Three

I can't wait!

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Animation Pile Up Pt. 2

I've spent a lot of time on gaming these past two weeks. In fact, I've been playing non-stop and have already finished Batman: Arkham Asylum. The only thing I remember doing outside of playing games were reading comics and updating this blog. So today I decided to pull away from my PC and watch some comics-to-cartoons instead.

Anyways, here are my quick reviews of the animations that I saw today.

Green Lantern: First Flight
8.9 of 10
Even as a comic book enthusiast, I honestly don't know much about DC characters. Luckily, they've been churning out a lot of Direct-to-DVD animations of their superheroes' origins. First, it was Wonder Woman (which I really liked a lot). Now it's Green Lantern's turn. Like Wonder Woman, Green Lantern: First Flight tells the story of Hal Jordan and how he became part of the Green Lantern corps. This is a pretty good animation, even better than Wonder Woman. The story is good, the voice-overs are done well and the art is just amazing.

Witchblade
8.5 of 10
I saw 3 episodes of this anime last year, and I liked it. So when I learned that one of my friend had a couple of DVDs of this series, I just had to borrow it. The anime is also based on a comic book. However, this is not a faithful adaptation of Top Cow's version of Witchblade since the setting, the characters and the story are entirely different. Nonetheless, it is a good watch. At first, since the series is riddled with well-endowed and scantily clad women, I thought this was just another "B" anime with tons of great fights and eye candy. But the story turned out to be good, and the main character is also likable.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
7.0 of 10
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is one of the first graphic novels that I bought. I didn't like it, however. That's why when I rented this DVD I was hoping that DC added something more to the story. But they didn't. In fact, the script was lifted up from the comics, panel by panel. So there's nothing in here. The bond between the two iconic heroes' weren't even explored in depth, which they should've. The art is also horrible, even more than the comics. The heroes just look too muscular and Power Girl looked like a blow up doll. The only thing good in this movie is the action, lots and lots action.

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80's Cartoons-to-Film Wishlist

Hollywood seems to be running out of original scripts for summer blockbuster films these days. So if they don't turn to the colorful pages of comic books for ideas then they turn to the cartoons of yesteryear. That's why we get cool looking movies with bad storylines like Transformers 2. We're also gonna get another of the same sort with G.I. Joe next month and also Grayskull, in 2010, a revision of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe -which I hope will be less cheesier than Dolph Lundgren's version.

But, anyways, if Hollywood decides to continue this trend, I wish they'll adapt 5 of these cartoon titles I've posted below.

5. M.A.S.K.

Although short-lived, this was a pretty popular cartoon show amongst my peers. I remember telling my mom that we should go to church on Saturday afternoon instead of Sunday morning just so I can watch M.A.S.K. This was pretty much like Transformers, in which the focus was also on the cool vehicles. All the vehicles in M.A.S.K. can also transform but only into another sort of souped up assault vehicle (motorcyle to helicopter, helicopter to jet fighter). If made into a movie, its atmosphere will definitely be like a watered down Transformers.

4. Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light

Visionaries was also a short-lived cartoon show, even shorter than M.A.S.K. (13 episodes only), which was sad because I couldn't get enough of it when I was a kid. That's why I wanted to see this in film. It was an awesome cartoon, and the toy line was cool too. Set in world of Prysmos, the Visionaries' story involves two faction of magical knights (Spectral Knights and Darkling Lords) who can magically morph into animals. I'm not sure, however, of what the outcome will be if this cartoon was made into a movie. I think it might come out as Power Ranger-y. But at least the armor and light effects will rock.

3. Dino-Riders

This cartoon is the main reason that I got hooked with dinosaurs. Dino-Riders is about Valorioans (Telephatic Humans) and Rulons (Alien Conquerors) who traveled back in time and got stuck in prehistoric Earth. Out of power and resources, both faction captured dinosaurs and strapped them with weapons to aid them in their fight. Because of its setting, I think this might work if adapted into a movie. How awesome it would be to see a Tyrannosaurus Rex, souped up with laser cannons, tear through the silver screen?

