Best Videogame Movie Yet?



That's the impression I got after watching the latest trailer of Silent Hill.

Whereas the first teaser spot was kinda... off... the full trailer makes me totally excited in this movie adaptation of the classic survival-horror game series from Konami. In a contrast to the Biohazard/Resident Evil games which basically puts players in the shoes of trained combat professionals on missions, Silent Hill throws in hapless souls out of their daily humdrum lives into a horrifying mystery quest. The frights are more visceral, more twisted and less monster than they are nightmares grabbed from the darkness inside the human mind. At stake are their very souls, and the souls of their loved ones, typically lost and missing in the all-consuming fog.
The new trailer has it all... the innocent victims at the start, the inevitable accident that traps them into the realm of shadows that is Silent Hill. There's the protagonist- a young mother (Radha Mitchell) seeking her missing child (Jodelle Ferland). There's Cybil, the hot lady cop straight from the first game (Laurie Holden), a with-like woman named Dahlia (Deborah Kerr Unger) foretelling doom, and a worried father (Sean Bean, hopefully as a real hero this time) trying his utmost to actually get IN Silent Hill to find his wife and child. Apparently the town's being consumed by something terribly evil, and people are actually being forced to hole up and run from its grasp or be utterly destroyed. The key to it all is the spectre of a young girl (yes, another evil young girl to inspire terror), with which the protagonist must somehow deal with if she is to save her child...

By the latter half of the trailer, the imagery turns to the familiar horrors of the game- ghastly apparitions, dark realms of shadow, rust and blood, bandaged walking and grasping abominations. And the sirens... those evil sirens are blaring by the end, and the familiarly creepy Silent Hill music is playing... They got it. They got it all.

The director of Silent Hill is Christophe Gans, who may not be a popular director but megged the very atmospheric Brotherhood of the Wolf, and that will surely aid in the creepy feel of SH. I can't wait to lose myself in this film. And it looks to work, thanks to the recent craze in creepy films. Silent Hill may just have what it takes to be the most successful and at least, faithful videogame to movie adaptation yet.

Silent Hill sweeps into theaters this April 2006.

To see the awesome trailer, click here.

K.I.A.



The events in the latest Batgirl comic seems to have put me into the mood for sexy, petite Asian girls with perfect killing-machine beautiful bods. Yep, I feel like doing another K.I.A. comic, and soon. Hopefully focusing on the adventures of my own Kai will make me forget the travails of Cassandra Cain.

Anyway, I ended the first K.I.A. anthology release with Agent K suddenly remembering her real name- Kai. Then what? It's conceivable that she would then go about trying to learn all she can about herself; aside from still wracking her brain for the shards of memory that are flitting about, just out of reach, she may try to track down some of the faces in her head. Foremost of course, is Angel, whom she has been seeing everywhere faintly until 'Shock to the System'.

Would Kai trust Vanya and KALI enough to openly ask for their help in finding her past? Probably not. As Agent K, she has learned to be more cautious... she'll do her probing on her own. This will lead to abruptly ask for a vacation (the simple act of which I have already written a script for) to have time to do her sleuthing. But what will this search uncover? Angel Ace? The SIVA? What happened in the time between Kai's 'death' and rebirth as Agent K? What role did Vanya and KALI play in the current situation of Agent K/Kai?

All these we'll try to take up in the next K.I.A. release (and perhaps with a mission story or two). I really would like to continue Kai's adventures in smaller sizes than the original anthology (so I can do it more often), but still with colored covers and good production values (instead of making it a Xerox book like Kunoichi Boy). As I said, it's my favorite. Heh. We'll see what happens, soon.

There. I've forgotten about Batgirl already. DOH!!!

Comics in Crisis

Some comic bits...

Darn, Infinite Crisis is a doozie of a read. Four issues and I'm still reeling with each new reveal, with the pull-no-punches action and the cataclysmic developments. It's enough to make me want to go out and grab a new copy of the Original Crisis on Infinite Earths to relive the events that set the seeds for all the dire situations happening presently in the DC universe. Whoa. Gotta pause... Whoa. This issue is so far the best in a so far outstanding and appropriately grim and universe-changing series.

The latest issue of Batgirl is cataclysmic in a smaller way. WHAT THE FOCK!!!!! HOW CAN THEY DO THAT!!?! SPOILER ALERT. Yeah, they killed Batgirl AKA Cassandra Cain. The spunky, coolly awesome little oriental girl in the batsuit gets stabbed through the chest in this penultimate issue. And no, she's not on her last legs as the issue ends- she's DEAD, as in, she breathes her last breath, says her last words then trails off into silent stillness with her eyes open DEAD.

Then Shiva comes, picks up her limp body and takes her to.. where? Well, there's a Lazarus Pit nearby just begging for Cass to take a bath in, but we'll just have to see how this ultimately ends. Will Cassandra Cain remain dead (which SUCKS since she was pretty awesome and is so similar to my own Kai) or be resurrected? One thing's for sure, whether she's alive or still dead at the end of the next ish, the Batgirl series is over. As for the character of Cassandra Cain, we'll just have to see. I do hope that if she does stay dead, they don't just forget her. She mattered, damn it. I want to see her live on and continue, hopefully as one of the new members of Birds of Prey. Darn, it's going to be a long wait to February...

Waiting for Armageddon


The many, the proud, the deadly.

I never thought I'd be excited over a Mortal Kombat game, but I am. Yeah, the previous couple of installments- Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance and MK: Deception are collecting dust, unplayed, in The Sanctum- but I find myself quite in a tizzy over the upcoming Mortal Kombat: Armageddon.

The latest issue of Game Informer magazine has released the first solid info on the upcoming MK title. Contrary to expectations, the latest MK will not be a next-gen title. Yep, it will instead be coming out on the older PS2 and Xbox. The reason for this is so Midway can tie up all the loose ends left in the current storylines before moving onto the Next Gen platforms.
Aside from that though, there's little revealed about what will be in store in terms of story. What is revealed is more about the gameplay, features and perks that are coming with Armageddom.

First of all, MKA will feature over 60 characters. Yep, you read that right. More than 60 kombatants- which is literally almost everyone who has ever appeared in an MK game, in all the released platforms. This includes even obscure titles like MK Mythologies Sub-Zero and MK Special Forces. The only character to perhaps miss the proverbial boat though is the centaur-like sub-boss, Motaro, who apparently might not make the cut (good riddance).

If 60 of the baddest, meanest bastards and bastardettes in Outworld and Earth Realm aren't enough for you... then KREATE your own! MKA will include a Kreate-a-Kombatant mode which will allow you to create your own death-dealer from the ground up. Dress him or her up from head to toe, customizing everything from eye color to breast size (Yes, you read that right too). Not only that, but you'll be able to select each of their special attacks and moves, and even name your special techniques yourself. Yeah, like Soul Calibur 3 it will be Attack of the Bikini Fighters all over again, but darn, it's gonna be fun. Hoho.
Tired of the usual Fatalities? MKA will also have Customizeable Fatalities. It's not clear though how this will be implemented. I'm pretty sure you won't be able to represent EVERY twisted fatality dream out there (particularly anything to do with pouring hot oatmeal down some orifices), but we'll just have to see.

In terms of other modes and extras, MKA will feature a redone Konquest Mode (which was basically a mini-adventure in previous games) that will be more similar to the recently-released and quite excellent Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks. Unlockable secrets and extras, once accessible only from Konquest, will now be reachable by play in other modes, and will be found in the game's new Vault (which replaces the old 'Krypt' as the storehouse for goodies).
As for actual gameplay changes, all we know is that the fighting system will be overhauled. You can customize combos and there will be a new way to do air combos. You will also be able to control where you throw opponents, adding a bit more strategy to environmental dangers like deathtraps and stage-specific dangers.

WHEW! That's a lot. A damn lot. And I am giddy with glee. There's a cool fighter coming still to the present platforms, so fighting game fans looking to see what may be the best MK ever would do well not to sell off their PS2s or Xboxes just yet.

Mortal Kombat: Armageddon is set for release on Xbox and PS2 in October 2006.

A Lion in Winter

I finally got to watch Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe last night. After a pizza dinner at Greenwich (yummy original crust pizza), I made a beeline for Gateway Mall's nice theaters. I caught the last full show and had my choice of pretty much everywhere to sit since there were only about a dozen people in the spacious theater. And good thing too, since the goddamn idiots behind me kept talking and talking even after the movie started. I walked off and found myself a nice seat near the front, nearer to the screen, away from cinematic barbarians.

Anyway, Narnia is the first in what may be a series of films based on C.S. Lewis' fantasy novels. Actually, I haven't read the actual book, but I DID watch the classic animation movie based on The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe shown years and years ago. So, yeah, I knew what was going to happen even before getting in the theater.
The four Pevensie children- Lucy, Edward, Peter and Susan- are living in London during The Blitz in World War II. After a night of bombing from above, their mom sends them packing off to the countryside where they'll be safe. They are sent off to stay in the rather large mansion of one Professor Kirke, along with the McGonagall-like housekeeper, Mrs. MacReady (Elizabeth Hawthorne). While exploring the mansion during a game of Hide and Seek, Lucy (the youngest) discovers a huge wardrobe closet which turns out to be a portal to the fantasy world of Narnia.
There, she meets Mr. Tumnus (a quite well-cast James McAvoy), a faun, and has a bit of tea with the hoofed halfling creature. However, fun and lightness soon turns into menace when Lucy learns of the White Witch, Jadis (played note-perfect by Tilda Swinton), a tyrannical sorceress who has locked Narnia into an eternal winter. Eventually, all four Pevensies enter Narnia, and there is some drama as younger brother Edmund finds himself making some pretty daft decisions involving sweets called Turkish Delights. Ultimately, the children unite with Narnia's Lion King, Azlan (voiced by Liam Neeson), and together fulfill a prophecy to vanquish Jadis and bring summer and justice to the land.

First off, comparison with the more mature and sophisticated LOTR trilogy are unavoidable- the effects (or at least some) were done by WETA Workshop, which also did LOTR's eye-popping FX. The flavor and mood of Narnia however is more storybookish and whimsical compared to the midieval pseudo-history of Middle Earth. While LOTR makes you feel that you walked into some lost chapter of earth's history, Narnia is a trip into a fairy tale.

