Babbling Point

STARSTRUCK Over the holidays, I bumped into people I haven't seen for a long time and attended several reunions. Most the time, their first question to me would be, "Hey! Where's Donita?" ha. ha. ha. They were all referring to that TV commercial where I get a hug from MTV VJ Donita Rose. To all my friends and relatives who still haven't seen the TV commercial that has made me (in)famous, you can now view it online. Just go to the website of the director... http://www.martinarnaldo.com/moments/main.htm And then click commercial entitled STARSTRUCK. Feel free to laugh. :)

Spent today typing the second draft of the story. Also saw pencils of the first 18 pages of 1602 part 3, and was thrilled by them. I phoned Andy Kubert to tell him. "You know, either people will like this a lot," I told him, "Or they'll say things like 'Well, there was the Howard the Duck movie, and there was 1602'." --NEIL GAIMAN Why do I suddenly feel so unsure about this project? 1602 is Gaiman super-secret project with Marvel Comics that supposed to feature Marvel's classic characters. (Spider-Man? Fantastic Four?) Anyd Kubert is definitely not in my top ten list of favorite artists, now Gaiman says this... hmmm... scary!

Medieval VCD Torture I'm at the office and the guys at the other cubicle are watching LORT: TWO TOWERS!!! NOOOOO!!! Must... not... hear... Must... not... know... what happens... Huh? Who's that screaming? Sounds of war? No hope??? NOOOOO!!! Reaching for CD... play 10,000 MANIACS really loud... arrrrghhh... 10,000 Maniacs no match for the orc army!!! Five more days before I get to watch it... five more days...

DILIMAN #4 now online! In which Gabe, Bambi and Rich are caught in a growing scheme by elements of the supernatural. Tarot cards, cellular phones and hidden schemes intertwine until a glimpse of the scheme's desired resolution is revealed.

And for our last song... Now available is the third issue of Batch72, which is the conclusion to the “It’s a Mall, Mall, Mall World!” storyline. Giving a new spin to the term midnight madness, the super-villain Morgue has encased the entire UltraMall in ice and now holds everyone hostage using his mindless Ice Zombie. Last time we saw Batch72, Pammy, Brown-out, and Kadi were frozen solid and the rest of the band were about to be attacked by Morgue’s Ice Zombies. Could this be the end of Batch72? Rushing to their rescue are the ULTRACOPS, Manila’s Finest Super-Enhanced Law-Enforcers and the JUSTICE COPRS, the most popular superhero team on Philippine television. But will they be enough to stop Morgue? Things get really interesting when the hostage situation is shown on TV and is seen by Kadi’s grandfather… and we all know that Kadi’s lolo is actually Doktor Kadiliman, that infamous villain from World War 2. Obviously, the old doctor will not just sit in his sec...

FROM THE FWD TXT DEPT: Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. Wishing you a life less ordinary. Happy new year!

AN EMAIL FROM FILIPINO COMIC BOOK WRITER J. TORRES They say that the early bird gets the worm so here I am with some early hype for a couple of upcoming projects... "Marvel Comics are set to chronicle a new adventure of the X-Men of the alternate Mangaverse reality with X-MEN RONIN, a five-issue mini-series set to debut in March next year. X-Fan Correspondent Benjamin Ong Pang Kean recently caught up with writer J. Torres and editor C.B. Cebulski to find out more about the mini-series." The rest of the article can be found here: http://x-mencomics.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=14091 Then Oni Press said there's be DAYS LIKE THIS: http://previews.diamondcomics.com/products/comics/jan_03/13_days_like_this.html With the big x-books push by Marvel in March, I was afraid my l'il creator-owned graphic novel might get lost in the shuffle. So, when you order your copies of X-MEN: RONIN (and I know you will - winkwink), think about orderin...

Color Me Red Got a kiss from Cooky Chua last night--- what a great way to end the year! :) :) :) Went to 70s Bistro last night. It was Triple-A Night aka Anti-Alcoholics Anonymous Night. That what they call it whenever Pin Wheel, Hydrophonics, and Color It Red plays in one place. Don't know how long they've been doing AAA, but I'm definitely going back their for their next "session". IT'S NOT A HOAX! IT'S NOT A DREAM! NOT AN IMAGINARY STORY! Welcome to married life, Gerry & Ilyn ... hope you survive the experience! he he he The guest list of Gerry and Ilyn's wedding read like a list to a comic book convetion. I should sold tickets and had an autograph signing session at the reception. In fact, their give-away was a mini-comic book on how they met and fell in love. Awwww. I was giving hosting duties during the reception along with Chris, Ilyn's classmate. I should've drank beer or wine or taken severa...

