes of a special about Shanghai on Discovery Channel. It centered mainly on Shanghainese cooking, particularly dimsum. I have to say that my mouth was watering at the imagined taste of real, Chinese dumplings... but I was really pleased at the beauty of the things. We've got dumplings here in Manila, from Chinese restaurants. But to get the really beautiful, delicious stuff you would probably have to go to some really expensive places (nope, Luk Yuen won't have them). I really doubt that even the best, most authentic Chinese eateries here will have the incredibly beautiful and exquisite dumplings I saw; little green dumplings that emulated Chinese cabbage, made green by real cabbage juices... an almost transparent 'purse' dumpling with a seaweed cord around the top... cute little 'piglet' dumplings... a dumpling made of glutinous rice with sesame seeds wrapped in dried leaved tied 13 times... Works of art, all.
I wonder if I'd eat them. They looked too good to eat.
Bah, who am I kidding. Of course I would have. Heh.

Spooky Surveillance Video

A short segment in TechTV's 'Cool Stuff' caught my attention a few days ago. A wrecking yard in Oklahoma City is claiming that it caught a ghost on camera. This creepy story made the local news and features a few seconds of the video surveillance tape showing a spectral, humanoid figure circling the yard, as if looking for something. According to some paranormal investigators, there were several cars in the yard involved in fatal accidents; the 'ghost' may be from one of these tragic events...
Hmm. Just goes to show that even in the US, they believe in white ladies.

Click here for a report and the spooky video! Realplayer required.

Sobering Realities

On my way to work, I'd always pass by an overpass to the highway. This morning, as I stepped down the stairs, there was an old woman there, sitting on the lowest step. She was dishevelled and looked a bit like a beggar, and frankly, was probably not in her right mind. She was talking to the air, gesturing with her hands. As I stepped down, she looked up at me and said, "Good morning, anak." (Anak is Filipino for 'child'). What could I do or say? I just kept walking. I could hear her still talking to the air behind me. It got me thinking how some people here in the country have dozens of cars and houses to spare while others have to live under overpasses and in trash heaps. The reason for much of this is because our government officials suck out millions for their own pockets, stealing from projects which should give our country's poor at the very least a roof over their heads and a hot meal every day. DAMN. Now that's really something that you can call MAD. Goddamn fricking MAD.

Weekend Roundup

Overall, my 'long weekend' wasn't all that bad despite a slight invasion by workload on Friday. We weren't able to catch a film as we did usually on Saturday, but at least we were able to spend a nice Chinese dinner at North Park with Dean and Gig. The choice of cuisine was inspired when Carl and I watched the Korean film Volcano High at Comic Quest. Okay, it was Korean... we didn't know any good Korean restaurants nearby, so we settled for Chinese. It was a nice meal, but after it seemed to affect us since we all went home immediately after.
Yesterday, Sunday, I stayed at home. I busied myself with finishing page contributions for the C3Con or Philippine Anime and Comics Convention that's being sponsored by Culture Crash. I did a spread for both my own comic, Angel Ace, and for our group's special website project. James Palabay, CC's head honcho and writer/creator of One Day, Isang Diwa, came to the house himself to pick up the CD with the images.
Anyway, after that I just basically chilled for the rest of the day and night. I was able to watch the third Austin Powers film, Goldmember, on DVD. All I can say is... DAMN it must be so easy to sell crap when you establish a franchise. The first two Powers movies were okay... but this third one was just a bit too much scraping the bottom of the toilet bowl. The new character, Goldmember, played by Mike Myers as well (he plays Austin Powers, Doctor Evil and the returning Fat Bastard as well), is simply not funny... just disgusting and odd. I wonder what people from Holland think of that character? Oh well. Die Hard Power freaks may dig it, but I just watched with a blank stare for most of it. Even the MOLE joke didn't get to me. Though the cameos of various stars was kinda neat.
If anything, I got to recharge a bit, which is always good. Still, I am looking forward to finishing off the whole advertising plate in the next couple of weeks for the Christmas vacation.

Retro-Gaming Picks


Games like DOA make my old PS worth keeping around.

Yesterday, me and Jason walked around Megamall looking for some old PS1 games. Apparently, he got himself a PSOne so now he's looking for stuff to play. Since he heard so much hooplah about Final Fantasy VII, we went looking for a copy. We went up and found mostly old or crap games. We thought about getting him some of the Final Fantasy anthologies, but they looked... too primitive. Actually, the funny thing is that we found it kinda embarrassing to walk into a gaming store crowded with kids and then ask for a game that's about six years old. We would probably have gotten the same reaction you'd get if you ordered milk in a western saloon. Stunned silence. Heh.
Anyway, I tried to recommend some cool games. Even in these days of CG quality Xbox, PS2 and Gamecube games, there are tons of PSOne games worth keeping. For RPGs, you simply can't beat the wealth of Final Fantasies (VII is the best, progressively getting slightly not as good with the succeeding games, VIII and IX). There are Resident Evils and Silent Hill for creep-out games. Action gamers have the original Tomb Raider I and II, and tons more. Medal of Honor gives you one of the best FPS experiences you can get on a console. Of course, in terms of fighting there's the original Tekken and Dead or Alive and tons more. I'd never throw away my beloved PS. Even after more than seven years, there's still great fun in the 32-bit wonder. Sometimes I think of getting a cute little PSOne to replace my old gray box. Who knows... maybe someday.

Portable Rain

I was walking around in Glorietta a few days ago and I came upon a row of stalls and kiosks selling native products and items. Amid the various ethnic trinkets and doo-hickies which I cared nothing for, I saw a Rain Tube, which is really cool. It's a big bamboo tube which has been decorated with enthic flavor and filled with... stuff. I don't know what is inside; it could be anything from beads to thumbtacks to little bugs. Anyway, the effect is that if you turn the tube over the stuff inside shifts, making a sound which is supposed to replicate the sound of rainfall. It's actually quite nice and soothing, and I would have bought it right there and then. Now thinking back, I may buy one for myself and another for a gift. I just hope it's still there when I pass by Glorietta the next time.

I want to be a Forensics Expert.

And I can be... by playing the PC game version of CSI: Crime Scene Investigations. This game, based on the popular detective/drama series by director Jerry Bruckheimer, will be coming out in March 2003. First it was a comic (which is still upcoming), now a game. Who'd ever thought that poking at dead bodies could be so absorbing? Ooh. Engrossing, or just gross? Heh. Anyway, it's still a ways off, but I may have a bit of ghoulish pleasure in a similarly themed-PC game I just got recently: Post Mortem, which puts you in the shoes of a detective out to solve a ritualistic murder case. Lots of creepy fun to be had on PC. On consoles, I can recommend games like Fatal Frame on PS2 or Xbox, and Silent Hill 2 for more creeps and freaks rather than gore and guns as in Resident Evil.

