Kawaii


Let's do the dance of joy!

Isn't this just the CUTEST animated gif you've ever seen? Darn, it's adorable! I could just sit here and watch this little anime cutie dance on and on and on and on and on. Hehe. Dance! Dance!

Comicking

I know I haven't been able to post much about my comic works lately... the truth is, I've been so busy at work that I almost haven't been able to do much in terms of comics. In fact, I regretfully wasn't able to do a comics entry to the Fully Booked contest. GRRR. Maybe next year, I guess.

But the key word is ALMOST. Comics are what keep me sane, so the day I stop doing comics is the day I need to start looking for a straitjacket. Maybe. Anyway...

I'm still working on the 2nd issue of Kunoichi Boy. It's still in pencilling stage, but I've done more than a dozen pages and so this should be done soon. It's a more action-oriented issue this time, even more so than the first ish, but it should be fun. Hopefully this should be done by the end of March for release in Comic Quest.

I got myself a little comic job I'd like to call 'Project Kris' that I really can't talk about much- suffice to say that it will earn me a bit of cash (that I hopefully will use for a future comic) and it's something very very different from the stuff I usually do. I'll talk more about this when I am able, but suffice to say this is a very interesting project I'm glad to be able to do.

Finally, K.I.A. will finally be getting a bit more distribution thanks to Jamie and Nautilus Comics. Don't be surprised to see my favorite bikini-clad assassin babe elsewhere aside from Comic Quest in the next few weeks. WOOHOO!!!

That's that for now. Still working on the Last Angel Ace Story script. Ideas, ideas. So many ideas. Gotta filter. Hmmm. Moving on. Moving on.

Shakedown

Last night we were all at The Salt Mines when a pretty strong earthquake started. We all stared as the blinds on the windows began shaking, as well as stuff like a wind chime I hung at my workstation. For several moments the shaking continued and we just stared and continued our humorous banter... no doubt to keep ourselves calm. We were all on a high floor so it was only natural that the we'd 'enjoy' a prolonged shake. I wasn't particularly afraid... the building was pretty solid, and the quake not really that strong. But we felt it, and that meant it was significant. Several of the staff called home to ask if everyone was okay. Thankfully, this quake doesn't seem to have caused any damage. Just a bit of the shakes.

Walking in Dreamworld

Perhaps it was because of the fact that last week was particularly tiring, or perhaps it was because of my bad stomach... but I had particularly vivid dreams over the weekend. Two in fact were quite memorable and involved journeys into some weird worlds that could easily fit into some comic book or Sci-Fi show.

The first dream is pretty much a 'Trekkie' episode. I found myself appearing in this odd place which was in some ways primitive (adobe buildings, decadent tribal outfits and feasts) and in some ways modern (I eventually find out they have TV). I came into the place as a guest, with several others (who my companions were escapes me). We were allowed to walk around and stay in one of the adobe buildings as our residence. I found myself a bit depressed that there was no electricity and thinking of what I was to do in the place. Later, during a feast with some weird food, a traitor to the place was caught and executed on TV. Yikes. Luckily, before the inevitable part of such stories where we the visitors would outlast our welcome, I woke up.

The second dream started off normally enough- I was at a kind of photo shoot with my college friend. We were taking photos of several pretty models (yeah, only in my dreams) when I suddenly had the hankering for donuts. So I went out to get a box, with the odd recollection that there was a Donut Shop nearby. I soon found myself walking around in streets that seemed familiar yet alien. Ordinary streets soon became sinister as strangers soon began to give chase. I found myself crossing over into yards, grabbing sticks to ward off pursuers and to try to navigate around dead ends. It all felt like some PC graphic adventure game (those point-and-click puzzlers that I was never good at). At one point, I was even being pursued by Agents... yes, Agent Smith from the Matrix, who appeared strangely enough like 2-D images on a wall. ODD.
Anyway, I eventually find myself opening a door and entering what seemed to be a kind of residence/graphic design office/production house kind of building- very modern and multi-floored. There were people around, but like Solid Snake in Metal Gear I navigated around them to try and get out and continue my search for donuts. Eventually I find my way out but it only leads to more streets and still no sign of the elusive pastries.
Thankfully, my cellphone alarm woke me up soon after, and I was pulled away from Dreamtime back to reality. Darn, those were weird dreams. Weirder than usual.

