Singapore Comix

catacombs

2012-02-02T11:25:00.002+08:00

Listening to the demos of The Ob's latest album on my ipod.

John Hicklenton - Judge Dredd / Nemesis artist RIP

2012-02-02T11:18:00.001+08:00

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/7527788/Comic-book-artist-ends-life-at-suicide-clinic-after-battle-with-MS.html

http://www.2000adreview.co.uk/features/interviews/2006/hicklenton/john-hicklenton.shtml

http://www.downthetubes.net/features/tributes/john_hicklenton_tribute.html

http://alternativemagazineonline.co.uk/2010/11/11/book-review-100-months-by-john-hicklenton-graphic-novel/

some recent interviews / articles which are worth reading - comic studies and education

2012-02-02T10:11:00.000+08:00

http://www.comicsgrid.com/2011/12/roger-sabin-interview/

http://henryjenkins.org/2011/11/wither_comic_studies_a_convers.html

http://henryjenkins.org/2011/11/wither_comic_studies_a_convers_1.html

http://transatlantica.revues.org/4917

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5e5iW6wnvU

Syllabus:

http://henryjenkins.org/2011/11/comics_and_graphic_storytellin.html

Comic studies in Australia:

http://refractory.unimelb.edu.au/2010/07/18/the-invisible-medium-comics-studies-in-australia-kevin-patrick/

Charles Hatfield is worth reading too. Him and Jeet Heer, very sensible views.

http://transatlantica.revues.org/4933

uk comics - study tour report 2010

2012-02-02T10:03:00.002+08:00

Wah, got such things!

http://www.britishcouncil.org/comic_book_study_tour_report_final.pdf

Also now you can take a MLitt/PhD in comic studies in Dundee University in the UK.

http://www.dundee.ac.uk/postgraduate/courses/comics_studies_mlitt.htm?uod_home

more kirby and thor

2012-02-02T09:58:00.003+08:00

http://www.whatifkirby.com/gallery/comic-art-listings/mighty-thor-issue-158-page-9

http://jackkirbycomics.blogspot.com/2006/03/thor-175-fall-of-asgard.html

single panel analysis in vogue - the way foward for comic scholarship and studies?

2012-02-02T09:55:00.001+08:00

Jack Kirby and Thor!

http://hilobrow.com/2011/02/22/kirb-your-enthusiasm-3/

http://www.comicsgrid.com/2011/05/thors-comic-opera/

The great magician

2012-01-30T22:38:00.001+08:00

There is hope for HK cinema yet. Watch the above latest Derek Yee film and you see Lau Ching Wan channelling Michael Hui via his classic role as The Warlord. This year's best film about the magic of illusion. So it is about cinema and make believe much like The Artist.

Chinese soft power

2012-01-23T16:54:00.001+08:00

Chinese President Hu Jintao has upped the ante for Chinese soft power earlier this month. (The Straits Times, 3 Jan 2012) He said, “The overall strength of Chinese culture and its international influence are not commensurate with China’s international status. The international culture of the West is strong while we are weak.” He warned of hostile powers “westernizing” China – the process must be halted and thus the need to boost its cultural influence abroad. (somewhat similar to Singapore’s own anti-yellow, anti-hippie culture movement in the 1960s and 1970s)

Beijing has earmarked 45 billion yuan to fund the expansion of state-owned media groups like CCTV, state news agency Xinhua and China Radio International. The first shots are already fired. CCTV is opening a studio in Washington DC and will launch 2 channels.

The verdict is still out on this latest bid by China. Joseph Nye, who wrote the book on soft power, said that China would still be weak on soft power. (Today, 19 Jan 2012) He argued that using culture and narrative to create soft power is not easy when they are inconsistent with domestic realities. He wrote: “The development of soft power need not be a zero sum game. All countries can gain from finding attraction in one another’s cultures. But for China to succeed, it will need to unleash talents of its civil society. Unfortunately, that does not seem about to happen soon.” He cited the examples of Liu Xiaobo and Ai Weiwei and quoted Han Han as saying, “the restriction on cultural activities makes it impossible for China to influence literature and cinema on a global basis or for us culturati to raise our heads up proud.”

Recent years have seen a boost in the Chinese animation and comics industries as encouraged by the Chinese government. Chinese rock music is too unpredictable to control and promote overseas. But ever since the return of Hong Kong to the mainland in 1997, the HK film industry has become a source of Chinese soft power. When former critical mainland directors like Zhang Yimou make apologies for authoritarianism in films like Hero (2002) and went on to stage the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, it is no surprise for HK directors to pander to the Chinese market in making rom-coms and Beijing-friendly blockbusters filled with 3D special effects. See recent output by Tsui Hark and Johnnie To.

Which leads to me this final point: the consequences of Chinese soft power and the death of HK cinema. Perry Lam has argued in his book, Once A Hero: The Vanishing Hong Kong Cinema, that HK cinema as we know it, is dead. To quote Lam here at length:

“HK movies used to display a wise knowingness about what makes the city tick; what local viewers got from these movies was the unrivalled, unmitigated pleasure of recognition. The Mo lei tou type of humor in Stephen Chow’s movies is designed to elicit knowing laughter from viewers. To say that Mo lei tou is just silly talk is to miss altogether the fierce cultural pride of HK people, which this unique brand of humor both hinges on and plays upon.

“Seen in this light, Infernal Affairs (2002), featuring two undercover agents as opposing heroes – and one of the top-grossing post-handover HK movies made primarily with the HK people in mind – shone with the blinding brightness of a setting sun.

“The remarkable success of HK, which transformed itself from a fishing village into a world-class financial center under British colonial rule, was the product of collusive colonialism. Its people, known for their pragmatism and resourcefulness, prospered by actively cooperating with, and learning from, their colonial masters. This is at once the dark secret and the original sin of Hong Kongers, who, as the old Chinese saying goes, “treated the thief as the father”.

“There is a thin line between collective guilt and mass fantasy. Local filmmakers, whose job is to make viewers feel good about themselves, came up with a distinctly HK species of movie hero, one that HK people could relate to, even identify with. As a tragic hero, the undercover agent has no choice but to “treat the thief as the father” and go deep into the enemy’s operation. He risks his own identity, sanity and life in the process, yet he remains misunderstood, misrecognized and misrepresented to the bitter end.

“This undercover complex, if you will, of HK cinema represents one of its major strengths – HK filmmakers know better than almost anyone else how to get under the skin of an undercover agent… jumping to the other side of the barricade always amount to a sort of betrayal, regardless of whether it’s the right or wrong side that you have chosen. A movie with a spy or undercover agent at its center shouldn’t be just a morality play about good versus evil, but also needs to be psychodrama about guilt and conflict.

“Infernal Affairs comes across as highly sexual affair, conveying a genuine sense of pleasure in trespassing and violation - a movie, like its heroes played by Tong Leung and Andy Lau, immersed in despair and guilt and, paradoxically, self-indulgence and redemption.

“But this distinctiveness has somehow vanished from mainstream HK cinema. Taken as a whole, HK cinema after Infernal Affairs is at a loss without its heroes…”

One only has to remember movies like Alex Cheung’s Man on the Brink (1981), Ringo Lam’s City on Fire (1987) and John Woo’s Hard Boiled (1992) to realize how important the undercover agent is to HK cinema and our imagining of the city. You can visualize Eddie Chan, Chow Yun Fatt and Tony Leung (again) as the tragic heroes. Add Stool Pigeon (2010) and Nicholas Tse to that list.

So one of the more immediate consequences of Chinese soft power (or rather its economic power to get HK filmmakers to kowtow to it) is the death of HK cinema that we in Southeast Asia grew up watching.

Remember, remember, the 25th of December

2011-12-24T00:46:00.005+08:00

Today, a popular Christian concept has become common among many Christians. It is the idea that Christianity entails having a personal relationship with God. The use of “personal relationship” in this context suggests an intimacy. In an interview with CNN, Professor Stephen Prothero of the Department of Religion in Boston University states that Christianity in America has “gravitated to the evangelical religion of the heart, where it’s really all about feeling and loving Jesus and having a relationship with him, rather than knowing something about the (Christian) tradition.”

The idea of a “personal relationship” with an intimate connotation is nowhere explicit in Bible texts, and must be derived theologically. This lack of an explicit statement within the Bible led me to curiosity. Where did this theology come from? Having read Victorian and modern literature, the term “God-fearing” is commonly used to describe religious people. Having an intimate relationship with God suggests the loss of this “fear of God”. Just google “personal relationship with God” and you will find that this idea is very popular among Christians. What is going on? I did my research and this is what I found. I thought I would put it here to clarify with people, especially Christians, as to where their ideas originate. I could be wrong, but the facts can be verified on the internet. After discussing facts, I’ll give my own take on the situation.

The idea of a personal relationship with God evolved from the theology first developed by Friederich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher (1768 – 1834). Schleiermacher expounded that religion itself is a personal experience that must be understood through intuition and feeling. In other words, relativism, and not absolutism, defines belief and religious perception. Schleiermacher and other theologians who came after developed Liberal Christianity. It is not an innate fear of God, but the innate need of religion in humans that leads to religion (note how God-fearing is put aside). In Liberal Christianity, as opposed to conservative Christianity, the statements in the Bible are not considered factual. The Bible simply reflects the understanding of Christianity at the time in which the scriptures were written. Liberal Christianity does not have the presupposition that the Bible is inerrant in its critical analysis of the Bible. Ideas such as repentance and the sinfulness of Man are deemphasized, in favour of personal experience.

This is perhaps Schleiermacher’s most influential theological idea to Christianity; a relativistic and individualistic approach to Christianity. Is Schleiermacher’s concept of “personal relationship with God” similar to the one that is being preached in modern churches? No. But I believe what some modern churches preach is a modified form of Liberal Christianity. Here’s where things get interesting. Because even though some churches preach Liberal Christian theology, they also believe in the conservative views, such as the inerrancy of the Bible. Bible inerrancy can be classified as a concept of Conservative Christianity.

So what we are seeing or (hearing), from some churches, is the preaching of conservative and liberal Christian views. I have spoken to two West Africans, one from Togo, the other from Ghana, on separate occasions. I doubt they are from the same church, but they certainly share similar beliefs. These beliefs might be indicative of Christianity in the West Africa region. Both of them believe in the concept of having a personal relationship with God, as well as the Bible not being a collection of factual accounts. So, they have liberal beliefs, and not conservative ones.

What does this mean for Singapore Christians? The various churches should respect one another, and not criticize each other. Just look at the criticisms City Harvest Church got on the internet. Some people name the church City Harvest Cult. By the way, I am in no way affiliated to City Harvest Church, and I do not approve of their actions if they really did break the law. And I am not going to criticize their “Gospel of prosperity” or defend it. They probably have a liberal approach. So be it. And perhaps for Otto, there really might be some hope in the acceptance of homosexuality by all Christians in the future. After all, the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire has a gay bishop. That is liberal.

Might I be wrong? Definitely. To prove me wrong, find a theologian who came up with the concept of “personal relationship with God” before Schleiermacher.

Missing

2011-12-21T22:13:00.000+08:00

"Most fiction, maybe all of it, from the grandest tales to the most commonplace, was about things that were missing. Family, lovers, sustenance, peace, ideals. At the heart of all those stories were emptiness, yearnings, hollows that couldn't be filled - as though bereavement were hardwired into mankind."

- James Sallis

Show me the money!

2011-12-17T22:09:00.004+08:00

Singapore is far too straight-laced. That is what Apple co-founder, Steve Wozniak, says about our nation. What does he know? He is some western guy who knows nothing about our system of Asian values. What gives him the right to make such statements?

Singaporeans are a pragmatic bunch in general, as Christopher Ng Wai Chung has written in his book. According to him, this pragmatic approach to life and career impedes our career success. I cannot help but agree with him. I have a friend whom, with his classmates, was offered a chance by Mediacorp to develop films that would be guaranteed broadcast on one of the national channels. He and his classmates turned down the offer when Mediacorp refused to pay them. These are film students I am talking about. For a bunch of local university students who have no credentials, being given a chance to showcase their work on national television is quite an honour. Who knows, a company might see their work, like it and hire the students. They are guaranteed a job after graduation, which is what many graduates dream of. I told my friend about his lose of opportunities in rejecting the offer. He replied that he is a very shallow person and want immediate gratification. For a local university student, he is not as stupid as I thought. To know and admit that oneself is shallow is quite admirable.

In Supergods: Our World in the Age of Superheroes (Random House), Grant Morrison recounted how he took up an offer to do a strip in his local newspaper, even though he was paid little and barely have enough to feed himself. But for him, that experience was worth it, as it allowed him to develop his storytelling ability in comics. Of course, some Singaporeans might like to point out that besides that story, Supergods also includes mad ramblings from Morrison.

I think Singaporeans have to be honest with themselves. If you do not have any credentials, how can you achieve a good pay? To be paid peanuts under such circumstances is in itself an honour. The important thing is not to concentrate on the market, the fame or the money, like what Alan Moore has constantly advised in interviews, but to develop abilities. But for Singaporeans, this is difficult for most. Some take the other road. I have had a chance to talk to Troy Chin last year. He said that he was prepared not to earn much when Resident Tourist went into print.

So there you have it. The Singapore environment is not suited to creative pursuits, unless the chance to earn is clear. Some will argue, “don’t you need money to survive?” I have a day job, and it comes with sufficient pay. Comics is a hobby in which I can afford not to earn money from. I know that not everyone gets this opportunity. Furthermore, I am not materialistic compared to most Singaporeans. I am a workaholic who enjoys thinking up new ideas. Now, what I need are people who share my vision and would like to work with me on a “revolutionary” comics project. I have no credentials, so no pay expected. By the way, I do not get paid for writing this blog.

Nanny - 24h Comics Day Book from Bandung

2011-11-24T14:06:00.001+08:00

This book was launched in Jakarta 1 week ago.

NANNY, a compilation of 7 (seven) short comics made during the 24 Hour Comics Day 2011 challenge, ranging from a story about an Indonesian migrant worker in Singapore who missed her hometown, a respond to current ecological issues, a mysterious, historical water well, to a story about how taxing a wedding preparation can be. The main tie for these selected works is the dominant role of a woman in each story, both as creators and as the main characters.

Published by CAB.

I co-organized this year's 24h Comics Day in Singapore at Goodman Arts Centre together with JF. It was part of Comics XChange. I linked us up with the CAB artists in Bandung (internationalization!) and worked with Stephani Soejono on a story. She is a cool up and coming comic artist who has worked on the animation for the Tatsumi movie.

Well, our story about Indon maids in Singapore is the cover story for the Bandung compilation and they titled the volume after our story, Nanny. ;)

This is the first time a 24h story from Singapore got published in a 24h publication.