Salvaging a Holiday

Today is a holiday here in Manila, but I had to get up and work. On the bright side, I was able to get adequate sleep. Furthermore, instead of staying cooped up in the office, the creatives met up at the posh Rockwell Power Plant mall. We spent some time at the Press Cafe at the Bookstore formerly known as Page One. While the other guys worked on their stuff, I spent the time thinking up storylines for TV commercials as I munched on a Cheesesteak Sandwich and bottomless Iced Tea. All in all, it really wasn't that bad. Working outside the office, in a nice, relaxed and uninhibited setting makes for relaxed and uninhibited thinking. I got the storylines approved and I was free for the rest of the day!
Anyway, I decided to walk around Power Plant. Not Page One is pretty cool and I love the rack of comics and graphic novels (thought about buying Will Eisner's Graphic Storytelling book but eventually decided against it... for now). However, the rest of the mall is strangely barren for me. Lots of clothing and "grown-up" stores that I really have no use for. I don't know if there is a single electronics or gaming shop in Power Plant, but if there is I couldn't find it. BAH. Give me Megamall or Greenhills anyday.
Well, I will probably walk around to kill time before tonight's dinner and meet with Mike, Dean, Nikki, Jason and the rest. Looking forward to a nice night's discussion and laughs. Maybe I should catch The Ringu (The Ring Japanese version) at Mega? We'll see. Ah. My weekend looks safe once more. Hope, hope.

Insert Shameless Plug Here! (Yay, Carl!)

ANOTHER 'GAY' COMIC BOOK BY CARLO VERGARA

After his first comic book, the gay-themed One Night In Purgatory, garnered acclaim by landing a finalist slot in the recent Manila Critics' Circle National Book Awards and being mentioned in the Sanghaya Yearbook of the National Commission for Culture and Arts as the best comic book of 2001, Carlo Vergara is set to release his second book, Ang Kagila-gilalas Na Pakikipagsapalaran Ni Zsazsa Zaturnnah.

Zsazsa Zaturnnah tells about Ada, a gay man, who receives a mysterious stone that grants him the power to transform into a woman. As Zaturnnah, Ada defends his hometown from extra-terrestrial amazons. Joining him in this light comedy adventure are his sidekick Didi and his secret crush Dodong. Written in Filipino, Zsazsa Zaturnnah is for mature readers due to suggestive content and strong language.

The 65-page first part will be available in mid-December at all ComicQuest branches (SM Megamall, SM North Edsa, Festival Mall Alabang) for only Php120. The second part will hit the shelves in late-February.

For an 'Ispeysyal Preview' of Zsazsa Zaturnnah, click here.

Bikini Karate Babes



Okay, everybody here probably knows that I love the Dead or Alive fighting game series. Granted, this Tecmo-made game features solid gameplay, lots of martial arts action and simply the best graphics of the time whenever a new installment appears... but what keeps it close to me are the babes. Forget Chun-Li. Forget Cammy. Forget Lara Croft. If you want sexy game babes, the DOA series has them. Not that other games don't... but DOA simply has better girls in terms of graphics, animation and... personality. Well, whatever. Anyway, one of the cool extras in the original DOA for Playstation was the ability to unlock lots of hidden costumes, including sexy swimsuits for the girls. Opening up these new duds was really neat, and there are few things more appealing that a butt kicking girl in a bikini.

Well, apparently some enterprising programmers in the US thought that up too. So, they rounded up a bunch of attractive women who both looked great in a two-piece and could at least act like they know karate. Some photoshoots and programming later and... Voila! You've got the outrageously crass but intriguing game known as Bikini Karate Babes. This PC-only game (though there are rumors of a possible Xbox port) has been turning heads since the game's website was put up, clocking over a million hits in a few weeks. Reviews of the game aren't as pretty as the girls in the game though, citing poor controls and basically trashing the game as soft-core porn (there seems to at least some topless nudity, but no explicit images or sexual acts aside from some fondling; the violence is cartoonish).
Anyway, I've seen stills and movies of the game, and it's in the style of Mortal Kombat- digitized fighters against pretty basic backgrounds. The animation is exceptionally smooth and the visuals are vivid, but I question the amount of gameplay it could have; 2-D fighters are simply past their prime, I think. Still, this is really more novelty than serious fighting game. I'd love to get my hands on a copy, but so far it's still US-only. Maybe I should wait for the rumored Xbox version? Heh. Videogames. They are a-changing.

Galactic villain. Made in the Philippines.

Does anyone here catch the sci-fi series, Earth: Final Conflict on AXN? It's all about an earth caught in a struggle for survival against various alien races. In the five seasons the series has had, many characters have come and gone... but one player in particular has remained constant. The villainous FBI Agent Ronald Sandoval has been scheming his way through every season, played quite excellently by actor Von Flores.
Flores? Sandoval? When I first heard the names, I suspected. Lately, I confirmed it... Agent Sandoval is Pinoy! Well, at least Mr. Flores is. Von Flores was born and raised in the Philippines. He attended classes at the University of Toronto where he got bitten by the acting bug and started a career, which includes various roles in numerous TV series. His credits include roles in F/X: The Series, The Adventures of Sindbad, Night Heat, Street Legal, Lonesome Dove, Tekwar and more.
Compared to other Pinoy or half-Pinoy actors in the US like Rob Schneider, Tia Carrere and Lou Diamond Philips, Von Flores might not be high-profile but he has been working consistently. And I really find it cool to see a Filipino playing such an important and pivotal role. Okay, Agent Sandoval may not be a good role model, but he is a survivor. He's gotten shot, blasted, vaporized, possessed, burned, deformed and worse but still keeps on ticking... bad grass is hard to kill. At any rate, he shows that Filipinos aren't just world-class... they're universal!