This makes for the more ecclectic look of Narnia's creatures- the armies of both good and evil are made up of half-man, half-whatever races, or even actual animals like cheetahs, rhinos and beavers (ah, the Beavers...), wolves and foxes. While the faun and centaur warriors certainly look awesome, the armies look mismatched and motley compared to the armored humans of Middle Earth. Don't expect gritty combat- this is simpler by a long shot (with armies led by children, what do you expect?) but still you can expect some pretty exciting battle scenes by the end- a big pay off for a pretty long film (going a bit over two hours).
In terms of acting, the Pevensie kids are pretty good, though I have to say there's a bit of woodenness to some scenes. Lucy's (Anna Poppenwell) face is definitely button cute and perfect for the role, while Edmund (Skandar Keynes) has the sullen look befitting his character. As expected, Tilda Swinton own ever scene she appears in as the icy queen, even more so in her climactic fight scenes- that girl can swing a sword and make it look serious... I wonder if she can do it as a protagonist, eventually?

Worth watching certainly despite my nitpicks, Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is a respectable entry into the fantasy film genre. Give Narnia a visit in theaters now in the Metro.

Kick Ass Babe


Milla Jovovich is the ultimate ass-kicker in Ultraviolet.

WHOA! I just saw the newly-released trailer for the film Ultraviolet, and I have to say I'm anticipating this film with eager beaver glee. The film is set in the future when genetics have allowed for the development of mutant, superhuman beings. However, these beings were hunted down when the ruling government saw them as a threat. The last remaining mutated supersoldier is, of course, the titular Violet, and she's got a bone to pick with humanity.
The film stars Milla Jovovich as the pistol-packing, shades-wearing, bodysuit-hugging super agent, which is kinda fitting since the psychedelic, dazzling and comicbook-like visuals of the futuristic world Ultraviolet exists in bears a bit of resemblance to the Fifth Element, which Jovovich also starred in. The visuals also bring to mind the look of the videogame Killer 7, which I really, really dig.

The fight scenes look pretty amazing, with UV taking on literally armies of black-suited thugs, so this will be a feast of carnage (though maybe bloodless) and lots of supergirlpower action.

Will this be something awesome or just all flash and sizzle? We'll just have to wait and see. I'll be sure to give this a big lookee-lookee when it comes slamming in later this year.

To see the awesome trailer, click here.

The Final Countdown

I guess I'll have to at least try to give that Neil Gaiman contest at Fully Booked for comics or fantasy literature a good ol' fashioned college try. 100,000 smackers isn't something to sneeze at. We've all got until the end of February (the original deadline was extended from end of December) to come up with some extraordinary stuff. Of course, I'll have to start wracking the noodle for some new stuff... I know something's still in there untapped. Just have to tickle it a bit and milk the head udders. Maybe I should get some inspiration by watching something cool- hopefully Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in a nice, big theater. We'll see what the grey macaroni pumps out soon.

Shootout

Finally, I'm able to update. It's been a pretty busy weekend for me: I had to attend a shoot for one of our major clients. It was an MTV/Promo TV commercial, starring lovely local singer/actress/model/VJ Iya Villania and quite a few attractive young women as well. We shot the spot in two days of shooting inside a studio, which meant long hours of sitting around as the crew set up the shots, and take after take was filmed. Yeah, I and my art director Trish had to spend hour upon hours on duty (sipping sodas and nibbling on chips and candies periodically placed before us), but it was cool to be on the client's seat and see everything done well. The Production House was great, the talents were marvelous and the director hilarious. By the time we finished it was early morning Monday, but what the hey... it looks like the commercial/MTV's gonna look great and that's all that matters.

One funny little thing- to pass the time during some of the longer setups, I actually watched the whole Aeon Flux movie on my O2 Mini. It's actually the first time I actually watched a full-length movie on my mobile, and it wasn't half bad. It's a great way I guess to see some films that you ordinarily don't have time to see. And I still had lots of power left over till the shoot packed up. Coolness. My thoughts on the film? Well, here's a mini-review for the mini-watch. Cool story with some nice mysteries and a bit of the psychobabble and philosophizing morality plays from the original cartoon. I would have liked Trevor Goodchild to have been blonde though- the actor wasn't bad but he looked kind of non-descript. Miss Theron gave a great performance, but I still hate her costume. Not bad at all, and perhaps I'll give it a watch when it slips into Manila theaters.

Teaser


The face of things to come from Arnold Arre.

The rather sinister image above was emailed to me by none other than Mr. Myth Class himself, Arnold Arre. It's a teaser for his upcoming comic project, which is his take on Pinoy superheroes. When I first saw the pic, the first thing that popped into my head was the Alagad ni Kalantiao TV series of long, long ago. It was a local series about a trio of motorcycle-riding, leather vest-wearing, baton-swinging, martial arts-kicking vigilantes sent out by the titular wise man/hermit to fight evil. I remember it only vaguely, but it was pretty cool at the time.
It will be a kick to see what Arnold has done to reimagine the title (since he, or specifically his better half Cyn, has more or less confirmed that I was correct in my assumption). The project has apparently been 3 years in the making- look for it to make another big splash in the local comics scene very soon.

UPDATE: Arnold's latest creation is apparently titled Andong Agimat, and will be released under his own Tala Studios (meaning, he's spending for it with his own money instead of a publishing house like Adarna). The gritty superhero/supernatural tale will concern the titular hero's search for the goddess Maria Makiling, who has apparently lost her memory and is now wandering a dangerous Metro Manila. Hmmm. Interesting. Veeery interesting. Wait for this one, very soon.

Wounded Animal

DARN IT! Like his Raw counterpart, Dave 'The Animal' Batista has also lost the WWE Heavyweight Championship Belt.

The former champion incurred another injury (a ripped tricep, I believe) during a bout with wrestler Mark Henry, which is even more serious than his earlier injury. Batista had been performing full time on WWE Smackdown despite not yet recovering 100 percent from his earlier injuries in order to keep the shows and storylines going in the wake of Eddie Guerrero's death, but this time there's no way out of it.
In the latest Smackdown show, an emotional Batista was forced to relinquish his title to General Manager Teddy Long. The WWE Heavyweight Championship was then fought over by other WWE superstars in a Battle Royale. The winner?

SPOILER ALERT.... The new WWE Heavyweight Champion is none other than Raw's Kurt Angle, who surprised all by showing up on the Smackdown set. The outsider was then attacked by other Smackdown superstars, but eventually survived to eliminate Mark Henry and become the new WWE Heavyweight Champion.

EDITED:
Dave Batista's surgery to his ripped tricep was a complete success, which will probably ensure that he'll be back in a big way after he recuperates. Here's to you reclaiming the Belt, Gentle Giant.

Dysfunctional

I've seen a couple of episodes of the Animax show, The Family Defensive Alliance. The show started late December and was billed as 'The Incredibles of Anime'. Well, it's about a family in Japan that has more or less been drafted into being the defenders of the planet by a race of secretive aliens. Now, using special cards in their possession, the family members transform into supersuit-wearing 'superheroes' employing galactic-class weaponry against various invading alien monsters.

The schtick here is that the family, The Daichis, are about as dysfunctional as a family can be. The Dad, Mamoru, is an overweight, meek, indecisive wimp. Mom (and one hot momma at that) Seiko is about as sensitive and sweet as a chili pepper and is overbearing to the hilt, especially to shy daughter Nozomi. Finally, the youngest son Dai is a gross little brat. The financial situation is dismal. Mom wants a divorce. The kids are at each other's throats. And they're supposed to save the world?
It's this very manic family situation paired with giant monster invasions that will either drive you away from this series or keep you watching episode per episode. This is a lot more gritty than Pixar's film ever was, which is actually cool in a way as it should make any sentimental pay-offs that much more meaningful. However, it probably will get a lot darker before it gets better since several aliens in, the family is heavily in debt (they earn money for victories but have to pay for every weapon they use!) and they're still not the picture-perfect album material. Well, deep inside they probably really do love each other. Maybe. Oh well.
What this series does have is really slick and cool animation, pretty lovely character designs and a moody ending song that makes you wonder if there's a happy ending in there somewhere. Hmm. We'll just have to see. The Family Defensive Alliance is shown every 8AM on weekdays on Animax.

NOTE: This series is actually an anime originally titled The Daichis: Earth's Defense Family. Good luck in finding this obscure title in anime shop's, since I haven't been able to track it down.

RAW Deal

In the just-concluded WWE Pay-Per-View, New Year's Revolution, WWE Champion John Cena became a former champion. While he was able to weather through the brutal Elimination Chamber match with competitors Kurt Angle, Sean Michaels, Carlito Carribean Cool, Chris Masters and Kane, he lost the title subsequently when Edge cashed in his 'Money in the Bank' clause for an instant WWE Title Match. Two spears later, the heel Edge won to earn his first WWE championship.
I know for a fact that part of the reason why The Doctor of Thugganomics lost was due to the insistent amount of negative reactions he has been getting from crowds at WWE shows and PPVs. While Cena is certainly one of the more likeable champs since his face turn (he started off as a heel in the WWE), he consistently gets booed and booed a lot by crowds of assholes in the WWE shows.
Anyway, perhaps it's time for a bit of rocking the boat, at least. I hope that Cena retains his bad-ass face persona, instead of turning heel. We need more bad-ass good guys more than assholes in the WWE. Perhaps in the future, Cena will recapture the WWE belt, as well as the favor of these blasted nay-sayers. He's a young superstar, so he should have lots of years of FU-ing the competition to come in the theater that is the WWE.

Dark Resurrection


Tekken 5 Barbie!

The arcade update to Tekken 5, subtitled Dark Resurrection is now available in local arcades here in the Metro. The update features primarily two new characters: Dragunov is a Russian soldier/Marilyn Manson-lookalike who specializes in the commando sambo fighting style (lots of heavy punches and kicks, grapples) while Lili is a young woman with long, blonde hair (and a panty-flashing short skirt) who dances her opponents to defeat. Aside from these newcomers, the game also has the return of fan cult-fave Armor King, the jaguar-masked master of dark wrestling. The veteran characters also get lots of new colors and items for customization.