If you like to order a copy of this book, drop a line to Rony at ronielectric@gmail.com .

Pics of the launch:

http://www.facebook.com/events/136684609772797/#!/photo.php?fbid=2397734996982&set=p.2397734996982&type=1

18 hours

2011-11-20T11:48:00.001+08:00

Troy shared that he took 18 hours to draw this splash page. Reason enough to buy Loti Vol 3.

Biting the hand that feeds us...

2011-11-19T23:40:00.001+08:00

Read this recently.

In 2000, the Minister for Information and the Arts said that the maintenance of social peace was an artistic social responsibility. A theatre director responded to demand that as an artist, citizen, father, son and "as a person who sees himself having a future in this country" the right to be irresponsible since an artist cannot work unless that right is given.

Another arts practitioner, aware of the realities of state funding, responded bleakly that "It's not so easy to say, "Im an artist, I just want to do what I want", because you're an artist in Singapore, you know?"

(taken from Koh Tai Ann's Editorial for the special issue of Moving Worlds on Singapore arts/culture)

All these reminds me of the impotency of political cartooning in Singapore today. The tension is still there, but most of them are saying they are only political cartoonists in Singapore.

15 years ago, I was told this is Asian consensus, this is how we do things in Asia. We don't embarrass our leaders. Any critique, make them behind closed doors.

So what Pao Kun said remains the true: we can laugh at other countries' leaders, but we don't dare to laugh at our own. Because they are doing such a great job, they are exceptional? Better not to say the Emperor is naked...

Troy Chin just won the Young Artist Award for comics. Let's see how that'd play out.

Moving Worlds Vol 10, No 1 (2010): Reviewing Singapore is available at Books Actually

Interview with Mico Suayan

2011-11-19T21:15:00.001+08:00

Wendy Chew and Mico Suayan

Rogue and Magneto

Mico Suayan was in town again for the Popular Bookfest at Suntec City. I had a chat with him.

Mico grew up reading Superman and Batman, and later X-Men. So it was meaningful that his first professional work was for Marvel. He was working as a storyboard artist for an ad company in the Philippines when he decided to try out as a comic artist. He emailed Marvel editors with links to his work and attachments of samples. He did not expect a response, but a few days later, Marvel head honcho, Joe Quesada wrote back to say he liked Mico’s work. Mico resigned from his job and went freelance.

That was in 2006 and Mico has not looked back since.

His first job for Marvel was a 7-page Magneto story for Marvel Comics Presents. His breakout work was Moon Knight, taking over the title from David Finch. Mico revealed that he was hired for the job because his artwork looked like Finch’s.

But if Mico is just an imitator of others, then he would not have progressed to where he is today. Mico is known for his realistic style, which has won him many fans. His style is not just influenced by American comics, but also the classic Filipino comic artists like Alfredo Alcala with his shading and darkness of composition. His art had won him praises from old timers like Tony DeZuniga (the first Filipino artist to draw the X-Men, The Uncanny X-Men #110 in 1978). Mico was very flattered when DeZuniga told him that a few months ago over coffee.

So what’s next for Mico? His exclusive with Marvel just ended a few weeks ago. He is now talking with DC. He is working on a cover for the Uncharted comic book (based on the hit video game) published by DC, after Adam Hughes backed out.

Mico will still be in Singapore at the Bookfest on 20 November, Sunday. So if you read this in time, do go down and check out his sketchbook and prints

台湾 soft power!

2011-11-04T14:39:00.001+08:00

Attended the Taiwan classic pop songs concert at Indoor Stadium 2 weeks ago and was absolutely impressed by the singers and soft power displayed. This concert was to celebrate 100 years of the Chinese Republic. So it was a pop event. But it was organized partly by the Taipei Representative Office in Singapore. So it's hidden diplomacy at work, it's to talk about Taiwan and 1949. Heck, Representative Vanessa Shih even went on stage to sing a song.

It's all quite brilliant.

http://www.taiwanembassy.org/SG/ct.asp?xItem=228344&ctNode=4756&mp=287

Who writes the comics?

2011-11-04T14:02:00.001+08:00

2 events struck me recently. qlrs celebrated its 10th anniversary recently. When you looked at the profile of the group, they are mainly lawyers, journalists, freelance writers, etc. Then I attended the books actually zine party last Saturday. Most zine makers were undergrads, people doing their own little business of selling old stuff, vintage clothes, or promoting DIY culture, handmade notebooks, recycling, and so on. Most of them belong to the same demographics, SES.

Not to belittle their efforts and their causes, but it's precisely because they do have the time and the means to do such things. They do not have to worry about bills, or not that much anyway. If they have to do 2 jobs, OT, pull in an extra shift to make ends meet, the sole bread winner and supporting the family, then they would not have the time to do all these.

Must the quest for/production of knowledge tied to one's profession? It should be about having the natural curiosity to learn and create new things. (Patti Smith comes to mind - go read Just Kids and listen to Piss Factory) I can be a plumber and still read/write poetry. But in the case of Singapore, the arts are pretty much in the domain of professionals like lawyers, civil servants, teachers, journalists, and...artists.

I know this applies to me too. The reason why I can write this now is because I am not doing a low paying blue collar job for a living. Not romanticizing the working class here either. Just wondering if we will ever have a hawker centre cleaner who also reads and writes comics. (HK wuda comics are popular among Malaysian blue collar workers)

All is not lost. I read that members of the Malay Orchestra were taxi drivers.

Woodcut article from 2006

2011-10-30T21:21:00.001+08:00

An old article written with some friends about woodcuts and the 6 men woodcut show.

A Brief History of Woodcuts in Singapore by Foo Kwee Horng, Koh Nguang How and Lim Cheng Tju

In 1966, six local woodcut artists held their first group show at the National Library at Stamford Road. In 2006, works by the same artists were displayed at an exhibition at the National Library at Victoria Street. This article introduces the art of woodcut printmaking: what is a woodcut, its history and practice as an art form in Singapore.

http://libguides.nl.sg/content.php?pid=103087&sid=775062

Articles

2011-10-26T15:35:00.000+08:00

This has been up for a while.

Lest we forget: The importance of history in Singapore and Malaysia Comics Studies

Comics studies tend to focus on textual analysis (story and characterization) of the cartoon strips or comic books. However, one should not forget that such works could not and should not be read in a vacuum. Cartoons and comics are very much productions of their times as much as they are a mirror of our lives. Text and context should go together in comics studies.This paper argues for such a historical approach, using examples from Singapore and Malaysia. A sense of history is important and its application in our reading of comics and cartoons would provide insights to present politics and society, especially the impact of globalization and the progress of democratization.

http://imrc.jp/images/upload/lecture/data/199-218chap14Lim20101224.pdf

A paper I presented at the Kyoto International Manga Museum in Dec 2009. It was a conference organized by KIMM and Seika University.
http://www.kyotomm.jp/english/event/study/isc01_e.php

But I didn't know this was up as well.

‘Forgotten Legacies': The Case of Abdullah Ariff’s Pro-Japanese Cartoons during the Japanese Occupation of Penang

This chapter explores the work of a much-neglected artist whose work has recently been the focus of a major exhibition at the National Art Gallery of Malaysia (2004). Having played a minor role in the post-war Malayan nationalist politics, Abdullah’s wartime career has been largely obscured, particularly his 25-page pro-Japanese cartoon book entitled Perang Pada Pandangan Juru-Lukis Kita (‘The War As Our Cartoonist Sees It’), published in Penang by Shu Seicho Shimbun Renraku Jimusho in 1942. This chapter aims to reassess Abdullah’s life and work within the broader discourse of Malay collaborators during the Japanese Occupation of British Malaya, and to explore questions relating to his relationship with the Japanese occupiers; with the British authorities; and the use of cartoons as historical evidence.

http://books.publishing.monash.edu/apps/bookworm/view/Drawing+the+Line/77/xhtml/chapter09.html

Happy reading this Deepavali.

1001 Comics

2011-10-26T15:07:00.000+08:00

Paul Gravett is the scene maker in UK comics. He just put out his edited volume, 1001 Comics You Must Read Before You Die. People asked me why would I need this book. But I said there'll always be new things to learn and read and it's good to see that there were Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and HK represented here. (although I'd have selected Town Boy over Kampong Boy...;) )

http://www.paulgravett.com/index.php/1001_comics/index

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/07/04/1001-comics-paul-gravett-wants-you-to-read-before-you-die/

I was emailing Paul about the book and he asked me if there are any Singapore comics that should go in. I'm hard pressed for an answer. Unlike drama, literature and even films, there has not been much development for comics in Singapore for the past 30 years. But let's have your views here. Tell us what are your top 3 Singapore comics for the last 30 years and would they stand up to international scrutiny and standards?

Romance Comics

2011-10-23T23:54:00.000+08:00

Picked up Marvel Visionaries: Jack Kirby Vol. 2 today. There are 2 romance stories inside. Reading 'The Summer Must End!' (Teenage Romance #84, nov 1961) reminded me how many of these romance stories by Kirby and John Romita took place during the summer on a beach.

These must be the origins of one of the more under-rated limited series put out by Marvel some years ago. Trouble by Mark Millar has the usual Millar punch to it. Entertaining revisionism, it tells the story of Peter Parker's parents set during the Swingin' 60s. Only now I realize it is also a update on the Marvel romance comics of the 60s. Darker (what else would you expect from Millar?), more sex and mean.

Retcon has never been more fun.

War Stories

2011-10-23T20:59:00.001+08:00

There are good comics around to read, even those from a few years ago. We need not look for the next big thing. I came to know about Garth Ennis' War Stories (Vertigo) in 2008 when Gary Erskine was a guest of the first Singapore Toys and Comics Convention, when it was still organized by Play Imaginative. Erskine was telling us that one of his favourite stories was inking Johann's Tiger in War Stories Vol. 1.

A few months ago, Collier sent me the link to this article on war comics by Paul Gravett. I finally got round to buying War Stories Vol. 1. It's excellent. The highlight is Nightingale, drawn by David Lloyd, who was a guest at last year's comics con. Here's the youtube video of David Lloyd talking about the Classic English Style. War Stories Vol. 1 was published in 2004. I was in a different space/place then.

But I'm glad to discover this now.

Late Tezuka

2011-10-09T12:15:00.005+08:00

Fans of Osamu Tezuka who grew up reading Astro Boy and Kimba are already aware of his darker and more adult/mature stories like Budhha, Phoenix, Black Jack and even Hitler, which was translated and published by VIZ Media in the 1990s. But what we didn't expect were the late Tezuka stories from the 1970s that Vertical has been putting out in recent years.

I'm talking about Apollo's Song, Ode To Kirihito, MW and Ayako. These are stories where Tezuka tried to out-gekiga gekiga.

If you have read Tatsumi's A Drifting Life (or watched the Eric Khoo movie), you'd know how much Tatsumi had admired Tezuka. There was a scene where Tatsumi was seen posting his gekiga manifesto to Tezuka, wondering how his hero would respond to his vision for manga for adults. It was not revealed in A Drifting Life, but if you were to read biographies of Tezuka, the latter responded negatively to the movement.

However, by the 1960s, there was a new gekiga movement, which Tatsumi was not so involved in. (thus a man constantly out of time) This new movement centered around Garo and artists like Sanpei Shirato, Yoshiharu Tsuge and Takao Saito. Even Lone Wolf and Cub could be considered as gekiga.

Tezuka must be feeling the heat in the 1970s and dived into murder, incest, homosexuality, debauchery, politics and history to salvage the situation and his reputation as the godfather of manga. Reading these stories today makes you wonder how teenagers who grew up reading Tezuka in the 60s responded to Late Tezuka.

I enjoy them as I learn new things about Tezuka. He wasn't such a square after all. MW was weird and Ayako was almost porn in some ways. But Tezuka tied up the events with real incidents that happened in post-war Japan such as the "Shimoyama Incident" of 1949 and the Yazuka wars of 1972.

Present biographies of Tezuka still put Astro Boy, etc on the cover. That may change in time to come as the Late Tezuka stories get revived and re-evaluated.

Next, to read the Book of Human Insects, Dororo and Swallowing the Earth.

JC Wong

2011-10-06T22:40:00.004+08:00

Was at ComicsXChange last weekend and dropped by JC Wong's booth. He was selling comics, prints and original pages. I like this one a lot.

Artists should be more concerned about politics and society in their works.

JC did a story in Liquid City 2.

http://artandlifejcwong.blogspot.com/2011_04_01_archive.html

http://jcwong.deviantart.com/art/JC-Wong-The-City-OF-Tears-74519507

http://minimyna.wordpress.com/2011/09/28/the-ministry-of-home-affairs’-non-reply-to-charges-against-the-internal-security-act/#more-48

http://s-pores.com/2009/10/editorial-5/

DC and Marvel rise again

2011-09-28T17:10:00.002+08:00

I have not been active about comics for quite some time. I still read comics. But I did not bother to keep up with the news and updates. And when I start looking around, I cannot help but realize that there seems to be less alternative comics (for the lack of a better term) coverage in the American comics news sites. Not only that. Some of my favourite indie creators, like Jeff Lemire and Jonathan Hickman have gone mainstream by joining one of the big two companies.

I did catch all the Marvel movies this "summer", and enjoyed them. I skipped Green Lantern. And now that DC's New 52 are selling so well, I cannot help but feel that Marvel and DC are gaining a lot more attention in America than they did before 2010. This may mean that alternative comics will have a harder time competing for attention. And for me, a reader of alternative comics, that pretty much sucks.

I really like it when DC and Marvel release comics that are done by indie/alternative creators. For example, DC's Bizarro World and Marvel's Stange Tales. Seeing outsiders' interpretation of my favourite superheroes is so intellectually satisfying.I don't see why stories with supervillains involved have to usually end with violence. I think it takes more originality to come up with a non-violent solution in superhero comics. If DC has Jeff Lemire, why not let him decide what is the best course of aciton a superhero can take besides beating up the bad guy?

The New 52 is no doubt full of new concepts, but I am sure sex and violence will still be at the forefront.

Zunar

2011-09-18T23:59:00.009+08:00

I first heard about Zunar when I read in the papers that Malaysia’s first political cartoons magazine, Gedung Kartun, was banned by the government in September 2009, after it was out in the market for 2 to 3 days. Zunar was the publisher and chief editor of the magazine. The authorities did not like the fact that this magazine was making fun the current Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, during the Merdeka month. Gedung Kartun’s printing license was withdrawn.

More cat and mouse followed and more of Zunar’s books and magazines were banned. Finally, on 24 September 2010, Zunar was arrested in his office on the very day his book, Cartoon-O-Phobia was to be launched. Since then, Zunar has caught the attention of the international cartooning scene. He received the Courage in Editorial Cartooning Award from the Cartoonists Rights Network International in Florida in July this year. But he remains a Malaysian at heart. He wants to reform Malaysia and Malaysian politics with his cartoons.