2. Centurions

This is one of my favorite cartoons when I was a kid, and my second favorite toy line as well. I think the Centurions can be easily adapted into film because it doesn't have a lot of campy elements to it -maybe except for the villains. The show's about three guys with exoskeleton armor that can be fitted and modified with various weapons and even vehicles. Its setting has a potential of a good plot and its visuals might just rival Transformers.

1. ThunderCats

This show follows the story of cat-like humanoids who survived the destruction of their planet, Thundera, and have moved to Third Earth. Like Centurions, ThunderCats also have a great potential to do well in the silverscreen. Because, unlike other 80's cartoons, this show wasn't created to promote a toy line, and it actually have a good setting -combining elements of science fiction and fantasy- and story (that's why it lasted 4 seasons long). I know an animated film of ThunderCats is already scheduled for next year. But I think a live-action one will be much better.

This are the list of cartoons that I want to see on film. They might be campy but at least they'll make me feel safe and comfy in childhood nostalgia.

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Comics-to-Animation Wishlist

A couple months ago, I wrote down a list of comic books that I wished to be adapted into films. However, because not all comic books will work on the silver screen, a lot of my favorite titles were left out on that list. So, as a follow up, and since most comic books are suitable to be adapted into animation, I've decided to list down all the titles that I want to see as cartoons. There isn't much difference between the two formats. So, basically, comics will work well as cartoons. That is, of course, if the producers won't mess it up. But, anyways, my wishlist:

5. Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane

This book is probably my guiltiest pleasures of all time. I bought an issue of this for my goddaughter when she came along to pick up my comics. I didn't know anything about it except it looked appropriate enough for a girl of 8. Surprisingly, after I read it myself, I enjoyed it. The story mainly focuses on the love life of Mary Jane Watson. Spider-Man is only a supporting character in here. The reason why I loved it is because it married teen drama and the superhero genre together. So, I think, this will be a great cartoon series that will appeal towards kids on their early teens (or even adults).

4. Deadpool

X-Men Origins: Wolverine murdered Deadpool as a character, and now he's beyond Hollywood redemption. So the only option left for the "Merc with the Mouth" is to have his own animiation series. Not the kind of cartoons that they'll show on Saturday mornings though. But the one that will run on either late night HBO or Adult Swim, right along with cartoons like Metalocalypse and Beavis and Butthead. Yes, with his guns, violence and slapstick humor, a cartoon show is just perfect for Deadpool. It'll be like Aeon Flux meets the Looney Tunes.

3. Top 10

This title was written by Alan Moore, also the writer of Watchmen and V for Vendetta. That alone speaks volumes. But this comic book is a very unique superhero title. In my opinion, it's probably the most unique comics created by Moore. The main focus in the story is the squad of super-powered cops in a world where everyone have powers and wears colorful costumes, from hot dog vendors to politicians. So, basically, superheroes are a mundane thing in Top 10's setting. It's a pretty fun comic book. While it'll be too campy to be on film, I think, it'll be great to watch as an animation series.

2. Bone

I haven't heard a lot of people talking about this comics. Which is a shame because this is a great book. Time Magazine even compared it to the Lord of the Rings but only funnier. That's a big compliment, and I agree with them. It's an epic fantasy that revolves around three cousins, that looks like Casper the Friendly Ghost, and their journey to a different land (a land of Humans). If Dreamworks or Pixar makes a full feature animation of this book I'm sure it'll be a big hit.

1. Maus

The characters of this comic book are mice. But I assure you, if its adapted into an animation, it won't be the same as other "talking mouse" cartoons like Tales of Despereaux or other Walt Disney films. Maus is written by Art Spiegelman and it tells the tale of his father, a Polish Jew, during his interment in Auschwitz conecentration camp back in World War II. It's pretty similar to other holocaust stories, like The Pianist or Diary of Anne Frank, except that all the characters here as anthromorphic animals. I actually thought this won't work if its adapted into other formats. But after seeing the success of serious full feature cartoons that also deals with war and revolution, like Waltz With Bashir and Persepolis, I think Maus will do great as well.

