Babbling Point

Two boys run inside a magazine store... I was in a magazine store today and two boys (around 7 and 8 years old) came in and saw the latest issue of VANITY FAIR. BOY #1: Hey! It's Han Solo! BOY #2: Is that his son? I texted some of the guys about my encounter with those Star Wars fans and Mark texted back an interesting way to look at the situation: that at least they didn't say, "Hey! It's Sam Witwicky from the Transformers movie! But who's the old guy? Is that his dad?" If you want to see the exclusive Anne Leibovitz pictures from the set, click the link below: Indiana Jones photos in VANITY FAIR

does it come in black? introducing THE ALEXANDRA If TRESE were ever to get a car sponsor, it would be the Toyota Vios. This would be Alexandra Trese's personal car. When she goes out on "business", the Kambal would drive her around in a Camry. (hehehe)

Does anyone have a copy of the Tekkon Kinkreet DVD? Does anyone have a copy of Asian Kung-Fu Generation CD? Does anyone just want to fly away and get away from all these deadlines?

"What's in the bag?!" Last night, we went to Saguijo to meet up with my cousin Oliver. We got there too early. So after eating chicharon bulaklak and salpicao (yeah, yeah, the diet was supposed to start January 2, i know), me and Wella went upstairs to check out the stuff at Baul. Of course, Baul mostly sells clothes for women, so there was not much for me to look at. When I saw this bag perched on top an old Chinese box and wondered who used to own the bag (and the box). I wondered if the previous owner left behind a letter or a postcard that she forgot to send. Maybe there was a matchbook of a restaurant that closed down years ago and scribbled in the matchbook was the number and the name of her lover. I thought how wonderful it might be to have a store that sold such things and people would get a free story with whatever they bought. Maybe they would find a crumpled up love letter in the pocket of a jacket, a note in the drawer of a old writing table, a family recipe ...

in stores now : KADILIMAN and TRESE 7 KADILIMAN: IN THEIR SILENT SHADOW CARNIVAL Written by David Hontiveros Art by Edgar Tadeo (click thumbnails to see larger version) During the final days of World War II, the Nazis activated a doomsday device somewhere in the Pacific. The Justice Corps, the Philippines super-hero team, was the only one who could respond in time to stop the device. The survivors of that fateful day were Bituwin, The Ermitanyo, and the super-villain Dr. Kadiliman. Decades later, we find Dr. Kadiliman, trying to live a peaceful life with his granddaughter Kadi. Once a year, on the anniversary of that day of sacrifice and heroism, Dr. Kadiliman disappears. Where does he go? Who does he meet with? Discover the answers in KADILIMAN: IN THEIR SILENT SHADOW CARNIVAL. TRESE 7: EMBRACE OF THE UNWANTED Story by Budjette Tan Art by Kajo Baldisimo At the lowest basement of the MagnaMall, the mangled body of a woman is found. The trail of blood brings Alexandra Trese face-to-face...

memories Remember when life was simple? When extending your arms was all it took to guard your interests. When you chased dragonflies instead of deadlines. When kuya was all the security you needed. When you had no concept of failure. When your assets were shared freely and your most precious secrets kept. Client: Globe Telecom * Agency: Harrison Communications * Creatives: Grace Alvarez, Rachel Warren, Noel Martin * Accounts: Dino Laurena, Tey San Diego * Producer: Chona Bustamante TRIVIA: The song used is "Suo Gân", a lullaby sung in Welsh. It was also the theme song from EMPIRE OF THE SUN. The Loboc Children's Choir was asked sing to this version.

resolutions Stop talking about the future. Stop studying the possibilities. Stop exploring all options. Stop weighing the odds. Stop waiting for the perfect time. Stop wishing. Let's begin.

Butch Perez, film director , Lifetime Underachievement Awardee. Budjette Tan , advertising creative director by day, aspiring superhero by night . Jaime Augusto Zobel, corporate overlord, publisher of Flip, Bruce Wayne? All part of Jessica's READERS' BLOC at: http://jessicarulestheuniverse.com/2007/12/19/readers-bloc-2007/ (wow, I guess that's the closest I'll ever get to JAZA.) hehehe

Per DTI The famous Christmas song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer started life as a poem created by an American advertising executive called Robert May. He was requested to produce a poem that could be given away to children by the Santa Claus employed by Department Stores at Christmas! Working as an Advertising Executive Robert May had a natural flair with words and was able to compose the Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer poem which was specifically designed to appeal to children. This marketing ploy was a massive success and approximately 2.5 million Rudolph, the red-nosed reindeer poems were given away in the first year of its publication! In 1949 the singer Gene Autry recorded a musical version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer composed by Johnny Marks. My art directress Kitty sent us that piece of trivia (as well as the original artwork) a couple of days ago. It's interesting for me to find out that such a classic poem / song / movie all started from a typical Job Order, issued ...