Congratulations to Mark and Petite on the successful launch of their joint-project ! Like I said in Moy and Dundee's wedding, "It takes a whole village to raise one child." So, you can be sure that we will raise your child. No. Wait. That's not my point. My point is, you can be sure that our crazy tribe will always be there for you two. Naks! :) KEKEKE!!!

SPACE... THE FINAL FRONTIER FOR SARI-SARI STORES Aside from that Pinoy in Starship Troopers, seems like Filipinos have found their way in different parts of the universe. So, should we now call them OFWs (Outer-space Filipino Workers)? LIFELINE A novel by Kevin J. Anderson and Doug Beason --------------------------------------------------------------------- "In shock and grief the last remnants of the human race watched from space as the holocaust of war raged across the face of the Earth. Now the future rested in the hands of three fragile space colonies: Aguinaldo--The Philippine L-5 colony whose brilliant biochemist had engineered a limitless supply of food. Kibalchich--The Soviet space exploration platform that harbored a deadly secret. Orbitech 1--The American space factory whose superstrong weavewire could be a lifeline to link the colonies--or a cutting-edge weapon of destruction. As allies, they could unite to rebuild a better world. As enemies, they could ...

Back at the office. Attended the wedding reception of Jovic and Steph. Went with Moy and Dundee. (Moy made the wedding cake.) Met some high school and college batchmates. Found out that one of them owns a comic book shop that specializes in ordering back issues. (More info about them soon.) He also mentioned that some of our batchmates who used to draw/illustrate now want to work on whatever project and get something published somewhere. Hmmm... must meet up with them soon. One of those batchmates that he was talking about is Oliver Isabedra, who did pencils from Entity Comics' ASTER ... the same comic book that introduced such talents as Gerry Alanguilan, Leinil Francis Yu, and Jay Anacleto. Back then, they were just names. Now... they are legends! he he he Anyway, I don't really know what Oliver wants to do, but it would be interesting to see his works again. When he started drawing, he had that George Perez-style going . Last time I saw his sketches , he was gettin...

News from the Gutter Grant Morrison is working on an "Invisibles" computer game with some of the people who created Grand Theft Auto. And there's a lot of Scots there. One programmer was so excited about the collaboration that he text messaged a friend from his mobile saying "I'm having a shit in Grant Morrison's toilet!!!" at 2 in the morning. Will there be any cheat codes? When this game comes out, this might finally give Dave a good reason to buy a new computer.

MURPHY'S DAY Woke up and found out my rear right tire was flat. And my spare tire was also flat. So, I had both tires fixed only to find out that my rear right tire was beyond repair and had to buy a new one. So, I got the new one and drove home to finally take a bath, dress up, and get some errands done. When I walked back to my car my rear right tire was flat again! So, I brought it back to the same repair guy who then told me the "pito"-- that rubber thingee/nozzle where you pump in air had already cracked due to wear and tear. And so I got a new "pito" and finally had four running wheels. I then went to this upholstery shop along Santolan, because a couple of days ago, the driver seat of my car went on a permanent recline. Some metal bar snapped and I had to drive around the city lying down. After I got that fixed, I drove to E.Rodriguez to get some paperwork processed. When I got to the place, I discovered that I left my bag in the upholstery sh...

Four Weddings and Comic Book Convention Yup, that's what's jotted down in my calendar for this month. Which makes me wonder if December will become some strange, comedy routine. Weddings... Can you believe it? We're now attending weddings-- of our friends! No weddings of some aunt or uncle, but of people that we grew up with. Another sign of your getting old is when one of your batchmates runs for public office. So far, that hasn't happened yet. Anyway, I just hope that the workload here in the office stays this light.

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 Nor...

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 Cl...

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 pr...

R U 1 OF US? "Cellphones have become a major icon of Philippine life. They have replaced the jeepney as the expression of what is quintessentially Filipino. Both symbols deal with mobility and connectivity, but while the jeepney attempts to traverse physical distance, the cellphone supersedes it." Quote from Txt-ing Selves: Cellphones and Philippine Modernity

In today's Inquirer, I saw a picture of a bunch of guys in spandex. Turned out to be the cast of the movie LASTIKMAN starring Vic Sotto as the elastic hero, Donita Rose as his love interest, Michael V. as his faithful sidekick, and Jeffrey Quizon as the villain. Jackielou Blanco and Michelle Bayle are also in the film. The movie is part of the line-up of this year's Metro Manila Filmfest... which should be renamed the Metro Manila Fantasy Filmfest. As a kid, I used to watch the original, b&w LASTIKMAN movie on IBC 13 during those lazy afternoons. Of course, back then, they didn't have any hi-tech morphing effects, so you'd usually see Lastikman run off-screen and it cuts to the object he transform in, like a tire or a table and it would have that distinct diamond-pattern that's on Lastikman's costume. There was only one scene where special-effects was used. When Lastikman was buried six feet under, he was able to escape by making his hand snake out of a...