Gosh, I wonder if I can have some donuts delivered?

RAW Tour

I'm really disappointed that I wasn't able to watch the WWE Raw Tour in Manila. According to some posts online and reports from fans on some popular wrestling sites, the show was a roaring success.
The Filipino crowd lives up to the hospitality of our race, and the audience cheered or gave 'pops' to all the performers, whether they were 'faces' (good guys) or 'heels'(bad guys). The biggest applause of the nights went to current WWE Champion John Cena despite some local boys joining in on the 'Hate Cena' fad going about. Also cheered greatly was funny, bushy-haired heel Carlito and his opponent, returning superstar Rob Van Dam who impressed all with supposedly the best moves of the night.
Another superstar to totally impress was Triple H, who despite being probably the nearest thing to the devil himself among the WWE's heels, made big impressions with his presence and attitude. A pleasant surprise of the tour was that the first night was apparently immortal superstar Rick Flair's birthday, which was celebrated by the audience singing, a cake being brought out by the lovely WWE Divas and a tribute to the 16-time World Champion by his best friend, Triple H.

Darn, I wish I was there. But then, I think that the ones who would really enjoy the show are the ones who could afford the ringside seats (which apparently cost about 10K a seat- YIKES). Still, it would have been great to join in big chants and stuff. Oh well. Anyway, I'll make sure to be present the next time the WWE returns to Manila, whether it's Raw or Smackdown. WOOO!

Rumblings

Since Thursday night, you could tell that there were bad things happening. There were whispers of a coup all week, and it was obviously going to come to a head during this year’s EDSA celebrations.
Even so, I had to go to work extra early on Friday, so I was on the road just after 6AM. By 7:30 AM I was at the office and getting set for the big presentation we had been prepping for all week at the Salt Mines.
The good news is that the presentation went very well. The bad news was that we learned that President GMA had declared a ‘State of Emergency’ by the time we were finished. Despite it all, we all leisurely headed for Greenbelt to have a celebratory lunch and enjoy the quasi-fiesta like atmosphere of a day full of rallies, riot police, coup paranoia and commuting nightmares.
The funny thing about a coup here in the RP is how people react. Often, masses of people gather to watch the soldiers duke it out, no matter the danger getting hit by a stray bullet or shrapnel. This time though there was little to worry about in terms of fighting- apparently the coup had been quashed before it had even begun. Still there was uncertainty and you could tell as everyone who had a mobile phone was texting away like crazy or calling to console their friend or family waiting on the other end of the line. Me? I was worried about how I was going to get home quickly enough to avoid the inevitable crush and gridlock that would clamp down on Ayala Avenue.
So as fast as I could (after lunch and some window-shopping), I hied off to the MRT station and took an extremely crowded train to Cubao and home.

It’s a bit with irony that Friday was the same day that the WWE wrestlers came to Manila, the same time that a political rumble started off in the country. What a great way to welcome the world-famous brawlers. Sigh.

Anyway, I’ll probably be staying home over the weekend thanks to the uncertain climate. Gives me a bit of opportunity to get some rest, do some comic pages and maybe catch up on some reading. Hey, at least that’s one bright side to all this coup nonsense.

Wrasslin'

Jack TV is my friend. Aside from finally giving previously unseen episodes of X-Play finally every weekend, It gives me so much wrestling every week. I get my WWE fix reasonably close to when it happens stateside (about two weeks delay). I've always been a WWE fan, so it is with quite a bit of disappointment that I won't be watching the WWE Raw Tour over the weekend. It would have been great to see old faves (Triple H, Sean Michaels) and new faves (John Cena, Carlito) in action, in the flesh, even thought it kinda sucks that the Smackdown guys won't be around.
But then again, I'd probably have only gotten the less expensive tickets, which would give me a seat that would make the huge wrestlers look like teeny-tiny action figures (videowalls and projection monitors regardless). Anyway, a friend of mine is going so I'll hope to get a review from her. And hopefully there will be reviews or reports on the Philippine shows online soon after the fact.