Travails and Taxis

For the past few weeks, I've been taking taxis more and more. Some time ago, I only took taxis in emergencies, or for a special occasion (when I don't want to get to a party or something all sweaty or smelling of jeepney fumes). Then, I moved on to taking taxis every Saturday when I went to my pilgrimage to Greenhills. But these days, I've actually been taking taxis as a matter of course. I usually take taxis now going home, sometimes even right from my office in Makati all the way home in Marikina (which is quite a drive). I guess price has given way to convenience and comfort. In a taxi I can just relax alone (with the driver) in an airconditioned ride.
But now, I've often went to the office in the morning on taxis. I remember one time, it cost me about 130 pesos. On another day, in another taxi it cost just 70 pesos; either that day the traffic was very light or one of the taxis had a very broken meter. Hmm.
Though the irritating nature of many taxi drivers to insist on a specific or particular area to go to, or asking for a set price still pisses me off to no end. This is especially bad at rush hours (both in the morning and evening), so luckily I usually look for taxis in the off-hours.
Ah. I guess I am just getting a bit older now. I miss the days when I just squirmed my way into crowded buses, or hung on precariously outside the escribos of jeepneys, holding on for dear life as the vehicle weaved its way through traffic. I guess those days are over. I just want a nice, comfy ride going home; I don't want to drive home, mind you... just ride home. Maybe I should contract some taxi driver and make him my regular ride... like The Shadow does. But that would mean saving his life in some situation and having some special rings made to mark my coming. In return for your life, you must do a service for me. When someone approaches you with this ring... you must give him the assistance he requires...
I think I'll just have to spend a little bit more for my comfort.
But then again, I do know this cheap jeweler...

Gamer Heaven

I have to say that I'm happy as a clam these days, thanks to the fact that my favorite cable channel TechTV is now showing episodes of my favorite show, the videogame review program Extended Play, daily. Now I can see the entertaining and informative reviews of new games with cool footage and cinematics regularly. No need to turn to NOW anymore, which is good since they seem to have ditched the gaming shows I like in favor of those crummy Quake programs and replayed-to-death 10 Play episodes. Ah, bliss. I love my cable provider. Let's hope that doesn't change...

Counterstruck Out

Does anyone here like Counterstrike? It's all the rage in countless cybershops and cafes all over the metropolis here. FYI, CS is a mod (meaning, modification) of the original First-Person Shooter videogame, Half-Life. Whereas in HL you played a soldier out to foil an alien invasion, in CS you're simply a soldier out to survive a deadly squad-to-squad cat and mouse game of kill or be killed. Players take the role of either terrorists of counter-terrorists, bring together some friends for a squad, and just let go.
It's been around for awhile, but I confess to not being a fan of FPS games. I get dizzy easily from the fast movements and limited views, and well... I'm just not that great at it. I remember several months ago, I was in another ad agency... me and two of my officemates, Dino and Manny, went off to Glorietta one lunchtime to try a game. We found this cybershop at Park Square and settled down to get our feet wet in the world of videogame counter-terrorism.
Well, the situation was, we were all newbies. At best, we were experienced in playing Unreal Tournament at the office G4s, but Counterstrike's controls were alien to us. But we went in anyway... I mean, how hard could it be? We set up a simple field, had the attendant put in two bots (CPU opponents) and we were off.
To put it simply... we got our arses kicked. And then some. It was horrible. For some reason, we started off with handguns, while the bots had long, high-powered rifles. And they aimed with godlike accuracy. Picture this; we each were on opposite sides of the battleground. I peered out from a window. I could see the bot at the other side of the field, a small dark speck. He fired. I fell DEAD. What the HELL?!
This massacre continued as we tried various strategies. We stormed out, guns blazing. We fell dead. We hid in crevices. They found us. We fell dead. One of us would sacrifice himself to set a trap. We still got whacked regardless. I waited and actually got the drop on one of them, firing like a madman. He turned around. I fell dead. This went on for quite a while. Eventually we were actually able to kill one of the bots, but we still lost that round. Dang. As far as I know, every time you win in CS, you earn money for upgrading weapons and ammo. At the rate we were losing, I wouldn't be surprised if our enemy could afford helicopter gunships by then. We were that BAD. Sigh.
It's actually pretty funny. The physics of FPS games, CS especially, are quite fantastic. Good players will jump, not run, around, to become harder to hit. Can you imagine if you saw that in real life? It would be terrifying to see guys in balaclavas, jumping like kangaroos toward you, guns blazing. And they didn't even need guns. The scariest guys are the ones that come at you with mere knives, making you panic as fumble with your hard-won rifle, not wanting to die, gutted like a pig. That happened to me once. A bot came at me with a knife, and all I could do was at least try to empty my clip. Then, I died. Gah.
Maybe I'm not an FPS guy at all. It's not in my genes. Probably not an RTS guy either, though I love commanding armies. At heart, I'm probably a martial arts one-on-one fighting gamer. Fireballs over firearms, I always say. Give me DOA, VF or Tekken anyday.

Didn't help either than there are no babes in Counterstrike. Heh.

Smell That? Dead Cat.

These past few days, whenever I walk out of the office towards Ayala Avenue in Makati, I pass by an underpass. Near a spot by the stairs, I always catch the telltale stink of a dead cat. It's a hot smell; stuffy and decaying and simply disgusting. I can't tell where it is; on the roof? In the gutter? Can't be in a trash can else it would have been gone after a day. In the bushes? I really hope some Ayala maintenance person finds it and gets rid of it 'cause unless someone does, that stink won't go. The smell lasts for days and days. Believe me, I speak from experience.
Several months ago, I began smelling this subtle stink in my room. The sanctum is of course, a small chamber with one wall having the windows, and one door. I usually stay indoors with airconditioning on, and had been doing so for several months since I had the climate control installed. Anyway, the smell was musty but weak. I couldn't tell where it came from. I checked my bed mattress, sheets and pillows. Okay, modesty aside, I am a very neat person. I am a neat freak, actually. So you can imagine that if I smell something stinky, I find out what it is. Anyway, I really couldn't tell where that musty stink was coming from. After a while I even checked my feet. Nope. Dang, what was that damn smell?
Over the course of several days it was getting worse. I would ask my mom, and she'd come in and say it was my imagination. For some reason I believed her... until I eventually remembered that my mom has no sense of smell. I then asked one of the household help. They said they smelled it too. In fact, they've been smelling it for days. AAARGH. Well, I couldn't really blame them since I usually kept my room sealed up and locked when I left for work. I wonder now what they thought the smell was all about... for all I know, they probably think I killed someone and hid the body in my closet.
Anyway, It was finally deduced that the smell was coming from a cabinet near the ceiling, above where my clothes were kept. I remembered that I kept some old toys there, and a stack of magazines. We opened the cabinet and peered in. OH GOD, THE STENCH. The stink was strong, exhaling from the cramped closet in fetid waves. What WAS it? The maid who looked in told me that there were maggots. Fricking MAGGOTS.The HELL?!?
Apparently, the things were spilling from a crack which led to the inside of our house's roof. Whatever was producing the maggots was somewhere in the recesses above my room. We finally got some guy to climb up the roof and enter the compartment. He found a BIG, dead cat. Apparently, the animal climbed up there to die, and of all places chose the spot near my room. Well, the guy we sent got the carcass and loaded it into an empty rice sack. When he climbed down, I saw the sack... it was huge. A cat? From the size of the bulge it looked like a dog. I don't even want to imagine what it looked like. Gah.
Despite the removal of the cat corpse, the smell persisted for a few days. I emptied several cans of Lysol to try and deaden the smell (unsuccessful; the smell wafted out even worse), and tried taping the cabinets shut. After a few days I unsealed the cabinet to let it air out; a cloud of flies, each the size of a bat (okay, I exaggerate) came out- the remaining maggots that we didn't sweep out. After they were gone, it only took a few more days for the smell to weaken to negligible levels.
Today, I basically ignore the cabinet. I light an incense cone in there every now and then, and cast a spell of warding to keep the dead cat spirit from haunting it. But these days, I still twitch whenever I smell something fetid and musty. I read somewhere that sights and sounds can eventually fade from memory, but smells last a lifetime. If that is so, Dead Cat will haunt me for the rest of my life. Bad smells, bad memories. Sigh.

