Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Harvey Tolibao

Here's the news:

Harvey will be signing books at Absolute Comics (Bugis Junction) on 30 Dec 2010, Thurs from 2 pm onwards. You will also get a free sketch when you buy his exclusive Psylocke print.

His women are gorgeous.

Next, Harvey will have a 2-day exhibition of his original art at Wilkie Edge (Selegie Road) this coming weekend. Go check it out. I'll try to get more info and post it here.

Who's Harvey?
http://harveytolibao.deviantart.com/

Gone Case signing

The two best local comics that were launched at this year's STGCC were The Resident Tourist 4 and Gone Case.

The authors of Gone Case, Dave Chua and Koh Hong Teng, will be doing a signing at Kinokuniya (Ngee Ann City) on 8 Jan 2011, 2 pm. That's a Saturday.

I like Gone Case, maybe you would too.

Betty or Veronica?

In 1994, Archie comics made news with the publication of the Love Showdown arc. This was an arc that spanned four Archie titles, and sold itself as the mother of all Betty and Veronica battles. The battle to end all battles. The world of Archie and friends might never be the same. Today, we know that it can never happen. Or at least we are quite sure that it can never happen. Bucky and Jason Todd live again, but Archie will never make the choice, and Veronica and Betty are forever tied in a never ending war.

So with Archie marries…, they got smarter (it is pretty smart with Showdown) and went with the “what if” scenario instead. And they even went both ways. It turned out great. The story arc provided some of the best Archie stories I have ever read, I thought at first. Then, the truth dawned on me that it was a great read because it moved away from status quo. That, and Uslan’s superb script.

If you ask me, I prefer Archie’s life with Ronnie. Life with Betty does have its positive points, such as Archie having a career he enjoys. But still, life with Veronica seems to come with fewer struggles. The thing is, the fact that Archie Comics pulls off such a stunt tells us that there will never be any major changes to the status quo. Any changes they want to make, they can create another “what if”. On the bright side, Archie and friends will never have to face complicated continuity issues.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

You have been judged and found wanting...

Went past Bras Basah Complex and saw a copy of The Complete Judge Dredd Case Files 01 on display at a secondhand bookshop. Bought it because I enjoy reading old comics more than new ones these days. (jia lat)

Brought it to the cashier, paid for it and the counter girl put the book in a Comics Mart plastic bag.

Oh
my
gosh

So that's where some of the stocks from mart went to.
Heard that the mart folks have decided to come back to Singapore to face the music?
But unconfirmed la.

Monday, December 13, 2010

The one that started it

One of the fun things about comics conventions is the collecting of sketches from your friends and the artists you like.

I tend not to be pushy about such things, so when I was at San Diego 3 years ago, it didn't even occur to me to do that.

So there I was just hanging around and saw that people were lining up to get Matt Wagner's signature. There were just 3 or 4 people in the line, so I join in as I don't bother with the long queues. Thought I just get him to sign the programme book.

But everyone in line was getting him to sketch something. I was the only one not having a sketch book in hand. Without asking, the lady behind (who was there to help her boyfriend to collect autographs and sketches, so you know she was nice) gave me a piece of art paper to get his sketch. That was a nice SDCC gesture. You learn about the ethics of queuing up for autographs/sketches and simply to chill and have a chat with the people in the line.

I bought a small sketch at the con after that and have been collecting since - STGCC, SWF and while we were waiting for lunch to start at Adrian Teo's wedding.

This is the one that started it.



My fave sketch from this year is by Ken Foo.

Oh yeah, we had fun at STGCC 10. See you again next year.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Eileen Chang

A hundred years later and you have a reversal.

I return to Eileen Chang every few years. She remains the master of the short story from the early 20th Century. Whether you read her in English or Chinese, she is devastating.

I recently read a Penguin collection of her short stories translated in English, which includes the classic, Red Rose White Rose. I have read this before in Chinese but have forgotten that the Red Rose character was an overseas Chinese from Nanyang. You see, back then, girls from Singapore or Malaya were the 'bad girls'. If you want to marry a nice girl from a good family, find one from Shanghai or Beijing.

That's a total flip from today. PRC girls are bad, or 'crows' to use a term from some years ago.

So for all those brothers out there who got burnt and got their heart broken by PRC singers, enjoy the irony.

Oh yeah, Red Rose White Rose will be staged at next year's Huayi Festival. Should be good.

