Press release

ANOTHER 'GAY' COMIC BOOK BY CARLO VERGARA

After his first comic book, the gay-themed “One Night In Purgatory”, garnered acclaim by landing a finalist slot in the recent Manila Critics' Circle National Book Awards and being mentioned in the Sanghaya Yearbook of the National Commission for Culture and Arts as the best comic book of 2001, Carlo Vergara is set to release his second book, ANG KAGILA-GILALAS NA PAKIKIPAGSAPALARAN NI ZSAZSA ZATURNNAH.

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

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

For an 'Ispeysyal Preview' of Zsazsa Zaturnnah, visit
http://www.alamatcomics.com.

Ding! Ang bato! At ang make-up kit ko na rin!

Ang Kagila-gilalas na Pakikipagsapalaran ni
ZSA ZSA ZATURNNAH

Ada's life is turned around when a mysterious stone falls from the sky. The stone enables Ada to transform into the powerful and voluptuous Zaturnnah, who attempts to defend a small town from rampaging zombies, power-tripping space women and... well, you know the drill...

Adding color to this simple but riotous tale is the fact that Ada is a homosexual, proprietor of his own quaint beauty salon. With his frilly-mouthed assistant Didi, and the objet d'amour Dodong, Ada acknowledges the dictates of Destiny, and begins to explore the potential fullness of Life.


"Ang Kagila-gilalas na Pakikipagsapalaran ni ZsaZsa Zaturnnah"
An Alamat Comic Book, published by Carver House thru Quest Ventures.

Written and illustrated by Carlo Vergara
Part One (of Two): 65 pages, black and white
Price: P 120
Written in Filipino.
For Mature Readers Ever.

Petite and Mark's Countdown to W-DAY is now online! Actually, it's been online for a couple of days from the looks of it. Please to give it a click and send them your best wishes. Will try to upload embarrasing pictures as soon as it happens. It should be fun! There are three Best Men, me included. Mark said that three guys should make up for one Best Man... or something like that.

Mark said they wanted to have a Lord of the Rings motif for their wedding. During the reception, they would have some guy in a Legolas costume running around during the shouting, "The orcs are coming! The orcs are coming!" Then I guess the ring bearer could be dressed up as a hobbit and the priest should look like Gandalf. But they're not pushing through with that. Oh well, I guess if we get drunk enough, we'll all go running around the reception yelling, "The orcs are coming! The orcs are coming!"

Seems like it was only yesterday when we were running around Claret School, pretending to be ninjas and spies, hiding comic books from our teacher, and... and... and running around school pretending to be... oh, I already said that. I can't believe that Mark and Petite are getting married. Heck, I can't believe Moy and Dundee are married and they already have three kids! I can't believe I'm already 30 years old. I should really snap out of this.

Doh! I still don't have a barong for the wedding! Gotta go!

MANGA FOR THE MASSES

"In Japan, each new issue of Shonen Jump supplies 3 million teen manga addicts with their next fix. America gets its first dose November 27. The serialized anthology, which will include Dragon Ball-Z and other stories, scrupulously translates the original; the English text and pages even flow from right to left. Each 280-plus page installment is as big as a phone book, but black-and-white illustrations and low-grade paper mean that the cost – $5 a pop – is comparable to skimpy US comics. With Shonen Jump going on sale at stores like Wal-Mart, the mainlining of manga can now begin." - Chris Baker

So, when SHONEN JUMP reaches local comic book stores, it'll probably be sold for P275 to P300. Which makes me wonder, will it sell. Right now, a regular 24-page full-color comic book is P160-P200. Would readers/collectors be willing to shell out the extra cash for a product like SHONEN JUMP?

I also wonder, if the local komiks industry were to produce a 200-page komiks magasin, how much would readers be willing to pay for it. The local komiks is virtually dead and the only remnant is Atlas Komiks. Maybe it needs to try something new to get readers interested again.