I didn't actually get to play, being content to just watch the fights. The two new fighters didn't impress me too much... not that I saw much of them since the players were predictably using their favorite boring fighters.

I don't expect Dark Resurrection to make it to the PS2, it seems mainly an incentive for the arcade crowd to keep playing. I'm much more interested in seeing the next real Tekken game- hopefully with an itineration still on PS2, with a character creator function like Soul Calibur 3 did. And Tekken Tag Tournament II on PS3. We'll see how the Iron Fist saga goes later this year.

Quest 2006

Last night, the Comic Quest Gang met for the first time this year at UCC Coffee. Along with the 'pillars' of the gang, Vin, Dean, Nikki there were veterans (me and Andrew) and our new-vets, Alex and Kate. Yeah, the roster has changed a bit, but that didn't lessen the bouts of uncontrollable laughter and the intelligent, irreverent and thoroughly entertaining conversations. We talked about life, love and quirks that make each person unique and how in this day and age if you want to make something of yourself you have to take the first steps yourself, or let yourself be helped.

The night ended in the wee hours of the morning after a very early breakfast/food trip at an all-night McDonald's, and then we were off into the night for home. A great way to start the year for the gang. Later, people.

Rising Angel


"Fallen Angel" Lee returns in a big way.

One of my favorite comics in the past couple of years was a DC title known as Fallen Angel. It was an odd title- not quite your regular superhero title, though the protagonist, Lee the Fallen Angel can kick butt with well-nigh invulnerability, super-strength and the ability to psychically EXPLODE anyone who pisses her off. Set in the crime-ridden, corrupt and shadow-cloaked city of Bete Noir, the comic explored Lee's complex relationships with other shady characters, such as her friend/confidante Dolf, hoodlums like the laschivious Asia Minor and the city's untouchable 'magistrate', Juris. Oh, and there's a lot of action too.
Unfortunately, while the comic was a cult hit, it didn't pull in the cash quite like DC's frontrunners like Batman or JLA... so after the 20th issue, Fallen Angel was cast into the dark. However, the creator-owned title has found new life in IDW Publishing, thanks to creator Peter David's hard work as well as the support and encouragement of many, many fans.

Now, the NEW Fallen Angel from IDW Publishing has hit shelves. The character and story are the same- only the title is now set 20 years after the end of the final issue of the DC run. Yep, 20 years. What effect has this on the Fallen Angel and the other members of the cast? Not much- while appearing with a bit of gray in her hair and some wrinkles when in her daytime guise as a PE Teacher, Lee reverts to her young and still damn strong red-haired, red cloaked form at night when Bete Noir comes alive. And business is still booming for the vigilante/mercenary/bounty hunter/ass-kicker known as the Fallen Angel.

The first issue of Fallen Angel features pretty impressive art from new artist J.K. Woodward, whose painted, photo-realistic panels bring to mind the work of Alex Ross. While some action scenes may look a bit stiff, the quality of the art is undeniable and even gives Fallen Angel the look of a TV series- a darker, more visceral Buffy, save with Angels and Devils instead of Slayers and Vampires. Oh, and Peter David reveals a lot in the first ish- past speculations that Lee is none other than a resurrected Supergirl are all but quashed, as the nature of the Fallen Angel's true past is finally shown in a crucial flashback and key dialogue. This pretty much makes issue 1 a superb jumping on point/origin story for new readers, yet still reassuring longtime fans that Lee is still alive and kicking.

I highly recommend this to comic book lovers looking for a more unusual kind of superhero comic, fans of kick-ass female protagonicts, Buffy and Xena fans and cool comics in general. Get your copy now at all branches of Comic Quest.

As of this writing, Fallen Angel #1 has received rave reviews from critics, and the sales of the first issue have pleased IDW Publishing so much that the title is now assured to continue past issue 5. Here's hoping that it's all downhill from here. Go, Lee, GO!

X-babe


Mutie!

Some news from the upcoming X3. A new villain has been added to the cast: The femme fatale Psylocke AKA Betsy Braddock, will join the legions of evil mutants in Magneto's Brotherhood for the third film of the X-men movie franchise. Comic fans of course know that the British-born, purple-haired telepath turned ninja assassin is a good guy (er, girl) in the ongoing Uncanny X-men comics, having re-entered the world of the living recently after being seemingly killed in battle. This may be the first time Psylocke has appeared in any medium aside from the comics and videogames, which is amazing given that she's quite a popular character. What her exact role is in the film is still unknown.
Psylocke will be played by Meiling Melancon (pictured above), a Philippine-born actress whose sole notable prior acting appearance was in the film Rush Hour 2, as the 'girl in car'.

Looking at that pic, I'm certainly looking to see her in action. Hmmm. The X-movies seem to have a penchant for evil Asian girls. I hope she doesn't bite it like Deathstrike did. Wait for X3 by mid 2006.

Sword of Gideon

One of the films I am looking forward to seeing is Steven Spielberg's latest and probably most controversial film. Munich is a thriller based on the events following the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes during the 1972 Munich Olympics. In retaliation for this atrocity, the Israeli government sends a squad of assassins to take out the 11 Palestinians said to be responsible for the massacre. Aside from meticulous recreation of the Mossad's assassinations, this also delves into the personal cost and toll this mission takes on the men who carried it out.

I'm very curious about this movie- already shown in the US but still pretty much unknown here (which is odd given that it's from such a well-known director like Steven Spielberg). It's supposed to be 3 hours long and doesn't hold back on the violence- something that may cause it to be censored (though Schindler's List got through without cuts only after some controversy). It's also been lauded for not being partial to either the Israeli or Palestinian side.

The cast is pretty strong: Eric Bana, who has starred in some high profile movies (Hulk, Troy, Blackhawk Down) and always performs admirably in every role, plays the leader of the Mossad squad. Supporting him are Geoffrey Rush (Casanova Frankenstein in Mystery Men, Barbarossa in Pirates of the Carribean), Ciaran Hinds (Caesar in HBO's Rome) and Daniel Craig (the Next James Bond, Tomb Raider). Also appearing is Michael Lonsdale, whom Bond enthusiasts may remember as Hugo Drax in Moonraker.

I'm scouring the DVD shelves for this one. Who knows, it may just pop up before the inevitable (and hopefully not long from now) local theatrical release.

NINJA ATTACK!



Kunoichi Boy #1 is now available at Comic Quest Megamall. This is basically a reprint of the issue that debuted at last year's Komikon, but now with an added foreword and afterword. The 32-page story relates the first meeting between travelling artist/ninja crossdresser Jin Dragu and brawling babe Mikoto in the feudal Japan-esque fantasy land of Tao.
Mixing elements of Ranma 1/2, Inu Yasha and Ninja Scroll, Kunoichi Boy is a fantasy/action/comedy series that I'll be working on producing and releasing throughout 2006. Check it out!

Kunoichi Boy #1 is 32 pages, B/W, Php40.00 at Comic Quest Megamall.

Baking Anime


Kazuma and his passion for bread star in Yakitake! Japan.

Now I've seen everything. Surely, after seeing Yakitake! Japan it's pretty much definite that the Japanese can make an anime out of ANYTHING.

Yakitake! Japan is a series about baking bread. BREAD. How mundane is that? Well, apparently not mundane at all, given how passionate and driven the characters are about kneading, baking and producing the Holy Grail of dough-based products. The series is all about young Kazuma Asuma, who as a young boy growing up in Japan was inspired to love bread while he was a kid by his older sister and a friendly neighborhood Frrench-trained baker. The baker instills in Kazuma the belief that Japan, like many other countries in the world, deserves its own national bread. At that young age, Kazuma also discovers that he has the almost legendary 'Solar Hands'- supernaturally warm and strong hands that can produce the finest and most delicious of breads.
So, ten years after that first meeting, Kazuma goes to Tokyo to start his quest for Japan's national bread. Along the way, he'll have to compete in various baking competitions, meet rivals, make allies and friends and do a lot of kneading before he reaches his goal.

Yakitake is certainly very similar to series like Cooking Master Boy and Grander Musashi, titles which take otherwise boring or unexciting professions and inject into them over-the-top anime flavor to make them more acceptable to wider audiences.
This involves always having a young, good-looking lead with incredible talents, give him cartoony rivals and enemies of varying levels of antagonism (from friendly competition to megalomaniacal psychos) and make the products of the profession (in this case, the bread) be delicious to the point of delirium. As in Cooking Master Boy, eating bread made by Kazuma seems to induce hallucinations and visions of pleasure... you'll wonder what kind of weed he's using in his baking. Brownies, anyone? Along with reactions to bread that border on orgasmic, the series also inserts real facts about baking and breadmaking which are strangely interesting, though probably not very useful unless you find yourself hankering to bake your own pandesal sometime.

Despite the cookie-cutter (heheh) template tendency, it's hard not to enjoy the good-natured and hilarious premise of this series. I have to admit, this is a bit more particular than Cooking Master Boy was (which I really enjoyed), but I certainly find it quite watchable, if not thoroughly entertaining. This is probably not surprising given that I AM a bread lover myself.

I'll probably try and get me some VCDs of Yakitake! Japan if I get the chance, despite the HERO channel dub being quite good (I've really gotten used to tagalog anime, unfortunately), if only because I can't wait to see the episodes. Fortunately, the series has been out for a while, so it's readily available in most anime shops in the Metro.

I recommend watching Yakitake! Japan with a big bag of freshly-baked goodies from Bread Talk and a cold glass of soda. Enjoy!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

It's yet another year forward! MY GOSH! Where did the time go?!

The family spent the eve of the dawning of 2006 together in the homestead, feasting on Mom's Best Spaghetti and embutido on hot, toasted pandesal. Simple but satisfying to the extreme. Afterwards, the kids stormed into The Sanctum for some PS2-powered WWE Wrestling. Whether it's because our time together is now limited or whatever, this was probably the longest time the extended families spent together on a New Year or weekend... it was well past 1 am before everyone called it a night and retired for the New Day of the New Year.

Darn. I'm gonna miss this. Hopefully next year won't be at all lonely. Somehow, someway.

