I have been remiss in updating. But there are so many posts I want to get to! And not having a scanner there are so many pictures you guys haven't seen. But, urgent things first!
This Saturday, July 3, is Free Comic Book Day in the US. So if you're in the US, or know someone there, tell them to go to a comic store (preferably early) and they can get free comics. Here, I think only CCHQ participates, but they have a system where you get a certain no. of free comics depending on how much you've spent at CCHQ recently. This because it's not exactly free to them, since there's no discount on the shipping costs from the US.
ANYWAY!
I've been moderating a small comics discussion group for about 4 years now, and partly as an anniversary project, we are putting out a zine, just a small anthology of short strips called Hey, Comics! It's coming out this Saturday! Yay! Some copies will be given to Comic Quest in Megamall, but we'll be at CCHQ handing out copies ourselves.
Contributors include Arnold & Cynthia Arre, Quark Henares, Chris Costello, Neva Talladen, Harvey Ong, Mark Lavin, Dean Alfar, Jordan Santos, Andrew Drilon & Wincy Ong. It's kind of surprising because we actually have so much material we had to push some stories to the next issue.
It will be FREE only on this ONE day. After that, we'll be selling them everyplace that'll have us (and if you have suggestions, please mention them in the comments!). We don't have the price yet, but rest assured no one's making money from this. I was prepared to foot the whole bill and lose some money but a generous person, when I wasn't even asking, actually donated a couple thousand pesos! Be still my heart! So the money will all go to recouping printing costs of the first issue, and the rest will go to making the next. All the contributors are doing this out of sweet love, and blackmail. So give it a shot, please! I swear, the stories are worth it.
Tell everyone you think would be interested! After all, it's FREE!
CCHQ is at the 3rd floor, FBR Building, Katipunan. Across Ateneo, near World Topps.
Tuesday, June 22, 2004
I first came across Rommel Joson's artwork in the pages of Heights, and it blew me away pretty much every time. Best of all, he seemed to change not just the style but medium he used in every issue (so did another artist, Chico Barretto). He was Neva's batchmate, but I never met him until after he graduated. And to my surprise (and utter delight) he was actually interested in making comics, being a reader himself. So I gave him two scripts I had: "Perfume" & "You Are Here." One was written for a Heights exhibit of comic art (that Chris drew beautifully, by the way. Where is it, Chris?), the other was a loose adaptation of a letter Neva sent me when she was in Chicago and I missed her terribly. He chose to do "Perfume" and promptly disappeared for 6 months. Then around New Year's of last year (or was it 2 years ago?) he emailed me out of the blue with 3 finished pages. But I lost his email address and wasn't able to reply. Then Ernan mentions in Subic that he'd seen my comic online. Of course, I'm stymied. What the hell is he talking about? Then Naz tells me the same thing at Fete. Apparently, Rommel linked to it on Friendster. So I look up Rommel on Friendster, friend him, look in the Bulletin Board archives, and there's a link, and I follow it, and find: Perfume, written by me and illustrated by John Quaresma. Who is John Quaresma? I don't know, but those are Rommel's pages. This is all interesting timing because we're about to put out an anthology of short comics works as a zine.
So: Perfume, written by me and illustrated by Rommel Joson (aka John Quaresma). Tell me what you think. I know what I find embarrassing about it (nothing to do with the art; it's splendid). Remember it's old, and was my (I think) second formal comics script. The first was for Harvey, published in MTV Ink: "The Truth About Raining Cats & Dogs."
-
Here's Natalie Portman and Melchior Beslon in a Tom Tykwer-directed short, "True," for the Paris, je t'aime anthology, which also has contributions from Woody Allen, Jean-Luc Godard, and the Coen bros.
And something nice from Neil Gaiman's blog:
"...over at http://www.somethingpositive.net the following gauntlet was thrown down, following complaints that things were getting sloppy:
Help me quit my job. Seriously. Click on that donate button and give me a buck... fifty center... five bucks. Whatever. I've more than enough readers that if over half of you did that, I'd have a year's salary and could quit my day job - and that's forty hours freed up for the comics. Go ahead.
So they did. $22,000 came in. He gave up his day job. That's cool."
And something for you porn-freaks.
So: Perfume, written by me and illustrated by Rommel Joson (aka John Quaresma). Tell me what you think. I know what I find embarrassing about it (nothing to do with the art; it's splendid). Remember it's old, and was my (I think) second formal comics script. The first was for Harvey, published in MTV Ink: "The Truth About Raining Cats & Dogs."
-
Here's Natalie Portman and Melchior Beslon in a Tom Tykwer-directed short, "True," for the Paris, je t'aime anthology, which also has contributions from Woody Allen, Jean-Luc Godard, and the Coen bros.