... OR ARE YOU JUST HAPPY TO SEE ME? An excerpt from David Hontiveros’ PELICULA INT. MEGAMALL BUILDING B – SECURITY OFFICE – A SHORT TIME LATER LUIS CONRADO, young, handsome, ridiculously muscled up-and-coming actor, is busy stripping off the now sweat-sodden costume of Habagat, superpowered defender of the Filipino people, and heroic protagonist of Channel 8’s latest fantaserye (and highest-rated show), Habagat. The red boots, cape[1] bracers, chest icon[2], and yellow long-sleeved tunic[3] are already off (the cape and tunic soon to be rushed off to the dry cleaners), and Luis is peeling off the black tights to reveal a shiny silver codpiece strapped to his pelvic area.[4] [1] A superhero’s cape (for those who wear one) is the most vital accessory in the bold fashion statement that is their costume; the cape should look both regal and heroic, no matter the circumstance. Habagat’s cape would prove to be one of the biggest pains in the collective posterior of the show’s costume design...

YOU KILLED MY MASTAH! NOW I KILL YOU! Well, that line isn’t really said in THE IMMORTAL IRON FIST: THE LAST IRON FIST STORY, but Danny Rand does say, “I know kung-fu! Hi-yaa!!!” TIIF:TLIFS (aka the really kick-ass Iron Fist story) written by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction with art by David Aja (and whole lot of other artists who do the flashback scenes) was something I finally got to read it over the weekend thanks to Ian “I’ve got Neil Gaiman’s home address and you don’t” Sta. Maria. I first got interested with this title when I heard Matt Fraction and John Siuntres talk about over at Word Balloon . Then I read rave reviews about it at the now-defunct Major Spoilers site. I was never really a fan of Iron Fist, but I do remember buying the last POWER MAN & IRON FIST comic book where Iron Fist died (and like all Marvel characters, they just won’t stay dead. Hey! Is that Captain America I see crawling out of his grave?) Well, that doesn’t matter. Readers who don’t know a thing abou...

PELICULA : AN ONLINE NOVEL BY DAVID HONTIVEROS Fame is a power many dream of possessing. It is a power Luis Conrado is very familiar with, especially when he assumes his super-powered alter ego Habagat. Having the power to fly with the eagles, the strength of a hundred men, and the ability to withstand pain and injury can sometimes pale in comparison to the shining, blinding power of fame. Standing in that blazing spotlight for too long, Luis does not notice the ones standing in the shadows. The architects of his fame. The ones who hold the true power. Read the first chapters of PELICULA at: www.davidhontiveros.com Habagat designed by Ian “Neil Gaiman asked for my autograph” Sta. Maria . Also at the site, a gallery of the super-hero Habagat . With illustrations by Carlo Vergara, Kajo Baldisimo, Bow Guerrero, Ronnie Tres Reyes, Dennis Crisostomo, Arvie Villenia, Reno Maniquis, Oliver Pulumbarit, Aldin Viray, and Edgar Tadeo.

We went to the Ad Congress in Subic and we didn’t even get a stupid shirt. We did bring home something better :) Maki’s radio commercial about having curly hair and headaches won us a Bronze Award Jao and Rommel’s TV commercial about the ABC’s of driving was awarded Bronze in Film, Bronze in Editing, and a Silver in Art Direction. Brandie and Tin’s LOTUS SPA won a whole lot of awards, including BEST OF MEDIUM and a Gold Award. Their works for Ponstan, Bonamin, and PAWS got them several awards as well. (Will upload the complete list when I get it) I didn’t get to bring home any award, but I did get the chance to give Neil Gaiman copies of TRESE. I can’t remember what I said when I was finally in front of him and he started to flip through the pages of our work. I suddenly realized what Hob Galding or (dare I compare myself to) Will Shakespeare as they stood in front of Morpheus. Gaiman was just this great presence, this prince of stories, and I wished I could’ve said more than whatever ...

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY TO THE KOMIKON! MY, HOW YOU'VE GROWN! MY BIRTHDAY WISH FOR YOU WOULD BE... But before anything else, Wella would like to thank all the people who bought copies of Trese, Skyworld and Maskarado. Last year, during the early afternoon of the Komikon, I was alone at the table. So, I was the one handing over copies to the buyers, getting their payment, using my cellphone to computer for change (because I suck at math), rummaging for change from my Superman lunchbox, then sign their copy of TRESE (if they asked for an autograph). By the time Shali and the other arrived, I looked like a headless chicken. Shali said I looked less frantic this year. And the main reason for that is Wella and Shali-- our sale girls / promodizers (yes, there is such a term for people). After a couple of minutes of sitting at the table, Wella and Shali had perfected their patter. "Hi! This is the new comic book Skyworld. And this is the complete set of Trese. If you buy all seven copies...