Hellish Fun


A bloody good manga.

Recently I've gotten myself addicted to the manga version of Hellsing. I've probably mentioned this title in the past- it's a horror-action series set in a dark, gothic England where creatures of the night are beginning to pop up all over the place like bad cavities on British people. To combat the bloodthirsty vampires and their resulting ghouls, the government turns to the mysterious Hellsing Institute. Led by the imposing Sir Integra Van Hellsing, a young but stern woman who inherited the post from her father, the soldiers and agents of the Institute set out to exterminate the undead scourge in the name of god and country.
Of course, a couple of things stand out in Hellsing. One is that the Hellsing Institute's 'trashman', or their most potent weapon against their targets is a vampire himself- Alucard, an awesomely powerful vampire whose terrifying powers are matched only by his loyalty to Integra (the reason for which should be revealed in the manga in time). Aside from Alucard, there's Victoria Celes, a young rookie policewoman and newly-created vampire (she was vampirified by Alucard to save her life from a vampire vicar in the first episode) who tries desperately to hang onto her humanity as well as getting used to her new undead existence. Oh, and there's of Walter, Integra's butler and former Hellsing trashman who's almost as deadly as Alucard despite being a normal human.
The second thing that you'll notice about Hellsing is that they take religion pretty seriously. Hellsing itself is a Protestant-backed organization, and that puts them into competition with the Catholic faith- embodied of course their opposite number on the Vatican's side: The sinister Iscariot Organization whose agents also work to stamp out undead in the name of Christianity. The competition between the two rival organizations makes for some pretty violent action and even some humorous banter (and insults), but you just know that when real evil makes it's appearance, these two parties will have to come together.
And Big Evil WILL indeed make an appearance, in the form of the enigmatic Millennium, a cabal of Nazi Vampires who are out to remake the world in their own fanged image. These are pretty cool villains previously glimpsed only in that awesome Hellsing MTV included in the US-released DVDs (the bespectacled guy in the shadows who mockingly claps Hellsing's efforts is the Big Boss), and includes a female villain named Rip Van Winkle- How cool is that? Heheh. Will there be any good, or at least humanity, left after all is said and done? We'll just have to see.

A cool extra in the manga is a side-story at the end of each book on the adventures of a pair of Iscariot agents: Gun expert Heiffer Wolfe and Yumiko, a shy nun who, when danger calls, unleashes a persona known as Yumie- a 'berserker' like swordswoman who can use a katana like a bloody Stradivarius. Radical.

Hellsing the Manga is a hellishly good read- it's a lot better than the original Hellsing anime (which diverged from the manga's story after the first several episodes) story and gets deeper into the characters. Integra in particular comes off as a bit kinder and more human in the manga than in her first anime appearance. The art is sharp though with parts looking a bit too cartoony particularly when Victoria's case. Still, this is a great manga with both black humor and action satisfying to the extreme. Anyway, I'm two book deep into the series, and three chapters are already lined up for reading (the series so far has 7 installments out).

You can get Hellsing manga graphic novels at Comic Quest or at Fully Booked. Anime enthusiasts can also look forward to a new Hellsing OAV (based on the manga) from Gonzo later this year. Lots of dark, bloody good fun coming very soon. Hoho!

Heroes Farewell


The sun sets on the best superhero animated series ever.

I've been a fan of Justice League Unlimited from the first episode I saw, and it tears my lungs out to know that this groundbreaking and dynamic series is now ending (or ended) with the 13th episode of the show's 3rd Season (as JLU). The third season, which should be known as the 'Legion of Doom' season, ends with a two-part finale that culminated with an invasion of Earth by the forces of the awesomely evil Darkseid and an alliance between the Justice League and their opposite numbers led by Lex Luthor.
It's really sad to see such a quality series go... a title filled with great storylines, outstanding action and fight scenes and tons of great vocal performances that truly succeeded in bringing to life the DC Universe. Easily, I consider Justice League Unlimited as THE Best US Cartoon ever. Kudos to the animators, writers and producers of this great show, and I hope that somehow, someday the JLU will somehow, someday return for more adventures.