And something nice from Neil Gaiman's blog:
"...over at http://www.somethingpositive.net the following gauntlet was thrown down, following complaints that things were getting sloppy:
Help me quit my job. Seriously. Click on that donate button and give me a buck... fifty center... five bucks. Whatever. I've more than enough readers that if over half of you did that, I'd have a year's salary and could quit my day job - and that's forty hours freed up for the comics. Go ahead.
So they did. $22,000 came in. He gave up his day job. That's cool."
And something for you porn-freaks.
Monday, June 21, 2004
Yesterday (I Was A Slug)
I woke up. Didn't get out of the room. In fact, didn't leave the bed. Read Junko Mizuno's Cinderalla. After, realized I was hungry and went downstairs for nourishment. Then, seeing my dad using the computer, I went back upstairs. Read Warren Ellis & Brandon McKinney's Switchblade Honey and Brian Wood & Rob G's The Couriers 2: Dirtbike Manifesto while listening to Sonic Youth's Sonic Nurse, At the Drive-In's El Gran Orgo & Vaya, and !!!'s Me & Giuliani Down By The Schoolyard (A True Story). There was a power outage due to the rain, and I decided to transfer some books to the first, top shelf of my dead sexy new bookshelf. Hey, I'm a nerd. This shit's important. I take pleasure in organizing my bookshelf. Then it was time to get ready to go to Chris's. Bathed and dressed while the gift was being wrapped.
When I get to the car I find pictures I've been missing for about a week: 3 developed rolls from underwater disposable cameras in Boracay. I am so happy and relieved! I was looking for them everywhere. I searched my room, Neva's flat, the den where the computer is, etc. It was behind the headrest in the back seat. Probably put there by one of my brother's friends when he was using the car, because I never put things there. While it was missing I really felt terrible about it, as in whenever I'd think about it I would just get depressed for an hour. Whew.
Picked up Neva at her place, went to Chris's. Despite being 20 minutes late we are the first to arrive. I show him the pictures, and some new pics from Subic, CDO and Boracay taken with the Ultimate Quad Cam. Also my first roll of developed Lomo pics. Yay.
The others arrive and we have a nice quiet dinner. Lia, Ernan, and Sexy Man Mark Lavin read Identity Crisis # 1. Quark does 3 pages of comics in under 2 hours for the upcoming anthology. We learn of Mich's eventful fete. Chris opens his gift; it goes over well. Whew.
Good day.
I woke up. Didn't get out of the room. In fact, didn't leave the bed. Read Junko Mizuno's Cinderalla. After, realized I was hungry and went downstairs for nourishment. Then, seeing my dad using the computer, I went back upstairs. Read Warren Ellis & Brandon McKinney's Switchblade Honey and Brian Wood & Rob G's The Couriers 2: Dirtbike Manifesto while listening to Sonic Youth's Sonic Nurse, At the Drive-In's El Gran Orgo & Vaya, and !!!'s Me & Giuliani Down By The Schoolyard (A True Story). There was a power outage due to the rain, and I decided to transfer some books to the first, top shelf of my dead sexy new bookshelf. Hey, I'm a nerd. This shit's important. I take pleasure in organizing my bookshelf. Then it was time to get ready to go to Chris's. Bathed and dressed while the gift was being wrapped.
When I get to the car I find pictures I've been missing for about a week: 3 developed rolls from underwater disposable cameras in Boracay. I am so happy and relieved! I was looking for them everywhere. I searched my room, Neva's flat, the den where the computer is, etc. It was behind the headrest in the back seat. Probably put there by one of my brother's friends when he was using the car, because I never put things there. While it was missing I really felt terrible about it, as in whenever I'd think about it I would just get depressed for an hour. Whew.
Picked up Neva at her place, went to Chris's. Despite being 20 minutes late we are the first to arrive. I show him the pictures, and some new pics from Subic, CDO and Boracay taken with the Ultimate Quad Cam. Also my first roll of developed Lomo pics. Yay.
The others arrive and we have a nice quiet dinner. Lia, Ernan, and Sexy Man Mark Lavin read Identity Crisis # 1. Quark does 3 pages of comics in under 2 hours for the upcoming anthology. We learn of Mich's eventful fete. Chris opens his gift; it goes over well. Whew.
Good day.
Sunday, June 13, 2004
This morning I was crying because of a comic (the excellent Identity Crisis # 1).
Last night I met Herbert Bautista but was too shy to ask for a solo pic with him (got a group pic, though). It was very Twilight Zone-ish because we were actually listening to the Bagets theme song when he came in (Gary Valenciano going "Growing up! Getting dooown!").
I am also quite happy with my new bookshelf. I can't wait to properly shelve all these books lying on my floor and covering every other halfway flat surface.