On my last trip to KL, I caught up with him at his office near KL Sentral. He was not well, suffering from gastric pain, but still took the time to meet me. But before we get down to his replies to my questions, let’s start with his own personal statement, which he sent to me before we met.

My name is Zulkiflee SM Anwar Ul Haque. I have been drawing editorial cartoons for the past 20 years in Malaysia under a pen-name "Zunar". I consider myself as one of the best editorial cartoonists in Malaysia.

My cartoons are blacked-out by national newspapers, so as an alternative they are now being published by an internet media, Malaysiakini.com.

My aim is to use cartoons as a weapon to fight corruptions and abuse of power by the government. The issues highlighted in my works such as the murder of the Mongolian model by the name of Altantuya, the conspiracy against ex-Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the domineering PM’s wife, the loss of jet engines, the Scorpene submarine scandal, racism, corruption and waste of public funds, among others.

In my career, I constantly face harassment, intimidation and oppression from the Malaysian government. I was arrested, detained and jailed for drawing cartoon. While in jail, I was treated like a criminal and jailed together with other criminals such as drug abusers and robbers.

On top of that, seven titles of my books are banned by the government, my office were raided twice, the printing factories that print my books are constantly raided and through-out the country, vendors are often warned not to sell my books.

Below are the summary of the challenges I face through out my career:

GEDUNG KARTUN

1. On September 2009, my office was raided by eight officers from the Home Ministry. In the raid, they confiscated 408 copies of my magazine, Gedung Kartun (Cartoon Store).
2. I was investigated under the Printing Presses and Publication Act (PPPA).
3. The government also threatened to charge me under the PPPA. If convicted, the penalties are 3 years in prison or RM20,000 (about USD6,280) fine.
4. They also raided the printing factory and seized the printing plates.
5. The factory was also warned not to print my books in the future, or else its printing license will be revoked.
6. The Home Ministry officials also confiscated Gedung Kartun from vendors through -out the country, and warned them not to sell my books in the future.
7. Gedung Kartun was banned thereafter.
8. The loss was estimated to be around RM10,000 (about USD 3000).

1 FUNNY MALAYSIA, PERAK DARUL KARTUN and ISU DALAM KARTUN

1. On June 2010, the Malaysian goverment announced the banning of five of my political cartoon publications. The ban was made under the PPPA. The books are:
a. 1 Funny Malaysia.
b. Perak Darul Kartun (Perak, The State Of Cartoon)
c. Isu Dalam Kartun vol 1 (Issue In Cartoon vol 1)
d. Isu Dalam Kartun vol 2 (Issue In Cartoon vol 2)
e. Isu Dalam Kartun vol 3 (Issue In Cartoon vol 3)
2. The government claimed that my cartoons "can influence the people to revolt against the leaders and government policies and detrimental to public order" as a ground to the ban.
3. This resulted the vendors withdrawing all the books and returning them to me. The loss incurred was about RM80,000 (USD25,000).

CARTOON-O-PHOBIA

1. On the 24th September 2010, ten policemen raided my office in Brickfields near Kuala Lumpur, just 4 hours before the launching of my new cartoon collection, Cartoon-O-Phobia.
I was arrested, detained and locked up for two days under the draconian Sedition Act, which carries the maximum three years in jail if found guilty.
66 copies of Cartoon-O-Phobia were confiscated, as well as one of the original editorial cartoon. All these materials are still in the police custody.
2. At the same time, another 30 policemen raided two separate printing factories and warned them not to print my books in the future, or they will risk their printing licenses revoked by the government.
Police also went to the publisher, Malaysiakini, to search for the remaining stocks of Cartoon-O-Phobia.
As a result, Cartoon-O-Phobia cannot be sold openly as the vendors fear the risk of being charged under the Sedition Act by the government. I had to survive on the online sales which has a very limited market.

COURT BATTLE

I will continue to draw to expose the corruption practiced by the Malaysian government as well as fundamental key issues such as abuse of power, police brutality, violation of human rights and misuse of public funds.

1. On July 2010, I filed a suit against the government to challenge the banning of my books: 1Funny Malaysia, Perak Darul Kartun and three volumes of Isu Dalam Kartun vol 1. In the suit, I sought the court to declare that the ban is illegal and an infringement to the rights of free speech guaranteed by the federal constitution.
The ban also breached the rules of natural justice and mala fide. For this case, the court will deliver its judgment on the 14th of July 2011. [Update: The court threw out my case as expected.]
2. On June 2011, I filed another suit to challenge the Malaysian government for the "unlawful detention" against me on September 2010.
The whole arrest and detention process reeked of bad faith and was politically motivated.
This suit aims to bring into focus the constitutional and human rights arguments, the police’s excessive powers and abuse, illiberal and outdated laws like the Sedition Act 1948 and the Printing Presses and Publication Act 1984, and the collusion between the government and the police.
And for this the court has yet to set a trial date. [Update: The date was set for 13 September 2011.]

NEW BOOK
On the 24th June this year, I produced my new book, “Even My Pen Has A Stand.”

Q: How did you get started drawing political cartoons?

A: I started in school, drawing part-time for fun, as a hobby. I’d send cartoons to children’s magazine like Bambino. That was around 1974 when I was in primary school. In secondary school, I continue to send my cartoons to selected children’s magazines, to their new talent pages.

I just kept drawing. I left school in 1980 and had my first cartoon for Gila-Gila published. In 1982, I worked for the government as a hospital lab technician. But I kept contributing cartoons to magazines. In 1986, I decided to be serious about drawing cartoons professionally and I joined Gila-Gila fulltime. I was drawing political cartoons then, but not as hard as what I am doing now. Gila-Gila is for teenagers, so half of my cartoons were political and the others were just humourous satire.

After a few years, I felt I needed a platform for political cartoons, so I joined Berita Harian in 1991. After I only lasted for 6 months. After that, I went freelance. I found out that I couldn’t do much in a government controlled newspaper. It was very restrictive, the editor would often comment on my cartoons and asked me to remove things.

That was not enough for me. But at that time, there was no internet. So you could draw for Bertia Harian, The New Straits Times or The Star and they are all the same medium, same restrictions.

So I retired for a while as there was no place to send my cartoons. I stopped drawing political cartoons in 1996 as there was no place for me in Malaysia for my type of political cartoons. I did a lot of freelance work like book illustrations.

In 1998, former Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim was arrested. I felt I need to make a comeback as a cartoonist and not to keep quiet about this conspiracy against Anwar. As a cartoonist, I need to show my stand and views about this situation. In February1999, I sent my cartoons to Harakah, the newspaper run by PAS. It was the only opposition newspaper then. They accepted my cartoons and they kept publishing them. I got good response from the publisher.

So here I can draw what I want to draw. I can make my stand and do my best. It was a turning point in my career. People started to know me.

In 2003, I started to draw for Malaysiakini. This is the internet era and I need to move with the times. Harakah could only reach out to Malay readers. Malaysiakini would allow me to get a wider audience.

Since then, my fan base has kept growing day by day, across the different age group. I get response from teenagers to ex-judges, lawyers and doctors.

Q: Describe your politics.

A: I support PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat). I support the opposition. It is very simple for me. I’m not involved personally in opposition politics, but as a Malaysian, I support PKR. (Zunar is an advisor to The Keadilan Daily) Barisan Nasional has been in power for 53 years and still could not solve two big issues – corruption and race. They have no policies for that. They cannot do it and they cannot settle it because they are the ones who are corrupted. When you are in the circle for 53 years, whether it is the police or the ministers, it’s ‘you help me, I help you’.

It is seriously affecting the people because public funds are misused. For example, the road toll. The toll agreement between the government and concession holders, that’s under OSA (Official Secrets Act). The result: when toll fees go up, the people cannot question why. The public has no access to the Petronas accounts. Petrol prices are going up. But we are producers of crude oil, and yet the people are still paying a lot. Petronas give the government RM70 billion net a year, but where does the money go?

That’s why I say the present government cannot settle this. We need to change the government. If PKR were to repeat what BN did, then we throw them out, just like other countries.

As for the racial problems, the government cannot settle it because they are the ones who practiced it. The government wants to break the people. They don’t want the people to stand together. They tell different races different things. Najib declared 1Malaysia, that’s a good slogan. But you also have Ibrahim Ali, the Perkasa president, who declared supremacy for the Malays. Najib kept quiet about such things.

UMNO’s survival is dependent on the Malays. They play the Malay racial card and sentiments to survive. There are no policies and the people are frustrated. On the ground, the people are not happy.

Q: Do you expect your cartoons to make a difference in all these?

A: I believe if I consistently do this, young cartoonists will follow my footsteps. I always say I will focus on corruption. If I stop and I compromise my stand on corruption, I will not be giving a good example to the young cartoonists. I cannot go back on my word. Some people have advised me to slow down a bit, so that I can survive. All my books are banned, there are no sales of my books in the bookshops in Malaysia. But I say no, these are my principles. There is no point for me to print another humour magazine. If I don’t do this, we cannot create culture to be followed by future generation of cartoonists.

I am single-handedly doing this now.

Q: Are you partisan?

A: My own philosophy is this: political cartoonists are important for any country. Like Malaysia now, we are facing a moral crisis, with corruption and the race issue. You must make a stand, you cannot be neutral.

This stand must be clearly seen in your work. It cannot be you making a stand, but your cartoons are different. Because as an artist, you must be a sensitive person. You are closest to the rakyat and you know how they feel. People like my cartoons because I draw what’s on their minds, what they are feeling.

I support PKR because of the problems we have in Malaysia now. People say I am biased, but I have a reason why. It is the situation, you don’t have a choice. When the field is not balanced, you need to play a different game. If you play the same way, you will get KO’d, 100-0. So now you play more rough, to give support to the underdog, until the day the field gets more balanced.

I am partisan. Barisan Nasional has every cartoonist in the mainstream newspapers to support them. I am the only one in the opposition’s side. I have to do that.

Q: What happened after Gedung Kartun was banned?

A: In Malaysia, you need a license to publish magazines. But you don’t need a license to publish books. So since the Gedung Kartun magazine is banned, we went into ‘book’ publishing. We published Perak Darul Kartun as a book. That was our most saleable publication, it was reprinted twice.

Then we set up a new company to get a new license and we managed to publish three issues of Isu Dalam Kartun. That was a team effort with the young cartoonists. As for my personal work, my Malaysiakini cartoons were collected and published as 1 Funny Malaysia.

Then all were banned by the government.

But since the government banned all of them, I realized that the government was afraid of cartoons. So we decided to do a second book of my cartoons, Cartoon-O-Phobia.

On 24 September, on the day of the launch, I was arrested. That night, the launch went on without me and the books. I was kept in the KLIA police lockup. The next day, I was brought to the magistrate court and was to be remanded for five days. They did not inform my lawyer of the hearing, so I had to represent myself.

I questioned the detention. The police said Cartoon-O-Phobia was seditious, which carried a maximum sentence of 3 years in jail. I said this book is not out in the market yet, how would you know it would be seditious or not. At least Isu Dalam Kartun was out in the market for 3 months before it was banned. (Isu Dalam Kartun was very popular. Just 2 weeks before the ban, we signed a contract with a major distributor to distribute it to other parts of Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak. And then it was banned. Maybe the authorities got the info about the distribution deal…)

I asked the police if they had read the book. They said no. I told the magistrate this was not fair, and they released on the same day. (on 25 September) They had no grounds to arrest me.

But when they cannot stop me from drawing, they did two other things – they stopped people from printing my books and they stopped vendors from selling my books. In Malaysia, no shop dared to sell my books until now. The police will harass the shops and the court can take away the shops’ license. For printers, they can revoke their printing license.

So for my new book, …Even My Pen Has A Stand!, it has been very difficult. I searched for 2 months for a printer who dare to print my book. I searched from Penang to Seremban and in the end, managed to find one.

Q: How and where do you get your ideas?

A: The way I get my ideas is different from others. The first step is to collect information from every aspect, source and perspective. I will go to the internet, I will talk to the persons involved if I know them. If there are demonstrations or court cases, I will attend.

Second step, after collecting all these, I will make my stand.

Third, then I will find the joke. And this joke must be aligned with my stand. This is the most difficult part.

I have drawn cartoons about Mahathir, Badawi. But with Najib, there are more issues and I get more ideas. Especially his wife. (laughs) They are the ones who provide the ideas. They do funny things.

Q: How do you survive since your books are banned?

A: I can still sell my books through the internet, but it is hard to make money through that. I am broke and I have printing debts. All my staff has resigned, the 7 young cartoonists who worked with me.

But in life, there is always risk. If we don’t take risk, nothing happens.

The young cartoonists have gone freelance. But we will regroup when the right time comes.

As long as you want to fight, people will support you. From 3 October to till of the end year, I will be one of the Artists-in-Residence for the 2011 Art and Censorship programme to be held in Bilbao, Spain. So I believe if you work hard, you can get the support. You will not be rich, but you can survive.

Q: Any upcoming events to promote your books?

A: If you are in KL on 24 September, we will be M Corp Mall at PJ. We will be setting a stall to sell our books. It’s a Hari Raya thing, get together with some friends.

Postscript:

On 14 September, Najib Razak announced that his government will repeal the ISA and the Emergency Ordinance. He will also lift the licensing curbs on the media, including the Printing Presses and Publishing Act (1984), which was used against Zunar. I emailed Zunar for his reactions to these latest news. Below is his reply:

"It is just lip service and a PR exercise by PM Najib because the election is said to be middle of November this year.

a. ISA will be replaced with another law similar to Patriot Laws in the US, which allows the government to detain people without trial. Even though Najib says the laws are specifically for terrorists and not for the opposition, the government said the same thing when they introduced the ISA 60 years ago.

b. There is absolutely no media reform because the PM only mentioned there is "no need to review license" of publishing companies on an annual basis. But the government still has the right to cancel licenses if regulations are flouted. They also decide whether you can have a publishing license in the first place. It means that government still has an absolute power to deny any applications.

c. In his speech Najib did not touch on the fundamental issues for reform for Malaysia:

First, a need for free and fair elections. Second, corruptions. Third, racism. Fourth, judicial reform. There is also the issue of police brutality."

NB: Zunar just won the Hellman/Hammett Grant from the Human Rights Watch.

Good friend Bowie

2011-09-14T08:57:00.003+08:00

One of the most beautiful friendships is the one between Bowie and Iggy. Like I just said, Bowie helped Iggy in the 70s by co-writing songs with him and producing his albums. In the early 80s, when Bowie was at his peak as a chart hitter, he covered Iggy's songs in his albums, ensuring royalties for his friend. eg. China Girl, Tonight, Neighbourhood Threat. Both collaborated on Iggy's Blah Blah Blah (1986). That album was a turning point in Iggy's career.