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Animation Pile Up

Last week, I had time to spare and watched three comics-to-animation flicks that I rented from Netflix. I tried to write a review for all three of them but, due to time constraints, I never got the chance to get past the rough draft. So, instead of writing individual reviews for all animations, I decided to write three quick reviews in just one post.

Wonder Woman
8.5 of 10
This full length animation features Princess Diana's origins. I'm not pretty sure if it's "by the book" but I'm certain all the basics are here. How she came to life, and how the Amazons came out from isolation and re-established their communication with the rest of the world. It's a pretty fun story and -true to the nature of Wonder Woman during her first inception- there are some sexual undertones that'll keep you chuckling. The animation is also superb and sexy. I actually fell in love with Wonder Woman and some of the Amazons in here.

Persepolis
8.8 of 10
I always wanted to buy the graphic novel of Persepolis. But, for some reason, I forgot about it and found out that it was adapted into an animation. So I just rented the movie instead. The story of the film is based on the early life of Marjane Satrapi (also the writer of the graphic novel) when she was growing up in Iran, after the Iranian Revolution. Even though with its political underpinnings, the animation was a lot of fun due to the rebellious nature of Marji. If you're looking for a serious animation, I highly recommend Persepolis.

Watchmen: Tales of the Black Freighter
7.9 of 10
Tales of the Black Freighter was a sub story in the graphic novel version of Watchmen. It tells the tale of a shipwrecked captain trying to sail back to his village -on a makeshift raft that uses bloated bodies of his dead men- and save it from the Black Freighter. While director Zack Snyder included this animated adaptation in his original script, it was cut from the movie and released as direct-to-video instead. Like Watchmen, Tales of the Black Freighter was also faithfully lifted from the pages of the graphic novel. All the morbid details from the book comes to life in here. But, as wonderful as it is, just skip this one. The film's a lackluster for being too short.

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Wolverine and the X-Men Premiere

Wolverine and the X-Men premiered last night on Nick Toons. Although, I completely forgot about it (and even if I didn't, I had no way of watching the show because I don't have cable). Luckily, we have this thing called the internet, which allows people to digitize media and easily distribute it, so frugal workoholics like me (who are too busy with their work and too cheap to pay for cable) won't miss any episodes of their favorite TV shows.

I immediately searched for the first episode on the net and found it right away. But it seems that the show has been airing in Canada since September of last year. So instead of finding just one episode of the show, I ended up with the whole season. At first, I didn't want to download all the episodes. But, in the end, I capitulated to the temptation and watched all of season one, all afternoon long.

As for the show itself, it is highly entertaining. I enjoyed it even more than the X-Men: Evolutions. Mainly because of its dystopian-like setting, which reminds me a bit of the Days of the Future Past story arc, and partly because, even though it's a Wolverine-centric show, a lot of my favorite characters from the comics (Bishop, Psylocke and X-23) made an appearance. But the best appearance of all were by Wendigo (I love this guy...or big foot) and The Hulk, and all three of them (including Wolverine) got into a no holds barred, free for all melee.

All in all, I recommend watching this show. The stories are decently written and every episode is packed with action. The setting here is also a bit darker than X-Men: Evolution. But since its targeted audience are still kids, don't expect it to be one of those serious cartoons. So if you're looking for an in-depth adaptation of the X-Men comics into animation, or hoping that this is the successor of X-Men: The Animated Series, then look somewhere else.

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Frankincense, Gold and Myrrh

We celebrated Christmas with our friends and family last night. It was a lot of fun, and the food was great. Although my Mom didn't cook a lot since she worked earlier yesterday. She only made Pancit Molo, Shrimp Egg Rolls, and her infamous Chicken Macaroni Salad. Then I just ordered Empanada from a Filipino bakery, and Pad Thai from a Thai restaurant. Since it was a pot luck, my Mom's friends also bought some Dinuguan, Orange Chicken, and Roasted Chicken. There weren't many of us, however, since none of my friends came. But my uncle and 2 of my aunts, from New York, also spent Christmas with us.