2 books came out at Fully Booked everyone should have: Alan Moore & Jose Villarubia's The Mirror of Love, and the new McSweeney's, guest-edited by Chris Ware. I'll talk a little more about them later...
Last night I met Herbert Bautista but was too shy to ask for a solo pic with him (got a group pic, though). It was very Twilight Zone-ish because we were actually listening to the Bagets theme song when he came in (Gary Valenciano going "Growing up! Getting dooown!").
I am also quite happy with my new bookshelf. I can't wait to properly shelve all these books lying on my floor and covering every other halfway flat surface.
2 books came out at Fully Booked everyone should have: Alan Moore & Jose Villarubia's The Mirror of Love, and the new McSweeney's, guest-edited by Chris Ware. I'll talk a little more about them later...
Wednesday, June 09, 2004
Finished a story.
It's a good feeling.
Even if it IS 8 AM.
-
TRAILING
I don't know why DC, which is owned by Time Warner, is having such difficulty making good movies out of their properties. I mean, the Constantine trailer came out, and it bears virtually NO resemblance to the character that the fans know and love. Constantine in the movie is an American, played by Keanu Reeves. In the comic he is a hard-bitten Brit in his early 40s, with dirty blonde hair (modeled after mid-80s Sting). The movie seems to indicate that he is a modern-day Van Helsing who takes care of demons and the like. The trailer would be intriguing if it weren't so wrong. There's a nice part where a woman gets thrown out of a building by an invisible force, though.
And the less said about Catwoman the better. I liked director Pitof's first film, Vidocq, but this doesn't hint at anything near the visual style of that film. The outfit's insulting. Halle Berry - I'm sorry, but her face rarely strikes me as beautiful. Most of the time she just looks cheap. Also has no connection to the character: she plays Patience Price (or something), it's not Gotham, and there's no Batman.
If they're just going to make all these changes, why keep the name? Really. It makes NO sense. The name recognition will just frustrate people: Catwoman's black? Where's Batman? Wasn't she bad? And a property like John Constantine, Hellblazer doesn't have much recognition outside of comics anyway. So if you're trying to get fans of either property, you're just going to piss them off. It's like asking them to pay for the privilege of seeing their beloved (anti-)heroes pissed on. It's a further shame because both books are going really well right now; they could've just stuck to that and done good.
The new Anchorman trailer is better than the earlier one. I don't know if it'll be great; it looks enjoyable, but I like the trailer because it pokes fun at trailers. Reminds me of the Comedian trailer, which was hilarious (and had nothing to do with the documentary, which is a good thing).
Here's the trailer of Michael Moore's latest, Fahrenheit 9/11. Already controversial, I hope it's a big hit. I enjoy Moore's fans but I'm not one of those types who just blindly agree with everything he says. Apparently someone's trying to make a documentary about Michael Moore himself.
I can't wait for The Incredibles to come out. The new trailer's hilarious. And the new trailer of Garden State just makes me want to watch it more.
Chris pointed me to Open Water, which scared the bejeezus out of me as a newly-licensed diver.
It's a good feeling.
Even if it IS 8 AM.
-
TRAILING
I don't know why DC, which is owned by Time Warner, is having such difficulty making good movies out of their properties. I mean, the Constantine trailer came out, and it bears virtually NO resemblance to the character that the fans know and love. Constantine in the movie is an American, played by Keanu Reeves. In the comic he is a hard-bitten Brit in his early 40s, with dirty blonde hair (modeled after mid-80s Sting). The movie seems to indicate that he is a modern-day Van Helsing who takes care of demons and the like. The trailer would be intriguing if it weren't so wrong. There's a nice part where a woman gets thrown out of a building by an invisible force, though.
And the less said about Catwoman the better. I liked director Pitof's first film, Vidocq, but this doesn't hint at anything near the visual style of that film. The outfit's insulting. Halle Berry - I'm sorry, but her face rarely strikes me as beautiful. Most of the time she just looks cheap. Also has no connection to the character: she plays Patience Price (or something), it's not Gotham, and there's no Batman.
If they're just going to make all these changes, why keep the name? Really. It makes NO sense. The name recognition will just frustrate people: Catwoman's black? Where's Batman? Wasn't she bad? And a property like John Constantine, Hellblazer doesn't have much recognition outside of comics anyway. So if you're trying to get fans of either property, you're just going to piss them off. It's like asking them to pay for the privilege of seeing their beloved (anti-)heroes pissed on. It's a further shame because both books are going really well right now; they could've just stuck to that and done good.
The new Anchorman trailer is better than the earlier one. I don't know if it'll be great; it looks enjoyable, but I like the trailer because it pokes fun at trailers. Reminds me of the Comedian trailer, which was hilarious (and had nothing to do with the documentary, which is a good thing).