Go watch Bowie and Tina Turner's take of Tonight on youtube.

Lust for Life

2011-09-14T08:43:00.003+08:00

There are songs and artists you return to over and over again. Dylan is one. I've been listening to Iggy Pop a lot these days. You don't realise how brilliant he is until it hits you right in between the eyes as you walk down the streets, listening to your ipod.

Lust for Life. Excellent song, filled with energy. Didn't think much about it. Got sick of it when it was overposed when used in the Trainspotting movie and later in some TV commercial. Blah blah blah.

But the ipod was on shuffle and this came on. This line struck me:

"I'm worth a million in prizes."

What? What do you mean you are worth a million in prizes? Like those Readers' Digest prizes? You are already a millionarie? It means nothing.

And then you realize how ironic Iggy is in this song. In fact, he is taking a piss at himself.

"I'm worth a million in prizes
With my torture film
Drive a GTO
Wear a uniform
All on a government loan"

That is so loser. And the context: Iggy was deep shit in heroin in the 70s then. He tried to clean up. His bud David Bowie tried to help him by co-writing songs with him and producing his albums. David is a good friend.

But this story has a happy ending. Iggy survived the 70s, 80s, 90s and now still giving it to us where it hurts in the second decade of the 21st Century. (did you see his performance in the last season of American Idol?)

Welcome back, Johnny Yen.

Overheard 2 X The Greed of Man

2011-09-14T08:39:00.002+08:00

Just watched Overheard 2. Excellent HK crime thriller about insider trading. A lot people compare it with Overheard 1. But the obvious comparison is actually with early 1990s HK TV drama, The Greed of Man, which uses the same background context of the 1973 stock market crisis in HK and starring Lau Ching Wan and Kenneth Tsang pitting against each other. 20 years later, these 2 are still providing the acting chops that make this one of the best of 2011.

Children's comics galore

2011-09-13T05:58:00.009+08:00

Was asking if comics artists in Malaysia can survive drawing comics full time and was told that mainly it would be those who draw children's comics. Attended the book fest in KL (KLCC) and it's true. GeMeiLia is the most successful of the lot, with animation in the works.

Michael Chuah's new comic book with GeiMeiLia

The other type of books that sell very well - assessment books from Singapore! But there is still a size-able readership of Chinese books as Chinese schools are still alive in Malaysia.

The new anthology by the Mandarin Comic Society

Archetype of a father's love

2011-09-13T05:45:00.003+08:00

Just watched the Johnnie To-produced Punished (2011) and Steven Soderbergh's The Limey (1999) back to back. Reminded me the 2009 To-directed epic starring Johnny Hallyday, Vengeance. A father will cross oceans and destroy his own world to avenge his daughter's death.

Popcorn

2011-09-12T21:58:00.003+08:00

Try to get your hands on this excellent comics magazine from the guys from Gempak. Totally under-rated and deserving of our attention. Best it got new comic stories by Baba Chuah, drewscape, Kaoru, and Leong Wan Kok...

Issue 009 has interviews with the Gilamon gang about their new titles from last year, Major Zombie and Six.

2 insightful quotes from Tan Eng Huat:

"For me, my stress usually comes from deadlines because I fear my lateness will affect others in production line. The first 2 to 3 years were very stressful. Working for an international company through emails was initially very strange because I didn't get to see anyone and it felt like you can lose your job any time. Plus it's not a full time job and I have to compete with a lot of artists in America too. So for me, there's really no way for me to release that stress. I just had to swallow it and not let it consume me by constantly doing better."

(when asked things he would die for...)
"For me it's Star Wars LEGO because Star Wars is really huge thing for my generation. There's also a sentimental value to it for me because my father used to like taking apart machines and fixing them later. LEGO lets me do the same but, of course, it's so much more simpler. So to me, it's like both things I like in one."

Indon Comics

2011-09-12T21:33:00.005+08:00

(Aish, Rony, Azisa, Rama, Tita)

Had lunch with Tita Larasati during STGCC and she updated me about the scene in Bandung. Basically, she and her business partner, Rony Amdani, were in town to promote the books published by their company, Curhat Anak Bangsa (CAB).

All the books are written by Rony. The art is by different artists:

Seeta – Rama Indra (based loosely on the Ramayan)
Insight – Risza A. Perdhana
The Messengers – Aish (based loosely on the independence of Indonesia)
Mantra – Azisa Noor

It’s still tough for indie artists to make their living from drawing comics fulltime. Even for Tita, she lectures at the Bandung Institute of Technology.

Interestingly, the bestsellers from CAB are the graphic diaries by Tita and Sheila Rooswitha Putri. Tita has written an article about the trend of Graphic Diary for an upcoming volume of International Journal of Comic Art, based on a paper she presented at the Women’s Manga Beyond Japan conference held at the National University of Singapore earlier this year.

Sheila’s story about a family trip to East Java has been reprinted in Liquid City 2. She has kept busy with a new project for www.naked-traveler.com . She is drawing a strip written by Trinity and Erastiany. (Rony is involved too)

http://duohippodinamis.wordpress.com/

Several Indon artists have made it overseas. Other than Ardian Syaf, people like Chris Lie, Sunny Gho and Admira Wijaya (aka Anto Garang) have done international work. Chris Lie has drawn for GI Joe and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 video game (Chris is also running Caravan Studio, which he set up in West Jakarta in January 2008) while Sunny Gho is the Art Director of IFS Jakarta. He has coloured Power Girl, Secret Warriors, Ultimate Avengers vs. New Ultimates and The Darkness. Both Chris Lie and Sunny Gho were at STGCC. Some samples of Caravan Studio works here:

http://www.stripspeciaalzaak.be/beelden/07-12-2011_Besprekingen/Storm-Buitenring1_PR.jpg

http://www.denoormanstrips.nl/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Storm-1-Banneling-van-Thoem.jpg

But the bulk of comics produced in Indonesia are slapstick books, eg. the “101” series. (101 Surviving Super Singles, 101 Prehistoric Culture, etc) and ‘local manga’ series.

http://www.indomanga.com/index.php?topic=5977.0
http://wahyuhidayatz.blogspot.com/2011/06/komik-101-peradaban-purba_30.html

Tita called this current situation as “lata” – the Malay word for imitate. Most comic companies are merely copying each other’s themes to sell their books.

When the weird turns sappy…

2011-09-11T22:20:00.005+08:00

It’s almost a Singapore comic con tradition to have the new Resident Tourist volume out when the event takes place every year at Suntec City. Even for this year, when the con was brought forward to August, we have the launch of TRT 5 there.

The first 3 cons were organized by Play Imaginative and since last year, Reed took over.
2007 – Troy Chin and Ken Foo shared a booth near Sonny Liew to sell their minis.
2008 – Adrian Teo published TRT 1 and 2 for Troy. A TRT related short story appeared in Liquid City 1.
2009 – Troy self-published TRT 3 and Loti 1. (all of them serialized on his website before)
2010 – TRT 4 launched at STGCC. Loti 2 was launched at Books Actually earlier. Another short story in Liquid City 2. (non TRT related)
2011 – TRT 5 launched.

When TRT first came out, it was a breadth of fresh air. Troy was featured in an article about local comics in IS, but most of us only got to read his stuff when Adrian Teo published TRT 1 and 2. It was weird, with bats hiding in shoes and shit. A returning Singaporean from NYC, who sees a hot psychiatrist – he seems aimless and profound at the same time. What’s going on?

2008 was a good year for Troy as he got extensive coverage in the national papers. An interview with The Sunday Times, a nice pic of him outside of his old school, the now abandoned Braddell-Westlake, and a review of TRT 1 and 2 a week later in the book reviews section.

Troy was slowly building his fan base with appearances at Books Actually, the National Library, Singapore Writers’ Festival and recently, post-museum. They are a varied bunch – kids studying overseas, doctors (a psychiatrist!) and even a lady who traveled all the way from Japan to meet him at the comic con in 2009.

Things got a bit more normal with TRT 3. It was about friendship, growing up with your gang in Victoria School. Read this together with Loti and you find Troy to be quite a nostalgic fellow. In TRT 4, we learn what’s wrong with Troy. He tried to kill himself in NYC. That volume affirmed Troy’s rep as one of the strongest narrative storytellers for comics in Singapore. His panel to panel transition is smooth and ‘invisible’.

By all counts, the newly released TRT 5 reads like the end of the tourist for now as it brings the story to the present. (2010) Since last year, Troy kept saying that people will be pissed off by what he has to say in TRT 4. Maybe the lack of recognition and poor sales was getting to him. But it was something else…

TRT 5 confirms what some of us suspect for some time. It is a love story, after all. The punch line – Troy finally hooked up with Mint in 2005 when they were in NYC. Troy returned to Singapore soon after and they maintained the long distance relationship. So the whole TRT series, which start with the return of Troy to Singapore, is his paean to Mint. If one is to read into it, putting his life in comics form on the web is Troy’s way of telling Mint of how he is feeling.

Those feelings go deep in TRT 5 – Troy confessing his love for Mint, telling her he wants kids, etc. It is heartfelt; Troy handles the emotions well. But it is also sappy when you reach the last page. The truth is: he is this generation’s Colin Cheong, in comics form.

TRT 5 is selling well. It is on the Planerds bestselling list for August (The just reprinted TRT 1 and 2 are on it too) and during STGCC, the Harris booth needed another 30 copies for the second day of the con. There are enough going for it for people to buzz – the timely reference to the foreigners issue; more throwbacks to the early 1990s: Sembawang Music Store, Nirvana’s Nevermind; Veronica Yip; chapter 20 of the Sec 4 Biology textbook for Express classes.

Troy is already a hero to some in Singapore for living his dream and for not compromising. Fans will enjoy his encounters with crazy people (albeit caricatured) and not backing down. The angry man he met while queuing up at SingPost reminds me Harvey Pekar’s observation of quirky Jewish ladies at the supermarket. But Troy’s encounter is nastier. That’s Singapore 2010/2011 for you.

If there is an inconsistency to be noted, it’s that for the earlier volumes, the perspective has always been Troy’s. In TRT 5, we see the story from his friends’ point of view. That came across jarring.

Troy is 33 this year, an age of reckoning according to the good book. From now on, he is moving on to his next project – a piss take on the music industry.

The tourist has returned home.

steampunk

2011-09-11T12:41:00.002+08:00

Sampled Gail Carriger's Alexia Tarabotti novels. Which brings to mind steampunk has been around for ages, both in novels and comics. There's Fritz Leiber's "Catch That Zepellin!" short story and Philip Jose Farmer's Riverworld series.

In comics, Alan Moore is having a delightful run with The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen since the last century. Even earlier, Tardi had The Arctic Marauder. Warren Ellis did Captain Swing recently and Bryan Talbot of Tale of One Bad Rat fame told the story of Grandville. The closest to what Carriger is doing - Lady Mechanika published by Aspen.

Tatsumi

2011-09-10T22:21:00.002+08:00

It's always good to see Sensei again.

Agents

2011-09-09T06:48:00.005+08:00

One thing I realized from doing interviews with the Southeast Asian artists I met at STGCC is that they have agents working for them, getting them the contracts and the jobs. Especially so for the Filipino and Indonesian artists who might need that link to DC and Marvel Comics. In the case of Ardian Syaf, he needed someone with the linguistic ability to negotiate with the comics companies. Interestingly, both Carlo Pagulayan and Ardian had European agents instead of US ones. (unlike say, Sonny Liew) In any case, as pointed out by CB Cebulski, given the long distance between Asia and America, even having an agent in Europe meant it's easier for them to fly in to San Diego to represent the artists for work.

This doesn't mean all Southeast Asian artists working for DC or Marvel has an agent. One of the Malaysian pioneers, Tan Eng Huat, doesn't have an agent as he was talent spotted by Andy Helfer of DC in 1999. One job leads to another and Eng Huat's schedule is packed these days.

Perhaps having an agent is part of the professionalization of the medium in this region. One day we will have local talent companies starting to represent comic artists.

Bestsellers at Planerds and prologue

2011-09-08T09:50:00.000+08:00

Below are the August bestsellers for Planerds and { prologue }

Planerds

1.       Resident Tourist v5 SC

2.       In Memory of Kwa Geok Choo: 1920-2010 SC

3.       Resident Tourist v1 SC

4.       League of Extraordinary Gentlemen III: Century #2: 1969

5.       Sense and Sensibility GN TP

6.       Resident Tourist v2 SC

7.       Malinky Robot Collected Stories & Others TP

8.       Blackest Night TP

9.       Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne HC

10.   Batman: Complete Hush TP

{ prologue }

1.       In Memory of Kwa Geok Choo: 1920-2010 SC

2.       Smurfs v1: The Purple Smurfs SC

3.       Smurfs v3: The Smurf King SC

4.       Smurfs v5: The Smurfs and the Egg SC

5.       Smurfs v4: Smurfette SC

6.       Smurfs v2: The Smurfs and the Magic Flute SC

7.       Smurfs v7: Astrosmurf SC

8.       Smurfs v6: The Smurfs and the Howlibird SC

9.       Pokemon Adventures v37 TP

10.   Transformers: Dark of the Moon Prequel: Foundation TP

Clearly, { prologue } had a very Smurfy month, but local artists rule the roost, especially at Planerds.

Registration now open for Singapore 24 Hour Comics Day

2011-09-05T23:58:00.000+08:00

The Singapore leg of 24 Hour Comics Day is back this year on 1-2 October 2011 (Sat morning to Sunday morning).  Participants will challenge themselves to create 24 pages of comics within 24 hours.

Admission is free but registration is required.  We will have free food, courtesy of sponsorship from National Arts Council!

If you think you're crazy enough to take on this challenge, register here:
http://singaporecomics.com/24hourcomicsday/register.php

Venue is Goodman Arts Centre, a 6-minute walk from Mountbatten MRT station:
http://singaporecomics.com/24hourcomicsday/venue.php

Internet connection will be a problem, so I suggest you prepare all your reference material beforehand.

This year's event will be part of a larger event called Comics Xchange, which will have a bazaar, seminars, workshops and cosplay. http://www.comics-xchange.com/

JF

Matt Fraction

2011-08-30T17:17:00.002+08:00

Reading Stark Resilient and, together with Warren Ellis, Fraction is the futurist in comics today. Ellis affirmed his status of that in the Extremis storyline and with the same character (Iron Man, if you are still wondering) Fraction is proving that he is the worth the salt he's been paid.

Not everything he touches is gold. (eg. X-Men) But he has enough chutzpah to be ironic - having an arms system called Detroit Steel to save the Japanese's ass. Go read up on the motor industry of Detroit in the 1970s if you didn't get it.