Greetings to all out there who made it into 2006 in one piece! My best wishes to all of you out there: My friends in the Comic Quest gang: Vinnie, Dean, Nikki, Andrew, El, Camy, Dino, Alex, Kate, Charles and Ralph. Also greeting our comic compatriots: Carl, Budjette, Arn and Cyn, Gerry, Wilson, Jennyson, Jeremy, the members of Team K.I.A., Project Hero and Siglo.

Best wishes as well to my fellow slaves at The Salt Mines. Yet another year of hard mining! Woohoo!

Special greetings to the more-or-less regulars here on STARK RAVING MAD... Sheila, Ferres, Ran, Zemzelett and all the rest of ya. Thanks for tagging or commenting in every now and then.

I'm looking forward to another year of cool gadgets, exciting movies, good eating, lots of laughs, comics-making and whatever surprises fate has placed in store for me.

Looking forward to releasing Kunoichi Boy issues every so often. Number 1 is in the can and should be in Comic Quest this week. Issue number two is in progress.

The Last Angel Ace Story is still in development. I want it to matter. I'm sitting on this until it's right. Hopefully it'll be out within 2006. We'll see.

The New Year is upon us. I hope all of you guys came into it with all digits intact. God Bless You all!

ONWARD, EVER FORWARD!

Retrospective

On the verge of making the leap to the New Year, I looked back at 2005 and hey, I guess I didn't do too bad.

At the Salt Mines in the vast mountain known as the business of advertising, us miners worked to turn around the situation at the start of 2005 to reap pretty nice rewards at the end of the year. From zero to hero is a pretty cool way of putting it, modesty aside.

In the field of local comics, I participated in a couple of notable projects which came in at a photo finish near the close of 2005; the much-delayed Siglo: Passion and the soon-to-be continued Project: HERO. Along the way I was able to debut another much-delayed title of my own: Kunoichi Boy, at the quite successful First Philippine KOMIKON.

In the area of gadgets, two nifty toys stood out; my O2 XDA II Mini PDA phone which I got in the middle of the year and look to keep for quite a while... it's turned out to be the perfect phone and media device for me and continues to be my favorite tech toy despite inevitable new models coming (like the XDA Atom and XDA Exec). If there's a new phone coming this year to unseat this from my belt holster, I have not seen it.
The other device I totally dig from 2005 is my spiffy Archos AV700 DVR Recorder/Player. I haven't used it on the road yet, but hours of movies, anime and gaming vids have already passed through it into my phone. Lovely, lovely. I just hope it stays working for a long, long time.

In the field of movies, this was a forgettable year. Big films came late in the year; I was charmed and thrilled by Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (IMO, the best Potter film yet), while the last installment of the lackluster Star Wars prequels just capped the trio of monumental mediocrity. I've yet to watch the biggie of 2005, King Kong... I guess it will become the first biggie of 2006 for me then. Funny enough, the last film I watched this year was a local film, Exodus, which is kinda fitting in terms of the title, don't you think?

On the Political Front, the country continues to labor along even with the ridiculously obvious corruption of the government. There were a few bright spots; the seeming stability of the economy and rising of the peso over the dollar towards the end of the year. The second, the Philippines' victory in the recent SEA Games.

At the home front, all is well though we do end 2005 with the melancholy possibility that within the next year the Sanctum's surroundings will be a lot quieter as my siblings and their families migrate to the States and elsewhere. Well, again, thanks to the wonders of modern media, we'll be able to keep in touch even across the miles.

As for the Comic Gang, 2005 saw us having fun as we had years before but eventually mellowing out our 'paint the town red on Saturdays' cycle. Some guys left, maybe never to return. New faces became old faces and thankfully there are still enough of us to bunch up together to do stuff every now and then despite our own individual pursuits.

Once again, not a bad year. Not a great year, but not bad. Not bad at all. And in these times, that's good.

The Grudge, WWE Style

Lately, an 'angle' or storyline on the WWE Smackdown show has young heel (bad guy) Randy Orton being 'haunted' by The Undertaker, whom he supposedly 'killed' (left the guy on a burning car that exploded). One of the recent shows had Orton being continuously harassed by supernatural encounters- from clocks spinning backwards to his father, 'Cowboy' Bob Orton appearing with blood dripping down his face and apparitions of the Undertaker appearing in mirrors.

The clinker that had me laughing out loud was a segment where a reporter suddenly gets 'possessed' and starts speaking with Taker's voice. Bad spirits? More like bad acting. Hoho...

Darn, when the WWE gets corny, it can get totally corny.

There's even a bit of gross-out Fear Factor stuff with the arrival of the wrestler known as The Bogeyman, who eats live worms and nightcrawlers and SPITS them onto his defeated opponents. GROOOOOSSSSS.

Well, whatever. Still a hoot to watch after all this time.

The Wait Begins

Okay.

Dead or Alive 4 is on the verge of widespread release. It's already apparently available in Asia, at least in Japan and probably elsewhere like in Hong Kong. The US will probably get theirs by tomorrow or later today. Online, forum boards are starting to trickle in with new pics and videos.

Doesn't change the fact that Xbox360s are horribly expensive here locally right now, or presently unavailable. Unless the stocks of the console go up and the prices go down, I won't be playing this next-gen brawler anytime soon. Hopefully in a couple of months... maybe. Darn. For now, I'll have to content myself with the new info and any media I can grab.

Darn. Oh well. Everything comes to he who waits.

BUT DAMN IT I HATE WAITING...

Exodus


Ramon 'Bong' Revilla Jr. takes on the forces of darkness.

Years ago, one of the best RPGs I played on the ol' PC was Ultima III: Exodus, which was pretty simple compared to the big budget fantasy games of today. The graphics were pretty basic, seen from a top down perspective with limited animation. Still, despite the bland visuals, I still found myself lost in the land of digital fantasy, battling terrible hordes of monsters with spells and swords in my quest for virtue in the land of Ultima.
Well, it's at least a decade later and FINALLY, the Exodus movie is now a reality.

Okay, I'm kidding. Exodus: Tales from the Enchanted Kingdom has nothing to do with the old PC game from Origin Systems. It's one of the entries to this year's Metro Manila Film Festival, a yearly event that basically takes over every theater and moviehouse from Christmas Day to New Year's Day here in our parts. I chose Exodus since the posters showed some pretty nifty costumes and I thought, what the hey... it looks a lot better to me than "Ako Legal Wife!' in any case. So, after doing my shopping for a couple of new pairs of shoes and some graphic novels, I bought a ticket and headed in.

Now, let me say for starters that I went in not expecting a lot. I am pretty jaded when it comes to local films, especially local fantasy films. I have to admit that I find that local fantasy just doesn't have the sophistication I am used to. OKAY, I know that expeting something like The Lord of the Rings from local producers is a bit much, but I say, there are things that can give a fantasy movie (or any movie for that matter) sophistication and coolness that don't necessarily require big budgets or gobs and layers of prosthetics, or stiff CG. These things include the following: A Good Script and Imaginative Direction. Sad to say, I have seen few local films in the fantasy genre (be they superhero, sword and sorcery or whatever) that take the effort to have these things. For the most part, these films let the fancy special effects and costumes do the talking.

Exodus: Tales of the Enchanted Kingdom starts off perhaps in the crummiest way possible- by actually showing THE Enchanted Kingdom amusement park. Yeah, shameless plugging there. Apparently, the Exodus movie is a ride as well. We have the logo wizard of the park appear in human/CG form along with a crappy anti-cellphone message (which is STILL ignored by several assholes in the theater, particularly some idiot sitting behind me). FINALLY, after the overlong intro, we finally go into the actual story.

The film is set in a besieged fantasy world where the last few humans are being hunted to extinction by the forces of darkness (Literally... the enemies are 'taong dilim' or night people). Outnumbered, the last remaining human city is called Bantayan, which is relying on the services of a grim, unsmiling mercenary named Exodus (Ramon Revilla Jr.), a man with a 'murky past' (this is from the movie literature). Seeing as they are about to be massacred, the human leaders send Exodus on a quest to defeat the King of Darkness, Haring Bagulbol.

Haring Bagulbol.

Okay, the first moment we hear the name of the Head Villain, Lord of Darkness and Master of Evil, we do not feel fear or awe. Who cannot help but giggle or guffaw at that fricking name?

Haring Bagulbol.

Snicker-snicker

Let me name some scary fantasy villains. Darkness from Legend. Sauron from The Lord of the Rings. Black Wolf from Wizards. Nekron from Fire and Ice. Thulsa Doom from Conan.

We got Haring Bagulbol.

I don't care what it means... I'm sure there's a meaning behind the word that made the writers choose it, but DARN IT, listen to how it sounds. BAGULBOL. It's FUNNY. NOT a name for the big villain of your fantasy epic.

GAH. Anyway... moving on...

Haring Bagulbol is played by local matinee idol/singer Jar-R who appears early on in a bath scene, and like young Sting in the old Dune movie appears in his bare essentials no doubt to the pleasure of all the girls out there. Well, they should soak it in since after that one scene he spends basically the whole movie afterwards covered head to toe in ornate armor and masks. What's the use of having him in masks all the time, and having a different voice? Anyway, Bagulbol basically spends the time in his castle, looking over torture chambers and being pretty passive, only sending out his minions a couple of times to hinder the oncoming assassination attempt on him from the humans.

Meanwhile, Exodus goes off on his quest, collecting the elemental creatures that are to be his allies. He gets four of them pretty easily- a Tikbalang or horse-beast named Tayho (Benjie Paras), a sexy flying aswang femme fatale named Bangkil (Aubrey Miles), a mischievous fire-child named Silab (BJ Forbes) and a lovely but fickle diwata or wind-fairy named Lin Ay (Iya Villania). Unfortunately, the FIFTH elemental being, an elemental of spirit called a Baylan, is supposedly extinct. The only remaining Baylan in the land is Haring Bagulbol himself (NO!) and of course he won't be joining the quest anytime soon.

So, despite the seeming hopelessness of the quest, Exodus finds a new direction from a cryptic vision and with his elemental allies go off to find 'the key' to all his questions. Meanwhile, the forces of evil are closing in on Bantayan, intent on extermination. Will Exodus and his comrades find the last Baylan in time? Can they defeat Bagulbol (snicker)?

Okay.