Ten Things you need to make your own Manga comic.


Later this month our group will be joining with others for the Comic and Anime Convention being hosted by Culture Crash. We'll be introducing stuff we've been doing these past few months, seeing some new titles released and in particular, imparting what little we know to budding comic creators. I've been told to submit what I'm going to talk about, and to tell you the truth, I had no idea until about, oh, a few minutes ago. Well, actually, things have been mulling in my head as to what I could share for some time, but I haven't been able to actually organize them. Well, now I have. Or at least, I have tried to. Here it is...
10 Things You Need to Make Your Own Manga.
1) You need your basic manga story. Which basically is, get a plotline and find some way to twist it to something different from the norm. Try to get cross-dressing or sex-changes into the storyline. Give something new and creative so when someone asks what your story is, they'll go, "Are you serious?"
If you get that reaction, you're on the right track.
2) Know the manga stereotypes by heart and be ready to use and abuse them.The genki, ultra-bubbly ditz of a heroine/hero. The comedy/American sidekick. The evil villain with the shoulderpads. The butt-kicking babe with the paper skirt. The BIG guy. Know when to use them, and when to twist and make your own unique stuff.
3) Know how to draw seriously sexy women. This is hard, and there's no easy way to this except by practice. Practice, practice, practice. Learn how to draw serious anatomy first before you begin to adopt a manga style. That way, your drawings don't look 'wrong'. When you know how to draw a sexy girl, dressed and undressed, from the top of her hair to her toes, you are pretty much set. Girls are vital in manga. It's a LAW.
4) Know how to do Fight Scenes. The Matrix was inspired by manga. Manga is all about detailed fights, acrobatics, slow-mo dramatics, weird angles, power-blows, blood-gushing from the side of the mouths, long speeches and novel-length duels. Don't go for the cop-out splash pages. It's all about the
fight.
5) Love stories aren't mushy. Love and relationships are what gives manga soul. Learn how to make sugary dialogue, dramatic pauses and heart-stopping confessions. Remember, manga heroes are never afraid to cry.
6) Big Guns are Cool. Learn to draw some sort of mecha. Mecha isn't just giant robots; it's every machine that appears in your manga. Arguably easier than anatomy, but it still takes practice.
7) Who's BAD? A manga is only as great as its baddies. Evil armies, secret organizations, dark demons... that evil beeyotch from the other class... the trick isn't just making them hateful and dangerous... but making them as cool (or even cooler) than your heroes.
8) Et Tu, Brute? Betrayals, turncoats, double-crosses and last-minute saves. Who's on who's side? Who's really evil? Who's on first? Who's on second? A great manga plot will keep you guessing until the very end. And then, there's the next season...
9) Don't sweat it! Know when and when not to use manga conventions like sweat drops, veins, SD and such. Too much can destroy atmosphere or mood. Unless it's intended.
10) Have FUN! Your manga comic should reflect YOU. Love doing it, love making it. Make it unique and true to yourself, and you'll find other people who will love it just as much.

Whew! That's the stuff I guess I will talk about, of course more in depth and extemporaneously. I hope I can hack it. Else, I'm going to look like a wonderful fool later this month.

Sharing old war movies...

Watching through the Band of Brothers DVDs, I couldn't help but remember those old WWII movies they used to show in the afternoon on Channel 9 (RPN). I don't remember them much, but I do recall images. American green berets battling German troops and SS were common themes; but unlike the recent films on the subject, I don't recall the old war movies to be particularly bloody. Guns fired with smoke and flashes. Bullets made furrows all around the targets, and men fell. We didn't see bodies with eyes wide open, or gratuitous amounts of blood seeping from their corpses. I certainly don't remember anyone with blown-off limbs lying about. I guess war movies were 'cleaner' then.
Saving Private Ryan reintroduced the era of the Last Great War, but was made with gritty realism and almost vomit-inducing blood and gore. The colors were washed-out as if you were watching an old relic from some old theater, and when men died, they died horribly, gurgling their last words in agony. Argh. Well, war is hell, and that made it clear.
However, it really isn't the violence which drew me to Band of Brothers. What engrossed me was the story of these men; the incredible ordeals they went through, the frightening but fascinating recreations of fierce encounters with Nazi troops, and the hope of seeing the men you come to like survive to the end.
I wonder if I will ever make a war-themed comic sometimes. I often portray battles and fights in my art and stuff, but I realize that I have exercised restraint in portraying death. I dislike gratuitous death scenes or death tolls. If I have to show death in my comics, I want it to mean something, whether it to prove the implacability and unmistakeable nature of evil, or a tragedy that could and should have been avoided. Or, it was simply a matter of self-defense. Pretty weird when you consider that many of my characters are assassins and professional fighters.
Hmm. Being quite serious right now. Maybe it was the apple I had a while ago. Or maybe because I've got a full day of work tomorrow that has to be finished. Pretty much like Captain Winters from Band of Brothers contemplating the taking of a Nazi-infested town...
Ah. Back to the trenches tomorrow.