Kita-kits sa KOMIKON http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif Well... you'll kinda, sorta, somewhat see Trese and Makabo at the Komikon . They'll be sold on the same table but they won't be in the same comic book. (Well, at least not yet.) The pin-up above was illustrated by Ian Sta. Maria . Makabo the Tikbalang is one of the characters from the comic book SKYWORLD. Before we ever get to this magical,mystical, marvelous team-up, you'll have to read Mervin Ignacio and Ian Sta. Maria's SKYWORLD: APOCRYPHA . After many years of writing and drawing storyboards for clients (who have a tendecy to revise everything you put on the page) Mervin and Ian finally finished this story which they can say is all theirs. (Well, a couple of people gave their inputs and asked for changes as well. HAHAHA) Aside from SKYWORLD, TRESE 7: EMBRACE OF THE UNWANTED will also be available at the Komikon. So, for those of you who haven't picked up the complete set of TRESE, you can get all s...

Habulan Taya! "HABULAN" TEASER HABULAN NA TALAGA! Every team in every agency will have that story... you know, that story about the project that just seemed to take forever to get approved, to get produced. (Russ always wins with his "we did 99 storyboards" story.) Anyway, when the team got the brief for this project, they came up with stories about a city where cake-people lived and where cakes envied other cakes and cakes other cakes and those just didn't fly with client. After several meetings, the idea for using cartoon or comic book characters was suggested by client. Since the product is all about this choco-coated cake, using the residents of PUGAD BABOY became the obvious choice. It was great to finally get to work with Pol Medina Jr. I was able to attend the first meeting with him, but then I had to leave for my 3-month gig in KL. Anyway, this project has always been Mervin's baby and he definitely made sure this baby came out right. When I came bac...

Hang Out with the Dream King A Gathering of Dreamlings and Nightmares with Neil Gaiman Where Neil Gaiman reads from his latest works & answers your queries Only 1,000 tickets available Includes an autographed Beowulf manuscript The first 100 attendees to register at the venue get to be part of the an exclusive book signing hour with Neil Gaiman. El Centro Subic, Subic Bay November 24, 2007, Saturday, 9am Tickets at P1,500 (cash basis only) Call Lucre Mae Villaluna at 09156436040 or (02)7518152

DAY OF THE DEAD Neil Gaiman wrote an episode of BABYLON5 where the dead came back and spent a day with their loved ones. I forgot the details of the story, but each crew member of Babylon5 was only visited by one person from beyond. Which makes me wonder who will come and visit me if that strange cosmic event ever happened on Earth. So, let me take the time to remember three people on this day. BUDDY TAN: That’s what a lot of people called me dad. I wonder if his mother ever called him “Salvador!” when he was being naughty or disobedient. A lot of people also called him “Boss.” When me and Brandie were still kids, we used to sleep in between my mom and dad. When we got too large to fit in one bed, we started sleeping in the other room with my mom. My dad would make me stay with him. He’d tell me that the aswang might come and he’d need me to stay and protect him. Now that I think about it, knowing that an aswang would come should’ve scared me more and made me run to the othe...

MYSTERY AT THE MALL On the night we watched “Stardust” in Powerplant, something strange happened. When we parked the car at the 2nd level basement of the mall, we left the following things in there: on the dashboard, Wella left some chocolates (Madel’s pasalubong from Jakarta) and I left copies of TRESE in the backseat. The comic books were place behind the passenger seat. Behind the driver’s seat was a box full of copies of Batch72. After the movie, we got in the car and the chocolates were missing. We found the plastic bag and the empty wrappers stuffed in the side compartment on the driver’s side. The lid of the box was left open. The copies of Trese were found behind the box. Other than those few pieces of chocolates, nothing else was missing. So, was a thief with a sweet tooth, who didn’t like comic books? Could it have been a duwende looking for midnight snack and something to read? We tried not to talk about it on the way home.

Bio-blography Have you noticed the number of parents now blogging about their children? These blogs are filled with pictures and anecdotes about what their child did today and what they said today. Some have even started to upload the video / pictures of the ultrasound of their baby. In a way, these children are lucky to have their biography uploaded online day-by-day. When they're older, all they have to do is click on that bookmarked link and they can read about their early years. For our generation, we have to open dusty cabinets and pull out the albums. We crack them open because the plastic pages have gotten stuck together. The plastic, as well as the pictures, have become yellow with age. The scent of the past makes us sneeze as we flip through the pages. Depending on how diligent your mother was, we would be able to read captions on each picture. Some captions would've been made using that Dynamo tape, while others resorted to writing the blurb on paper and sticking them...