As for the presents, I actually got the things that I want, need, or able to like.

My Frankincense, Gold and Myrrh.

1. Absolute Watchmen - I've been wanting this graphic novel ever since I gave my trade paperback away. But it have been out of stock since DC re-released it last November, and trying to win it on eBay is hard. But my Dad got lucky and, knowing that I wanted it, nabbed it from the shelves of Borders.
   
2. Beck: The Mongolian Chop Squad (Complete Series) - This was a gift from the husband of my Mom's friend, who's an anime geek. He told me to watch this series last year. But I wasn't able to. So, finally, he got me the whole series on DVD. I'm going to watch this later today.
   
3. Personal Trainer: Cooking - My sister bought this game, or an interactive cookbook, for me. She saw the TV ad and thought, since my cooking suck, it would be a perfect gift.
   
4. Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia - My Mom gave me this, and it is probably the most unexpected gift that I got. I wasn't even thinking about this game but my Mom told me it's the number one game for the NDS on every holiday buyer's guide that she had read.
   
5. Remington Electric Shaver - A gift from my Aunt. It's weird because she knows that I don't have much facial hair. I only shave once a week. Nonetheless, I will use it.
   
6. $60 worth of assorted gift cards (Eddie Bauer, Target, and Napster) - It's no surprise that I got a bunch of gift cards. It always happens every year. I guess a lot of my Mom's friends still have no clue of what I like.

All in all, despite the economic recession, it was a good Christmas. There were food in our plates and presents to open when midnight struck. Hopefully, next year will be much better.

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Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

Marvel Animation has announced another series, Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, on their growing line up of comics-to-animation. The series will debut in 2011 as a part of their "Road to the Avengers" strategy that will fuel the hype of the Avengers movie, which is also scheduled to be released in 2011. Here's a snippet of info about the series:

"The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes" is an all-new property featuring some of Marvel's all-time favorite characters including Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Giant Man and Wasp. When the planet is threatened by super villains, time traveling conquerors, alien invaders, mythical monsters and mad robots bent on the total destruction of humanity, when forces of evil are so overwhelming that no single hero has the power to save the world, when there is no hope left…the Avengers assemble!"

I'm already excited. Although I wish they didn't use the old school team because I really want to see Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch. Well, there's always room for an expansion. That is, if the series is successful. To read the announcement of the series, head here.

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Full Episodes of X-Men: Evolution

I visited Marvel's website earlier to check out what's new with my favorite publisher. Then I found out that the TV show Heroes, in order to promote their new season, is sponsoring free full episodes of X-Men: Evolution, and you can watch them all here.

I'm not sure how many episodes are available in the website, but it's all free. So I urge you to watch since it's one of the good non-Japanese animations, even though it's directed towards young audiences. It also steers far from the original X-Men continuity. Although a lot of it, especially the uniforms, are based on the Ultimate X-Men universe.

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28 Things I Want For My 28th Birthday

It's almost that time of the year again. The time when I celebrate for being a year older but none the wiser, my birthday. So earlier today I asked myself: "What do I want for my 28th birthday?" I suppose world peace or a bright-eyed girlfriend would make as a nice present. But those are hard to achieve and hard to maintain, and I'm just a simple man who takes joy in material things. So, instead, I just made a wishlist at Amazon, then e-mailed it to all my close relatives and friends. Hopefully, they won't delete it or, worse, mark it as spam.

Here are the 28 things that I wished for my 28th birthday:

Upgraded Music
1. Epiphone Les Paul Guitar (Standard Plain Top, Vintage Sunburst)
2. Marshall Amplifier (100-Watt)
3. Line 6 Tone Port UX2
4. Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Pi
5. Ibanez Tube Screamer (TS 808 Re-issue)

There's nothing wrong with my current guitar rig. As a bedroom musician, it serves me pretty well. Nonetheless, I still want an upgrade. So if you have thousands of cash stuck in your couch, you can get me any 100-watt Marshall Amplifer and an Epiphone Les Paul Guitar. While I do prefer a burst finish on my guitar, plain would just do too. You can also throw in a Line 6 Tone Port so I can record all the riffs that I can come up with. If you only have hundreds, don't worry, because you can still get me a Big Muff Pi or a Tube Screamer (or both), re-issues of legendary guitar effects.