New but not necessarily Improved

After watching Die Another Day last Saturday, me, Mike and Jason crashed at my place to simmer down and sample a VHS tape with several new cartoons, notably the new Transformers: Armada and the updated He-Man: Masters of the Universe. Well, I wasn't too excited, since it was pretty early in the morning (we were at the house at about 2 AM I). The new Transformers anime is, in my opinion, a traversty. It's been 'updated' with new little bots called the Minicons which Mike says are actually based on the Gobots. My generation will remember the Go-Bots as having their own series, with Leader-1 and the good Guardians battling Cy-Kill and the evil Renegades. In Transformers Armada, they've become a 'new' race of robots which can augment the powers of Autobots or Decepticons they merge with. Anyway, I really wasn't listening to the story; all I could see were the humans... now drawn in ANIME style. I just can't reconcile anime with the Transformers. It's just WRONG. I guess the old cartoons just still have a hold on me. Sigh. Anyway, Optimus Prime still looks pretty much the same, but Megatron on the other hand looks like an over-sized Insecticon. And he turns into a TANK! What the HELL?! This isn't my Transformers. Well, that's a given anyway.
The new He-man cartoon made me perk up a lot more. Instead of the realist but BLAND Filmation cartoon-style (which I loathe) of the old series, the new Masters of the Universe cartoon has a nice look which evokes but not screams anime influence. Where it has improved best is in the action; there are slow-motion scenes for drama, exploding blasts, powerful magic, clashing weapons, the works! Now THIS is what Masters of the Universe should be like! Most of the characters look a lot cooler and more formidable. Man-at-Arms is a real walking arsenal. Teela is a butt-kicking babe as she should be. Ram-Man still looks moronic, but at least he looks strong. Cooler still are Man-E-Faces, whose powers change with his look, and Stratos, the flyer. However, I have to say that Mek-a-Nek is still laughably ridiculous. On the baddie side, Evil-Lynn is both a babe AND awesomely powerful. Everyone else looks fiercer and more dangerous. Finally, Skeletor is a powerful fighter and a worthy leader of evil, though I found his new voice a bit too... weeny. Hmm.
One good, one bad. I'd love to see more of the He-man cartoon, but count me out of the Transformers. There are good changes, and bad changes. We take what we can get, I guess.

The Urge to Splurge

It's amazing how fast you can spend money. Over the weekend I bought myself a ton(well, not really... but it felt like it after) of stuff, thanks to a nice windfall. You have to love being an employee and being single. Anyway, I got myself the DVD set of Band of Brothers, that truly excellent HBO mini-series about American soldiers in World War II. I resisted getting the set early on when I found out about the set's release, but after watching an episode on HBO, I just HAD to get it. Engrossing stuff, really. All the grit and drama of Saving Private Ryan, but without Tom Hanks(well, at least not onscreen).
Aside from BOB, I also got a bunch of DVDs as well; The PowerPuff Girls Movie, Austin Powers: Goldmember, Signs and The Scorpion King (Yes, it baffles me why I got that). Afterwards, the spree didn't end when I got to Megamall. I was drawn into the anime shop Comic Alley where the 4th DVD Box Set of Inu Yasha was waiting for me. I also got a DVD of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, which is the latest anime about Masamune Shirow's popular cyber-adventure. Finally, I got a couple of Love Hina anime art books for references.
I'm telling myself that these things are all my Christmas gifts to myself. Gotta remember though that I have to get gifts for other people too... Heh.

Die Another Bond.

Me, Mike and Jason went over to Greenhills after closing down Comic Quest to watch the latest James Bond movie, Die Another Day. As with Chamber of Secrets, we got tickets beforehand so we could just zip in and watch without any problems. Watching at Theater Mall is pretty cool since the seats are comfy and new; the only bad thing is that during the last full show we always tend to miss the snack bar popcorn. No popcorn tonight, but we had Doritos to satisfy us.
Die Another Day sees Pierce Brosnan taking once again the role of our favorite secret agent. At the start of the film, Bond replaces an illicit diamond dealer to assassinate a North Vietnamese colonel named Moon, who is producing special weapons for use against the west. Everything is going smoothly until Bond's cover is blown, apparently by a traitor. After a hovercraft chase and battle, the prologue sequence ends with Moon falling over a waterfall to his death, and Bond getting captured by NVA troops and being thrown into prison! This somewhat perilous beginning made us all think that DAD would be a very different and perhaps more gritty Bond. Well, at least I thought that until the sexy CG intro title sequence came on with a horrid Madonna song. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?!?
Anyway, Bond spends the next 14 months in the North Vietnamese prison, but he is eventually released in an exchange with an NVA soldier and saboteur named Zao, who served under the late Colonel Moon. Later, Bond knows finds out that he is being accused of disclosing information to the enemy under torture. Disgraced and distrusted, Bond eventually goes on his own after Zao to get the only thing he has left... revenge. The trail leads Bond to a magnate named Gustav Graves and a plot that may threaten the safety of the world... naturally.
Okay, I've read several reviews which praised DAD as the 'best Bond in a long time', but I have to say... well, yeah... compared to trash like The World is Not Enough, I can accept that. On the one hand though, Die Another Day is enjoyable with nice scenes set in a ice hotel and sexy Halle Berry . However, it also has a lot of cons. It is yet again another stab at trying to be 'realistic' and true to the headlines (this time with the North Koreans as the baddies). There are some glaring scenes like Bond surfing that just screams BLUE SCREEN! Yet again, the villains are nowhere near as compelling as classic Bond baddies. Zao is no Oddjob or Jaws... he's just some Vietnamese soldier (albeit a good one) who tends to get his face messed up. You can pretty much see who the 'secret' traitor is a mile away, plus I have to say the secret behind Gustav Graves is a STRETCH. Some action setpieces, like the car dogfight is a bit clunky, and I have to say... why does Captain Amazing from Mystery Men suddenly appear at the finale? What the Hell?
All in all, I have to say DAD is the best of Brosnan's Bonds... but it demands LOTS of suspensions of disbelief... far more than we (Mike, especially) could muster before we just had to shake our heads and go, 'Silly, silly."
Heh. Whatever. We had a great laugh after the showing though. Heh.