For starters, this really is just a dumb fantasy movie to please kids. There are cool costumes and some nifty CG effects, and there are attempts for some wirework sword-fu and stunts. But that's about it- nothing really sophisticated or surprising, notthing really unique to this venture aside from the usual expected fare.

The visuals of the movie are hit-and-miss. A lot of the budget obviously went into the costumes for the main heroes and villains; everyone else is second rate, and it shows. While the art direction and production team tries hard, it's still pretty funny to see people in the fantasy land of Bantayan wearing plaid shirts and polos, or the odd dress which looks picked up from some ukay-ukay flea market. As it is, the look of the film is uneven- some of it looks to be just weird or cool, which sometimes works (Bangkil wears shades, the human 'speakers' of the King of Bantayan wear divers' masks) and sometimes doesn't. Which pretty much sums up everything else in the movie in terms of visuals. Yeah, every one of the extras look like they're extras acting and that probably will never change in local movies. Sigh.

As per the story, again, it's pretty simple and basic- it's a kiddie film, no LOTR or serious fantasy film. There are resultantly few touches of sophistication and lots of leaps in logic. There's glaringly bad pacing as seems to be always the case with 'Quest' films in local cinema- there are FAR too many scenes with the heroes just walking and walking and walking and camping and walking, too few enemy action and encounters. There's little sense of tension or urgency despite the fact that the last remaining humans are supposedly in danger of invasion.
At the start of the movie, Exodus leads a small army of men armed with what appear to be primitive camera flashes to fight an overwhelmingly superior number of dark creatures. Instead of bunching the warriors and the lights together and having good tactics, they basically just do the ol' Filipino way of fighting- Exodus says SUGOOOODDD!!!! (Charge!!!) and everyone runs at breakneck speed into the enemy without any formation or direction except to kill anything that's black. Well, who am I to criticize their war strategy when they apparently win anyway, at least for the time being.

So, why doesn't Bagulbol send his armies against Exodus at the end of the movie? In fact, where are all his warriors then? At the climax, he has four guys (main henchmen who appear far too late and are pretty much clobbered too easily by the equivalent heroes) to defend his turf. Then, there's the inevitable final battle between Exodus and Bagulbol that just boils down to another wire-fu fight to save the world. No tricks, no special obstacle, no riddle to puzzle over- Exodus just kills Jay-R and that's that. Happy Ending. Oh, right, along the way Exodus finds out something, finds the key (LITERALLY... too literally) and the movie's big twist, and that's that.

In terms of acting and performances, it's all par for the course. Bong Revilla basically mugs his way through the film as the stoic, unsmiling Exodus as he does in all of his movies, save with a lot less dialogue. Yeah, he looks cool in his armor and can swing a sword, but that's that. The four elementals could have been given more to say or do at least to show off their characters more, but for the most part are woefully under-used. A lot of potential, wasted. Oh well. At least they all look good posing on the movie posters.

Well, really, Exodus: Tales from the Enchanted Kingdom really is just what I expected it to be... a simple local costume fantasy action movie. Nothing more, nothing less. No surprises here, sad to say. Well, at least it wasn't something I would be ashamed to admit watching, and it was at least a good-natured film (despite the crappy shameless plug at the start). Fun for the kids. Grown-ups and fantasy fans, you'll be thinking of tons of stuff where this could have been made a lot better. Oh well.

There's a few more days left to the Holiday Break. Let's see if I can watch a couple more Festival Films before it's over. Then hopefully I'll be able to watch King Kong finally. Heh.

Fighting Fan Service


So what's Tenjou Tenge about? Read the title post.

With the lovely and languid pace of the holiday break, I was finally able to watch the Tenjou Tenge anime in it's entirety. There are 24 episodes along with a 2-episode OAV follow-up, though the manga on which the title is based is still ongoing or far longer, I think.

Anyway, Tenjou Tenge is a martial arts title, similar to Volcano High and Ikki Tousen. Two brawling high school students, Nagi Souchirou and Bob Makuhara transfer to Todou High and find themselves joining a battle between the Jyuken Club, headed by sisters Maya and Aya Natsume, and the School Enforcement Group/Student Council. There is some romantic complication given that in the course of an early fight Nagi falls into the girls' shower room, seeing Aya naked and thus marking him as her husband-to-be. Along with the breaking bones and bloody splatters, there's some humor and jokes (even fart and armpit humor) sprinkled to lighten the generally serious tone of competing fighters seeking greater power, guilt and satisfaction with their strength.

I really wanted to like Tenjou Tenge a lot, but darn... this series has some of the weirdest pacing ever. For one thing, it has perhaps the LONGEST flashback I've ever seen... as in, HALF the series is a darn flashback. It really throws you off and was part of the reason why I quit watching this a long time ago. Also, the story is pretty complicated- lots of stuff about fighting and martial arts philosophy and the complicated relationships between the various characters prior to Nagi and Bob's arrival in Todou.

Tenjou Tenge isn't that hard to watch- if you tune out from all the plot and soap opera dramatics, you can always wait for the fights- and there are quite a few pretty cool action sequences- throughout the series. PLUS the gratuitous shots of the Natsume sisters and the other babes in the series should keep male viewers awake. Unfortunately, the ending of the series (and the OAV) is pretty open-ended (which is a nice way of saying 'bitin' and unconclusive) with a status quo situation. Animation-wise, Tenjou Tenge has some bursts of pretty cool fighting animations, but for the most part has average quality... never horrible but not that great. The character designs are cool and sexy, based as they are from the art by manga ka Oh! Great.
If you love stuff like Ikki Tousen, Street Fighter, Naruto and other fighting anime, Tenjou Tenge may be a title to see. If you can get past the first six episodes, you'll probably be fine. Check it out at good anime shops in the Metro.

Merry Christmas

Season’s greetings to one and all!

It’s that time of the year again. This year though, there’s a bit of melancholy in the household as we face the reality that this conceivably could be the last Christmas our family will be spending totally together. Both of my brother’s and sister’s families are migrating abroad, so they’ll be spending their next December holidays overseas. Next Christmas will probably be a lot quieter in the house without the kids running around.

I’ll be working on getting a broadband connection up along with a webcam so that the grandparents will be able to check on their grandkids every now and then. With modern communication, hopefully we’ll keep together even though we’ll be living far apart.

For now though, it’s a time to enjoy the holiday break, to rest and reflect, and be content.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, everyone.

Traveller's Tales


Join Kino on her strange, melancholy journey.

I first read about the anime series Kino's Journey: The Beautiful World in an issue of Newtype USA. I found the animation style simple and kiddie, but after watching a couple of episodes on Animax, I found out that this unusual series is anything but. Produced by the same creators that brought anime the strange title Serial Experiments Lain, this short but sweet anime is something to see for those fans who think they've seen it all in anime.

Basically, Kino's Journey is about a somewhat mysterious and generally benign young traveller. Kino appears initially as a gender-nonspecific character... the child-like face could either be a pretty girl or boy, and Kino's body is slim and boyish, often covered by bulky travelling coats or jackets. Kino's voice is female, though this certainly isn't a conclusive point since male characters in anime have female seiyuu all the time. Still, Kino's mannerisms and empathy to other characters leads me to think that he's a SHE.
Anyway, Kino travels alone save for her sentient motorbike, Hermes. Early on we do find out that Hermes' voice is heard by anyone in hearing distance, so Kino at least doesn't have a few bats in her belfry. The presence of talking bikes in Kino's world isn't the most unusual thing- there are weird things happening in every place Kino travels to... stuff like wars, weird gladiatorial competitions, questionable morals and the occasional odd mystery. Of course, Kino is quite capable of taking on whatever comes her way- despite looking like a mild-mannered youth, Kino has some mad skills when it comes to defending herself... the times that Kuno shows off her deadly precision with firearms and other weapons provides the sharp bursts of action in this otherwise placid series.

For the most part though, Kino's journey isn't about some trailblazing pioneer or revolutionary- Kino is, as mentioned, a traveller, who comes and goes into a place for no more than 3 days (the reason for the specific deadline is revealed later on). She gets involved in the events with a measure of detachment, and little commitment, and then moves on. Kino is passive and a bit on the quiet side, but there's a lot of dialogue between her and Hermes. Despite not being your usual hero and having some peculiar thinking processes (in episode two she questions the morality of killing rabbits to help some starving travellers), Kino is an instantly likeable character, and you have to admire someone of such obvious competence (and lethality). What the point of the whole thing may be revealed in the long run, or it may be a moot point. Perhaps the old saying is true in this case- it's not the destination but the journey.

This is a pretty interesting series, though it certainly might not appeal to everyone for the lack of immediate gratifications like fan service, big action, mecha, magic and monsters. It's all about stories, some with a bit of danger, some with lots of thinking and often with a bit of sadness. It's a good title to visit, think about and then move on from. Which is pretty cool.

Join Kino on her journey with VCDs and DVDs at your favorite anime shops in the Metro.

Cab Scab

As Christmas gets closer, taxi drivers get a lot greedier, pickier and overall more EVIL. Recently, over 100 taxi drivers were caught violating LTO regulations of conduct by picking customers, contracting, refusing to take commuters and just generally being assholes.

For the past few days I've gotten my fill of bastard stinking taxi cabbies with the arbitrariness of God. Nine out of ten of these miscreants will try to justify their actions because of their economic situation, because it's not profitable for them, etc.

Well, SCREW THEM. I don't fricking care about their stupid reasons. DRIVE because it's your JOB, bastards. If you can't do it, QUIT your job or take a bullet to your worthless brain. Just DIE and give your cab to a better driver.

If a taxi driver gives you flack, REPORT them to the LTO. The hotline number just escapes me right now, but every commuter slighted by a cabbie SHOULD report these bastards so they can be penalized for making life harder than it already is.

In my perfect world, taxi drivers should be lobotomized eunuchs who know no pleasure aside from the joy of travel. Or commuters should be given the right to publicly flog or scourge troublesome cabbies. Yes.

Vanishing Ray. VANISHING RAY.

Closing Time

DONE with work.

Salt Mines shutting down.

Turning off brain.

Need to pay bills.

Got to finish shopping.

Want to vege out.

Later then.

King Kong Lives!

Even though I haven't seen the new Kong movie yet, I won't be going into the theater not knowing how this movie ends... it's pretty much common knowledge that when the big ape climbs the Empire State Building at the end, he's not coming down... alive, that is.

