late night musing on how i got started on comics

Well, despite it being displayed that I'm now reading DC Comics 52 series (yes, late-bloomer), I have yet to really start reading the series. But the series is ready and primed and all I got to do now is sit down and actually read it. 

I'm backtracking obviously, trying to retrace DC's major storylines this past decade or so before I delve into their reboot this month. DC's plan of wiping out all their titles to start with a clean slate of 52 comic titles all beginning as Issue No. 1's is an obvious gamble and it might just pay off as it has gotten a lot of interest from guys like me who have been hovering in the peripheral trying to determine the best way to jump back into a hobby that I've somewhat outgrown when I hit mid-high school.

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I've never been so much of a collector mainly because like other hobbies that I have seemed to have picked up growing up, comics-collecting is expensive. As a student and with both parents working to support a brood of three, comics was a luxury. My parents would rather spend on a book than a comic. The only  comic I could afford back in my elementary days was Funny Komiks, which I eagerly anticipated every Friday (badgering my mother to buy me a copy on her way home from the palengke).

But I did get to read a lot of comics thanks to schoolmates and friends who were generous enough to lend me their copies. One neighbor comic junkie was a Marvel Comics fan so I got to read the likes of Captain America, Spidey, Iron Fist, the Micronauts, and Daredevil from him. One memorable comic issue was this Captain America issue where the secret origin of the Red Skull was revealed to Cap by no less than Red Skull himself. Other friends, like myself, preferred DC and while I do not recall reading Batman or Superman comics from those early years, I did get to read Aquaman, the Doom Patrol, and others I can no longer remember now.

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By skimping on meals, I did get to buy my own comics. But not on a regular basis as subscription was obviously  not feasible. Instead, trips to bookstores (back then, I wasn't aware there were shops that specialized in comics) where comics were sold meant choosing the comic that had the best art, and hopefully had lots of costumed guys in it.

So, I went for "team" comics and if I recall correctly, the first comic I ever bought was Tales of the Teen Titans (see the cover on the left) that pitted the Titans against an alien, I think, and this was where we learned that Cyborg's dad who works for STAR Labs, was the one responsible for making Cyborg, well, a cyborg.

Other team comics I purchased included a copy of Legion of Super-Heroes -- the one with the iconic full-page scene of Mon-El single-handedly trying to lift a floating city that just lost its ability to float, an Infinity Inc - Outsiders tie-up, Outsiders, and a Justice Society of America issue that was still set in World War II.

The only Marvel "team" comic I ever bought was this issue of the Avengers with Spiderman in training and they were battling Nebula out in the cosmos.

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In due time, I discovered there were other comic publishers and titles outside of DC and Marvel. And that some were edgier. Titles like Sun Runners and Axel Pressbutton were indeed edgy as their content was "For Mature Readers" only. Not only did these titles contain cuss-words, they also were free with their depictions of the bodily wonders of females, alien or human alike.
Then there were also the THUNDER Agents -- Dynamo, No-Man, and Menthor -- as well as other heroes from Archie Comics' superhero rosters including Shield, Black Hood, and the Web in a team called the Mighty Crusaders.

Of course, I did eventually manage to get issues of the staples of team comics like Justice League, the Avengers, the X-Men and their related groups. 

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I was in third or fourth year high school when Superman "died" at the hands of Doomsday.

A classmate of mine was an even more fanatic than myself and he regularly had a supply of comics with him (deep pockets and all) and it was through his purchase of "The Death of Superman" that we learned that DC was unbelievably killing off its iconic hero. 

We mourned Supes death, just like the rest of the world, little knowing that death and resurrection are requisites to being superhero. Apparently, in this business, no one dies forever. I remember a short 3-panel comic from a Marvel magazine. Some people visit the X-Men's mansion, the butler answers the door and the visitors ask for Jean Grey (at that time, I think the X-Men were involved in the Phoenix Saga, if I'm not mistaken). The butler replied, "She's dead. Come back next week."