Well, for now though, us fans have three great seasons of JLU (and two of the original Justice League cartoon) to always enjoy.

The Adventure Continues!

Ready for Battle



Recently, a couple of cool images have popped up online as Arnold Arre gets closer and closer to releasing his latest comic/graphic novel work. Entitled Andiong Agimat, this darker, grittier story from the author/creator of Mythology Class, Trip to Tagaytay and After Eden takes on the quest of the titular hero and other characters as they try to rescue someone from the grimy fingers of a menacing Metropolis. I've seen images which seem to refer to this story on Arnold's site, and it looks pretty cool- lots of dirty, polluted scenery populated by harsh, punkish characters with cyberpunk or pseudo-future designs. Of course, the heroes though are Pinoy through and through. It's been remarked that Agimat is very much distant from Arn's previous stories... I can't wait to see and review the finished book (waiting for my copy, Arnold! Hehe).
Andiong Agimat is set for an April 2006 release. Wait for it.

Upgrade Complete

Yesterday I finally went the big step and finished the other half of my home PC upgrade. Several months ago I turned my old PIII into a Pentium 4-powered beast. After that, my once-gargantuan 80 Gig-Hard Drive turned into a barely-usable 30+ Gig HD, for some reason. Well, with me doing video conversions and captures all the time, space is a big priority. So I hied off to Greenhills and got the remaining stuff to make my PC a viable tool again- a 200 Gig Hard Drive, new 64mb Video Card and a spiffy new case.
As always though, having your computer put together by hacks at the Computer Shop eventually results in things not working once we get it home and me having to fly in my tech support team (Andrew and Pot) to help me get things into working order. Well, it took us the whole evening but now, my Windows XP PC is looking and working fine.
Aside from all the work and effort, it cost me quite a bit too, all the day's expenditures costing me about 12K (that includes several Hellsing tpbs which I got instead of a DVD Drive... Heheh). Anyway, this should be worth it. I'm hopefully gonna do a lot of stuff with this baby. Yep. Till the next upgrade!

Portabrawls

Following the resurrection of Cassandra Cain... is the news of Tekken: Dark Resurrection for the PSP. Yep, a Tekken title is headed for the Playstation Portable. No silly 2-D rip like Tekken Advance was for the gameboy advance... this is full-blown 3-D fighting, with PS2 quality looks and gameplay. TDR for the PSP will be based on the recent arcade upgrade Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection. All the included characters, including newcomers Dragunov and Lili will be playable.

WHOA. A true, handheld Tekken. That's reason enough for me to buy a PSP. Well, let's see it happen first before I start grabbing one of them toys. Look for Tekken PSP to hit later this year. Now, if only Capcom would port SF3 Third Strike to PSP...

Ends and Beginnings


The cover to Batgirl #73.

I've been in a depressed funk recently thanks to the possibility that DC is killing off my favorite bat-femme, Batgirl AKA Cassandra Cain. Well, last night I finally got some closure with the final issue of the series.

I have to say that the ending surprised me in some ways, disappointed in some ways but in the end I got what I was looking for.

Issue 72 ended with Cassie obviously DEAD (that happens when someone shoves a knife through your chest). It also ended with a regretful Shiva taking Batgirl's body and apparently heading off to a nearby Lazarus Pit.

I had actually been running so many scenarios in my head... what if the Lazarus Pit fails to revive Cass? What is something stops Shiva from using the pit? What if Cassie emerges from the pit like the most recent dunkee, Mister Freeze's wife... a raving, insane and dangerous monster?

Well, to my mixed relief and disappointment, Cassie comes back from the dead via the Lazarus Pit with no more ill effects than a momentary urge to strangle Shiva. She calms down fast enough for the rest of the issue's revelations to unfold.