Enhanced Gaming
6. iBuyPower Gamer Desktop PC
7. Fallout 3: Amazon Exclusive Survival Edition
8. Spore Galactic Edition
9. Samsung SyncMaster 2253BW
10. Xbox 360

If you happen to decide that you want to waste my time and hamper my productivity, then you can pre-order me the special editions of Fallout 3 and Spore. These games, however, won't run beautifully and smoothly on my current gaming rig. So you might as well get me a widescreen PC monitor and a high-end desktop PC built for gaming. If you can't afford any of these, an Xbox 360 is good too. I'm not that picky.

Luxurious Gadgets
11. Canon Digital Rebel XSi (12 MP D-SLR)
12. Archos 605 Wi-Fi (160 GB)
13. Panasonic DMP-BD30K
14. Sennheiser HD 595
15. Swiss Army Watch

I always want to get into photography. But I just don't have the money to buy a Digital SLR. So if you're kind enough, you can start me on my new hobby by buying me a Canon Digital Rebel XSi. Since photography requires travel, you can also get me an Archos 605 so I can take my music, movie and picture library with me, and access the internet from anywhere. But, of course, I can't listen to music on my Archos without a good headphone. So you might as well include a Sennheiser headphone. A watch is also an essential tool when traveling. Mine is eight years old, so I won't complain if you get me one for my birthday. If you don't want me to start a new hobby, then the least you can do is get me a Blu-ray disc player.

Deluxe Library
16. Watchmen (Absolute Edition)
17. The Walking Dead Vol. 1
18. DMZ Vol. 1: On The Ground
19. 100 Bullets Vol. 1: First Shot, Last Call
20. Runaways Vol. 1
21. Lord of the Rings (50th Anniversary Edition)
22. Fahrenheit: 451
23. The Once and Future King

If you're stingy because of the rising gas prices, then this is where it gets easy on the wallet. By the next month or so, I will be donating my mass makert paperback books and trade paperback comics to a children's institution (I forgot the name). If you think I'm charitable enough, then you can reward me with a deluxe edition of a book or comics so I can rebuild my library. But if you really are a cheapskate, getting me the first volumes of 100 Bullets or DMZ will also be appreciated.

Animation Marathon
24. Metalocalypse (Season 1 Boxed Set)
25. Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad (The Complete Series)
26. Spawn: Animated Collection

If you wanted to get me blu-ray disc player but can't afford it, don't worry. Instead, just get me the DVD boxed set of these animations listed above. Metalocalypse and Spawn are pretty good, I've seen some of the episodes and I want to watch them all. Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad, I haven't seen it yet. But a friend of mine told me it's good anime to watch, especially if you're a musician.

Toy Showcase
27. Vinyl Art Toys
28. Ame-Comi Wonder Woman

As as I said a couple post ago, I wanted a vinyl art toy so I can display it in my room. They're cool, they're fun, and they're colorful. But the ame-comi Wonder Woman, I couldn't really say anything about it. Except that, as a collector, I want it just for the sake of having it. So, please, get me some.

I'm not really expecting any gifts from anybody, I never did since I was 10. That's why this is called a "WISH" list. While I do admit that I'm materialistic, I still consider health and life as the ultimate gift. Besides, you can't enjoy material things if you're dead or sick. So as long as I have all my appendages intact and functional on my birthday, I'm thankful.

But if you really do want to buy me gifts. Then here's the summary of my birthday wishlist:
Items that costs $100 to $10
Items that costs $1000 to 100

Wonder Woman: The Animated Movie

The explosion of comics-to-film adaptations has made comic books all the hype now. So that's probably the reason as to why Direct-to-DVD animations has also grown exponentially over the past years. We've already seen Ultimate Avengers, Superman: Doomsday, Justice League: The New Frontier, and Batman: Gotham Knight. Now, finally, we're going to see Wonder Woman: The Animated Movie this coming February 2009.