But THAT can change! Apparently, Peter Jackson and the producers of the King Kong videogame have placed an alternate ending in the game which lets Kong escape his tragic fate. To unlock the alternate ending, players must complete the entire game and then go back and play through various maps and earn a total of 250,000 points – which is within reason and definitely worth the effort.
Other un-lockable features include several Weta Digital concept art galleries, interviews with both Peter Jackson and Academy Award® winner and co-writer Phillipa Boyens, an “old movie” filter, a King Kong theatrical trailer and more.

Maybe I'll give this a try. Perhaps after seeing the movie. We'll see. Heh.

Salty Christmas

Today was The Salt Mines' Christmas Party. The whole crowd converged at a posh venue in Ortigas where we partied the night away with good food, giveaway prizes and lots of laughs. Every year we have this costume thing where we have a theme- this year was 'Philippine Icons', so everyone came as some popular person, character or whatever in Philippine pop culture, history or current events. There were cool ensembles like co-creatives Derrick and 3sha who went as 'Barrel Man' and 'Barrel Woman' (popular souvenirs with barrels that reveal big springy phallic parts) to simple stuff like my outfit, 'Mang Kepweng' (a cartoon/comic character). Thankfully this year I didn't qualify for the Worst Costume Awards. Heh.

Anyway, after the prizes were awarded, a musical band came on and the party danced into the night. I went off after a dance or two... there's still work tomorrow. Sigh. Anyway, at least I'll have time to do my last bits of Christmas Shopping into the long holiday break. Yay!

Game Over

It happened again, incredibly enough.

ANOTHER gamer in Korea apparently collapsed and died in an Internet Cafe after playing some game for TEN DAYS STRAIGHT. What the game the hapless game addict was playing is not yet known, but is sure to be an MMORPG (Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game).
All I can say is... WHAT DA FOCK? How can you play a game for ten days straight? What stoopid cafe stays on for ten days without noticing some guy is no longer eating or drinking normally? And what kind of guy can just play like that to death?

Anyway, in related news, apparently there IS a law in China banning continuous play on videogames for more than 3 hours- how crappy is that? Well, if it prevents these brainless game drones from dropping like flies in their turf, I guess it's called for. No such law in Korea though... perhaps they should work on that.

I can see it now... Chinese SWAT teams breaking into some house to keep a guy from playing the final stretch of Suikoden III since he went over 3 hours, ratted out by his mom.

Crazy stuff.

Holiday Break

It's a couple of days till the end of 2005, at least as far as The Salt Mines are concerned. That's more than a week of rest from the hustle and bustle of the ad business for me, and I can't be happier for it. I'll hopefully have time to enjoy and savour stuff, get started on new comic projects and pretty much just CHILL. Simple pleasures, but they're all I need. Oh, and I guess I should work on seeing that Kong flick somehow. Heh. T-minus two days and counting...

Christmas Quest

Last night, the Quest Gang and friends came together as many times before in a cozy hotel room with a ton of food and drinks to enjoy each others' company for a Christmas celebration.
Present were, of course, Dean and Nikki, newlyweds Kate and Alex and the rest- Elbert, Camy, Jamie, Charles, Dino, Ralph, Andrew myself and of course, Vin.
Aside from the food and drinks, the main focus on the night was just having fun with games- well, more or less ONE game... a roaringly fun party game called Werewolf introduced to us by Kate. A cross between murder-mystery Clue and stuff like Hive Mind, the game requires a moderator to precede over the play. Everyone else plays as villagers, of which two are disguised lycanthropes, and one a Seer with limited vision. The challenge is for the townsfolk to find the monsters before they murder too many people for a lynch mob to form and defeat them.

It's a fun game, with accusations being tossed, tension getting high (not just for the villagers but for the wolves) and laughter almost unstoppable. I think everyone should try it... all you need are cool friends, a deck of playing cards and a place where you can scream and shout without a real mob forming to run you out of time. Heh.

Anyway, it was well into the early hours of Sunday that the party finally concluded, after we all exchanged gifts and got over the bliss of unwrapping. Once again, the Quest Christmas is done for the year. People have left, people have stayed, people have joined. But as long as friends in fiction and fun remain, December will always be a time for coming together. Till next year!

The Best Games of 2005

The past year was a cool time for videogaming- even though I don't remember having any gaming marathons quite like the PS1 days, I had my share of quality gaming time in the past months. Here are some of my favorite games played this year.

Haunting Ground
An unusual but compelling twist to the Survival-Horror genre. This time around, you played not as a macho monster-hunter or even a sultry femme fatale. You play Fiona Belli, a teenage girl whose only real defense against the hostile denizens of a spooky castle are her coltish legs... and they're used more for RUNNING than actually fighting (low shin kicks are her best bet). That, and her friendship with a mysterious dog. With a good story, gorgeous graphics and some interesting new gameplay mechanics make this game a must for scare-fans wanting a new take on the genre.

Killer 7
You play as a wheelchair-bound assassin with a multiple-personality disorder, unleashing various sides of your psyche to carry out missions against a cult of smiling mutant time bombs. Sound outrageous? You haven't a clue how wild this game can get unless you shoot it out with the Killer 7 yourself. With wild character designs (from luchadore wrestler to blood-spattered femme fatales), a confounding but always-gripping story and some of the most mature language you'll ever hear in a videogame, Killer 7 is sa unique experience for the grown gamer.

Tekken 5
A refreshing of a beloved series that had sadly gone stale in the past couple of installments, Tekken 5 brings back most of the old guard with a couple of cool newcomers, great CG cinematics and the rock-solid fighting action I remember from the best of the Iron Fist tournaments. Not even the CHEAPEST end boss in gaming can spoil this winner.

Soul Calibur III
I have to admit- I wasted away hours and hours just playing with Soul Calibur III's awesome Character Creation mode, and seeing my CAS babes (yeah, who cares about making male CAS? Heh) slash it out. The enhanced 'choose your own adventure' story mode is cool, the unlockables are plentiful, the graphics darn beautiful and sexy, and the fighting action addictive as hell. This is the finest game in the series and simply the most satisfying fighting game package you can find on any console, anywhere. Bar None. Yep, even better than the DOA games. And you can quote me. Who can't love a game where cotton panties make you EVIL? Hehehe...

Shadow of Rome
Yeah, it throws history out the window but darn, this tale of two would-be heroes in ancient Rome battling intrigue and danger in and out of the gladiatorial arena is one long, satisfying trek. Some of the most satisfyingly brutal and bloody combat ever seen in a game (with moves like The Meat Grinder) and some monumental battles make this a gore-drenched classic.

I'm looking forward to 2006. Xbox 360? Dead or Alive 4? PS3? The possibilities are tantalizing. For now, I'll settle for confirmation of Soul Calibur III for the 360. WOOHOO!!! Next-gen hotties, here we come! Heh.

The Voyage Home

Today, Jeremy headed off on a jet plane bound for home, back to the US. While he was here I chewed him up endlessly about being a 'surly New Yorker' and having a 'marine's body with a glass stomach'. He made several anime and toy shops very happy, belted out an incredible rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody in the karaoke bar, watched Chicken Little and had his first full-color comic book launch. Five days really isn't enough of a stay to really do a lot of stuff, but I hope we crammed in enough fun to make your short visit something to remember.
You're always welcome back in The Sanctum, Jeremy! Let's work on some comics so you'll have another excuse to visit soon. Heh. Later!

Oh, and I FINALLY got to read The Astonishing X-men. As you said, EXCELLENT stuff, and I am hooked. Wow! Whedon and Cassaday really know their stuff.

First Filipino Cyborg?


She loves a certain Filipino dessert...

It's already pretty well-known that a character from the Halo universe will be making an appearance in the upcoming Dead or Alive 4 fighting game for the Xbox 360. That character is Spartan 458 AKA 'Nicole', a female Spartan cyborg super-soldier. What has been revealed today by Halo creators Bungie is 458's bio and backstory.
Apparenlty, Nicole is a 21-year old young woman born in the year 2531 in a city called New Legaspi, where she was abducted at age six and conscripted into the military.
According to Bungie, Spartan 458's unit was preparing for a classified mission on Nassau Station when the ONI stealth ship Apocalypso tumbled into real-space – being carried along in the wake of a freak slipspace anomaly. The anomaly intersected Nassau Station; creating a semi-stable "bubble" in the space/time continuum on its way back to the 21st Century.
For the time being Nicole-458 is trapped in the 21st century; guarding Nassau Station's secrets with all but lethal force (she realizes killing someone in the past could have dire consequences), waiting for the "bubble" to collapse and hopefully returning her to the year 2552.

Anyway, in Nicole's bio it says that she likes watching anime and competition shooting, and she LOVES the Filipino dessert Halo-Halo (which is basically a mix of various sweet stuff with crushed ice, milk and sugar). Could Nicole be a Filipina? Wow! It's amazing to learn that Halo-Halo still exists in the far-flung future. Filipino characters exist in other sci-fi stuff (like Ibanez and Rico in Starship Troopers), and in another videogame (Talim in Soul Calibur)... it's pretty cool that a Filipina may be a DOA girl (technically). Too bad we can't see Nicole without her armor... or can we? Oh well. We'll see when DOA4 comes out... when it comes out. Sigh.

Oh, on a side note, I've found an Xbox 360 being sold locally... at the astronomical price of 57 thousand pesos. MY GOD! Inevitably this should go down to more acceptable prices when more stocks are available and the games become more popular... for now though, only the very rich and the very hardcore gamer need apply. Woo.

Our Passions


The men and women of Siglo: Passion, Project HERO and Philippine Speculative Fiction Vol. 1.