All throughout this final arc, readers have been teased on the identity of who Cassie's mother is. The latest speculation was that it was the deceased Carolyn Woo-San, sister of Sandra Woo-San AKA Shiva. But it turns out that the easy answer was the right one- Shiva is Cassie's mom. The revelation also shows how twisted Shiva really is- having the child and sparing the man who killed her own sister and then becoming a ruthless killer afterwards.

Finally, the two old foes- Cassie and Shiva- have their final battle. They fight, and the duel ends with a SNAP. I am shocked that they would actually kill off Shiva, a major Bat-villain, but then again she's been so overexposed lately she's long overdue for an absence. From how it was framed, this death looks to be permanent, but you never know- Cassie DID leave her body hanging over the Lazarus Pit, and bodies left hung tend to fall off eventually... I would much rather that Shiva stay dead though and pass the torch of the Deadliest Female Alive in DCU to Cassie.

Now where to? Cassie has obviously shed the Bat-mantle now, given the events in the finale. She's now simply known as Cain, the most skilled martial artist in the DCU. Obviously, such a powerful figure won't or can't be quiet or inactive for too long. I'm almost certain that Cassie will be joining Birds of Prey, which is great since I am already buying that title anyway.
Which leaves to question just who the upcoming 'Batwoman' is... and who the heck is wearing the Batgirl costume in the upcoming issues of Robin?

Anyway, all things said, I am finally out of my Batgirl depression funk. I'm probably gonna go off to get some Batgirl trades of the early issues, and the Batman: War Games TPBs. Sigh. Moving on, moving on. Heh.

Book Daze

Today, amidst a flurry of work that had me and my art director 3sha running from one end of the city to the other, we managed to find time to have about an hour to peruse the shelves of Fully Booked at Rockwell. All I can say is... DAMN. This was the first time I'd been at the place since it was moved from the ground floor up to the third (or fourth) floor of the Power Plant mall. The new FB branch is HUGE and covered with books from top to bottom. Needless to say, the bibliophile and graphic novel geek in me was slobbering in glee.

Unfortunately for my wallet, I found myself unable to resist grabbing up several books. I purchased three Blade of the Immortal books, and the first two chapters of the Hellsing manga. These five books alone cost me almost five thousand smackers. DAAAAAMN! But really, I could easily... EASILY... spend double or triple that amount in the place (well, at least I'd have a Fully Booked discount card then). There are so many things I want to buy. Hellboy. How To Manga books. Film books. Fantasy and fiction novels. Magazines. Even reprints of darn Hardy Boys and scabs of children's and young adult books were tempting me severely.

GYYYAAAAHHH!!!! All that and I STILL had the week's comics to get later in the day. GYYYYAAAAHHH!!!

Anyway, I finished up work and rushed off to Mega afterwards to get the phamphlet stuff- The LAST issue of Batgirl chief among the acquisitions, along with the latest issues of JSA Classified, Justice, New Avengers and a copy of Wizard Anime Insider. Lots of reading stuff. More money out from the ATM.

Well, I can't really complain. I don't really regret buying books and comics. These things, along with food, videogames, the occasional movie and pleasant conversation make life that much more pleasurable. Oh well.

Third Time's the Charm



I got to Comic Quest yesterday to grab my copy of Trese #3, but was told it was sold out. I had to buy the display issue, but it was worth it. Hey Budj, time to restock. Heh.

Trese is the supernatural/crime comic series by Budjette Tan and Ka-Jo Baldisimo. In the third issue entitled "Our Secret Constellation", Alexandra Trese is hot on the trail of a mysterious killer with unearthly powers... perhaps even more power than the supernatural investigator and her formidable henchmen, the Kambal, can handle.

I have to say, the idea and plot twist in this issue made me quietly go, "Whoa."

A ballsy story and a great homage rolled into one. My only gripe is that this story could have been longer, perhaps with more pages to thresh out the action which is a bit truncated. This story deserved more detail to the content. Heck, it could have been a 'Trese: The Movie' issue.

That aside, this is the best story yet in Budj and Ka-Jo's works, and a must-read for indie and local comic enthusiasts/readers. For a preview, you can check out Budjette's blog for the comic, here. Copies of the issues are available at Comic Quest Megamall.