The Long Walk Home

After work I hurried over to Saisaki restaurant in Megamall. The company was there; Dean and Nikki, Jason, Carl and surprisingly, Tony Bucu. They'd been there apparently since eight or so, so they had mostly finished dinner. It was a buffet-style dinner, and since I was famished I went off and tried samples from all the tables. I got some nice Japanese Fried Rice and some tenderloin, gyoza dumplings, tempura and lasagna. For dessert, I got a plate with samples of cakes and pastries... though I passed on the Creme Brulette. Pretty good and I was satisfied, though now I feel for the price I paid I should have eaten a LOT more. Oh, well.
We stayed at Saisaki until closing, the topic of conversation moving from favorite films ('What are your five favorite films of ALL time?') to classic (read: BAD) commercials and jingles. We resolved to go home immediately after, but the absence of taxis forced us (sans Tony, who left by then) to take refuge at Chibo for tea and coffee. We talked about a variety of topics again, ranging from how ridiculous Jason would look as Spiderman to how Matrix-like the restaurant's toilet was.
We made our way past St. Francis Square and eventually made it to Podium... Still no taxis. Carl remarked that at the rate we were going, we would probably reach home before we ever get a taxi. Dean and Nikki eventually gave up and opted to get a pricey taxi at a nearby hotel. We decided to stick it out.
We walked from Podium to Robinson's Galleria. There, Jason was finally able to get a cab to Makati. That left Carl and me. We made our way to EDSA, noting that the apparent Midnight Sale at the Galleria was the reason for the lack of taxis. AAARGH. Anyway, it turned out that we ultimately took the bus to Cubao. There, we lingered for a while at the front of the moviehouse at the junction of EDSA and Aurora Boulevards, looking over pirate VCDs and cheap porn. Yep, we were slumming. Well, we were tired, frustrated and irate. We needed release.
Eventually, we got on a jeepney headed for Cogeo. I got down at my stop, and that was it for the night. Or was it morning? There's a meeting set for the upcoming Comics Convention today, but I can't see myself getting up in a few hours for it. We'll see. Darn. Three o' clock in the morning and I'm still up. Is that a rooster I hear? DAMN...

Nude at Work

Today, we had something special at the office. As part of the company's special training gigs, a Nude Sketching Session was scheduled. The office hired a couple of models, one male and one female, and everyone in the company who wanted to try out sketching bodies in the buff were invited to have a go. As you'd expect, people were kind of squeamish at the idea of naked flesh, but a good number of people eventually showed up to draw, and from various departments aside from Creatives and Studio. The venue was an empty office space across from our own office. The place was bare, but several chairs and stools, sofas and even a beanbag were provided. Of course, you had to bring your own paper and pencils.
The session went pretty quietly and smoothly. Noticeably, a lot more people drew the girl instead of the guy, me included. Heh. Anyway, for anyone who's never been to a nude sketching or painting session, there's no room for horseplay or anything else aside from the drawing itself. Typically, the model will take up a specific pose, and remain in that position as long as they can. The poses are of course never scandalous, and actually you don't really see the models' privates (aside from the girl's breasts).
For the record, the girl wasn't beautiful. Wasn't ugly, wasn't gorgeous. Somewhere in between. Not enough to make me break a sweat or get me breathing hard. As for the guy... well, I didn't really care. Heh.

It was a change in pace from the usual creative thinking or strategic brainstorming or copywriting. Pretty cool, actually. What's next? Maybe we can do sculpting. Or maybe a cooking seminar. You never can tell what may they'll think of next...

Bloody Good Fun


Everyone's kung-fu fighting again in the latest Mortal Kombat game.

As I posted yesterday, I got myself a copy of the Xbox version of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance, the latest game in the controversial fighting videogame series. FYI, Mortal Kombat is all about a martial arts tournament held to maintain the status quo of peace between the realm of Earth (that's us) and the Outworld, a harsh and brutal dimension ruled by the evil immortal Shao Khan (which was so wonderfully brought to life by the second MK movie... note my heavy sarcasm here). Anyway, the game's subtitle refers to the 'Deadly Alliance' between sorcerers Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, who become so dangerous together than they are able to eliminate both Shao Khan and Liu Kang from the picture. Liu Kang was the former champion of MK and until MKDA has been the series' main hero (played by actor Robin Shou in the movies); so you can tell MKDA makes it clear that this game is going to be different from previous games in the series.

Anyway, where does MKDA improve? Well, in almost everything. The graphics are full 3-D and sport excellent character models which have cool designs, a semi-realistic, semi-cartoony western style and fluid, lifelike animations. Furthermore, the cookie-cutter repertoire of attacks and palette swap characters have been nixed in favor of a balanced roster of fighters, each with unique moves and fighting styles. BTW, each character now has three different fighting styles, all of which are apparently based on real martial arts like taekwondo, escrima, Shaolin fist, crane-style kung fu and more. Included are weapon styles like sai, butterfly swords, bamboo cane, nunchucks, tonfa and more. Whew! That's a whole lot of fighting.
Anyway, this IS Mortal Kombat so there's a lot of blood and gore. Unlike Japanese fighters that shun heavy-handed gory effects in favor of more realistic animation, MKDA shows the red stuff flow freely and remain on the arena floors like garish paint. Plus, bruises, cuts and swellings will now appear on characters' faces when they get beat up. I have to say I don't really like seeing my fighters (especially the women) looking all black and blue after a fight, but what can you do? It DOES look more real, but I prefer the Japanese approach (you'll never see the DOA girls get so much as a chipped nail). And yes, the Fatalities are still here (though only one per character) so you can tear the heart out of your helpless victim, er, opponent, after the battle. Cool. Heh.
Anyway, another great thing about MKDA is the tons of secrets you unlock by earning money and buying 'koffins' in the MK Krypt. These goodies range from new characters to art to stuff swiped from some programmer's desk. Well, it's replay value.
I played quite a few rounds last night, and I have to say it was fun. There are still quirks and flaws, like questionable CPU AI that switches from moronic to godlike skill levels depending on the round, and the difficulty of some minigames. However, it's enjoyable, somewhat mature and yet juvenile entertainment and one of the better games available on the Xbox or Playstation 2. Recommended!

Plus, opening those koffins will help pass the time till the release of DOAX in January... Sigh...
For a full review, visit my game board here.

The Story So Far...


The Angel Ace Saga Cover Gallery

It's actually your typical story of boy meets girl. Except that I also put in some extras, like an ex-KGB foster father, a former best friend who's also a super-powered assassin, their all-female, all-beautiful secret organization, a mysterious and sinister megacorporation, a masked serial bomber and criminal mastermind, bits of sci-fi, fantasy, ancient civilizations, dark spirits, lots of action-packed fight scenes and liberal amounts of manga-esque comedy. Where will I take it next? Ever forward, of course. Ever forward and upward. The sky's the limit.

If you're intrigued about the series and haven't seen it, copies are available in Comic Quest if you're in Manila, Philippines. Otherwise, you can still get lots of info and stuff on Angel at our official website.

Trying to find my Angel a muse...


You can do it, Marc!