Saturday saw loads of today's most PASSIONATE writers and artists in local comics and publishing meeting at Fully Booked in the Promenade Mall at Greenhills. The occasion- the triple launch of Siglo: Passion, Project HERO and Philippine Speculative Fiction Vol. 1.
Despite drizzling rain and traffic thanks to the La Salle lantern parade held in Ortigas, me, Jeremy and my brother Jun arrived at the venue pretty much on time. We arrived to find the precedings well on the way on the second floor, complete with seats for the many guests, a couple of tables for autograph signings of the books and food for the starving (GREAT brownies and other eats thanks to the mom of Camy Francisco).
With Jun happily snapping away with his 8-megapixel monster camera as if he was being paid to chronicle the event, Jeremy and I mingled with friends both old and new in the local comic biz, signing books as they came while trying to complete our own collections of inscriptions.
Dean, Vinnie, Andrew and Jamie said some words, introducing the books and enjoining all to partake of our group's latest offerings in grafiction and literature. I'd like to thank everyone who came through the rain and traffic to support us with their presence, their words of encouragement and their hard-earned pesos for our books. Thanks, everyone!

This truly gives me lots of incentive to renew my work in comics with even more vigor. With 2005 ending with such a great event, 2006 must surely be an even brighter time to look forward to. So come and see our works and tell us what you think! We live for your praise (or your criticisms)! WOOHOO!!!!


The books on offer. Available in Fully Booked, Comic Quest and other good bookstores.

Angelic Layers



As I've often talked about here on the blog, my next BIG comics project is The Last Angel Ace Story, which will be my farewell/finale/big event for my first lady in comics, Angel Ace. It's going to be action-packed with comedy, drama, adventure, BIG reveals and BIG battles aplenty. Things are still jumbling about in my head and not everything is in their proper slots yet, and not everything is set in stone but I've got things ready to answer some questions that readers may have.

Will it REALLY be the LAST Angel Ace story? Come on...

In a perfect world, I would be able to afford to come out with an Angel Ace issue every three months or so. If I was, I'd have gone through the whole motions of a series, building up the character and sideplots which would have resulted in a big payoff with the endgame and finale. But I have to recognize that economically, the expenditures for a comic, especially an Angel Ace comic, are not realistically something I can continue to do indefinitely.
I have to be decisive. I have to be economic. So a lot will have to be left to short flashbacks, referencing and dialogue. What I hope to do with TLAAS will be to present a great story inside two covers which communicates this character, Angel Ace, across both to old and new readers. It's a tall order for one book, but I believe it can be done. After this story is done, I can walk away from Angel Ace with no regrets, having been able to tell her story fully. Whether there will be other tales to tell afterwards remains to be seen.

Okay, so what will it be about?

Angel has always been running. Running from her past and just trying to be normal. But the problem is, she isn't normal. She's something that has a purpose, and that purpose is something that will come to haunt her and even explode in her face. Destiny will force Angel to finally face up to who she really is and to face the enemy she's always known was there waiting for her. That final big battle, her secrets revealed and the resolution of her destiny is what the Last Angel Ace Story is about.

So what do we have to look forward to? Big setpieces? Events?

We FINALLY find out what the BIG PLOT behind the entire Angel Ace series is all about- with GMI (Gallowglass Mass Industries Corporation), with series' villain Mondebaine Gallowglass, and so on. There will be BIG, shocking reveals about at least one character's true identity or role. The bad guy finally shows off his powers and his big plot. More sexy SIVA assassin action. Angel kicking butt. And of course, world chaos, despair, the finale and a heartbreaking sacrifice. OUCH!

Will someone (of importance) die?

Yes.

Will Kai/Agent K be in this?

Yes, Kai will be returning to settle some scores as well as stand by her friend.

Will Koko the dog be revealed as THE IMPERIOUS LEADER behind the whole plot?!

No.

How will it all end?

With a goodbye kiss.



The Last Angel Ace Story is set for a 2006 release. Somehow, someway.

Smooth Landing

Me and my brother Jun went after midnight to the airport to pick up Jeremy. Luckily, despite some peculiarly tight traffic and drizzling rain, we found Jeremy (or Jeremy found us) almost instantly the moment I stepped out of the car. It's the first time for Jer to travel abroad on his own, so it's an exciting time for him. It's also cool to finally be able to talk to him face to face after all this time just communicating via the occasional tagboard line or email.

As always, his enthusiasm for stuff is infectious and inspiring, so I hope to get hyped for stuff and doing things very soon. I'm really pumped now for tomorrow's Triple Book Launch. We'll see what happens next. Heh.

Mabuhay!

My cousin and comics compatriot from the US, Jeremy, will be arriving tonight. In preparation, The Sanctum's been converted from an individual's den to a 2-bed chamber. Slightly cramped, but it actually turned out nicely. I don't think we'll be spending too much time cooped up in the house aside from bed and the occasional videogame session though... time's best spent outside, checking out the malls and tiangges, visiting folks and just having a good time.
First on the agenda will most probably be the Triple Book Launch at Fully Booked Greenhills with Project HERO, Philippine Speculative Fiction Vol. 1 and, of course, Siglo: Passion, which Jeremy contributed art for. This occasion will without a doubt be a highlight of the stay for Jer, so we'll try to make the most of this Fully Booked Saturday.

Movie Talk

Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong hits theaters next week, though I really can't say I'm too hot about the 3 hour length. Early word in reviews has it that Jackson kind of treated KK with the same eye for detail and depth as LOTR, which is really not necessary given that most of the characters aren't that important aside from Ann Darrow (played by Naomi Watts) and Kong itself (motion-captured by Andy Serkis). Still, the action and effects are supposed to be awesome and worth the watch once you get past the plodding opening. We'll see about this.

A new Mummy film is supposedly on the drawing board. How many times can Imhotep come back??! Fear not, apparently the next and third Mummy film will have a totally new linen-wrapped villain all the way from China! The new Mummy will be a former Chinese Emperor out to resurrect his dead army (turned into terra-cotta warriors) for world conquest. Apparently the third film will also have parts for Brendan Frasier and Rachel Wiesz once more, but their participation is yet to be confirmed.

Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe looks cool, and it is the film I am excited to see this December. I'm really not expecting the same depth or feel as LOTR, but with WETA behind the effects, you know this is going to be a dazzler.

An early teaser trailer for X3 is online! SPOILERS WARNING

It seems that Jean Grey (Famke Jannsen) is back from the dead, though the entire film doesn't seem to be necessarily about the Pheonix or Dark Pheonix saga. Overall, it seems the theme is about a 'Last Stand', perhaps between the X-men and the Brotherhood, or mutants against humans. Magneto (Ian McKellen) is back as the villain, with a large group of new recruits for his latest plot. Also confirmed in the movie are Prof. Xavier (Patrick Stewart), veteran X-men Storm (Halle Berry), Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Rogue (Anna Paquin), as well as Mystique (Rebecca Romjin-Stamos). Other mutants in the spotlight include Colossus, Shadowcat, Iceman and more. The teaser trailer also shows for the first time X-men Beast (Kelsea Grammar) and Angel. From the look of the trailer there seems to be a LOT of action... we'll see how the post-Bryan Singer X-men film does when it hits theaters in May 2006.

Hah! I'm talking as if I'm going to have lots of time to spare to watch movies... looks like I'm gonna be busy for most of the month. Oh well. Let's see what we can squeeze in.

Project: HERO


Coming on December 10!

Here's the final cover art for Project: Hero! No, it's not a comic book with tagalog-dubbed anime. It's a collaboration of our group with the aim of bringing back the no-angst, all-fun FUN of classic, black-and-white superheroes. No hidden agendas, no personal rhetoric, no grit and social relevance other than just the profound sense of wonder and the belief that good will always triumph over evil... with the right costume and some nifty super powers!

Project HERO includes stories and art from Dean Alfar, Nikki Alfar, Vin Simbulan, Elbert Or, Andrew Drilon, Jason Banico, Ner Perdrina, Jaime Bautista and yours truly. The book was put together and edited by Elbert and Andrew, with cover art pencils by myself and colors by Jaime. The stories range from the adventures of teenage cosmic guardian Kid Continuum by Vin and Andrew, to the debut story of my own Egyptian-Japanese demi-goddess superheroine Samuraisis, to the time-spanning adventures of Dean's Craft Century. There's something for everyone in this 68-page monster, so join us at the launch of Saturday, December 10, 2005 at Fully Booked in Greenhills. Coincidentally, it will also be the launch of Siglo: Passion and Philippine Speculative Fiction Vol. 1, so bibliophiles and comic aficionados should save up for buying stuff this weekend.

Take up your capes and GO! Later, everyone!

Dead or Alive Finale

The first Xbox 360 brawler, Dead or Alive 4, has been delayed for a while in both Japan and the US. Initially seen as a launch title for Microsoft's super console, the game will be lucky to see release in 2005, given how much of a perfectionist DOA creator Tomonobu Itagaki is. I'm hoping the delay results in more costumes, better gameplay and tons of extras to enjoy this, the latest DOA fighter. And probably the LAST Dead or Alive fighter too, if the words of Itagaki in several articles online are to be believed.
Apparently, Mr. Itagaki decided that with DOA4, he has accomplished pretty much all that he can do with the title; he has all but confirmed that DOA4 will be the final DOA fighting game, citing that the Dead or Alive story ends with the fourth game.

In DOA4, after the last tournament where ninja Ayane defeats Genra, her former master-turned near invincible killing machine, the ninja foursome of Ayane, Hayate, Ryu Hayabusa and Kasumi lay siege to DOATEC to once and for all put an end to the sinister corporation's cloning and weapons experiments. The game's main character, Helena Douglas, can only be unlocked for play after beating the game with everyone else, and her lengthy CG ending movie will be the climax of the entire Dead or Alive saga, perhaps at least as far as the storyline with the evil DOATEC Corporation is concerned.

So there's nothing more to be done to improve DOA? Now, Tekken and Virtua Fighter are already onto their 5th and 6th installments, so that's a bit of huey for me. It's a bit of arrogance from an obviously arrogant man- yeah, I dislike a lot about Itagaki, but I love his games to no end. All I can hope is that the demand for more DOA fighting action will eventually move Tecmo to go for another Dead or Alive brawler in the future.

For now though, DOA4 looks to be IT, so I hope all this last-minute tweaking results in the best game in the series... and at least a couple of bikini outfits too. Heh. No Xbox 360s yet in sight anywhere locally, but we'll see about getting our graspy hands on one AND a copy of DOA4 as soon as we can.

Making Headlines

If you have time, get yourself a copy of the Manila Bulletin today and turn to the "i" supplement.