Here's the trailer of Michael Moore's latest, Fahrenheit 9/11. Already controversial, I hope it's a big hit. I enjoy Moore's fans but I'm not one of those types who just blindly agree with everything he says. Apparently someone's trying to make a documentary about Michael Moore himself.
I can't wait for The Incredibles to come out. The new trailer's hilarious. And the new trailer of Garden State just makes me want to watch it more.
Chris pointed me to Open Water, which scared the bejeezus out of me as a newly-licensed diver.
Monday, June 07, 2004
First, congratulations to recent graduates Alexis and Cecile, and good luck to everyone going back to school today.
Second, I'm back. Since last Wednesday, actually, but things have been odd/busy. After spending a week in Boracay, one home, and then another in Cagayan De Oro, I am now backlogged with lots of work, and have other things to take care of besides, like family things that pop up at the last minute. It's a shame that my deadlines don't have vacations too.
The French Film Festival is ongoing, there's a link to the schedule in the events box to the left. I'm not familiar with any of the films this year; the only names I recognize are Catherine Breillat and Claude Chabrol, so I'll try to catch those if I have time. If you've seen something and like it, tell me in the comments. They're charging now. But 50 bucks isn't so bad. Venue's better.
There are many things I want to write about here but I don't have the time to do it the way I want, so those will have to come later. Sorry if the schedule and timeliness of thisgs will become awkward.
This is the confluence of technology and piracy: I am listening to the new Beastie Boys album, "To The 5 Boroughs," one full week before it gets released in the US.
-
Trust the Onion for a laugh: check out their hilarious feature "Least Erotic Sex Scenes," which contains some choice lines - on Clint Eastwood's Blood Work, "In addition to consummating the unlikely bond between Eastwood and De Jesús's characters, the scene reminds the world that directing and starring in a movie is a great way for a 72-year-old man to end up naked in bed with a woman 30 years younger and 30 times more attractive than he is." On the Eminem starrer 8 Mile: "Brittany Murphy might make a more attractive sexual partner if she didn't look high, filthy, and professional." And my favorite, on the Kevin Spacey bomb The Life of David Gale: "The only thing less erotic than a woman sobbing convulsively during sex is the man who keeps dutifully thrusting." Hahahaha!
-
Here's one of those pictures where people tell you, "You may regret seeing this, so I'll warn you beforehand; you can't erase it from your memory afterwards." Which just makes you click on it with more resolution than you would've normally. But I'll warn you beforehand: it is a toad mating ball, when more than 2 toads goes into a sexual frenzy of an orgy and they actually FUSE. It's dread disgusting. Try not to look at it around meal time.
Second, I'm back. Since last Wednesday, actually, but things have been odd/busy. After spending a week in Boracay, one home, and then another in Cagayan De Oro, I am now backlogged with lots of work, and have other things to take care of besides, like family things that pop up at the last minute. It's a shame that my deadlines don't have vacations too.
The French Film Festival is ongoing, there's a link to the schedule in the events box to the left. I'm not familiar with any of the films this year; the only names I recognize are Catherine Breillat and Claude Chabrol, so I'll try to catch those if I have time. If you've seen something and like it, tell me in the comments. They're charging now. But 50 bucks isn't so bad. Venue's better.
There are many things I want to write about here but I don't have the time to do it the way I want, so those will have to come later. Sorry if the schedule and timeliness of thisgs will become awkward.
This is the confluence of technology and piracy: I am listening to the new Beastie Boys album, "To The 5 Boroughs," one full week before it gets released in the US.
-
Trust the Onion for a laugh: check out their hilarious feature "Least Erotic Sex Scenes," which contains some choice lines - on Clint Eastwood's Blood Work, "In addition to consummating the unlikely bond between Eastwood and De Jesús's characters, the scene reminds the world that directing and starring in a movie is a great way for a 72-year-old man to end up naked in bed with a woman 30 years younger and 30 times more attractive than he is." On the Eminem starrer 8 Mile: "Brittany Murphy might make a more attractive sexual partner if she didn't look high, filthy, and professional." And my favorite, on the Kevin Spacey bomb The Life of David Gale: "The only thing less erotic than a woman sobbing convulsively during sex is the man who keeps dutifully thrusting." Hahahaha!
-
Here's one of those pictures where people tell you, "You may regret seeing this, so I'll warn you beforehand; you can't erase it from your memory afterwards." Which just makes you click on it with more resolution than you would've normally. But I'll warn you beforehand: it is a toad mating ball, when more than 2 toads goes into a sexual frenzy of an orgy and they actually FUSE. It's dread disgusting. Try not to look at it around meal time.