The Resident Tourist is the discovery of 2008.
Check out Derek's interview with Troy Chin:
http://textfiend.net/zerohero/?p=636
www.drearyweary.com
Monday, August 18, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Dispatches
2008 is a year of anniversaries.
1. Superman was born 70 years ago, Action Comics #1. Cover dated June 1938, that marked the first appearance of the Man of Steel.
Some would argue that Batman is cooler, but despite wearing his red underwear on the outside for seven decades, getting killed, resurrected and hitched (a fate worse than death?), Supes is still my man. Perhaps more than truth, justice and the American way, Superman represents the possibilities that we can achieve, to reach for the stars with that Boy Scout outlook intact.
Incidentally, when I was chatting with the legendary comics retailer/historian, Robert Beerbohm at SDCC, he told me he has a copy of Superman #1 in his collection. Eh, the Southeast Asian edition licensed from DC Comics back in 1958. It was printed in Singapore and was meant for the regional market. So Supes made his ‘official’ appearance in Singapore/Southeast Asia 50 years ago, just a year before we gain self-government from the British.
So did the possibilities offer by Superman inspired the PAP Old Guard? Did LKY read comic books?
I wonder.
2. 60 years ago, the Malayan Emergency broke out and changed the political landscape of Singapore. It is interesting how art and pop culture inform our sense of the past. Just as Superman’s 70th birthday probably meant more to me than this year’s national day celebrations, the outbreak of the Malayan Emergency 60 years ago is more significant for the brief period of Malayan Spring that preceded it.
When the British returned to Malaya and Singapore after WWII, they allowed the various political and cultural groups to flourish. The Malayan Communist Party was a legitimate party and cultural publications and activities were reaching out to the masses at a scale hardly seen today.
Sure, some of the works (including comics!) done were socialist and prevalent of the mood of the times. But it was a period of creativity that saw literary works talking about the plight of the common man, plays that depicted social injustice and songs that inspired the workers.
Go check out this new book on that brief period of Malayan Spring:
Paths Not Taken: Political Pluralism in Postwar Singapore, edited by
by Michael Barr and Carl A. Trocki. (Singapore University Press)
3. 40 years ago saw the landmark student radicalism of Mai 68 (May 68) manifesting itself in the streets of Paris. It is an event that is unlikely to be celebrated here. I was in Paris in early June and Mai 68 remained important in the historical consciousness of Parisians. A moment of youthful rebellion against conservatism and the old order, Mai 68 continues to inspire artists and culture in Europe just as the event itself was informed by the counterculture of the 60s (rock music, movies, Guy Debord and the Situationists).
[I stand corrected on the limited impact of Mai 68 on Singapore. Artists like Tang Da Wu were heavily inspired by the spirit of Mai 68. I hooked up with Da Wu in London before heading on to Paris and he was the one who insisted I must attend an exhibition of Mai 68 posters and brought me and the wife there.]
As I walked around Paris attending the Mai 68 related exhibitions, the bookshops and visiting the Latin Quarter (the heart of the action), I got a sense of the pop culture happenings that continue to inspire the young. I turned a corner and there’s a comic shop. Someone was busking along the sidewalk. It’s good to be in Paris in June.
1. Superman was born 70 years ago, Action Comics #1. Cover dated June 1938, that marked the first appearance of the Man of Steel.
Some would argue that Batman is cooler, but despite wearing his red underwear on the outside for seven decades, getting killed, resurrected and hitched (a fate worse than death?), Supes is still my man. Perhaps more than truth, justice and the American way, Superman represents the possibilities that we can achieve, to reach for the stars with that Boy Scout outlook intact.
Incidentally, when I was chatting with the legendary comics retailer/historian, Robert Beerbohm at SDCC, he told me he has a copy of Superman #1 in his collection. Eh, the Southeast Asian edition licensed from DC Comics back in 1958. It was printed in Singapore and was meant for the regional market. So Supes made his ‘official’ appearance in Singapore/Southeast Asia 50 years ago, just a year before we gain self-government from the British.
So did the possibilities offer by Superman inspired the PAP Old Guard? Did LKY read comic books?
I wonder.
2. 60 years ago, the Malayan Emergency broke out and changed the political landscape of Singapore. It is interesting how art and pop culture inform our sense of the past. Just as Superman’s 70th birthday probably meant more to me than this year’s national day celebrations, the outbreak of the Malayan Emergency 60 years ago is more significant for the brief period of Malayan Spring that preceded it.
When the British returned to Malaya and Singapore after WWII, they allowed the various political and cultural groups to flourish. The Malayan Communist Party was a legitimate party and cultural publications and activities were reaching out to the masses at a scale hardly seen today.
Sure, some of the works (including comics!) done were socialist and prevalent of the mood of the times. But it was a period of creativity that saw literary works talking about the plight of the common man, plays that depicted social injustice and songs that inspired the workers.