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My seeming knowledge of DC comics comes not from reading DC title after DC title but because somehow in the late 80s, I managed to get my hands on two issues of DC's Who's Who -- what was supposed to the definitive guide to all things DC. 

While I only got the successive issues 18 and 19 that covered heroes and villains from Phantom Girl to Pursuer, and Puzzler to Roy Raymond, respectively, you still learned a whole lot about DCU and its citizens. Notable entries in the two issues include Robin, Riddler, Poison Ivy, and Reverse-Flash.

Nowadays, I can do research on just about any comic character off the web.

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When Image Comics formed in the 90s, my friend Brian and his brother, Mark, got crazy and started acquiring Image title after title -- including Youngblood, WildCATs, and Stormwatch. Bri's favorite however was Todd MacFarlane's Spawn series which was indeed a visual treat. We eagerly awaited the new issue every month for that first volume.

Thus, with the exception of Spawn, which in my opinion was magnificently drawn, I was introduced to the exaggerated art of the comics of the 90s that had the pre-requisite superhuman dressed in invincible armor or spandex and he sported a variety of weaponry that is almost always never used. Of course, the super-heroines didn't have such protrusions except for the anatomical ones. For the female heroes, the skimpier the costume, the better (think Voodoo, Zealot, and Diva and you know what I mean).

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Nowadays, it's more practical to buy the collected editions. 

musings on dc's new 52 reboot

Today, August 31, DC Comics, that big comic company over the other side of the globe, jumpstarts its entire product line with the release of Justice League #1.

JL#1 will just be the tip of the iceberg as DC has cancelled all its product line and will be relaunching 51 other comics in a bid to make comics relevant to the current market whose interests, I suspect, are more attuned with stuff like computers, handheld gaming consoles, iPads and iPhones, mobile phones, and a social networking site called Facebook.

I haven't had time to delve into what-has-really-been-happening-that-has-led-to-DC-relaunching-everything but I feel that it has to do with not being able to capture a new audience. I understand sales of comics has slipped a notch or two and it has been fighting a losing battle for readership with more immersive media. And then there's also the possibility that new readers are not getting into comics because they feel there's so much history to backtrack that they'd rather take on something else.

Marvel Comics, if I understand correctly, tried to counter this with their "Ultimate" series and as far as I've read online, they've succeeded in getting new readers interested.

DC has taken the bolder step, IMHO, and decided to drop everything and instead relaunch its titles in what it hypes as the "New 52", starting with what is supposedly the flagship title -- Justice League.

From what available teasers and materials I've seen so far, JL#1 seems to be a re-telling of how the Justice League, composed of DC big-wigs Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Flash, Aquaman, and curiously, Cyborg, got assembled. It's going to be the same for several of the 51 other DC titles that'll be launched this September. There are however some titles that'll be somewhat continuations from their previous incarnations. And according to online sources including Wikipedia's entry on the DC reboot, much of the history and legacy of DC will remain intact such that storylines such as Blackest Night, Brightest Day, and Batman: The Killing Joke are part of the continuity.

So, will this reboot fly? I certainly hope so for DC's sake. Much of DC's universe is so convoluted that it certainly needs a reboot. The past "Crises" stories didn't succeed in cleaning up the mess so an entire sweep, just like this reboot of its entire line, might just be the right stroke for DC. It will also allow new readers to come onboard. For fans like myself who have not paid that much attention to what has been going on, the reboot serves as an invitation to once again take a peek into what's "new".

Am I interested? Certainly. But I'm not about to go off and spend thousands of pesos on all 52 titles. A quick visit to the comics shop recently told me I have to spend some Php 150 - Php 200 on a new ish. More if the comic title was in demand. With those prices, a collected edition might be more practical (and that's the most likely path I'll be taking). But I'll certainly be keeping tabs on what people will say about the new 52 DC titles.

Of the 52 titles that have been PR'ed, the ones that have piqued my interest include:

Justice League - with powerhouse tandem of Geoff Johns and Jim Lee joining forces on the flagship title.