There's a loooong article about local comic book creators, from main man Arnold Arre (Myth Class) to Wasted's Gerry Alanguilan, Oliver Pulumbarit (Lexy, Nance and Argus) and more. Oh, and I'm there as well! It's a really detailed, in-depth and insightful article by cool writer/reporter Yonina Chan. Thanks, Yonina!

Gizmos

Yesterday, while walking around Cyber Zone in Megamall, I looked through the windows of various shops. Apparently there's a bit of a multimedia craze right now, probably sparked by the arrival of the video-capable iPod. There are now lots of tiny MP3 players with video also available. These range from teeny-tiny doo-hickies with thumbnail-size screens to gadgets that look like keypad-less Nokia cellphones that play music and MP4 video. Cheap compared to iPods, Pocket PCs or high-end Mobiles, they're the way to go if you have a budget but want to join the multimedia-enabled crowd.

I have to admit I got enamoured in some of the devices, but thankfully I need only remind myself that I already have a multimedia device. What makes my O2 Mini so cool is that it's also a PHONE, so I bring it along as a matter of course. I'm not the type of person who carries around extra gadgets, since I like to travel fast and light. So a stand-alone device such as a PSP or an iPod really isn't my bag.

So it got me thinking... a device I'd probably go for would be something like a multimedia-enabled wristwatch (gives a new meaning to the word 'watch). I know there have been some forays into this, but there hasn't been really anything seriously made in this manner from any of the big mobile names. A good media or smart wristwatch would be able to tell time and sound alarms, and have stopwatch functions and a calendar. The LCD screen would be big enough for video showing, and would be customizeable so you can change the face of your watch at will (you can also choose whether you want a digital watch or a clock complete with hour and minute hands). Miniature hard drives would be cool, but realistically such a device would probably have limited memory for MP3 and MP4 video loadings (via USB). Of course, watching vids, playing games or music would be power-consuming, so there may need to be a separate battery for the clock function so you're not left up the creek without a way to tell time if you play one too many viewings of the latest Scandal video.

Still, the inherent danger of such a device is the way it's always visible. Such a gizmo would no doubt attract thieves and that is a BIG no-no. Oh well. Maybe a good, plain design can be implemented so the Smart Watch would be chic but not too attractive. Ah, the price we pay for coolness.

It's a dream, of course, for now. But who knows... maybe some Mobile R&D guy is out there, reading this blog right now and getting an idea. Just send me a sample of your gadget when it becomes reality, my good man, and I'll be satisfied. Heh.

When in Rome...


Bloody historical epic.

If you're my age, you'd probably remember watching Saturday Fun Machine cartoons. Included in this banquet of animated fare was the Hanna-Barbera series Roman Holidays. It was basically a throw-away, lackluster clone of the more well-known Flintstones or Jetsons series, albeit set in Ancient Rome. Of course, the real Rome of antiquity didn't have a happy home life like that of white-picket fence America, with every family owning a family chariot, a clean home with the distinct Roman pillars and a wardrobe of immaculate white togas.

Nope... life in historical Ancient Rome was dirty, smelly, brutal and bloody. There was political unrest, courtesy of the conflict between two great men- Gaius Julius Caesar and Gaius Pompeii Magnus, each commanding legions of soldiers and ranks of politicians. There was class warfare, between the common plebes and the nobility. There's sex, violence, blood and death aplenty whether it's on a road or a street or a battlefield. This is the Rome as depicted by HBO's new and gritty mini-series, and I'm hooked.
I've always been intrigued with HBO's features, such as Band of Brothers, though I've passed on stuff like Carnivale and Deadwood. HBO's Rome serves you raw, bloody sex and violence on a steaming platter with all the trimmings- crucifixions, baths in ox blood, pagan worship, big battles, bad-ass legionaires, conspiracies and political intrigue laced with poison and bloody blades. This is a Rome where family members order executions as easily as dinner (this IS Ancient Rome, where eventually the Mafia and the Cosa Nostra originate, after all), where you truly have to keep on hand free to shake hands with friends, and the other armed with a sword to keep enemies at bay. It's a terrifying time... I certainly wouldn't want to live in this era, not even if I was a noble or a wealthy merchant. But it's a great place to visit and watch.

It's epic yet base, sweeping yet very personal, as seen through both the eyes of powerful historical figures and commoners. The 'heroes' of the series, rowdy womanizing and worldly legionaire Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson) and the hard-principled, morose centurion Lucius Veronus (Kevin McKidd) are great protagonists; such polar opposites that they blend perfectly together to bring humanity and humor in a very harsh and brutal time. Seeing their fortunes rise and fall with the Empire they help or hinder to build makes for an absorbing watch.

I'm definitely getting this on DVD when it becomes available. Now THIS is Roman Drama. Heh. Catch a new episode of Rome's 12 part first season (and supposedly it's already been signed on for a 2nd Season) every Tuesday on HBO.

Musings

I've been a bit free these past couple of weeks... I finished Project Hero but then I guess I got a bit sidetracked which resulted in a bit of a delay for Kunoichi Boy#1 to be released in Comic Quest. I just need to fill in some blanks and take the time to produce a batch of copies so the issue can be released at CQ branches. I'll try to do it by the weekend.

Aside from that, I'm already thinking up Angel Ace book that's supposed to come out next year. Finalizing stuff and getting ready to make this a BANG of a release. Still, I'm actually thinking of delaying the 'Last' story and instead coming out instead with an Angel Ace vs K.I.A. crossover comic. I feel that I just have to get past this hurdle before going to the endgame. Not sure yet how to go about this, but I'll figure something out.

Just goes to show how liquid everything is when you don't set it in stone. Oh well. We'll see where this goes...

Proudly Filipino-Made

Dean already posted this in his blog, so I'll follow suit.

There will be a triple book launch on Dec 10, 6:30PM, at Fully Booked Greenhills. On offer will be stuff our group has been working on for the past couple of years or so. There's the illustrated full-color anthology Siglo: Passion, the Just-For-Fun Superhero comic collection Project: Hero and Dean's baby- Philippine Speculative Fiction Vol. 1. Please feel free to come and join the giddy glee of launch day with us. It'll be a BLAST!

WOOOHOOO!!!!

Filler

I've decided to stay home today. It was kinda late and I was still in the house, and there was this bit of news from my mom that the authorities found four BOMBS in a nearby mall... luckily they were found before they were detonated. Mom apparently found this out from somewhere or someone other than the news since they aren't mentioning this anywhere. Media blackout, I guess. No one wants to cause a panic. I wonder though if it's true... or just gossip and hearsay.
Anyway, I'm indoors for now, watching Saturday night TV, and it's not bad at all. I'm really getting into Ghost Hunters, that kooky show about part-time paranormal investigators looking for ghosts and hauntings in the US. It's pretty cool that every now and then they pick up weird stuff on their monitors and cameras, such as a chair being moved or someone getting bowled over by 'spirits'. Certainly better than watching bad actors emote ALL THE TIME in local spook shows.

I'm also loading up my new AV700 with videos; the recording works like a charm, capturing video and sound far, far better than the old PC capture card. So far I've loaded Ninja Scroll and Final Fantasy VII Advent Children. I'll probably stick in loads of anime and other stuff to give a variety. I don't intend to fill it up totally- gotta keep several gigs free for that odd recording need every now and then.

Gosh I love lazy, long weekends. They keep me sane and happy. Heh.

Bonding


Daniel Craig- The Next Bond?

It's probably a fairly well-known fact that Pierce Brosnan won't be in the next Bond film, due both to his age (early fifties) and his demands for higher and higher salaries. I consider myself a Bond fan of the Golden Age of 007. I miss Sean Connery's gruff but ever suave Bond, or Roger Moore's gentleman rake with the lethal skills. Still, we have to move on.
Unfortunately, Timothy Dalton was HORRIBLE... he growled all his lines and the 'modern' take of Bond for his two installments- the utterly boring Living Daylights and the totally un-Bondish License to Kill was a traversty (regardless of how hot Cary Lowell was). The best I've ever seen Dalton was in The Rocketeer as the villain, so perhaps that's why I didn't like him.

As for Remington Steele... I'm mixed with Brosnan. I kinda liked a couple of his movies; Goldeneye wasn't as horrible as the Dalton films, and Tomorrow Never Dies got a bit of the old Bond flavor back with the classic maniacal villain (Media Mogul Peter Carver, played by Jonathan Pryce). Still, I always found Brosnan's Bond a bit too self-assured and too confident. Every stunt and action scene seemed to play by the numbers and just happen.

And now, we're in limbo. So far, the apparent frontrunner is Daniel Craig, whom I really really really really can't see James Bond in. He just doesn't have the look. I remember him from Tomb Raider (he played Lara Croft's rival/love interest) and while he was a cool action guy, he's not a suave agent-type. Supposedly his role in the recent film Layer Cake shows a bit of his Bond-ness, but I haven't seen that. Oh well. Who knows... I don't think anything is in stone yet. Maybe Clive Owen (Sin City) will still bite, though he has already refused the role. Gosh. The intrigue and goings-on of the making of Bond 22 could be a spy thriller in itself. More on this as it happens.

The next Bond movie is supposedly a remake and modernization of the classic Casino Royale, and will revitalize the franchise by focusing on a younger Bond and see him through the events that turn him into the veteran agent that we all know and love to watch. Look for this in 2006 or so. Maybe.

Awesome Ad


Kasumi faces her last and most dangerous clone.

Just downloaded and saw the new TV commercial for Dead or Alive 4 on the Xbox360. Thankfully, there's none of the crappy sexual innuendo and horny college boy humor from previous ads for the series (She Kicks High... FEH). The spot is composed completely of CG animation, focusing mainly on the battle against the evil DOATEC Corporation by the game's ninja characters. There are scenes with ninja heroine Kasumi facing the game's mysterious end boss, Alpha 152; her half-sister and rival Ayane getting her trademark bandanna blown off as she's casting a ninpo spell; and ninja bad boys Ryu Hayabusa and Hayate battling DOATEC troops. In the middle of spectacular flaming scenery, opera singer/new DOATEC head Helena is seen walking regally towards an apparent climactic final confrontation...

WOW. I need this game. NOW. Can't wait to get my Xbox360. DAMN.

EDIT: To see this exciting TV spot yourself, download the vid by clicking here.