As pointed out in my blog heading, I'm a comic book creator. Well, I actually haven't been able to devote as much time as I'd want to on my personal creation, Angel Ace.
Angel Ace is my manga action-adventure series about a girl who can fly (in a nutshell). I've been able to release five issues (well, seven if you count the two issues of the original non-manga incarnation) of the story, completing the introductory story arc. However, I seem to have reached an impasse.
The reason for this is perhaps a conflict on what happens next? I've been working on a quiet, interlude-type story for the next issue, but it hasn't come together as easily as I'd want. On the other hand I could also just try to get into another action story right away, with lots of sexy girls and fight scenes. But I still feel there needs to be a segue before fireworks or another major storyline starts once again. I guess I'll realize it when the pages start getting churned out again.
I also think part of the problem as well is my decision to turn Angel into a webcomic. What do I keep as printed stuff, and what do I put online? Another obstacle is financial reasons; publishing in our country is expensive, and every such venture is a major operation.
Sigh. I've promised myself that I'd put out a book soon... not within the year, but soon. I'll get to it, mark my words... I'll get Angel flying again before long.

The Day's Catch

Despite it being a pretty busy week, I still managed to sneak out of the office for my literal round of Makati. I was able to get Mike a DVD of the second volume of Rahxephon, a somewhat high-concept but unquestionably high quality anime series which seems to meld mecha with a Matrix-hidden world theme. I was also able to get for myself a copy of the new PS2 wrestling game WWE Smackdown: Shut Your Mouth!(Gotta love that title) and the Xbox version of Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance.
I've got the games... question is, when can I play them since times are busy right now. Sigh. Whatver. Where there's a will, there's a way.

It's Newtype... but NOT.

Yesterday, I did the usual 'leeching' at Comic Quest Megamall for my weekly comic fix. I went home with only two items... but they made up in size and price (Damn you, Mike!!!) for the quantity. One was the latest Previews, which I get regularly as a matter of course. The other is the first issue of the english Newtype magazine.
FYI, Newtype is a Japanese 'Moving Pictures' mag which primarily deals with anime and film. It's quite large and very visually interesting, with full-page spreads of anime art and stills, and lots of articles... all of it in Japanese, of course. Well, I made it a point to buy Newtype issues whenever I could, simply for the art. Plus, they often came with great posters and giveaways like postcards and even DVDs.
Well, what can I say about the much-hyped english version? Well, it captures the look of the authentic Japanese mag. I'm just not sure about the content; is this the same as the Japanese copies, or is it more skewed towards US audiences? The ads in the english Newtype are obviously from ADV Films and other US companies; part of the pleasure in leafing through the Japanese mag is seeing what is actually in vogue in Nippon. That's kinda lost, I think. Otherwise, the content is pretty good though; there are J-Pop articles, interviews with seiyuu (anime voice actors) and even a translated manga (not the same Five Star Stories as in the Japanese Newtype though). Overall, it's not a bad buy; perhaps even an excellent pick for serious anime fans.
Well it has to be for the price... Pretty expensive. Anyway, with a DVD free inside, I am impressed. At the very least I can start reading my Newtype as well as stare at it.

Hot Stuff.

Oh-Kay... (trying to have an air of normalcy) I came home wanting to have a snack. My parents seem to have gotten a taste for microwave popcorn, and for every day for the past two weeks I've been coming home to a house smelling of slightly burnt butter. They always offer me some or tell me to make my own bag, but I've so far said "I will..." but never did. Well, tonight I wanted a bag of nice, steaming-hot, butter-basted, exploded kernels. Of course, there's none left. GAH. Anyway, I was forced to look for other sustenance. I was simply out of chips, candy or anything edible in the Sanctum caches. Luckily though, there were a couple of Lucky Me! Wok Noodles in the fridge. It took some time, but I was finally able to fix up a bowl of the extra spicy noodles.
I have to say, Lucky Me! simply cornered the instant Pancit Canton market in the Philippines (Far and away the most delicious instant soup-less noodles in the country), and their quality and taste extends to their new stuff. Delicious. And HOT. Good thing I had a half a bottle of Coke to wash it down. Still, I'm breathing lethal fumes at the time of this writing. Great. Better brush my mouth with toothpaste AND detergent to get rid of the smell.
Still, tasted great though.

Kick me. Please. HARDER!

If you haven't noticed, my blog looks like it got fricked and fracked. And it's all my own doing. Well, that's what happens when you try and mess with things that you don't fully understand. Anyway, I tried my best to at least get stuff to read back online. But I'm about as good at doing code as I am with deciphering heiroglyphics... so it's pretty grim. Hopefully we can get our webgoddess Cynthia to make things right... Sigh. What a day.

Word WITCHery

Can anyone tell me why the dialogue in the recent issues of WITCH comic/zine read like a badly-dubbed foreign film? The english and grammar are horrible. Nikki Alfar told me this a while ago, but I only now realized it when I scanned through some pages of the latest issue (I guess I really have been neglecting to read them). Some example of dialogue:
Will getting attacked by a water-creature:
"Aah! Let me go, you bad beast!"
Will leaving after an argument with her mom...
"Whew! I did it. I though mommy would follow me! She has such a bad characteristic."

The HELL..!? Someone call the Translation Police! Crime in progress!

"WHAT IS BEST IN LIFE?"

If you asked Conan the Barbarian, he'd answer,
"CRUSH ENEMIES, SEE THEM DRIVEN BEFORE YOU, THEN HEAR THE LAMENTATIONS OF THEIR WOMEN."
If you asked my old copywriting teacher, he'd say
"Scratching itches, talking about other people, and eating free food." (translated from Filipino).

My kind of TIME.

I went wandering around during lunch, walking from having lunch at KFC Greenbelt (sampling the new Cheezy Bacon Hotshots... Delicious but you have apply the cheezy powder yourself, like flavored popcorn) all the way to Glorietta Mall. I went to Park Square and got the latest issue of WITCH (which I collect solely for the art). Later, I passed by Bibliarch and picked up the new issue of TIME Magazine... because it has Lord of the Rings on the cover. It has a fair-sized feature on the second film, The Two Towers, and great pics. I'll have nice bathroom reading later.

Revenge is best served BLOODY.