The Flash - with Francis Manapul writing and drawing, this might be interesting

Action Comics - will star a Superman from his early days as a super-powered do-gooder and what makes this series more interesting is that it will be written by comic book rockstar, Grant Morrison. I'm not so taken with Rags Morales' artwork but hopefully it'll be better than the work he has done on Identity Crisis.

Legion of Superheroes - with Paul Levitz back in the writer's helm of this series, it can get interesting. I've been a long-time Legion fan (even creating my own version of the Legion in the 90s) so this will be one series I will most likely follow ish-per-ish.

Stormwatch - I'm 50/50 on this although I'm picking this only because I always have an interest on anything Stormwatch. It will be interesting to see how this former Wildstorm title makes it in the DCU continuity -- and with no Weatherman at that!

Grifter - another former Wildstorm title taken into the DCU fold. How will anti-hero Cole Cash survive in a world inhabited by the likes of Supes and Bats? Makes for an interesting storyline, hopefully.

For more of the low-down on what will happen to the DC universe you've come to love, head on over to Tor.com where Tim Callahan breaks down each of the new 52 DC titles and dissects them complete with his reco to buy it or not. You may not like his recommendation (especially if you're a fanatic of a title or two, or three) but you'll get more insights before you decide to spend the pesos (or dollars or yen) on a title.

late review: sucker punch

I have been meaning to write a movie review on Sucker Punch for quite some time now but given the tons of review people on the 'net have done about this Zack Snyder flick, it might be an exercise in futility. Nevertheless, let me give you my personal thoughts on this film.

All-girl action. Fish net stockings. Corsets. High heels. Female leads skimpily dressed. A Russian-accented dance seductress. Cabarets. Erotic dancing.

A porno-flick, maybe?

Not if you add guns of all sorts and sizes from hand-held pistols to MP5s to a rattling machine gun, a samurai sword, stick grenades, a B-17 Super Fortress, a time-activated city-leveler bomb, World War I era bi-planes, bayonets, and other weapons that cause destruction. And to add even more confusion to an already chaotic scene, add in dragons, knights, orcs, German Nazi zombie-like creatures, and an enigmatic Wise Man cum sensei cum military commander cum bus driver.

That's Sucker Punch.

But the story's not as chaotic as you think although you do have to make sure you start the film from the beginning otherwise you'll be hopelessly lost in the midst of the action, the drama, the dancing, the music, and the violence within the film.

This latest offering from director Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen) is a rollercoaster ride. It's a story within a story within a story. In this film, a 20-year old girl is placed in a mental institution by her stepfather after she accidentally killed her kid sister (and we all know why, because the stepfather wanted to do something nasty to the girls after their mother died and she (the mother) left all her money to her two girls). The girl, Baby Doll, then retreats to a fantasy world where the mental institution becomes a cabaret where she and other girls are being held against their will by the club owner. However, within the cabaret fantasy world, Baby Doll further retreats into another world, a more fantastic one, that is forever pitting her and the other girl protagonists into action, and she is induced into this secondary fantasy world when she dances in the cabaret-inspired first fantasy world. Her actions however, in both fantasy worlds, have an impact to the real world of the mental institution where she and her girl-friends are able to reveal the ugliness of the institution. Baby Doll however makes the ultimate sacrifice (she is lobotomized) but her actions have allowed a fellow inmate to escape the hell they were in.

Sucker Punch is a visual geek fest. This films combines elements from manga, anime, mecha, sci-fi, fantasy, and yes, even eroticism (fetish more likely, the young-girls-in-short-skirts type) in 120 minutes of reel that, in my opinion, depicts pages from a futuristic Warhammer comic. And the musical score is probably one of the best ever done for a film. The man Snyder and his musical scorers not only made this a visual geek fest but also a fest for audiophiles.

The film's use of fantasy within a fantasy within a fantasy allows for the mixing of elements from different genres. Where else can you find machine totting girls in sexy military uniforms storm an Orc-filled castle aided by a B-17 Super Fortress? Add a dragon, a bullet train with a doomsday device, a 1940's cabaret-fronted prostitution den, and you've got a kaboodle of ideas.