Too bad no one did an indepth interview with him about all these when he was a guest of STGCC 2010. I'd love to ask him about his addiction...

Comics Xchange 1-2 Oct

2011-08-30T17:15:00.000+08:00

Akan Datang.

http://www.facebook.com/comicsxchange

Role of Arts Councils

2011-08-27T09:09:00.005+08:00

Ordered a few books from Conundrum Press (www.conundrumpress.com) recently. It's a great place to get excellent Canadian graphic novels you CANNOT order from amazon.

- Gilded Lilies by Jillian Tamaki
- Inkstuds: interviews w Cartoonists by Robin McConnell
- Chimo by David Collier

One thing I noticed, all of them are supported by the Canadian Council for the Arts. Which means Canadians' taxes are put to good use, funding worthy graphic novels.

The same goes for the best thing I read this year, Paying For It by Chester Brown. Now if you have read that, you know how ballsy it is for the Canadians to put money behind this. Kudos to them.

Which brings me back to the role of arts councils and media development authorities at home. To be gatekeepers of social and moral values? I just want them to be professional and do their job - fund cranky, creative, fun projects instead of thinking of KPIs and bottom lines. (don't do the finance ministry's job for them!)

I'm reminded of Robert Mapplethorpe's The Perfect Moment exhibition of 1989, (mounted 3 months after his death) which sparked a debate in the US about public funding for controversy works. 22 years after reading about this incident in Time magazine, my take is for arts councils to do their job. Be the professionals you are supposed to be. Fund the worthy works (and not just because it's local but because it's good) and let society debate on its merits.

One shouldn't avoid debates. Because we can all learn a lot from it.

了了

2011-08-26T21:02:00.003+08:00

What a great Chinese title for Gone Case. But got to say it in Hokkien.
Best cover like those old EPB story books. Go grab it for $10.70 tops.

Interview with Paul Levitz@STGCC 2011

2011-08-24T09:47:00.007+08:00

A tired Paul Levitz

It was a very tired Paul Levitz who I met on the second and last day of STGCC 2011. It was 4.30 pm and another 3.5 hours to go before the event closes. Maybe it was jet lag or end of con fatigue. Or maybe it’s because he had another appointment after this (with a pretty lass no less), but Paul was visibly distracted.

But you can’t blame the man. Paul Levitz had and continues to have a long run in this business. He is a legend, especially if you are a DC Comics fan. He joined DC in 1973 as an assistant editor, went on to become the youngest DC editor ever. He was appointed Executive Vice-President & Publisher in 1989 and President & Publisher from 2002 to 2009. Currently, he is Contributing Editor, but more importantly, he has gone back to writing the series he is most well known and loved for, the Legion of Superheroes.

Still, the half an hour we had with Paul, his professionalism and passion for the medium comes through. The man walks the talk.

Q: How has life been like since you stepped down as DC President? Why did you resign?

A: The job scope has changed and it has given me the freedom to travel to places I find interesting like Singapore instead for traveling for work. There are always reasons why one stepped down. I’m happy to be back writing and teaching instead of being on the road all the time.

When one is in a transitional process, things happen in phases. So we’ll see what’s next.

Q: You are now the Contributing Editor. What is your role, do you get to intervene?

A: I do not have the magic powers to intervene. They (the DC management) are driving the bus. There are a lot of decisions to be made, whether they are good or bad decisions. No one makes the right decisions all the time. Hopefully you make more right ones than wrong ones. And hopefully you make more big decisions that are right than big ones that are wrong. All companies need the people who are working for them to be on their side. They don’t need a backseat driver. They need backseat cheerleaders.

Q: This is a question I have asked the rest because this is STGCC and you guys are in Singapore, Southeast Asia. Are getting artists from this region a form of outsourcing?

A: I joined DC in 1973. Even during then, comics publishers were already going overseas to get bargain foreign labour at discounted price. There were clear savings as Filipino artists were not getting the same page rate. Alfredo Alcala had to go to America in 1976 to get that kind of rate.

So what are talking about here? In the 1970s, we paid the Filipinos USD$17 to 19 a page. In America, artists were getting USD$60 a page. But if you were a Filipino artist working for a comics publisher in the Philippines, you were getting USD$3 to 4 a page. So all thought they were getting a good deal. All thought they were screwing each other.

Q: But with current economic downturn in America and the falling exchange rate for the USD, is it harder for your overseas artists?

A: For the creative people, the first challenge is getting creative work that pays. The exchange rate would be the least of their problems. It is to get work and keep busy.

Q: Someone described to me recently that the main difference between DC and Marvel is that Marvel sells Fear. The discrimination and hatred faced by the X-Men, recent series like Civil War, Secret Invasion, Siege and Fear Itself! But DC sells Hope. The return of Hal Jordan, the Brightest Day series, and now the 52 reboot. What do you think of that?

A: (paused and smile) That sounds nice. I have not read Marvel for years now. Of course, I have read the classic stuff, but not anything in the last decade.

52 is ambitious, challenging and filled with excitement. It is a very interesting new take.

Q: How does it feel to be back writing the Legion? How have the fans responded?

A: It was fortuitous timing. I had gone back to writing. Geoff Johns had just done some Legion stories (Action Comics and Adventure Comics), but he had no time to continue with them. So the slot was available.

As you know, Legion fans are a very special bunch of people. They are please with the stories in general. I’m glad they are responding to my stories as a contemporary writer. In American baseball, there is the oldtimers’ game before the start of the big games. The old players would come out to field to throw the ball around. I’m happy that that is not the case for me. The fans have been very welcoming and generous. So it’s great to be back in the real game.

Q: But times have changed and even your writing and approach to these classic characters have changed. For example, Shadow Lass broke up with Mon-El (sent off to the Phantom Zone again) and is now literally sleeping with the enemy, Earth-Man.

A: When I first started writing in the mid 1970s, I was writing for 9 to 10 year olds. They were intelligent but the core audience for the books was kids. Now with direct sales, the audience is 16 to 35 year olds. This allows you to do different kinds of stories because of the maturity of the readership.

The 16 year old of 2011 is very different from the 16 year old of the 1970s. They are better educated, their ideas about sexuality has changed. There is the internet. So when all these started in the 1980s and when we did the Baxter edition of the Legion, I was able to write the story of the violent death of Karate Kid. Although the story was reprinted for the newsstand edition, the primary market was still the direct sales and in the comics shops.

Q: Any chance of you writing a Marvel series?

A: The odds are against it. There are some characters I’d like to handle in the past but that’s unlikely to happen given my years of association with DC. I’d rather focus on prose and fiction, and on medium that I have not worked on like historical non-fiction.

Q: Grant Morrison is rebooting Superman again for the umpteenth time. Which is your favourite version of Superman?

A: You don’t go past the comfort food of your childhood. For me, it’d always be Jerry Siegel, Leo Dorfman (The Amazing Story of Superman-Red and Superman-Blue) and Ed Hamilton. Stuff which I read when I was 11 or 12 years old. Peter Graham once said that the “golden age of science fiction is 12.” All forms of popular culture carry different emotional weight. Is Neil Gaiman a better writer than Issac Asimov? I don’t think so as a professional writer myself. But Issac Asimov was great was when I was 12 years old and remains great.

Q: It’s just like for me, Superman is always drawn by Curt Swan.

A: That’s precisely it. Back in the days when I asked Curt Swan if he could draw my Legion story and when he said yes, it felt fabulous. I grew up reading his comics and now we were colleagues. He would ask me not to put too many Legion characters in one panel.

So people like Curt, Gene Colan. I would hand them my handwritten scripts! (Levitz’s Batman stories drawn by Gene Colan are recently reprinted in Tales of the Batman: Gene Colan Volume 1)

Q: What do you think of the recent spate of superhero movies based on comic books?

A: If you asked me in 2002 after the first Spiderman movie just came out, I’d not have listed Iron Man as something that would have been made into a movie. But now you have things like Scott Pilgrim.

Comics are not designed to be perfect for films. You need adaptation as there is an intrinsic value in each medium for things to work. As I have been teaching in my writing class, you take a movie like The American President (1995) and compare it with The West Wing. Basically, you almost have the same cast including Martin Sheen and both are written by Aaron Sorkin. But it’s so different.

Q: Will you be writing a sequel to 75 Years of DC Comics?

A: Well, someone should write 100 Years of DC Comics when it is time. But it would not be my turn. I was born in 1956 and I would be nearly 80 by then!

And then it was over. We shook hands, I gave him a copy of Ray Toh’s new sketchbook and he was off for his next appointment.
Thanks to STGCC for arranging the interviews!

Interview with CB Cebulski@STGCC 2011

2011-08-24T00:01:00.007+08:00

CB Cebulski talks fast. He is the Senior Vice-President for Creator & Content Development for Marvel Comics. I only had half an hour with him. But ‘enuff said!

Q: So this is your second trip to STGCC, having recruited Benjamin Ang from Singapore last year. But artists in Southeast Asia continue to stay in their homeland (Tan Eng Huat in Malaysia and Sonny Liew in Singapore) while working for Marvel, without having to resettle to America. Unlike artists like Alfredo Alcala and Alex Nino.

A: This is the globalization of Marvel Comics since the late 1980s. Before Alcala came to America in the 1970s, people were already sending in their resumes in envelopes and enclosing SASE. It was snail mail, then faxes.

Yes, the business changed with the internet. But 2 events happened before that.

One was the end of the Marvel Bullpen. Before, to work for Marvel, you need to be in the office. No more. The Bullpen is still there, but in spirit. It is digital now.
Second, the rise of conventions like San Diego. For the pre-internet generation in the 1990s, you have people like Joe Madureira waiting in line to show their portfolios.

That was how recruitment was done and it’s the same for international artists. You fly in from Brazil or your agents fly in for you. That was in the 1980s and 1990s. Back then, the only conventions were in San Diego and Chicago. New York Con only happened the last 5 years, so most foreign artists have never been to NYC. San Diego was the place to get work. (even in the case of Sonny Liew who was introduced to the industry by Chris Claremont)

Today, the internet has revolutionized how communication is handled. The development of social networks, online galleries. Sites like Deviantart and Conceptart.org. Artists are able to display their work without having to leave home.

Q: How has that changed your work for you? Why are you still traveling?

A: At Marvel, I go out and I recruit. 95% of the artists are found online. I see the artwork, and if I like it, I will develop a line of communication. Let’s say I go to Croatia. There is a population of artists on the internet who are from there, so I go and talk to them.

I find the talent online, but I won’t hire until I see them face to face. With the internet, you don’t know what’s out there. There are a lot of scams and bullshit. So it’s to know their personality, their work ethics, are they able to meet deadlines. It helps me to do my job when I meet them face to face.

So I go to different cities, different conventions. I meet the artists, I meet the people who introduce me to other artists. I consider myself a good judge of character, to find out what kind of person you are, what kind of artist you are.

Q: What is the value proposition of hiring Southeast Asian artists? Why recruit overseas when there are still so many talented artists in America?

A: It is not just us going out to find international talent. They are coming to us because it is their dream to work for Marvel Comics, their dream to draw Spiderman. This happens as the Marvel brand grows globally. (see interview with Ardian Syaf – he doesn’t speak much English but he wants to draw Batman)

This is nothing new. In the 1960s, Stan Lee recruited from Italy, Spain, France, basically Europe. In the 1980s and 1990s, it was South America. In the 2000s, it was Asia. And for these artists like Whilce Portacio, he doesn’t want to be just a Marvel artist, no matter how successful. He wants to mentor other artists from his home country, the Philippines. He wants to give back to his country.

The international market has opened up. Our eyes are opened up to the fact that Marvel’s influence is everywhere. Asia is far away from us, but it is worth our while to meet the people. The level of talent in Asia is high. It is beneficial to us. By recruiting overseas, it promotes the brand globally and increases our talent pool.

Q: Is there a difference in what you pay Southeast Asian artists and what you pay American artists?
(last year, I spoke to an Asian artist at STGCC who revealed that there was still a page rate difference)

A: Not now, not in this day and age. This is not outsourcing to get cheaper rates. Our artists, no matter where they are, are paid industry standard rates. Maybe that was the case 6, 7 years ago, but not now.

There is not much difference in cost for us to pay the Asian artists a lower rate. The only cost difference in the past is the Fedex cost, but with scanning and email, that’s no longer an issue. The only fear about Fedex in the past is the pages getting lost.

There is this famous story of a 22-page John Busema Conan story (for Savage Sword of Conan) that was sent to a Filipino studio to be inked. 1 week passed, then 2 weeks and the third week. The editor Ralph Macchio called the inker to ask if the pages had arrived. The inker said yes. Ralph asked so when can we get it back. The inker replied he hasn’t started on it yet. Ralph asked why not and the answer was “it’s too beautiful!” Ralph said you know I have to fire you, right? The inker said just fire me!

So Ralph had to call John to explain the situation and asked if he could draw those pages again. John said yes, but you got to pay me. And he did. Within a week, he delivered those pages, drawing them from memory and it looked the same. John Busema is a genius.

So getting the pages lost or destroyed when sending them via Fedex, that’s the only cost factor that would have led to a lower page rate for artists in Southeast Asia. But not anymore.

Q: I spoke to some Southeast Asian artists at the con earlier. The feeling is that with the economic downturn (Japan, Europe and America), projects are shrinking or disappearing. With the low exchange rate for USD (as compared to the strong Singapore dollar), artists who are being paid in USD are seeing their earnings reduced.

A: I’m not a bullshitter, so I won’t lie. The US economy is a concern for publishing. The movies and games are doing okay. Comics sales have been stagnating for a long time. Every now and then you get a hit. Then things go back to normal. It’s hard to put a finger at it. Some blame video games, piracy, illegal downloads, parents. It’s a combination of different factors.

But with the current downturn, sales are not suffering yet. We are not in the doldrums, we are not canceling titles yet. But we are seriously looking at what works and what doesn’t. Maybe there is a need to look at the paper quality we are using, the length of stories or what we can do to increase advertising.

The same thing happened to Marvel after the bankruptcy. There was belt tightening. It’s about being smart about what we do with our talent and money.

At Marvel, it’s always about the characters. Content is king. The stories, the art. In the past, we might have gotten a bit greedy in putting out yet another Deadpool book, another Wolverine title. The fans are sick of it. So it’s really listening to what the fans want. It could be something offbeat like Strange Tales.

So it’s the bottom line and the monthly sales, that’s how the industry judges. Not everything is determined by the direct market sales through the comics shops. We need to see the bigger picture of mainstream sales of graphic novels in the bookshops.