I was just lying in bed flipping channels when I came upon two channels, Star Mandarin and VIVA channel, back to back, each showing Asian movies that have revenge themes. They are also both a bit old, and have pretty cheezy, over-the-top and crazy stunts. One of them is The Story of Ricky, or Ricky-Oh, a Hong Kong flick I first saw years ago. This is a category III movie, meaning it's been given a mature or adults only rating in HK due to extreme sex or violence. Ricky-Oh's content is mostly violence; bloody, meatgrinder-gory violence. Basically, it's the story of a young man named Ricky (whose huge muscles, long hair and black pants make him a perfect actor to play Lui Kang in Mortal Kombat) who enters a corrupt prison in order to find the source of an opium ring that killed his loved one. This pits Ricky against super-strong convicts who serve the literally demonic warden, including acrobatic kung-fu fighters and brutal thugs and armies of guards. A funny thing is that HK action actress Yukari Oshima (Cynthia Luster to Manilenos) appears as one of the enemies; and yes, she is supposed to be male in this film. Lots of bloody deaths, spattering gore and exploding bodies mix with trademark HK goofiness and humor to make this a bloody classic. I was fortunate enough to see an uncensored version years ago, when Star Movies Mandarin didn't censor their films on TV. Heh.
The other revenge movie of the night is an old Filipino film, Anino ni David Crusado (Shadow of David Crusado) It stars stuntman/action star (I refuse to call him an actor) Dante Varona in a dual role as a man named David Crusado (and his twin brother) who tries to resist the evil Don who runs the provincial hacienda. The Don of course has David killed... but that only seems to make him mad. The hero returns, apparently alive, and clad in shiny black robes (with pointy hood) and wielding a scythe. This spectre of Death then starts to terrorize the Don and his men, beheading his targets. The film then moves onto various hilarious duels as a hodgepodge of 'martial artists' and hired killers try to put David Crusado back into his grave. The sword/bolo/scythe duels are laughable, and David Crusado has got to be one of the most taciturn heroes ever. ALL of the extras who play thugs get to ham it out with adlibbed dialogue while the hero just stares at them silently. As Filipino films go, this has average production values (funny costumes; the final bad guy wears red shiny robes and a mask he could have bought from a toy store), so it naturally looks horrible. But it's actually entertaining in a low-brow way, with blind hermits, cave hideouts filled with booby traps, a main villain who rants like J.Jonah Jameson, a lady love in distress and a hero who wields a scythe AND a machine gun. What more can you want?
Ah, revenge. Base emotions portrayed in base films. Gotta love that. Heh.

Cherished Bonds

It's only a few days away from the Manila showing of the latest James Bond flick, Die Another Day with Pierce Brosnan reprising the role of Agent 007. Noticeably getting considerable billing is Oscar-award winner Halle Berry, who plays the part of Jinx, an beautiful and fickle American NSA agent. I've read good reviews, calling DAD the 'best Bond film in a long, long time'. I hope so. The series has seen lots of better days... in fact, I have to say I became a lukewarm Bond fan since Mr. Brosnan donned the tux and started guzzling those martinis.
I don't blame Brosnan; I still think he DOES have the perfect look of a Bond, as much as either Roger Moore or Sean Connery (I still think Connery was the best Bond, with Moore second if only for his great, enjoyable films). However, the 'real-life' direction of the Bond films, which started with Timothy Dalton's tour of duty, really took away the FUN of the series for me (guess who my WORST Bond is...)
I don't care if that was the way of the original books by Ian Fleming. I want large-scale plots. I want armies of thugs. I want the evil, twisted masterminds. I want the scary henchman with the weird schticks. That's James Bond! WHERE IS SPECTRE!?! Bring Ernst Stavros Blofeld back to kick the ass out of Dr. Evil!
Anyway, the Dalton flicks were horrible. I HATE Dalton's dull, expressionless, monotone-voiced Bond. I hated License to Kill, with it's attempt at real-world plots. Colombian drug lords? BORING!!! The only good thing there was Carey Lowell in a swimsuit. Otherwise, CRAP. Don't even get me started on Living Daylights. Speaking of incomprehensible plots, can anyone tell me what The World Is Not Enough was all about? I can never watch that horrible excuse for a Bond film. Not even Denise Richards' tank top could save that stinker. And who was the villain? Looked like Mini-me, only taller and less dangerous.
I have to say those are my hated Bond films. Stinkers, the lot of them. Almost made me forget that I love this series. Of course, all I need to do is recall the golden moments of Bond.
The Spy Who Loved Me. Ah. Mad billionaires with underwater cities. Richard Kiel's Jaws was unforgettable. The battle in the tanker was action end-to-end (something that is matched only by the Moonraker finale). Another favorite is Goldfinger, probably the quintessential Bond film. Oddjob and that incredible hat. Pussy Galore. And how more classic can you get with a plot that concerns robbing Fort Knox?
Another favorite is Thunderball, if only for the definitive Spectre presence. Rounding the list off are You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only and From Russia With Love. Dr. No is an honorable mention if only for Honey Rider.
Bond is a legend. He's an archetype. You don't try to update and force-fit him into current events. He has his own world, dammit! GAH!
Anyway, the best new Bonds was probably Tomorrow Never Dies for an over-the-top villain in media mogul Peter Carver. Michelle Yeoh wasn't sexy at all here, though. Just doesn't do it for me. I liked Goldeneye's bad girl Xenia Onatopp a lot better. If only her fight scene with Bond was a lot more... involved. Heh.
Hm. Well, after all that, I guess I am really looking forward to the next Bond. I really hope I dig it, but I am lowering my expectations just in case. I still long for the old Bond magic back. Maybe someday. Someday...

Jolly Good Villain...

I was able to catch a few minutes of the Mel Gibson flag-waver, The Patriot, this morning on HBO. An apparent follow-up to his far more successful and far superior Braveheart, TP once again casts Gibson as a simple man with simple dreams who can turn into a killing machine when his loved ones are threatened. Once again, snotty and aloof Brits are the enemy, this time the redcoat troops of the American Revolution. As in Braveheart, there are tons of rousing battle scenes and violent fights, though now the weapons of choice are muskets and tomahawks instead of arrows, swords, axes and morning stars.
Providing the focus of the conflict and The Patriot's villainy is Jason Isaacs, who plays the brutal British cavalry commander whose vile tactics of going after the heroes' families marks him for a satisfying death by film's end.
Moviegoers who have seen the recent Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets should recognize Isaacs even through the white hair and black robes of his new villain role; that of the sinister and Nazi-esque Lucius Malfoy, sire to Harry's nemesis Draco and apparent new heavy in the Potter movies.
I actually have seen quite a few movies with Isaacs in it; He played one of the soldiers in Black Hawk Down, a somewhat sinister medic in the sci-fi horror flick Event Horizon (he gets shish-kabobed by Sam Neil though) and had roles in recent films like The Tuxedo and Sweet November (neither of which I had seen). He will next be seen in the upcoming League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and in the next Resident Evil movie.