But Sucker Punch is not an easy movie to follow and to be honest, I had read a synopsis and a summary of the film even before viewing it for fear that I might not get into the meat of the story. For those who like their movies linear, the complexity of Sucker Punch's progression is a bit hard to digest as the film leaps from the reality to the fantasy to another fantasy.

And looking at how netizens, movie buffs, and critics have dissected the movie, it's obvious you either hate it or love it. The sentiment for the movie is so polarized that at this early critics (both for and against Snyder) are already forecasting the outcome of the reboot of Superman which Snyder is set to helm.

Personally, I liked the movie. Not because of the story which I think could've used a little more tightening and probably another 15 minutes or so of reel time (felt hurried towards the end) to build up a more powerful (err, dramatic?) climax but because of the visual flair, the action, the soundtrack, and all the other elements that make up a good flick. Of course, the story or the script or the screenplay should've been the most important element but where the screenplay falls short all other elements come in and rescue the film. Sometimes you just have to appreciate the movie for the entertainment value. It's not always that you look for a film that wrenches you to tears or awakens a strong sense of something in you. Sometimes, you just go into a movie-house, watch a film, and enjoy it. Come on, Iron Man wasn't that too deep a movie to watch, right?

Don't look to Sucker Punch to bring home any screenplay or screenwriting award but for an overdose of action delivered by femme fatales then this movie should kickstart your butt.

Final Movie Rating: 3.5 / 5

wednesday warbles: hk, website stuff, comics, freedom fighter,

If I have been quiet of late (again), it's mainly because my online attention has been ensuring PinoyHomes4You.com is running smoothly. And I'm still in the midst of adding more content, not to mention, bells and whistles to the site to make it more attractive.

This project is a joint project between me and my wife for purposes of additional financial rewards. Mind you, I am no web designer ... this website runs on Blogger and is basically a blog running a custom domain. Of course, the finality needed a little adjustment (and probably more tweaking in the future) of the HTML code but this is basically a blog template enhanced.

It's like this blog you're reading ... much of the work is done by Blogger's great blogging CMS-styled software ... being able to edit the HTML was a welcome bonus.

What follows next would be to apply all the learnings I've gained from almost five years of online marketing into the site to make it a success. That would be the harder part!

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The image on the left is a shot of the Bank of China Tower (left) and the Cheung Kong Center shot in Central in Hong Kong Island during last month's trip.

I'll be uploading more photos of our trip to HK on my Facebook, photos that were not posted by my sister in hopes of adding variety to the trip.

Even though it's been over a month since the HK trip, I've still got HK on my mind and Elvie and I hope to go there again, next year, time and budget permitting.

The place where we stayed, Lee Garden House along Cameron Road in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon was a great location -- nearby Nathan Road and an MTR, a few blocks from the bargain "bangketa" shops, and a little further would the more upscale shops (with nooks and crannies filled with eateries, trinket shops, money exchange shops, etc.). The staff, including a couple of Pinays, were quite friendly and they helped us secure tickets to Disneyland HK.

Like most hostels, the rooms were small but comfortable. In any case, you won't be staying for extending periods of time in your room as there are a lot of places to go to in HK. And what's great about Lee Garden was the free wi-fi. You just had to get the password from Mr. Chan and you're off to cyberspace (however, I was out of the hostel for most of the time or otherwise babysitting, hence the lack of updates while in HK).

Still a lot of places to go to and surprises to unravel the next time we hit HK. Next time, we'll be better prepared :)

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While my rummaging through my CD and DVD piles last weekend, I espied my copy of the turn-of-the-century game, Freedom Fighter.

I had been looking for the game for a couple of years now (trigger-finger itch) and when I found it amidst the cases of my music CDs, I was ecstatic.

The last time I played Freedom Fighter was about five years ago on my old P4 rig. Back then, while the game played well on P4 and Nvidia, there were times it dragged. On my CQ40, it runs smoothly!!!

