Review: The Prince of Persia (First Second)

This one is an oddity. It is supposedly based on the original video game of the same name. However, the only connections to the source material are a prince and Persia. The book is not even mainstream, which is probably one of the reasons why First Second was willing to publish it. The other reason is quality.

As I mentioned; not mainstream. Action is relatively low; no acrobatic jumps, no complex sword fights, but lots of mysticism. The copy I had, a library one, was in rather good condition. You are less likely to see mainstream books in such conditions.

The Prince of Persia looks to Arabian Nights (or One Thousand and One Nights) for inspiration. And this is what you get; a throwback to old Arabian tales. Like most books published by First Second, you can expect this one to be of similar quality, that is if you know what that is. I know I am not being explicit, but given the kind of books I read, I doubt anyone who reads only mainstream comics would bother with it. For those who read alternative comics, I suppose I have written enough. Just knowing the book is in the style of Arabian Nights and not the video game is enough to get me to pick it up.

Unfortunate Lives Still

I attended the book launch of Teo Soh Lung's Beyond the Blue Gate over the weekend.

This is a little-known story related to Teo Soh Lung. In 1989, Eric Khoo released his first graphic novel, Unfortunate Lives. The last story in that collection is about a woman who was detained for many years for her political beliefs. The woman in that story was inspired by Teo Soh Lung.

Soh Lung is the sister of Teo Eng Seng, who had taught Eric Khoo art when he was studying at United World College. However, due to objections from the publishers, Eric had to change the story to be set in South Africa. However, if you look at the art, it is still a Chinese woman who is been portrayed in the story.

Unfortunately, the shadow of 1987 still hangs over us today.

Those who love us best...

Have been listening to Big Star and The Replacements since Alex Chilton passed away some months ago. It all comes together when I listened to Bastards of the Young on my ipod while walking down Tenjin looking for Mandrake.

"God, what a mess, on the ladder of success
Where you take one step and miss the whole first rung
Dreams unfulfilled, graduate unskilled
It beats pickin' cotton and waitin' to be forgotten

We are the sons of no one, bastards of young
We are the sons of no one, bastards of young
The daughters and the sons

Clean your baby womb, trash that baby boom
Elvis in the ground, there'll ain't no beer tonight
Income tax deduction, what a hell of a function
It beats pickin' cotton and waitin' to be forgotten

We are the sons of no one, bastards of young
We are the sons of no one, bastards of young
The daughters and the sons

Unwillingness to claim us, ya got no word to name us

The ones who love us best are the ones we'll lay to rest
And visit their graves on holidays at best
The ones who love us least are the ones we'll die to please
If it's any consolation, I don't begin to understand them

We are the sons of no one, bastards of young
We are the sons of no one, bastards of young
The daughters and the sons"


As working adults, we can all identify with the lines "Those who love us least are the ones we die to please."
It's sad that "Those who love us best are the ones we lay to rest. Visit their graves on holidays at best."

We should spend more time with our loved ones and appreciate them. Even if the time is short, it's about cherishing the moment at hand, making every second counts.

Eternity or a day? Sometimes, a day is all we need to last a lifetime.

Review: Token

Token (Minx) is a rather generic, coming-of-age, teenage girl tale. The lead, Shira, is your usual troubled teen without a mother; the kind who is unpopular in high school. But then a Latino boy comes around to heat things up.

Shira is pretty average for the genre, getting all emo and whiny when problems occur. But the interactions between her and the supporting casts remind me of Bendis; fast, snappy dialogues. Then there is the Shira’s interesting neighbour, Minerva, who acts as a mother figure, filling in a void Shira’s father cannot. Generic, but well executed, except may be the resolution is a little uncomprehensive.

This is the third Minx book I have read to date. And if you are a guy, I really recommend trying out books from the imprint, unless you are only attracted to sex and violence when it comes to comics.

The last post

The Free Press, 11 August 1951, Saturday.



The Free Press, 18 August 1951.

That's it. The only 2 cartoons for 1951.

This is the end of the Kwan project. A total of 53 cartoons from 1946 to 1951.
1946 - 27
1947 - 11
1949 - 12
1950 - 1
1951 - 2

As a bonus, this is how Kwan looks like in cartoon. He is the mer-man in the centre. Taken from My Singapore by Morgan Chua.

Review: The Good Neighbors: Kin

For those who are familiar with Holly Black, The Good Neighbors volume one: Kin (Graphix) is sort of like Spiderwick Chronicles for teens. I was expecting myself to read a few pages of this comic, get bored and move on to something else. But those few pages got me hooked.

Besides the usual character introductions for a first volume, the main presentation is two mysteries side by side. By the end of the volume, both mysteries are solved. Even with faeries, the comic never lets fantasy elements run all over as other comics of the same genre would do. Mysteries in fantasies are difficult to solve because usually, someone does hocus pocus which no one can ever imagine. Example: Jean Loring in Identity Crisis. With The Good Neighbors, there is no such cheating.

Manga is dangerous!

From The Japan Times, 18 June 2010, Friday front page news:

"A censure motion was also presented in the Upper House against new Prime Minister Naoto Kan and national policy minister Satoshi Arai, who has admitted his now-defunct political body inappropriately booked costs for comic book purchases as official expenses."