Let me give you an example. One of our worst selling books in the direct market is Marvel Adventures. But in terms of subscriptions, it is one of the highest, especially among family with kids. It is also doing very well at Walmart and Target. On the internet, fans poke fun of us for putting out such a book. But it attracts new readers, those in the 5 to 7 year old range. So the book is profitable.

Sonny Liew's pages for his take of Spidey in Marvel Adventures

So often we have fallen victim and listen too much to the noise on the internet. This character is popular, you should put out his own title. But does it sell?

So getting back to your question, we rode out of the economic crunch very well, the mortgage and housing crises. Usually these things hit the entertainment industry a bit later. Yes, people have to make choices. Between paying the rent and buying food, do they need that Marvel comic book? So we have to be smart in what we put out and how we present our titles.

Q: 2 years on since the announcement of Disney buying Marvel at the Toronto Comics Con and almost a year since the signing of the deal on December 31 2010, what is the fallout?

A: None. The relationship is working out so well that it is wonderful. What has happened is that Disney has taken the Marvel brand and brought our products into the Disney store. On the other hand, we are doing their Pixar books and also provided the variant covers for Tron.

We were Disney fans before we were Marvel fans. It’s mutual respect that we have for each other. We are not seeing Spiderman in Disneyland or a sanitized Wolverine. Disney is opened to suggestions. Operations-wise, Avengers and Iron Man 3 will be distributed by Disney, taking the rights back from Paramount.

Q: How come there are fewer writers recruited overseas as compared to artists?

A: They are different, it’s like comparing apples with oranges. Art is a universal language. We can send you the script and you can draw it. But for stories, you need to be able to write fluently. We have hired foreign writers before from Italy, Portugal. They either grew up in the United States or studied there. So the command of the English language is important.

So far, not many have come to us. I know Gerry Alanguilan from the Philippines writes his own stuff. But for writers, we don’t read submissions. We require them to send in published works. We have published samples from Spain and Japan before. They were written in their native language but a translation was provided.

It is not so much cultural as writers can learn about New York City from films, TV. But having said that, we do not just want writers who are influenced by Marvel comics. We want unique stories. We want you to bring a piece of yourselves to the Marvel characters you are writing. Greg Pak is a case in point. He’s from Korea and he writes the Hulk. Marjorie Liu divides her time between Idaho and Beijing and she is providing a different sensibility to the Black Widow.

Stan Lee always says Marvel is the window to world outside. So we want our Asian writers to bring their world to the Marvel universe and to expand it on a global level.

Cosplayers@STGCC 2011

2011-08-23T13:37:00.011+08:00

Press Play!

Catwoman w Morgan Chua. Lucky bastard!

Interview with Ardian Syaf@STGCC 2011

2011-08-22T22:05:00.009+08:00

Indon artist Ardian Syaf has come a long way since drawing out of a box at the last STGCC. Last December, he wasn’t a guest of the convention and he came on his own. But sharp-eyed fans knew gold when they spotted him sketching at the side. They recognized that this was the upcoming artist of Batman Blackest Night, Brightest Day and Birds of Prey.

Ardian didn’t have a table and had to ‘squat’ with some local artists, who extended that ‘kampong’ Southeast Asian solidarity. The pages he brought for sale flew and he took orders for sketches. (see Hawkgirl)

Ardian started his career in 2007 doing Dresden Files for Dabelbrothers Publishing. That lasted for 11 issues. His first project with Dabelbrothers titled Take It To Chance written by novelist Catherine Murphy actually came out after that. After signing to the Spanish agency, Utopia Studio, Ardian became a fill-in artist for Marvel. He draw 2 issues of Nightcrawler and later Captain Britain & MI 13. In 2009, he signed exclusively to DC.

He has yet to visit the United States, but has been invited. Now he is waiting for the recommendation letter to get his visa. He is part of the Southeast Asian contingent who are helping us to imagine New York City in the comic books filtered through their own imagined reality of the Big Apple.

I met Aridan at STGCC 2011, now an official guest of the con.

Q: What is your value proposition for DC or Marvel? What does Ardian Syaf have to offer in terms of a different style?

A: (pause then smile) Maybe my art reminds people of Andy Kurbert. He was exclusive to Marvel then. Perhaps that is what interested DC. They say we are not looking for another Jim Lee because they already have one Jim Lee. But the fact is that they are looking for another Jim Lee. Or the next Scott Lobdell. It’s basically what the fans want.

Q: Do people in Indonesia know your work?

A; DC Comics are not for children these days. They are meant for grown-ups, so children in Indonesia do not read DC Comics. Also there are no more reprints of DC or Marvel comics in Indonesia. Now there are only reprints of manga.

In the early days, my neighbours thought I was unemployed! I lived in Tulung Agung, a small town in East Java. They thought I was a bum.
(amazing how the world has shrunken and become more of the same – Ardian is able to email his work to America from a small sleepy town in East Java. US pop culture has permeated everywhere. Cultural imperialism!)

Q: Is there a pay difference between artists in Southeast Asia and artists in America?

A: No, it depends on the deal made for you by your agency. But if you are a top artist, you get the top artist’s rate.

Q: Will you be drawing for Marvel soon?

A: My contract with DC is ending in September 2011, but I will be renewing it. There are opportunities with the 52 reboot. I will be drawing Batgirl. (see sketch)

Q: But which Marvel character would you want to draw if you get the chance?

A: Wolverine! I love Wolverine.

Q: What personal projects would you want to do?

A: I would want to work on an Indonesian project with a friend. Tomb Raider meets magic combining with the superstitious beliefs of Indonesia. Friends keep asking me to do my own story. One day.

Thanks to Novianto Hernawan, who was the translator for the interview.

(this issue of Birds of Prey is drawn by Ardian but the cover is by Stanley Lau of IFS)

Tita@STGCC

2011-08-21T10:21:00.004+08:00

If you are going down today, go check out Tita and CAB at G37 along the Artists' Alley. Excellent Indon stuff. More on them later.

Tita with Kenny of Kino

Interview with Carlo Pagulayan@STGCC 2011

2011-08-21T09:41:00.009+08:00

Thanks to the good folks at STGCC, I was able to interview Filipino comics artist Carlo Pagulayan together with Leong Wern Iu who writes for sgcollect.com/forum. You can read his take of the session there.

Carlo is no stranger to STGCC, having visited the con last December to support other Filipino artists who were guests like Lenil Yu and Harvey Tolibao. This year, it was his turn to be the convention guest.

Carlo is most famous for drawing Planet Hulk.

Q: The amazing thing about technology today is that it has indeed shrunk the world by letting Southeast Asian artists to draw for DC or Marvel without having to leave their homeland. Unlike Alfredo Alcala who left the Philippines for USA in the 1970s and never to return (for fear of not being allowed back into USA if he were to do so), artists like you, Harvey and Lenil could still be based in your home country.

How did your journey start – from the Philippines to Planet Hulk?

A: You start by attending conventions and exposing yourself. There was a Top Cow talent search in the Philippines in the late 1990s. I sent in samples, but they lost it! I was not selected.

I was still in college then, so drawing comics was not a priority. (Carlo graduated with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering)

In 2000, I signed to an agency (Glass House Graphics, who also represented Harvey, Stephen Segovia, Jason Paz and Jeffrey Huet), who sent samples of my work to Joe Quesada of Marvel. It was a long process, there were words of encouragement as Marvel saw improvement in my art. But there was no work. At that time, I was working as a supervisor at a semiconductor factory.

911 happened and everyone was affected. I watched TV everyday about news of the attack. Dark Horse did a benefit book and I contributed. Although I was under contract for representation with the agency, I was allowed to draw this 3-page story for Dark Horse as we weren’t paid. I had no money to help the victims then and this was my way of helping.

That story got me in the running for Dark Horse’s KISS comic book. I could have been a KISS artist, but Gene Simmons was the one reviewing my pages and I had a problem with likeness – my drawings were just not KISS-y enough. They don’t look like the band.

So it was a New Year’s Eve and I had to hand in a KISS drawing. Instead of lighting firecrackers, I was hard at work. I took a break by reading Elektra and end up doing a drawing of Elektra. My agent sent it to Quesada and luck would have it, Marvel was looking for a new Elektra artist as the original artist Chuck Austin was moving over to writing.

So that was how I ended up working with Greg Rucka for Elektra. After that, I did fill-ins and one shots for comics like Master of the Universe, Emma Frost, Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four and even an inventory issue of Superman, which has not been published yet. But during that period, I drew one of my favourite stories in X-Men Unlimited – Shadowcat helping troubled kids. That assignment was challenging because of the storytelling.

Marvel Adventures editor, Mark Paniccia, who was also the Hulk editor, got me onboard Planet Hulk.

That was the turning point in my career.

This has become a very long answer. So yes, attend conventions. I have attended those in the Philippines and now the con in Singapore. In 2006, I was invited to attend a con in France for a week.

No, I have not been to USA yet. But we intend to next year, the few of us like Harvey and Stephen.

(since 2010, Carlo has been represented by 3-Wishes, who also represent, Stephen, Jason Paz, Philip Tan and Jay Anacleto)

Q: Sounds like there is quite a comics community in the Philippines. (prime example: there was even an issue of Silver Surfer earlier this year which had interiors by Harvey and Stephen and covers by Carlo)

A: We used to hang out in a mall in Manila. It was bowling alley, but now it is a toy store, so we can’t hang out there anymore. Now we meet at the food courts.

It is a close knitted community. We were disappointed with the mainstream industry, which closed down in the early 1990s. There are no major comic titles in the Philippines now, unlike when we had Alcala’s Voltar.

But you know what we envy most about people with day jobs? It’s that you get to interact with other people. So now with Google+, every night at about 10 pm till the wee hours, all of us will be video conferencing. Me, Stephen, Lenil, some Malaysian comic artists and even Singaporeans.

Q: It seems there are certain pairings for Filipino artists and inkers to work together on the same book. Like Lenil is inked by Gerry Alanguilan in the Ultimates line and Mark Millar books. In your case, you are inked by Jeffrey Huet for Planet Hulk, and Michael Jason Paz (an excellent artist in his own right) and Noah Salonga for Agents of Atlas. Are these arranged by the editors or you guys suggest them to the editors?

A: I live 2 hours away from the capitol, so it makes sense to work with people in the Philippines. We do suggest to the editors but it all depends on the scheduling. Usually it is my choice. But if it can’t work out, the editors will propose someone else.

Q: That's a great way to pass on jobs to fellow Filipinos. What is your favourite character?

A: Spiderman. But it will be difficult to draw a Spiderman comic because of all the background scenes of New York City. The good thing about Planet Hulk is that there are no design laws or principles!

Q: Which character would you like to work on next?

A: I have been drawing a lot of male characters, so I’d like to work on X23. (see sketch)

Q: What’s next?

A: I'll be doing more covers for Marvel, but it’s not announced yet, so I shouldn’t talk about it now. But I have been drawing more covers recently because I had to take a break 2 years ago. I had Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMJ).

Q: So what else should we check out?

A: Jay Tablante and his cosplay shoots of Elektra, Scarlet Witch, Emma Frost, Psylocke and X23. Sollen Heussaff and Barbie Forteza as X23! And my own blog, http://octographics.net/caloyblog/ .

Carlo drawing my own X23!

Tan Eng Huat's Silver Surfer

2011-08-20T06:28:00.010+08:00

Since the man is in town for STGCC and to launch his first portfolio at GnB, here's a tidbit about Eng Huat. He has done something that not even the great Jack Kirby had done - to give the Silver Surfer ears! Go check out his rendition of the cosmic crusader in Marvel Comics. Or grab those Surfer pages he has brought down to sell.

The silent reboot revolution. The ears have spoken.

Kai (IFS), Lefty, Slaium and Eng Huat (Gilamon)

Upcoming Events

2011-08-18T16:30:00.003+08:00

Quite a few things happening this weekend and the next few weeks.

Of course, we all know STGCC 2011 is on this Sat and Sun at Suntec City. No comics shops are involved this year. Not even GnB, who helped to bring in Brian Bolland and David Lloyd in the past. They will not be having a booth at STGCC. Instead, they are organizing their own Members Appreciation Night tomorrow at 5.30 pm. Guests are the Gilamon gang who will be launching their new Major Zombie comic there and also the sale of Tan Eng Huat's portfolio and original art. GnB is also helping to arrange the Gilamon appearance at Kinoukuniya on Saturday.

Gilamon will be at STGCC but they will be at the Planerds/Harris booth. Most local artists are not purchasing their own booth at the Artists' Alley, citing cost reasons. Most will be squatting at Planerds. The exception is Sonny Liew who will be launching his Malinky collection at STGCC. But if you miss him this weekend, there is another Malinky signing at Planerds on 27 Aug.

So competition, fragmentation or variety? Watch out for Comics Xchange, a 2-day event, which is supported by GnB among others and will include the 24Hour Comics Day 2011.

Sightings of local artists at STGCC at Planerds Booth

2011-08-13T15:20:00.003+08:00

20 and 21 August at Suntec City.

Saturday
1:00 Ken Foo and JC Wong
2:00 Kelvin Chan, Drewscape, and Troy Chin
3:00 Shawn Siow and Shawn Yap
4:00 Chea Sin Ann, Zhen Ye, and Jon Chan
5:00 Sonny Liew
6:00 Gilamon Studios

Sunday
1:00 Collateral Damage Studios
2:00 Collateral Damage Studios
3:00 Koh Hong Teng and Dave Chua
4:00 Jerry Hinds plus three younglings
5:00 JDC Amane plus two younglings
6:00 ACAS Digital Workshop

There might be Morgan Chua too.

SDCC Exclusives at Planerds

2011-08-13T15:16:00.002+08:00

This weekend.

