Pinoy comics linkblogging
Budjette
posted a
link to a review of Carlo Vergara's
"Ang Kagila-gilalas na Pakikipag-sapalaran ni Zsazsa Zaturnnah" # 1 by Ruel S. De Vera. The actual article is missing but I'm presuming that Budjette's post is actually the article itself(?) or at least a very thorough commentary about the comic by him.
Zsazsa Zaturnnah is a spoof of Mars Ravelo's superheroine,
Darna.
As
Dean Francis Alfar explains:
”Zsazsa Zaturnnah” tells about Ada, a gay man, who receives a mysterious stone that grants him the power to transform into a woman. As Zaturnnah, Ada defends his hometown from extraterrestrial amazons. Joining him in this light comedy adventure are his sidekick Didi and his secret crush Dodong. Written in Filipino, “Zsazsa Zaturnnah” is for mature readers due to suggestive content and strong language.
An interesting little blurb from
Carlo Vergara's bio at
Prism ComicsIt's about a gay beautician who becomes a superhero. That graphic novel won a National Book Award from the Manila Critics Circle. If things go as planned, it will be a feature film and a musical.
Yay! We need more
comic book operas and musicals!
More info and preview pages of the collected edition of the comic may be found
here.
Aklas Isip's "Comics Illiteracy: Is there such a thing?"link via Budjette Tan's
Komix101Would you go into publishing if your readers were illiterate? Put another way, would you still go into comics publishing if most of your readers have no understanding of the unique language of comics much less comprehend any attempt at literary meaning behind such works? From a business and practical point of view, the answer would most certainly be in the negative if one's objective is to publish literate pieces of comics works.
continued at link:
Comics Illiteracy: Is there such a thing?
Aklas also talks about the Japanese manga industry by focusing on an old issue of the "Bulletin Today" newspaper (from May 9, 1979) titled
"Japanese read a billion comic books in one year" (by Ikuo Anai). Aklas says:
It provides insight on what kind of social and cultural conditions must exist in order to support a market for printed comics. Though admittedly an old article, one must note that the Japanese comics market is still here, as huge and as vibrant as it was when this article came out in 1979.
continued at link:
Why are printed comics successful in Japan?
Buddy Paraiso's "manifesto"I recalled my childhood days, I as one of those generations whose main loophole as being glued to the T.V. Set. The usual menus of my living room adventures were watching western cartoons like Might Thor, Moby Dick, Gulliver, and The Herculoids. These are all under the banner of “Hanna-Barberra”. There were occasional oriental cartoons like Gigantor and Marine Boy but they seemed so Americanized, like titans in chains.
Then suddenly, the Philippines was invaded by Japanese cartoons. The invasion was lead by Voltes V. and unlike Gigantor and Marine Boy, Voltes V was untouched by U.S. handsand that’s more like it!
The Japanese animations were free from Western influences,
alterations and maintained its oriental exoticness.
continued at link:
Sublime Seduction
This is actually a textbook example of some Orientalist sentiments.
response to James
James and I have been
having a little discussion about interpretation and differing viewpoints at his blog. I thought I'd repost my
last comment I made here as it says a little bit about my undergrad thesis I mentioned in my
last post.
This is partly why I say that everything leads back to comics. Because the art– or the language– of comics hinges upon presenting people with signs that do not exactly reproduce your thoughts, and then trying to lead them back to what you’re trying to say.
And then again maybe, just maybe, the art and language of comics (or music, or mathematics, or even language itself) can sometimes perfectly reproduce our thoughts. I'd rather look at all of this as a continuum of meaning(s) where sometimes there really aren't any ambiguities in what's being said or expressed. I don't think it's at all a contradiction to say something is "unambigously ambiguous" for example. Seems like the latter gets (implicitly) said all the time.
But of course, those signs have to make it through the walls of the reader’s box in one piece, and then back out. They never do.
Maybe they do and maybe they don't. I don't generally like to look at things so essentially (part of the "liking to jump from box to box" idea I suppose). One of the foci of my undergraduate thesis happened to deal with how we view and interpret texts in relation to the contexts we bring to them. Since my degree was in music, though, the texts with which I was concerned happened to be musical rather than linguistic.
My thesis became a sort of manifesto of "classical music" apostacy of mine and outlined some of the reasons why I didn't continue in music at the grad level.
Some of the things I focused on were statements made about pieces of music. Since my thesis adviser was also my cello professor I used Dvořák's Cello Concerto as the example.
