SUMMER KOMIKON 2010
April 17, 2010, Bahay ng Alumni, UP Diliman

Inglourious Basterds

Just saw this film recently (yes, I'm way behind when in comes to movies), and I'm really wondering why so many people are so "bravo!", "excellent!", and all that about this movie. Me... not so much.

Okay, so from here I'll be assuming you've seen the film so you'll know what I'm talking about.

Some parts were brilliant, especially the opening scene. Very tense, and you can really feel the emotion from the characters. One other scene that was executed well was the bar scene where the spies were trying to avoid an incident with the German soldiers. Very Tarantino (which means it's talky), but again, the tension was built up excellently.

What really bothered me with this movie is that the titular characters, the Inglourious Basterds, were not really important to the film at all. You could remove them from the movie and it would have made little difference. The main plot about the orphaned Shoshanna's revenge on the Nazis would have been sufficient to carry the movie, even without the Inglourious Basterds involvement, which really doesn't involve them as the movie went along. It just so happened they had the same goals in the end. And even if the Basterds weren't there in the climactic scene, Shoshanna's revenge would have still killed Hitler and the Nazis.

Come to think of it, if they just jettisoned the Basterds altogether, and made it a simple tale about Shoshanna's revenge plot, I guess I would have liked this movie much better.

Phantom/Captain Action is PREVIEW's STAFF PICK for January 10!

From the PREVIEWS website:

Those of us who are old enough to remember the Captain Action toys of the 1960s will recall that one of the coolest facets of the action figure was the ability to change from the Captain persona into one of a host of popular superhero characters. This alone made the toy extremely valuable to kids because the figure became two toys in one and gave you more opportunity to develop complex and often convoluted play schemes. In a flash, he could be transformed into Captain America, Batman, Flash Gordon, the Lone Ranger, or the Phantom to mete out justice to the collected plastic villains of said scenario.

This month, the folks at Moonstone have stepped into the fantasy battles of yesteryear by pitting Captain Action against the Phantom in their first-ever comic book crossover (since the original toy allowed you to crossover the characters during play). There is something incredibly nostalgic about this pairing that has me incredibly interested to see what writer Mike Bullock and artist Reno Maniquis have in store for the iconic heroes. Moonstone has been cranking out a respectable and quality line of comic books for over ten years and they seem to have really found a strong niche with these classic pulp inspired characters. If you enjoy classic action fare or are a fan of either character, this series is a must to check out in March! If only I still had the toys.

I find it kind of funny when, in popular fiction, a guy who has mad fighting skills holds off multiple attackers, and the attackers just keep on coming. Much like when a superhero fights a bunch of henchmen, these henchmen just keep on attacking and in the end they get their butts kicked.

I mean, seriously, if I was one of those henchmen and I saw this guy disposing my comrades left and right, I would think twice about jumping into the fray. Chances are, I'd wind up in a hospital (or even dead, if the particular guy happens to be someone like, say, Wolverine).

So why do these guys keep on doing it? Or maybe they get recruited to be cannon fodder because they're total idiots and their purpose is to be exactly that? But, hey, if I were an evil mastermind, I'd recruit guys who're very, veerrry good at fighting. That way, I can defeat Batman or Daredevil or Bruce Lee with just a few henchmen. Quality trumps quantity, right?

So, to all henchmen out there, think twice before attacking a lone guy. And to all evil masterminds, think twice about what kind of guys you hire to be henchmen. :)

A new year, a new direction for me. January has been very hectic, but in a good way. For those who don't know yet, I've started freelancing full-time this month. Workload-wise, it's been very fruitful. Jobs keep coming in, and hopefully the trend will continue throughout the year.

Working at home has it's benefits... I save up on train and jeepney fare since I don't have to go anywhere (except on occasions where I have a meeting or I need to get my paycheck for a particular job done). The stress of commuting is also gone.

I don't snack on junk food too much anymore. The office pantry was stock full of junk food that it's hard to resist it's siren call. And I also save up on the money that I would otherwise use to buy junk food, too.

Best of all, I get to greet my daughter every time she comes home from school. Seeing me when she arrives puts a smile on her face, and it also puts a smile on mine, too.

I do miss my morning runs from the train station to the office, though. I occasionally get to run at the track of a nearby sports stadium, but sometimes there's a lot of work to be done so I have to start with it bright and early. Hopefully I can get back on track (no pun intended) with my running this February.

But overall, life has been better. I'm looking forward to this new phase with a lot of optimism. :)

Merry Christmas to all!

Press release: December 17, 2009 -- The popular Paranormal Podcast will be closing its 2009 season with a BANG -- featuring a special roundtable discussion centering on 2012.

2012 has received immense coverage in bookstores, newsprint, television, the Internet and most recently in theaters with Sony's epic 2012 film by director Roland Emmerich and starring John Cusack.

People around the globe want to know: What will go down on 12/21/12 at 11:11 GST? Apocalypse ... Euphoria ... or another Y2K non-event?

Best-selling authors Marie D. Jones (2013: The End of Days or a New Beginning) and Marshall Masters (Planet X Forecast and 2012 Survival Guide) join host Jim Harold to discuss award-winning comic creator/publisher Robert Heske's new book - 2012: Final Prayer, An End Times Anthology.