Blazing Sword Voltron Action Figure
$75.00
Swamp Thing w/ Un-Men Action Figure $75.00
Green Lantern: Carol Ferris Barbie $87.50
Mez-Itz Green Lantern and Sinestro 2-Pack
$100.00
Kotobukiya Stormtrooper 2-Pack $225.00
Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Minimates $50.00
Thor Stormbreaker Minimates $50.00
Star Wars: Republic Commando AF Set $125.00
Doctor Who Tardis Bobble Head $50.00
Marvel vs. Capcom Minimates $50.00
DCU vs. MotU: Supergirl vs. She-Ra AF Set $100.00
DCU vs. MotU: Green Lantern vs. Zodac AF Set $100.00
DC Direct Flashpoint Zoom Action Figure $55.00
GI Joe/Transformers: Starscream w/ Cobra Commander $150.00
Indiana Jones Lost Wave Action Figure Collection $175.00
Star Wars Vintage Revenge of the Jedi AF Collection $350.00
Marvel Universe 16 inch Special Edition Sentinel AF $150.00
GI Joe: Zarana AF (regular version) $40.00
GI Joe: Zarana AF (Cold Slither variant) $60.00
My Little Pony 2011 Special Edition Pony $40.00
Transformers: Dark of the Moon Ultimate Optimus Prime $215.00
Transformers: Prime Optimus Prime Figure $55.00
Nerf N-Strike Transformers Barricade RV-10 Blaster $70.00
Marvel Mini Muggs: The Avengers 5-Pack $100.00
Marvel Mini Muggs: Spider-Man w/ Soft Mask $45.00
Marvel Legends Thor Action Figure w/ Exclusive Poster $70.00

Planerds Bestsellers for July 2011

2011-08-09T21:53:00.010+08:00

Planerds Bestsellers for July 2011

1. Fables v15: Rose Red TP

2. Marvel Avengers Character Encyclopedia HC

3. X-Men: Age of X HC

4. Captain America: The Death of Captain America v1 TP

5. Blackest Night TP

6. Blackest Night: Green Lantern TP

7. League of Extraordinary Gentlemen III: Century #2: 1969 TP

8. Doctor Who: The TARDIS Handbook HC

9. Deadpool: Dead Head Redemption TP

10. Walking Dead v14: No Way Out TP

Morgan's new book

2011-08-09T21:53:00.009+08:00

Morgan Chua's new book is out. A look at the life and times of Kwa Geok Choo. Available at Books Actually and Wardah Books at 58 Bussorah Road.

Reflections on Comics II

2011-07-25T16:24:00.001+08:00

"Hong Kong was opening up to foreign influences then, and I read and watched everything. I loved comic books. My first contact was through Japanese manga and then American superheroes, like Superman, Spider-man and Batman.
- Tsui Hark (The Straits Times, 20 July 2011)

According to this IHT interview, his Film Workshop office is filled with comic books and Godzilla figurines.

Best books I've read this year

2011-07-19T21:03:00.001+08:00

1. Paying For It by Chester Brown

2. Just Kids by Patti Smith (go watch the Dream of Life DVD after that)

3. A Visit From The Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (quick, which David Bowie song is this referencing?)

References to comics

2011-07-17T16:48:00.004+08:00

"I don't remember when exactly I read my first comic book, but I do remember exactly how liberated and subversive I felt as a result."
- Edward Said

"I marveled at her comic-book collection, stacks of them earned from a childhood spent in bed, every issue of Superman, Little Lulu, Classic Comics, and House of Mystery."
- Patti Smith, Just Kids

"The one place where there was real excitement was comic books. This really was the golden age of comics. Nearly one hundred million of them were being produced every month by the middle of the decade. It is almost impossible to imagine how central a place they played in the lives of the nation's youth - and indeed more than a few beyond youth. A survey of that time revealed that no fewer than 12% of the nation's teachers were devoted readers of comic books. (And that's the ones that admitted it, of course.)
- Bill Bryson, The Life and Times of The Thunderbolt Kid: Travels Through My Childhood

Bob Dylan setlist in Singapore on 15 April 2011

2011-07-17T09:10:00.001+08:00

Someone once told me a blog serves as an archive.

So I finally watched Dylan live.

Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking
It Ain't Me, Babe
Beyond Here Lies Nothin'
Tangled Up In Blue
Honest With Me
Simple Twist Of Fate
Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum
A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
Highway 61 Revisited
Love Sick
Thunder On The Mountain
Ballad Of A Thin Man

Encore:
Like A Rolling Stone
Forever Young

Now if only Bowie would come to Singapore again...

Where past and present fashions collide

2011-06-11T23:33:00.005+08:00

DC and Marvel properties have been selling for years. Throughout the years, various characters have been introduced. Superman first appeared in 1938, donning a costume that would have not been considered well designed by modern standards of fashion. His costume evolved, but remained similar to the one he donned in his debut. Some characters saw greater costume changes, permanently or temporarily. Spider-man wore black. Daredevil added grey to his usual red. Wonder Woman, Aquaman and Thor each saw a wide variety of costume changes.

And when comics put a hero like Spider-man or Captain America in their classic costumes, alongside a member of the Young Avengers, you not only see superheroes of different eras coming together, you also see the design sensibilities of different eras placed side by side. The fashions in the Marvel and DC universes are a mix of past and present designs. Superman's costume is far from tasteful if someone came up with such a design today. Look at Invincible (Image Comics), and the way the superheroes and villains are costumed. Many bright colours, but with hardly anyone wearing his or her underwear on the outside.

Updating costumes are a must for some characters that were invented many years ago. Changing iconic costumes may not go well with many fans, but they are a must if characters are to keep up with modern times. Superman lost his outer "underwear" once, when he turned blue (as well as red at one time). And looking at Jim Lee's designs for the upcoming company wide reboot, Superman will lose that iconic piece again. I hope they restore it.

Kino Bestsellers for May 2011

2011-06-05T11:25:00.002+08:00

1. FABLES VOLUME 15: ROSE RED TP
by BILL WILLINGHAM, MARK BUCKINGHAM

2. BRIGHTEST DAY VOLUME 2 HC
by GEOFF JOHNS, PETER J. TOMASI

3. BATMAN & ROBIN VOLUME 3: BATMAN MUST DIE DELUXE HC
by GRANT MORRISON, FRAZER IRVING, CAMERON STEWART

4. THOR: FOR ASGARD HC
by ROB RODI, SIMONE BIANCHI

5. BATMAN: THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE DELUXE EDITION HC
by GRANT MORRISON

6. Y THE LAST MAN DELUXE EDITION VOLUME 5 HC
by BRIAN K. VAUGHAN, PIA GUERRA

7. FABLES VOLUME 14: WITCHES TP
by BILL WILLINGHAM

8. VAMPIRE KNIGHT VOLUME 13
by MATSURI HINO

9. BAKUMAN VOLUME 4
by TSUGUMI OHBA, TAKESHI OBATA

10. HALO: FALL OF REACH BOOT CAMP PREMIERE HC
by BRIAN REED, FELIX LUIZ

Beyond superheroes

2011-05-28T22:22:00.004+08:00

In my primary and secondary school days, my idea of American comics was that most titles come either from Marvel or DC, or Archie comics. Comics such Maus were completely unknown to me. And so I avoided American comics during the ninties, which I know today was a very bad year for American comics. I mostly read Japanese manga in those years.

Then, in around 2005, I watched a documentary that charted the history of American comics. Needless to say, the show featured those three very well known comics. For me, Maus was the one that stood out amongst the three. It had no superheroes in it. Nevertheless, I first read Dark Knight Returns, followed by Watchmen. Back then, the national libraries had much fewer comic titles, unlike today. At some point, I got bored of the superhero comics and picked out Maus. And after reading Maus, I realized I had a taste for these artistic comics, for the lack of a better term. Not suprising, since I have already acquired a taste for independent and foreign films. By foreign I mean not coming from Hollywood.

If not for that documentary, I think I would never have went beyond superheroes in reading American comics. And I believe it is important to make kids aware, that comics can be more than just about superheroes, fantasy, sci-fi and humour strips. It is important to the development of the comics industry in Singapore at least.

Here's to the success of Marvel, DC and their film endeavours. May they attract more readers. It is not as if superhero comics are going to lose dominance.

Kino Bestsellers for April 2011

2011-05-05T17:19:00.003+08:00

1. FABLES VOLUME 15: ROSE RED
by BILL WILLINGHAM, MARK BUCKINGHAM

2. VAMPIRE KNIGHT VOLUME 13
by MATSURI HINO

3. BATMAN: THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE DELUXE EDITION HC
by GRANT MORRISON

4. UNWRITTEN VOLUME 3: DEAD MAN’S KNOCK
BY MIKE CAREY, PETER GROSS

5. BOYS VOLUME 8: HIGHLAND LADDIE
BY GARTH ENNIS, JOHN McCREA, KEITH BURNS

6. FABLES VOLUME 14: WITCHES
BY BILL WILLINGHAM

7. NARUTO VOLUME 50
BY MASASHI KISHIMOTO

8. STARCRAFT: GHOST ACADEMY VOLUME 3
BY FERNANDO HEINZ FURUKAWA

9. WORLD OF WARCRAFT: SHADOW WING VOLUME 2: NEXUS POINT
BY RICHARD A. KNAAK, JAE-HWAN KIM

10. BATMAN BEYOND: HUSH BEYOND
BY ADAM BEECHEN, RYAN BENJAMIN

New Geek Store/FCBD

2011-04-23T09:29:00.005+08:00

Harris is opening a new geek store at 313. It's called Harris Planerds, #04-25/28 of 313@somerset. Mascot designed by sonny.

Grand opening on 7 May, which is polling day. But they have managed to gather quite a few local artists to make instore appearances on that day. So don't just go to the polls, go to planerds as well.

Timing for artists' appearances:

130pm:
Koh Hong Teng
Dave Chua
Jerry Hinds
JDC Amane
Shawn Yap
Zhen Ye
Troy Chin

230pm:
Kelvin Chan
Stickgirl
Swee Chin Foo (FSc)
JC Wong
Sonny Liew

There will be autograph and sketching sessions.

7 May is also FCBD. So do head down to GnB Comics for their celebrations as well. Their usual 1 for 1 for graphic novels should be on.

fsc new webcomix

2011-04-23T09:21:00.000+08:00

Clairvoyance『クレアボヤンス』#1http://www.poco2.jp/comic/clairvoyance/

Liquid City 2 nominated for Best Anthology for 2011 Eisners

2011-04-08T10:51:00.002+08:00

Sonny told me the news yesterday and here are more details:

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2011/04/07/will-eisner-2011-nominations-announced/

So that's good news.

We're up against:

The Anthology Project, edited by Joy Ang and Nick Thornborrow (Lucidity Press)

Korea as Viewed by 12 Creators, edited by Nicolas Finet (Fanfare•Ponent Mon)

Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard, edited by Paul Morrissey and David Petersen (Archaia)

Trickster: Native American Tales, edited by Matt Dembicki (Fulcrum Books)

Results will be out at this year's Comic-Con on 22 July. ;)

Kino Bestsellers for Mar 2011

2011-04-04T14:02:00.002+08:00

1. JACK OF FABLES VOLUME 8: THE FULMINATE BLADE TP
by BILL WILLINGHAM, MATTHEW STURGES, TONY AKINS

2. BATMAN: TIME AND THE BATMAN HC
by GRANT MORRISON

3. NARUTO VOLUME 50
by MASASHI KISHIMOTO

4. BATMAN: THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE DELUXE EDITION HC
by GRANT MORRISON

5. FABLES VOLUME 14: WITCHES TP
by BILL WILLINGHAM

6. NEMESIS PREMIERE HC
by MARK MILLAR, STEVE McNIVEN

7.BLACK BUTLER VOLUME 4
by YANA TOBOSO

8. ULTIMATE COMICS THOR PREMIERE HC
by JONATHAN HICKMAN, CARLOS PACHECO

9. HETALIA: AXIS POWERS VOLUME 2 GN
by HIDEKAZ HIMARUYA

10. THANOS IMPERATIVE HC
by DAN ABNETT, ANDY LANNING, BRAD WALKER

SB2011

2011-03-15T19:38:00.002+08:00

Old friend Koh is getting good press for Artists in the News and deservingly so. Which goes to show that you need text, texture and context for the audience to engage with a work of art.

I also like Shooshie Sulaiman. Both of them are at 8Q.

Gempak's Coverage of STGCC 2010

2011-03-05T17:22:00.005+08:00

Here are a few pics of Gempak magazine's coverage of STGCC 2010. It appeared on issue #269 (01 Feb 2011). Gempak is a leading anime, comics & games magazine in Malaysia. It is published fortnightly in Bahasa Melayu. Click here for Gempak's official website.

• Cover of Gempak #269 (01 Feb 2011) featuring the art of popular Malaysian comic artist Zint.

• Page 1 & 2 of the article

• Page 3 & 4.

• Tan Eng Huat

• Harvey Tolibao & Leinil Francis Yu

• Gilamon Studio

• Bottom left: Gempak Starz artist with a fan. Bottom right: Gempak Starz Creative Director Kenny Chua

• G&B Comics

Kino Bestsellers Feb 2011

2011-03-02T22:01:00.003+08:00

1. NARUTO VOLUME 50
by MASASHI KISHIMOTO

2. NEMESIS PREMIERE HC
by MARK MILLAR, STEVE McNIVEN

3. BATMAN THE RETURN OF BRUCE WAYNE DELUXE EDITION HC
by GRANT MORRISON

4. INVINCIBLE IRON MAN VOL 6: STARK RESILIENT BOOK 2 PREMIERE HC
by MATT FRACTION, SALVADOR LARROCA

5. BLACK BUTLER VOLUME 4
by YANA TOBOSO

6. FLASH:DASTARDLY DEATH OF THE ROGUES HC
by GEOFF JOHNS, FRANCIS MANAPUL

7. SHADOWLAND PREMIERE HC
by ANDY DIGGLE, BILLY TAN

8. FABLES VOLUME 14 WITCHES TP
by BILL WILLINGHAM

9. MAGISTER NEGI MAGI VOLUME 27
by KEN AKAMATSU

10. AIR VOLUME 4 A HISTORY OF THE FUTURE TP
by G.WILLOW WILSON, M.K. PERKER

Major Zombie Love & Loss reviewed on CBR

2011-02-23T11:40:00.003+08:00

Lefty's Major Zombie: Love & Loss graphic novel is reviewed in the 20 Feb installment of CBR (Comic Book Resources) Comics Should Be Good column. Major Zombie: Love & Loss was launch during the last STGCC and it is currently still available at G&B Comics (Block 1 Rochor Center, tel: 6837 2280), Prologue @Ion and all Kinokuniya outlets.

Here is part of the review by Brian Cronin:

Every day this month I’ll be reviewing a different independent comic book, based on submissions from the creators of the comic books themselves.

The month continues with Major Zombie: Love and Loss, by Lefty and Tan Eng Huat, a real treat of a comic…

Gilamon Comics is a Malaysian independent comic book company founded by a trio of comic book artists: Lefty, Michael Chuah, and Chi Sau Lim. Recently, Tan Eng Huat (who has done a number of projects for Marvel and DC, including the very recent Thor: First Thunder series) has begun to work with them, as well. Tan Eng Huat draws the first of two stories in this magazine-sized, full-color magazine, while Lefty writes both stories and draws the second.

The gist of Major Zombie is as follows – a Superman analogue, Supreme-Man, gets turned into a zombie saving a young female adventurer. He has lost much of his original power, but he is still pretty darn powerful, and continues as a superhero known as Major Zombie, along with the female adventurer, Kaktus, as his sidekick (as obviously she feels indebted to him).