Kino Bestsellers for Nov 2010

1. VAMPIRE KNIGHT VOLUME 12
by MATSURI HINO

2. BATMAN AND ROBIN VOL 2 BATMAN VS ROBIN DELUXE HC
by GRANT MORRISON, ANDY CLARKE, CAMERON STEWART

3. NARUTO VOLUME 49
by MASASHI KISHIMOTO

4. WORLD OF WARCRAFT VOL 4 HC
by WALTER SIMONSON, LOUISE SIMONSON, MIKE COSTA

5. THE BOYS VOL 7 THE INNOCENTS TP
by GARTH ENNIS, DARICK ROBERTSON

6. HEROIC AGE TP
by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS, ED BRUBAKER

7. SUPERMAN EARTH ONE HC
by MICHAEL J. STRACZYNSKI, SHANE DAVIS

8. X-MEN: SECOND COMING HC
by ZEB WELLS, MIKE CAREY, MATT FRACTION, CRAIG KYLE

9. BLACK BUTLER VOLUME 3
by YANA TOBOSO

10. SIEGE TP
by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS, OLIVIER COIPEL

Friday, December 3, 2010

STGCC panels

List of panels here.

http://www.singaporetgcc.com/panel-room-halls-401-402
The one I'm involved in:

11 Dec, Sat. 1215 – 1300
Asian Identity in comics in the midst of Manga and Superheroes: What will it take for Singapore to become a comic publishing hub by 2020? Why should Singapore aspire to be a comic hub?
Panelists: Otto Fong, Lim Cheng Tju, Sonny Liew & Tan Eng Huat

See you guys there.

STGCC conference

STGCC is just round the corner, so you guys should have gotten your tickets by now.

http://www.singaporetgcc.com

This is what I am involved in with Ian Gordon.

Pop Culture in Asia:
Adaptation, Convergence, and Challenges
Academic Conference

December 10 -12, 2010.

In conjunction with the
Singapore Toys, Games and Comics Convention


In conjunction with the STGCC scholars from universities across the region and internationally will examine the richness of popular culture in Asia with its intermingling of the local and international and the growing impact of Asia and Asians on global forms. How do Games, Toys and Comics shape and display the values of Asian cultures. How can we understand the popularity of these forms globally. What is similar and what is distinctive about these in different Asian countries. What is the background of this current boom? And as Toys, Games, and Comics converge with other forms like film, television, and the internet what does the future hold for individual cultures? These issues and more will be examined in several academic sessions at the convention, organised by NUS, which are open to all registered attendees.

The conference programme is available here: http://courses.nus.edu.sg/course/hisilg/PCAprogram.pdf
The abstracts of papers are available here: http://courses.nus.edu.sg/course/hisilg/PCAabstracts.pdf
This conference is open to all attendees at the Singapore Toys Games and Comic Convention. For details of the numerous events and international guests at that convention see: http://www.singaporetgcc.com

Prices for tickets are:

Early Bird Price:
1 Day Pass S$10.70
3 Day Pass S$21.40
*price excludes Gatecrash booking fees
* price includes GST

Please note that sale of pre-event tickets for STGCC will stop by 9 December, 12pm

The onsite pricing is as follow –

$15 – 1 day pass (inclusive of GST & handling fee)
$25 – 3 day pass (inclusive of GST & handling fee)

$13 – 1 day pass (for people with Student Pass) (inclusive of GST & handling fee)
$23 – 3 day pass (for people with Student Pass) (inclusive of GST & handling fee)

Group Package:
4 Tickets @ $50 for 1 day pass (UP $60) (inclusive of GST & handling fee)
4 Tickets @ $90 for 3 day pass (UP $100) (inclusive of GST & handling fee)

For more details on tickets see: http://www.singaporetgcc.com/stgcc-ticket-registration

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Best Sellers for Prologue Nov 2010

1. Liquid City v2
2. Liquid City v1
3. My Faith In Frankie
4. Archie Marries . .
5. Scott Pilgrim v6: Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour
6. Scott Pilgrim v3: Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness
7. Scott Pilgrim v2: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
8. Scott Pilgrim v1: Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life
9. Walking Dead Compendium v1
10. Blackest Night HC

We are still waiting for the Scott Pilgrim movie to come to Singapore.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/-prologue-Bookstore-Singapore/138264343666