I've already finished this game once but re-playing it would be fun ... an action-filled distraction from all the FB games I've been playing of late. Will be enjoying this game for quite some time, for sure.

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Been feasting on comics and graphic novels lately ... just re-read Identity Crisis, Kick Ass, Kingdom Come, and Watchmen. Also devoured Underpass, the Summit Media comics anthology, and a few more comics I've bought recently from the sale bins of Filbar's and Planet X.

Will likely be reading tons more as I've still got several stuff stowed away including Tom Strong, Battle for the Cowl, Civil War, Final Crisis, the Ultimates, Losers, and several Batman and Superman novels like Red Son, Batman: Year One, War of the Supermen, and Frank Miller's Dark Knight novels. I've just started reading Transmetropolitan as well.

And I will be re-reading Blackest Night as well, just to make sure I digested everything.

Noticed how biased I am to DC comics?

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I will be uploading sketches soon, promise!

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Sheesh, 12:24am ... what was supposed to be a Tuesday Tidbits now turns into Wednesday Warbles ... time to sleep, good day, folks!

sketch-a-day sketches week 1

As I've previously posted, I am in the middle of a personal project which I dubbed Sketch-A-Day (S.A.D.). And as I've previously stated, I'm posting the sketches resulting from my first week of S.A.D.

The six sketches are all in pencils, two of them more clearer than the rest because I've double-penciled them, tracing over the initial faint pencil with a darker, more pronounced pencil. The next step in the process would be to ink these by hand, erase the pencils and come up with your basic line art. No digital inking yet as I've yet to procure the necessary tools (a good tablet is in order) and I've yet to practice. Tried inking in both Corel and Photoshop with the mouse but I found out that if I was to do it that way, I'll need more time. A tablet would be easier but for now, I'm going old school by using art pens.

Before inking though -- without further ado, here are the sketches from last week.

MONDAY: The first sketch of the project was a superhero I've tentatively called "Flyboy".

I've been sketching his head and upper torso for weeks now and this is the first time I've done him from head to foot.

TUESDAY: The sketch for Day 2 was for the office-based comic depicting various characters. The sketches here are still under-study and will be worked on until the comic starts in the coming months. In case you're wondering about the fat guy, that's a "cartoonification" of yours truly

WEDNESDAY: On Day 3, I tried sketching women. Cameron Stewart is great with women and so are the sketches of David Reddick. I drew several women but this character, "Cyguar" was the best I could come up with. Drawing women, even then, is quite a task for me. But I've realized they're fun to draw so practice, practice, practice.

THURSDAY: Another superhero character I've created in youth was the subject of Day 4's S.A.D., of course, cartooned. I introduce H.A.U.M. -- He's An Ultimate Man. Cheesy name for a supe, I know, but hey, I was something like seven when I first conceptualized him. In my older years I've renamed him Ultiman or Ultimate Man or Ultimate (pending possible legal sanctions by other creators) but for the webcomic, I'm taking him back to his roots.

FRIDAY: Super-villains abounded on Day 5's S.A.D. In this collage of sketches are supervillains I've dreamed up with and used in previous home-made comics I've done. Included here are The Demolisher, a galactic tyrant with a penchant for invading planets; Silver Sable, a maniacal schemer; Domino, an android with the ability to duplicate itself based on domino numbers that come up when he presses the domino insignia on his chest; and Gasser, a gas-releasing chem-villain type.

And since I was feeling creative on Day 5, the sketch below is the sixth sketch of the week -- Spacemen. No name yet for the human but the other one is a representative of the Onion-Head Spiders, a race of intelligent and talking spiders.

I particularly liked this sketch because of the action poses I've managed to have them depict. And oh yes, this is for another personal project of mine, attuning more to my sci-fi likes and my affection for Star Trek and other space-traveling shows.

All images, sketches and characters are copyrighted by yours truly.

That's it for S.A.D. Week 1. Sadly, Week 2 didn't begin as expected as work dissuaded me from creating a sketch. My mind was focused on getting things at the desk done.