Ms. Jones and Mr. Masters (both of whom have appeared recently on the History Channel's Nostradamus Effect) also mash with Heske about the 2012 phenomena in general, offering varied opinions and lively debate on diverse scenarios ranging from catastrophic events to a global "awakening of the human consciousness."

The Paranormal Podcast, which interviews various authors and paranormal experts such as Stanton Friedman, Brad Steiger, Dr. Bob Curran, Alien Abductee Stan Romanek, Nick Pope and Jim Marrs, is among the top 25 Science Audio Podcasts on iTunes. Each show averages 8,000 to 10,000 downloads with a devoted audience spanning the globe.

The show was taped in November and will be posted on Monday, December 21, 2009. For more details, visit the website at www.paranormalpodcast.com.

To buy 2012: Final Prayer from Heske Horror, go to www.zaldiva.com, www.amazon.com or visit myebook.com (i.e., the bookshop) for a digital download.

Hey guys! Remember this post a while back?

I'm happy to announce that it all came into fruition. Watch out for this in March, 2010:

PHANTOM-CAPTAIN ACTION #1 (of 2)
Story: Mike Bullock, Art: Reno Maniquis
Cover A: Art Thibert, Cover B: Mark Sparacio, Cover C:Michael Gilbert
32pgs, color, $3.99

Together again for the first time!

The Phantom and Captain Action were forever united in the 1960s when the original Captain Action toy was released with a Phantom costume, allowing Cap to transform into the Ghost Who Walks. Now, for the first time, the two timeless titans collide in the first concussive crossover ever created.

When an international intelligence cartel makes a surgical strike for global control, UN committee member Diana Palmer-Walker and her legendary husband are all that stands in their way, but when the Ghost Who Walks goes missing, the only one Diana can turn to is none other than - Captain Action!

Don’t miss history in the making! (Covers A & B available separately)

Here's a sample page of my pencils for the interior art:

SUPER SUIT

I just finished reading Tom de Haven's IT'S SUPERMAN! novel, and I'm currently reading Geoff Johns' and Gary Frank's SUPERMAN: SECRET ORIGIN. It got me to thinking about the origins of Superman's costume (or uniform, if you like).

SECRET ORIGIN brings back the original explanation of the super suit... it was Kryptonian cloth that was as indestructible as Superman. It's okay, but there would be times that Superman would get bruised or wounded by forces stronger than his skin, so wouldn't that mean the suit would be torn, too?

IT'S SUPERMAN! reveals that originally, Superman was using a suit made out of ordinary fabric, so it would tear up most of the time. He finally gets an indestructible suit courtesy of arch-enemy Lex Luthor. Who just mails it to Superman as a gift of sorts. This origin of the suit was kinda "meh" for me.

Out of all the different explanations on how Superman's suit is as invulnerable as he is, the one most plausible (for me, at least) is the one John Byrne cooked up for his THE MAN OF STEEL miniseries in the 80s. In the story, it was revealed that Superman had an aura which protects stuff that's really up close to his skin. Which makes his skintight suit almost as indestructible as he is. Of course, when going up against something that would hurt even his "invulnerable" skin, The suit would also get torn. It also mean that his cape could be torn, since it wasn't skintight, but that's okay. The only drawback is he can't protect people with his cape like he used to. The aura also explains away why a man would don spandex in order to fight crime. Since normal clothes would tear up, it only makes sense for him to wear something that could be protected by his aura, right?

Any Superman readers out there? Which super-suit origin do you like most?

(image from www.zimbio.com)

OBLIVIOUS

There are two very different reasons why men and women have car accidents.

Most men are just plain reckless. It's simple stupidity.

Women, in my analysis, are just oblivious to their surroundings. And it's not just while driving.

Case in point: One morning while walking to the train station, two women walking from behind me bumped me on both of my sides, making a momentary "me" sandwich. At first, I thought it may be a pickpocketing scam, but upon checking my valuables nothing was missing. Plus, both women looked actually surprised that they bumped into me, as if I was a wall that was suddenly in their way. But, even if I wasn't there, they would have bumped each other. And it was a very wide sidewalk, with pedestrians walking around comfortably. And how in heck would you not notice someone who's in front of you?!?!

Another case in point: When walking on my own, I usually walk up or down escalators. One time while I was walking up one, two women were busily chatting away in front of me. I said a simple "excuse me" and one of the women almost literally jumped out of her skin. She exclaimed "AAAYYY!!!" and then proceeded to mutter under her breath (but was clearly audible) "nakakagulat naman yung mama." What the heck is so startling with a simple "excuse me?"

Another example: On the elevated walkway from the Ayala business district going to Greenbelt... three women who do not know each other are walking side by side. Now, that walkway is wide. But they've occupied almost the whole path that most people were having a hard time squeezing in between them. It would have been a bit understandable if they were friends chatting away and being oblivious to their surroundings, but THEY DID NOT KNOW EACH OTHER and were simply walking at the same pace, oblivious to the fact that a small crowd was gathering behind them trying to get through.

Last example: Just this morning, while getting into the elevator, I let a woman who was there go into the elevator first. As soon as she got in, she keeps hitting the "close door" button while I was still on my way in. That was just WHOA.

Is it any wonder that most victims of bag snatchers are women?

So ladies, please keep your wits about you whenever you walk (or drive).