Birthday Bash

Last night, the gang got together to celebrate the birthday of Jaime Bautista. The Nautilus head honcho and creator of Cast invited us all over to dine on pasta and KFC at his posh pad, which was a veritable display of cool action figures. There were cabinets filled with tons of great toys, but of course all of us could easily notice which hero really had Jaime's heart- Iron Man! The Geek in all of us surfaced when we all got to grab and try on for size a life-size Iron Man helmet (yeah, as Andrew would say, we were alll reeking of geeking at that point).
Anyway, the night was pretty cool with good food and good gossip and conversation before the party adjourned just after midnight. Coolness, Jaime! Let's do it again next year.

Strike Three


The Brotherhood is back for the finale.

There's been quite a bit of flack being thrown at X-Men 3: The Last Stand. Aside from the initial hubbub that ensued when former X-director Brian Singer left the set to work with DC's Superman Returns, there has since been great criticism of the third movie's script. SPOILER WARNING!
The third movie will supposedly be about a new serum that 'de-mutates' mutants, stripping them of their powers. This is apparently produced from the body of a mutant called Leech. This serum is the focal point of the conflict in X3, along with the resurgence of Magneto (Ian McKellen) and a much larger, more powerful Brotherhood of Mutants. Standing against them as well as being continually hounded by the government are the embattled X-men. What has caused uproar among fans is the supposed early death of Cyclops (James Marsden), a victim of the uncontrollable powers of a newly-returned and seemingly resurrected Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), who eventually does an Anakin and turns to the Dark Side. Aside from Scott Summers, at least two other big name characters will supposedly bite the dust in X3. Hmmm.

Anyway, there are new members to the team that had only cameos in the previous installment, such as Colossus, Shadowcat and Jubilee. New to the films and making their debut are Angel and Beast (the latter played by Frasier's Kelsey Grammer).

Still, I'm waiting for this finale with excitement, despite the early negativity. Hopefully the final product will at least have action aplenty, including some mammoth scenes of carnage from Magneto (one of the films' best points). We're expecting X3 to hit in May 2006.

Issues and more Issues

Anyway, on the side, I've been pencilling pages for the 2nd issue of Kunoichi Boy. This all-new story (which wasn't dredged up from the foiled release in Questor Mangamania) has our heroes Jin and Mikoto sauntering into a quiet town... perhaps too quiet for a town. Well, there's something sinister going on in this sleepy little hamlet, and it's gonna lead to quite a bit of action before long. I'm intending for quite a bit of ninja girl-on-ninja girl/boy fighting in this one, so it should be pretty fun. I'll see about getting this issue finished and out on the Comic Quest rack in a month or two.

Meanwhile, you can check out the latest issue of Budjette Tan's supernatural series, Trese! The third issue is now available at Comic Quest, and so far I've heard good things. Budj is getting better and better with his dark heroine, and the art by Ka-Jo is as cool as always. I'll be sure to pick this up when I get the chance, and I think you guys should too!

Overtime

It's past midnight and we're still in the grind, shooting the TV commercial. Circumstances forced us to leave the southern mall and continue the rest of our shots in the confines of a studio. Unfortunately, the act of uprooting and setting up again ate up a lot of time. So now, it's early in the morning of the weekend and I'm still on the job. Should be done in an hour or two though... which should mean I'll be in bed by about 3AM or so. Gosh, I need some shut-eye. Oh well. It's a living.

Shooting South

The past two days have been spent on a TV commercial shoot down south, in the very nice Alabang Town Center. I seldom ever come this far south, which is a shame since the sprawling mall/shopping complex is really cool... literally. There are so many big trees around the plaza area, it reminds me of the ol' college campus of UP. It's a nice place to relax at as well as shop and dine.
It was fun to just walk around and window-shop during lulls in the shoot, and a I ended up buying a couple of magazines to take home. Anyway, it's been a smooth, relatively problem-free shooting, thanks to a pretty great production house (which kept us well-fed and served throughout, even having our own air-conditioned tent! Yipee!). We'll be wrapping up the thing this evening and I'm looking forward to a restful weekend. Fun work is still work. I'm pooped.