See, often you'll hear both students and virtuosi claim that Dvořák's concerto is difficult. Sometimes you'll hear statements of comparisons between Dvořák's concerto and other works--that the "Dvořák" (metonyms where the composer's name stand in place of the work in question are very frequent in a "classical music" context) is more or less difficult than, say, the Lutoslawski [cello concerto].
But sometimes you'll hear students say that the Dvořák is too difficult.
All of this interested me because the discourse about the identity of the composition seemed to be unstable; seemed to be in flux; seemed to be just another instance of that plurality pomo likes to make a big deal about. And yet, there's this sense that the identity of the piece and what it means has been relatively stable over the century or so that it's existed (all issues relating to Jacobsonian and Peircian iconicity aside due to differing published editions of the work).
What seemed to be going on (and please keep in mind it was about 12 years ago I wrote this) was that, the Dvořák was relatively stable in its meaning and it was actually the relation between the reader of the piece and the work itself that was unstable; in flux; pluralistic. What people seemed to be saying were things along the lines of:
"The Dvořák is [too] difficult," with an implicit "to me" left unsaid.
What this could "translate" to is something along the lines of "I don't have the necessary skills to perform the Dvořák." These were the types of implicit interpretations of musical works I was concerned with because of how those attitudes affect our ability to see ourselves in a different relation to the musical text. It became a claim about the piece's identity that shifts focus away from the lack of skill of the reader and led to conclusions such as the following statements (which are often heard in the "classical music" environment):
"I can't play that piece." (implying that "I don't have the skill to play that piece and I'll be arsed if I am going to spend the time to get that skill.")
or:
"That piece is too difficult." (implying that "The composer wrote the piece in a manner that makes it too difficult to read and perform.")
The onus shifts to the work itself, or the composer of the work, because obviously the reader can't be to blame.
There are certainly a number of cellists that do end up putting in the work to learn the Dvořák, but that initial interpretation is so difficult to let go of that you'll still hear professional cellists, who can play the piece with relative ease or little effort, claim that the concerto is difficult to play to other musicians or to their students.
I guess I don't find it at all strange that people tend to stick to one box when interpreting something that's "actually" unstable; in flux; or pluralistic such as a [human] terrorist (who might likely be moving from box to box) when it's so difficult for some people to jump boxes in relation to things that can't move (from box to box) such as a text.
Could Spiegelman’s book be both idiosyncratic and incomplete? What happens in the gap between them?
Sure--why not? One of my favorite analogies to use in similar contexts is gravity. Is gravity a force or merely the curvature of spacetime? Depends on whether the box you're in is classical mechanics or Einsteinian Relativity.
We could also say that gravity is the interaction of elementary particles (i.e. "gravitons") if we wanted to look at it from a Quantum Mechanical box. If you know the box you're in--as well as the thing that the box was designed to interpret--then the gaps are just us jumping from box to box. Or, to use the more mundane metaphor that the "jumping boxes" metaphor is replacing, the gaps are just us shifting perspectives/viewpoints.
The gap is that nether region that we seem to be intuitively afraid of crossing lest we lose some sense of identity. While we're in a box, we don't have to look at how relatively stable our perspective is and we can go on saying "the terrorists have already won" because we know precisely what the terrorist is and don't want to take the time learn that the Dvořák is actually not all that difficult to play in the end.
Something that seems so definite and precise to us as scientific theories and mathematical theorems can be full of wonderful ambiguities and vaguaries that have nothing to do with the actual thing being explained but with how the box shunts our interpretation of the thing.
What do the signs say when they run up against each other like that? That’s what I find fascinating about the form.
I think that when those signs run up against each other like that is where different boxes start to overlap or where the boundaries of the boxes dissipate to reveal a much larger box.
First Philippine Komiks Convention and other miscellanea
First itemKomikon : 1st Philippine Komiks Convention October 22, 2005
will be held at the UP Diliman's Bahay ng Alumni
It will showcase the creations of Filipino artists from various genres and themes and give tribute to the creators and their creations. The 1st Philippine Komiks Convention aims to bring together different comic book artists/groups and publishers in a venue where they could present their talents, works and services to the public. Most importantly, it aims to give a break to aspiring comic artists. It would like to provide the venue for different art groups and different generations of artists for a free exchange of ideas. Hopefully it would lead to a transcending of stereotypes and broaden the scope of comics – from local to international to cross-cultural, sequential to strips, amateur to professional and traditional publication to independent comics publishing. This event will give people the awareness of the exciting state of contemporary Philippine comics industry.
from:
Budjette Tan's blog http://komix101.blogspot.com/
Second ItemIf you haven't noticed my side panel, I've been adding links and feeds to my
http://del.icio.us/MaeMai account. Eventually I hope to have a separate feed and link category for every country or region that produces comics. Please bear with me as I sort through all the links I have bookmarked. Eventually I hope to have separate links/feeds for comics bloggers from around the world as well. I'll get back to more heavy blogging as I get things sorted out.