What’s interesting about this series is that Lefty, on his own, is a talented comic book artist. Here are a couple of his pages… (read the rest of the article here)

Tatsumi trailer

2011-02-15T16:48:00.001+08:00

It looks good.

http://vimeo.com/19421129

Women Manga Conference in Feb 2011

2011-02-02T23:01:00.002+08:00

I'm involved in this. Do drop by if you are free.

http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/jps/research/womens_manga_beyond_japan.htm

http://web.mac.com/happy_possum/iWeb/Women%27s%20MANGA%20Research%20Project/About%20Us.html

Weekly Bestsellers at Comics World

2011-02-02T22:48:00.004+08:00

Dec 2010: December Batman The Dark Knight #1

Jan 2011:

Jan 6 week: Avengers Prime #5, Thanos Imperative Devastation One Shot

Jan 13 week: Spawn #200, Incredible Hulks #620, Batman and Robin #19

Jan 20 week: Amazing Spiderman #652, Batman #706, Brightest Day #18, Invincible Iron Man #500

Jan 27 week: Chaos War #5, Chaos War X-men #2, Uncanny X-Force #4, Uncanny X Men #532 and Fantastic Four #587

I was told Spawn #200 was a world sell out as well.
Thanks to Bill Teoh of Comics World. He's been in the business for more than 20 years - salute!

Comics World B1-22, Park Lane Shopping Mall 35, Selegie Road Singapore 188307. Tel/fax: +65 63396413. Email: comicswl@singnet.com.sg

Go buy your comics from them.

Kino Bestsellers Jan 2011

2011-02-02T22:41:00.002+08:00

1. FABLES VOLUME 14
by BILL WILLINGHAM, MARK BUCKINGHAM

2. OURAN HIGH HOST CLUB VOLUME 7
by BISCO HATORI

3. GONE CASE GRAPHIC NOVEL BOOK 1
by DAVE CHUA, KOH HONG TENG

4. HETALIA AXIS POWERS VOLUME 2 GN
by HIDEKAZ HIMARUYA

5. HOUSE OF MYSTERY VOLUME 5: UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT TP
by MATTHEW STURGES

6. NEKO RAMEN VOLUME 3: CAT AFTER ALL GN
by KENJI SONISHI

7. ALCHEMIST: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL HC
by PAULO COELHO

8. CINDERELLA FROM FABLETOWN WITH LOVE TP
by CHRIS ROBERSON, CHRISSIE ZULLO

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

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

Nice to see Gone Case selling well. And now I know the 3rd vol of Neko Ramen is out. Cinderella is on the chart 2nd month running. Maybe I should check it out.

Supermodels and a Superhero

2011-01-21T15:58:00.002+08:00

If Models, Inc. (Marvel) is meant to attract new female readers to Marvel comics, it fails doing so. At the heart of the story is a murder mystery which is not very interesting, considering what we get from comics and other media these days. The only things interesting about the miniseries are the floppy covers, Patsy Walker in superhero action, and Chili Storm’s humorous attempts at being a costumed hero. There is a cameo by Johnny Storm who is dating one of the supermodels at the time of the story.

The covers for Models, Inc. imitate covers for Women magazines, which is nicely drawn. One problem is that the cover headlines make references that only Marvel fans can understand. The story juggles a large cast of characters including a lawyer who is homosexual. Why mention that he is gay when it has no bearing on the plots? I think Models, Inc. caters more to Marvel fans who have no idea who these model characters are and are curious to find out. For female readers who want a good read, there are other better choices.

Kino Bestsellers Dec 2010

2011-01-16T22:46:00.003+08:00

1. FABLES VOLUME 14
by BILL WILLINGHAM, MARK BUCKINGHAM

2. BRIGHTEST DAY VOLUME 1 HC
by GEOFF JOHNS, PETER J. TOMASI

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

4. CINDERELLA FROM FABLETOWN WITH LOVE TP
by CHRIS ROBERSON, CHRISSIE ZULLO

5. V FOR VENDETTA TP (NEW EDITION)
by ALAN MOORE, DAVID LLOYD, SHANE DAVIS

6. ARCHIE MARRIES..70 YEARS IN MAKING SLIPCASE HC
by MICHAEL USLAN, STAN GOLDBERG, BOB SMITH

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

8. RESIDENT TOURIST PART 4
by TROY CHIN

9. WALKING DEAD VOL 13 TOO FAR GONE TP
by ROBERT KIRKMAN, CHARLIE ADLARD

10. HETALIA AXIS POWERS VOL 1 GN
by HIDEKAZ HIMARUYA

Basic Manga Drawing @ NUS Museum - Jan 29 to Feb 19 2011

2011-01-15T20:50:00.000+08:00

http://www.nus.edu.sg/museum/eflyers/Basic_Manga_Drawing_Jan_29_2011.html

Zombie this, zombie that

2011-01-12T23:20:00.003+08:00

28 Days Later, Left 4 Dead, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies... the list goes on. The success of The Walking Dead TV adaptation is a good indication that Zombimania is far from over. Both DC and Marvel had their turn as well with Blackest Night and Marvel Zombies. Blackest Night is quite nice to read, but I felt that the build up to it was rushed by introducing all those lantern corps so quickly. Slow introduction of each corps might have allowed for more stories, like the Sinestro Corp Wars. But I guess DC wanted to capitalize on the zombie craze while at its peak. Marvel Zombies started out great and fun at first. Seeing your well known superheroes going crazy and violent. But it got increasingly boring with each new series. In the end, it is going to end up with continuity issues and such.

Then there is Super Zombies (Dynamite Entertainment), a high concept title written by Marc Guggenheim. For me it is not a good read. I gave up reading the series by the third issue. This zombie thing is really too much.

Dec 2010 Comics Bestsellers for { prologue } and Harris

2011-01-11T21:07:00.001+08:00

Comics bestsellers for { prologue } in December:

1. Liquid City v1 GN

2. Liquid City v2 GN

3. Archie Marries… HC

4. Gone Case GN

5. My Faith in Frankie GN

6. Naruto v48

7. Re-Gifters GN

8. Pokemon Adventures v34

9. Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief GN

10. The Resident Tourist v3

Comics bestsellers for HARRIS in December:

1. Peanuts 60th Anniversary Book Slipcase HC

2. Liquid City v1 GN

3. Adventures of Tin Tin Box Set

4. Blackest Night: Green Lantern Corps HC

5. Scott Pilgrim v2: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World GN

6. Scott Pilgrim v5: Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe GN

7. Scott Pilgrim v4: Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together GN

8. Scott Pilgrim v3: Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness GN

9. Asterix and Obelix’s Birthday: The Golden Book HC

10. Bone v5: Rockjaw, Master of the Eastern Border SC

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

New Year's Day

2011-01-01T16:52:00.002+08:00

Spent the day reading Kenji Sonishi's Neko Ramen and watching Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World on DVD.

Harvey Tolibao

2010-12-29T23:03:00.002+08:00

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

2010-12-29T12:16:00.002+08:00

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?

2010-12-29T00:48:00.004+08:00

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.

You have been judged and found wanting...

2010-12-15T20:32:00.002+08:00

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.

The one that started it

2010-12-13T08:47:00.005+08:00

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.

Eileen Chang

2010-12-07T21:32:00.003+08:00

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

2010-12-07T21:28:00.002+08:00

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

The Galerie Hotel, Taichung plays Elvis during breakfast

2010-12-04T10:16:00.000+08:00

King.

STGCC panels

2010-12-03T06:57:00.001+08:00

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

2010-12-03T06:45:00.008+08:00

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

Best Sellers for Prologue Nov 2010

2010-12-02T22:07:00.003+08:00

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

Taipei Dec 2010

2010-11-28T00:46:00.001+08:00

Didn't find Norwegian Wood but managed to meet Kafka on the Shore.

{prologue} and Harris Bestselling Graphic Novels List Oct 2010

2010-11-09T17:50:00.003+08:00

Thanks to Adan of {prologue}, here are the bestsellers from {prologue} and Harris (all 3 stores) for the month of October.

{ prologue }
1. Scott Pilgrim v6: Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour
2. Scott Pilgrim v1: Scott Pilgrim'S Precious Little Life
3. Scott Pilgrim v3: Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness
4. Naruto v48
5. Scott Pilgrim v2: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
6. Scott Pilgrim v5: Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe
7. Scott Pilgrim v4: Scott Pilgrim Gets it Together
8. Anne Frank Authorized Graphic Biography
9. Naruto v47
10. Conan and the Demons of Khitai TPB

HARRIS
1. Invincible Iron Man v2 HC: World's Most Wanted Book 1
2. Scott Pilgrim v1: Scott Pilgrim'S Precious Little Life
3. Kick-Ass Premiere HC
4. Peanuts 60th Anniversary Book
5. Naruto v40
6. Pokemon Adventures v29
7. Captain America: The Chosen Premiere HC
8. Infinity Gauntlet Premiere HC
9. Spider-Man: The Complete Clone Saga Epic Book 1
10. Scott Pilgrim v2: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Looks like Scott Pilgrim continues to be the champion. I'm a latecomer to the series but I enjoy it.
Heard the movie is good too so looking forward to that.

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

Darby

2010-11-05T15:22:00.005+08:00

The debut that Ken Foo deserves.

Of course, Ken has done lots of other shit before this.

There's Dragon Glade from 2005 that Ken would rather have all copies burnt. But I'm holding on to my copy.

There're the mini comics he printed for the 1st STCC in 2008, which were compiled in Freedom Love Forever.

The story he did for Liquid City Vol 1, which was also compiled in Freedom Love Forever.

Freedom Love Forever.
http://kenfoo.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/freedom-love-forever-2/

And The Diary of Date King drawn by Ken and written by Adrian Teo. (publisher of Freedom Love Forever and the first 2 volumes of Troy Chin's The Resident Tourist)
http://kenfoo.wordpress.com/2010/03/24/the-diary-of-date-king/

And now, Little Disturbed Darby and the Melancholy Monsters, a hc b&w children's book that is actually not meant for children. Parents should unwrap this to check the content before buying it for their kids. Nightmares guaranteed.

But in reality, fairy tales are dark. Hansel and Gretel pushing that nice old lady into the oven? C'mon.

The first half of Darby reads like your typical too clever by half children's book - everything nice and jolly. The second half is classic Ken Foo, which is sick, sick, SICK.

But I take that back. It's actually sad, sad, SAD. It's true that at our core we are truly utterly alone. Maybe it's not something we want to tell our kids now, but sooner or later they will learn this. Our lives are mundane.

Ken always wanted to do a children's book, although he has not read many to form any preconceived notions of how/what a children's books should be. So this is unadulterated Ken Foo. Written/drawn/self-published.

Only 500 copies printed. Go get.

http://kenfoo.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/little-disturbed-darby-the-melancholy-monsters/

Ken will be at Prologue/ION on 6 Nov 2010, 2 pm. He needs your hug.

Kino Bestsellers Oct 2010

2010-11-04T17:23:00.002+08:00

1. NARUTO VOLUME 49
by MASASHI KISHIMOTO

2. CINDERELLA FROM FABLETOWN WITH LOVE
by CHRIS ROBERSON, CHRISSIE ZULLO

3. LIQUID CITY VOLUME 2
by SONNY LIEW (EDITOR), LIM CHENG TJU (EDITOR)

4. VAMPIRE KNIGHT OFFICIAL FANBOOK
by MATSURI HINO

5. BATMAN: LIFE AFTER DEATH HC
by TONY S. DANIEL

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

7. WORLD OF WARCRAFT SHAMAN GN
by PAUL BENJAMIN, ROCIO ZUCCHI

8. STAR WARS: THE FORCE UNLEASHED VOL 2
by HAYDEN BLACKMAN, OMAR FRANCIA

9. IRREDEEMABLE VOLUME 4
by MARK WAID, DIEGO BARRETTO

10. AMERICAN VAMPIRE VOLUME 1 HC
by SCOTT SNYDER, STEPHEN KING

Deirram on erom

2010-10-26T01:35:00.004+08:00

The idea of changing Spider-Man’s life with magic turned out better than I had expected. The Amazing Spider-Man had been quite dark before. Arcs like The Other are real intense, but not very interesting to me. It was a chance to beat up Spider-Man badly again (as if Kraven’s Last Hunt is not enough).

But now all that dark stuff is gone, and amazingly, Spider-Man is updated for this period of time. These new Spider-Man stories bring a lot of humanity. Just amazing. One of my favourite changes is Chameleon, back to his old self. No more fancy gadgets, but tons of creepiness. And what about the return of the original Rhino, where he had to battle the new one? I have never seen Rhino, the original one that is, in such glory. Pure, unbridled brute power and full of fury. That is what Rhino should have been, not some dumb comical villain who gets his horn stuck in something.

And what about all that drama Peter has to go through? What about the return of Harry Osborn? Bringing him back to the life is a huge bend in continuity. But who cares when you see him hang out with Peter. Peter now has a buddy again. It is just amazing. This is a wonderful franchise reboot.

Oh, and if you didn't figure it out...... Zatanna.

Where is the love?

2010-10-09T19:59:00.004+08:00

Having told two Christians that I am an agnostic, they took the chance to preach to me. At some point, they asked me what I wish to do with people in life. And I told them I want to help. In reply, they pulled out one of the most utterly unbelievable religious arguments ever heard: if you do not believe in God and there is no God, then humans must have no value. It is God that gives humans value. And then they ask me, ”Why do you want to help people if they are worthless?”

If you do not love your neighbour, have tolerance at least, regardless of race, language, religion or ideology. Yes, I know not all Christians think in religious extremities.

Here’s to John Lennon.

Kino Bestsellers Sept 2010

2010-10-01T11:46:00.001+08:00

1. CINDERELLA FROM FABLETOWN WITH LOVE
by CHRIS ROBERSON, SHAWN MCMANUS

2. INVINCIBLE IRON MAN VOL 5: STARK RESILIENT BOOK 1
by MATT FRACTION, SALVADOR LARROCA

3. SCOTT PILGRIM’S PRECIOUS LITTLE LIFE VOL 1
by BRYAN LEE O’MALLEY

4. MAGISTER NEGI MAGI VOL 26
by KEN AKAMATSU

5. OTOMEN VOL 10
by AYA KANNO

6. SCOTT PILGRIM’S FINEST HOUR VOL 6
by BRYAN LEE O’MALLEY

7. THE AMAZING SCREW-ON HEAD AND OTHER CURIOUS OBJECTS
by MIKE MIGNOLA

8. SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD VOL 2
by BRYAN LEE O’MALLEY

9. BLACKEST NIGHT
by GEOFF JOHNS

10. NARUTO VOLUME 48
by MASASHI KISHIMOTO

Breaking News

2010-09-25T08:31:00.001+08:00

Malaysian cartoonist detained.

http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/2010/09/zunar-detained-by-police-but-cartoon-o.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMAxGorj0t8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmMtnZ6Gor8&feature=related