Go check out this new book on that brief period of Malayan Spring:
Paths Not Taken: Political Pluralism in Postwar Singapore, edited by
by Michael Barr and Carl A. Trocki. (Singapore University Press)
3. 40 years ago saw the landmark student radicalism of Mai 68 (May 68) manifesting itself in the streets of Paris. It is an event that is unlikely to be celebrated here. I was in Paris in early June and Mai 68 remained important in the historical consciousness of Parisians. A moment of youthful rebellion against conservatism and the old order, Mai 68 continues to inspire artists and culture in Europe just as the event itself was informed by the counterculture of the 60s (rock music, movies, Guy Debord and the Situationists).
[I stand corrected on the limited impact of Mai 68 on Singapore. Artists like Tang Da Wu were heavily inspired by the spirit of Mai 68. I hooked up with Da Wu in London before heading on to Paris and he was the one who insisted I must attend an exhibition of Mai 68 posters and brought me and the wife there.]
As I walked around Paris attending the Mai 68 related exhibitions, the bookshops and visiting the Latin Quarter (the heart of the action), I got a sense of the pop culture happenings that continue to inspire the young. I turned a corner and there’s a comic shop. Someone was busking along the sidewalk. It’s good to be in Paris in June.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Morgan Chua Signing on 16 Aug at Kino
Do drop by if you're in the area. I interviewed Morgan two weeks ago but the local papers weren't interested. TNP did have a write-up on Morgan in today's edition.
My review of the original My Singapore back in 2000.
www.singapore-window.org/sw00/000730st.htm
HOT OFF THE PRESS!
My Singapore
Sketches by Morgan Chua
Marshall Cavendish Editions ● Available at major bookstores from August 2008 (Book launch at Kinokuniya on 16 August 2008, 4.30pm) Retail Price S$23 (before GST) ● ISBN 978 981 261 614 2
No topic is taboo and Chua sharpens his pencil as he draws popular icons like P Ramlee as well as local and international politicians. Readers will be thoroughly entertained and enlightened as they laugh their way through the book through it's feature of entertaining vignettes and key events in Singapore's history. The fun and quirky cartoons poke fun at one and all!
About the Author
Singaporean born cartoonist Morgan Chua first found fame as a cartoonist in Hong Kong when he joined the Far Eastern Economic Review. His keen wit and observation was translated into well-received single panels of political cartoons. In his career, he has done caricatures of all the newsmakers around the world including Singapore.
This world-classed cartoonist who has returned to live in the Lion City now turns his hand on a revised edition of his earlier published work My Singapore, which tells the history of the nation in his own unique way—with barbed perceptiveness, concisely but impactful imagery and a visual eloquence that is unmatched in the region.
My review of the original My Singapore back in 2000.
www.singapore-window.org/sw00/000730st.htm
HOT OFF THE PRESS!
My Singapore
Sketches by Morgan Chua
Marshall Cavendish Editions ● Available at major bookstores from August 2008 (Book launch at Kinokuniya on 16 August 2008, 4.30pm) Retail Price S$23 (before GST) ● ISBN 978 981 261 614 2
No topic is taboo and Chua sharpens his pencil as he draws popular icons like P Ramlee as well as local and international politicians. Readers will be thoroughly entertained and enlightened as they laugh their way through the book through it's feature of entertaining vignettes and key events in Singapore's history. The fun and quirky cartoons poke fun at one and all!
About the Author
Singaporean born cartoonist Morgan Chua first found fame as a cartoonist in Hong Kong when he joined the Far Eastern Economic Review. His keen wit and observation was translated into well-received single panels of political cartoons. In his career, he has done caricatures of all the newsmakers around the world including Singapore.
This world-classed cartoonist who has returned to live in the Lion City now turns his hand on a revised edition of his earlier published work My Singapore, which tells the history of the nation in his own unique way—with barbed perceptiveness, concisely but impactful imagery and a visual eloquence that is unmatched in the region.
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Jerry Robinson
Some thoughts on attending SDCC. Was at Preview Night with Ian Gordon and chanced upon Jerry Robinson signing b&w Joker prints at the DC booth. It was a short queue. So here's the creator of the Joker who is currently played by the late Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, but no one really knows that or care.
I first met Jerry in 2000 in his NYC office. One of the surviving greats still with us today.
I first met Jerry in 2000 in his NYC office. One of the surviving greats still with us today.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Bestselling Comics at Kino for July 08
Kinokuniya Bookstores (S) P/L
(for the week of 01/07/2008 to 31/07/2008)
TOP 10 COMIC BESTSELLERS
1. THE GOOD PRINCE (FABLES VOLUME 10)
by BILL WILLINGHAM, ET. AL.
2. WANTED
by MARK MILLAR, ET. AL.
3. BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE
by ALAN MOORE, BRIAN BOLLAND
4. Y: THE LAST MAN: VOLUME 10: WHYS AND WHEREFORES
by BRIAN K. VAUGHAN, ET. AL.
5. THE BAD PRINCE (JACK OF FABLES VOLUME 3)
by BILL WILLINGHAM, ET. AL.