Third item (warning *shameless promo*)
For anyone in the central Indiana area, I'll be playing some shows this weekend. So come on out if you have the inclination.
Friday, September 16, 2005il Troubadore@ Deano's Vino (third Friday of every month), Indianapolis, IN
8:00 pm::all ages::free admission
show detailsSaturday, September 17, 2005Carenza bint Asya &
il Troubadore @ Zorba's Greek and Middle Eastern Restaurant (fourth Saturday of every month except for this special date), Zionsville, IN
6:30-9:30pm::all ages::free admission
show detailsSunday, September 18, 2005Left of CenterA Concert of Alternative Art Music for those not so easliy entertained featuring:
Kevin Hiatt, Joseph Kalisman, Diane Dickson, Patrick Woods,
il Troubadore, Jim Steele and Michael Patterson,
Troupe Taleeba middle eastern dance troupe
@ Cinema Center, Fort Wayne, IN
8:00 pm::all ages::admission 10$
show detailsFourth itemI've set up a separate blog,
Phantoms of the Mind, so that I can do more in depth analyses and criticisms of a comparative neurolinguistic sort. I didn't want to clutter up this blog with too much content not related to
International Comics topics, but needed a place that I could refer to when a discussion does happen to bear on current scientific research done regarding
reading/writing,
language, and the neurological underpinnings of these phenomena.
If you're wondering why all that matters to me, well, it will be part of the focus of my Master's thesis and it is already ostensibly an extension of my undergraduate thesis on
The ethics of Performance Practice in music.
Fifth itemI know that I'm in the middle of a few discussions that I've not responded to the past couple of days, but I promise to get back to them as soon as I can. Many apologies.
Peace,
Jon
Veiko Tammjärv's "Still Life"
Veiko Tammjärv's
Still Life. pg. 1 (2001)
From
Stripburek 2More about Estonian comics
here (Estonian comics
feed)
See side bar for more international comics links/feeds.
Darna
So who would have thought the national superhero of the Philippines would be a version of Wonder Woman?
In the very first edition of Darna comics, she faced the asp-haired Valentina, a Medusa-like arch villainness with an army of snakes. The first episode was such a hit that Darna instantly became part of Philippine lore. Fans couldn’t get enough of Darna even though the comics came out weekly.
from:
Darna 1950
Darna (previously named Varga) was created by the late
Mars Ravelo in 1947.
She made her debut in Bulaklak Magazine Vol.4, Number 17 (Cover dated July 23, 1947) and became quite popular with readers everywhere. Varga was, in all things but name, the woman we now know as Darna. She stood up for the weak, battling common criminals as well as evil in superhuman form. "Varga" was both written and illustrated by her creator whose artistic style resembled the cartoons of Max Fleischer Studios.
from:
Darna Profile
Darna has been serialized in
numerous comics. Has appeared in no less that 14 films, as well as a live-action television series (2005).
The version that ultimately would be the definitive "Modern Age version of DARNA" began with the release of Mango Comics' 3 part mini-series "Darna". This version was what GMA Network ultimately used for the highly rated "Darna:The TV Series" starring Angel Locsin. This is the first live-action adaptation of Darna that faithfully adapted Mars Ravelo's first story
from:
Darna
Apparently, her powers come from a magic pill which she swallows and absorbs after which she shouts the name "DARNA!"--an obvious nod toward
Captain Marvel.
There's so much going on here concerning
Darna that I'm just a little overwhelmed.
Mars Ravelo's superheroine, clad in crimson bikinis and knee-high stiletto boots, may perhaps be the most famous local fantasy character given life on the silver screen. Portraying Darna is actually considered a career-defining role.
from:
Darna Profile
I guess it's time to take a look at the Filipino comics industry.
Related Links:
Darna website at
Mango Comics
Darna at
International Catalogue of Superheros
Mars Ravelo's Darna website Official website
Origin story in English
ZsaZsa (Carlo Vergara's spoof and homage to Darna)
Indian Superman
So I finally found an
excerpt of the
Indian Superman movie. I had blogged about this at the old
Mae Mai site, and promised to update whenever I found out more info. Watch the clip. It's a riot.
A couple of review quotes:
Like any Bollywood production, there are dancing-girl scenes every 20 minutes that have nothing to do with the plot. Unique to this film, however, are the Superdad girls. I don't know what their names are in the film, but they were wearing Superdad t-shirts so that's what I call them. They are teenage henchmen who know a few kung fu moves. I mean, they almost know them. They work for the bad guys. Did the director not realize that Superdad shirts came about because of the popularity of the Superman movie in America? I don't think this was deliberate irony because not all of the girls are wearing the shirts.
from:
IMDB comments
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The concept behind the film, no doubt, was to make the Superman legend a little more palatable to the Indian film going public. They do this by adding elements familiar to the fans of Bollywood films. Bollywood films are pretty surreal all by themselves, so an attempted rip-off of a movie based on a 60-year-old American comic book is going to be odd duck indeed. As per the rules of Bollywood cinema, there are dancing girls every 15 minutes, almost like clockwork. And the almost insufferable altruism of the American Big S has been all but removed completely.
from:
Stomp Tokyo review
If you want a copy of the movie, then go to the
Cult DVD Zone (or one of the other movie sites listed below) which has got to be the greatest unsung resource on the net. For example, you can purchase copies of the
Roger Corman Fantasic Four movie; the
Justice League of America television pilot; and (I must have slept through any publicity about this) the television movie,
Nick Fury, agent of SHIELD, starring David Hasselhoff(??????).
You can also get a copy of some
Batman Fan Films which includes the shorts
World's Finest and
Batman: Dead End (Batman vs the Joker vs Alien vs Predator????) both by
Collora Studios.
Related Links:
5 Minutes to Live (FINDING FILMS YOU THOUGHT YOU'D NEVER SEE!)
Atul Khatri dressed as Superman in the Mumbai Marathon 2005Cinetrange (bizarre and unusual movies)
India Superman Bootleg FigureThe Indian Superman (lots of stills from the movie)
Superheroes Lives (LIVE ACTION MOVIES BASED ON COMICS CHARACTERS OR JUST SUPERHEROES MOVIES)
Superman (1987) (IMDB entry)
Witching Hour Video (another site to get foreign "bootleg" movies)
Other Superhero Related Films:
3 Dev Adam (1973)"COOL Turkish film about an EVIL SPIDERMAN who goes around killing, robbing then LAUGHING at innocent people. But Santo the Mexican wrestler and Captain America get word of his evil acts and meet up in Istanbul to slug it out with ol’ Spidey! The results: LOTS of crazy action, some gore and MORE crazy action! This is a friggin’ must see folks!!! You’ll get to watch as Santo puts Spidey in the Tornado Spin and as The Captain and Spidey engage in some crazy karate fights! In Turkish only (But who cares!!??)." [link]
Darna: Ang pagbabalik (1994)"A series of cataclysm devastate the Filipinos. A mysterious cult, led by Valentina, offers salvation to the population. But Valentina has some dark projects and wants to take over the whole country. Fortunately, super heroin Darna is here with her super powers to defeat the vilains. This Filipino wonder woman has serious assets : opulent chest often « hooked » by the cameraman and a bright red bikini to be well seen on the road..." [link]
Süper adam Istanbul'da (1972)"Another crazy Turkish super hero film has a nerd from America showing up to do a story on the crime problem. Ol’ Superman comes along wearing a mask and a big “S” that looks like it was ironed on his cheap-o outfit (That also looks like its about to rip as he moves in every scene!) all while punching, kicking and jumping with wires to make him look like he’s leaping tall buildings and walls with a single bound! In other words, the “F/X” suck but it’s a damn good time!" [link]
Süpermen dönüyor (1979)"Superman in this film is quite mean. He is indirectly responsible for the deaths of three villains(for example, he throws a henchman into a wall, where he is impaled by an extended pipe)." [link]
Budjette posted a link to a review of Carlo Vergara's "Ang Kagila-gilalas na Pakikipag-sapalaran ni Zsazsa Zaturnnah" # 1 by Ruel S. De Vera. The actual article is missing but I'm presuming that Budjette's post is actually the article itself(?) or at least a very thorough commentary about the comic by him. Zsazsa Zaturnnah is a spoof of Mars Ravelo's superheroine, Darna. 