6. OURAN HIGH HOST CLUB VOLUME 12
by BISCO HATORI
7. BATMAN: DARK KNIGHT RETURNS
by FRANK MILLER, ET. AL.
8. WATCHMAN
by ALAN MOORE, DAVE GIBBONS
9. VENOM BOMB (MIGHTY AVENGERS VOLUME 2)
by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS, MARK BAGLEY
10. KILLED IN ACTION (AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE VOLUME 2)
by DAN SLOTT, ET. AL.
NB: This makes The Killing Joke the perennial bestseller in this list for the last few months. Of course, this could be the The Dark Knight movie effect as Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns is here as well. Movies dominate as seen in Watchmen and Wanted. What's interesting is the two Fables collections (caught up with old friend Steve Leiahola at SDCC) and the Avengers. Y made an appearance as that's the finale.
(for the week of 01/07/2008 to 31/07/2008)
TOP 10 COMIC BESTSELLERS
1. THE GOOD PRINCE (FABLES VOLUME 10)
by BILL WILLINGHAM, ET. AL.
2. WANTED
by MARK MILLAR, ET. AL.
3. BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE
by ALAN MOORE, BRIAN BOLLAND
4. Y: THE LAST MAN: VOLUME 10: WHYS AND WHEREFORES
by BRIAN K. VAUGHAN, ET. AL.
5. THE BAD PRINCE (JACK OF FABLES VOLUME 3)
by BILL WILLINGHAM, ET. AL.
6. OURAN HIGH HOST CLUB VOLUME 12
by BISCO HATORI
7. BATMAN: DARK KNIGHT RETURNS
by FRANK MILLER, ET. AL.
8. WATCHMAN
by ALAN MOORE, DAVE GIBBONS
9. VENOM BOMB (MIGHTY AVENGERS VOLUME 2)
by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS, MARK BAGLEY
10. KILLED IN ACTION (AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE VOLUME 2)
by DAN SLOTT, ET. AL.
NB: This makes The Killing Joke the perennial bestseller in this list for the last few months. Of course, this could be the The Dark Knight movie effect as Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns is here as well. Movies dominate as seen in Watchmen and Wanted. What's interesting is the two Fables collections (caught up with old friend Steve Leiahola at SDCC) and the Avengers. Y made an appearance as that's the finale.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Best Selling Comics for Kinokuniya (June 08)
(for the week of 01/06/2008 to 30/06/2008)
TOP 10 COMIC BESTSELLERS
1. THE GOOD PRINCE (FABLES VOLUME 10)
by BILL WILLINGHAM, ET. AL.
2. Y: THE LAST MAN: VOLUME 10: WHYS AND WHEREFORES
by BRIAN K. VAUGHAN, ET. AL.
3. HULK: WORLD WAR HULK
by GREG PAK, ET. AL.
4. WANTED
by MARK MILLAR, ET. AL.
5. BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE
by ALAN MOORE, BRIAN BOLLAND
6. ASTONISHING X-MEN VOLUME 4: UNSTOPPABLE
by JOSS WHEDON, JOHN CASSADAY
7. ALL-STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER, VOLUME 1
by FRANK MILLER, ET. AL
8. THE BAD PRINCE (JACK OF FABLES VOLUME 3)
by BILL WILLINGHAM, ET. AL.
9. MARVEL ZOMBIES 2
by ROBERT KIRKMAN, ET. AL.
10. COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS VOLUME 1
by PAUL DINI
TOP 10 COMIC BESTSELLERS
1. THE GOOD PRINCE (FABLES VOLUME 10)
by BILL WILLINGHAM, ET. AL.
2. Y: THE LAST MAN: VOLUME 10: WHYS AND WHEREFORES
by BRIAN K. VAUGHAN, ET. AL.
3. HULK: WORLD WAR HULK
by GREG PAK, ET. AL.
4. WANTED
by MARK MILLAR, ET. AL.
5. BATMAN: THE KILLING JOKE
by ALAN MOORE, BRIAN BOLLAND
6. ASTONISHING X-MEN VOLUME 4: UNSTOPPABLE
by JOSS WHEDON, JOHN CASSADAY
7. ALL-STAR BATMAN AND ROBIN, THE BOY WONDER, VOLUME 1
by FRANK MILLER, ET. AL
8. THE BAD PRINCE (JACK OF FABLES VOLUME 3)
by BILL WILLINGHAM, ET. AL.
9. MARVEL ZOMBIES 2
by ROBERT KIRKMAN, ET. AL.
10. COUNTDOWN TO FINAL CRISIS VOLUME 1
by PAUL DINI
STCC: The Aftermath
I ain't much of a blogger, but here are some that talk about the event. I was there on preview night and Sunday afternoon. Happening!
http://sonnyliew.livejournal.com/
http://www.collateralds.com/
http://sirfong.blogspot.com/
http://textfiend.net/zerohero/
http://sonnyliew.livejournal.com/
http://www.collateralds.com/
http://sirfong.blogspot.com/
http://textfiend.net/zerohero/
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