I can only find a few info about the animation but it seems its Wonder Woman and The Amazons Vs. Ares, The God of War. I'm not sure if Bruce Timm is behind its production but the art seems similar to the Wonder Woman in the Justice League: The Animated Series. Also, Keri Russell (Felicity) will voice Wonder Woman in this animated flick.

Batman: Gotham Knight

Batman: Gotham Knight (Single-disc edition)
9.5 of 10
by Warner Bros. Animation






Ten more days until The Dark Knight comes out, and the excitement and anticipation has been giving me migraines as of late. In fact, I had to make a sick call at work today because of a splitting headache and nausea. Luckily, it only lasted for a of couple hours and I had the chance to pick up Batman: Gotham Knight late this afternoon.

Gotham Knight is a direct-to-dvd that collects six Batman animated short films (similar to The Animatrix). The stories, set in the time between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, focus on the people's impressions of Batman, The current status of Gotham, his training and morality, and the fate of the Scarecrow. Other villains such as Deadshot and Killer Croc are also featured in some segments.

The DVD is a real treat, a quencher. Since it nicely bridges some gaps between the two Batman films by Christopher Nolan, it's the perfect precursor film to watch before The Dark Knight. So if you're getting jumpy and anxious over The Dark Knight. Get this DVD and watch it. It will quench you, if only for a little bit, I promise.

Wizard World Experience: Toys, Animation and the Loot

Toys were another reason I went to Wizard World Chicago. However, since I've already spent most of my money on comics, I didn't really find anything that I like and can afford. Most of the toys at the convention were either an exclusive or a collector's item, and the prices were just sky high. But if you're broke and can't afford the toys (or anything for that matter), there's free stuff laying around the big booths. And if you're bored and tired of walking, you can also chill at the FUNmation room and watch episodes of anime.

Batman & Robin welcomes you to DC Comics' booth.

I had time to spare in between signings (after Warren Ellis' and before Billy Tucci's and E.Bas') and I used it to visually glut on the toys. DC Direct, being my favorite toy manufacturer, was on top of my list. Most displayed toys in their stall were only previews, however, not for sale. But looking at those toys had reduced me to a slobbering piece of meat. Especially the Batman Black & White and Watchmen figures.

Clockwise from top left: Watchmen, Dark Knight, The Spirit, DC Direct Dolls, and Batman Black & White.

Tonner Inc. was my second stop. They have a lot of beautiful dolls based on DC comics characters. But they have also other stuff like Lara Croft and Pirates of the Caribbean. Unfortunately, their prices was just too much for me. Each doll almost cost $100. But I think the price is right. These dolls are just sterlingly done. I would've got one if I still had money. It's a good thing I left my cards at home on purpose, or else I'd be even more broke.

Clockwise from top left: Wonder Woman, Pirates of the Caribbean, Lara Croft, Batpeople and Wonder Woman, and DC Characters.

Had lunch after I got tired of loitering around the center. Then, after eating, I went to the FUNmation to watch an anime. Witchblade, a comic book adopted into Japan anime, was just about to start when I got in. At first, I thought it was a typical anime: where voluptuous girls fights endlessly and needlessly. While the main character was voluptuous, indeed, I was wrong about the fighting part. In fact, I think, the story was about motherhood? It was good but they only showed 3 episodes. So it kinda left me hanging on the cliff.

Women of Witchblade, Masane and Reina.

The show finished just before Billy Tucci's and E.Bas signing. But before I went back to Fantastic Realm's booth. I took my time to get some free swag at the booths. DC Comics probably has the best free loot. I mean, they were giving away Trinity #1. It was a full issue as well, not just a preview one. On top of that, they also gave buttons, mouse pads, posters, and bookmarks. Top Cow also gave Witchblade #116 for free and previews of Madame Mirage and Firstborn. I didn't get anything from Marvel's booth. So I'm not sure if they were giving stuff away, or I just missed out. I also got a box of Magic: The Gathering and Wizard magazine from Wizard World.

The Loot.

It was very easy to go over your budget at the event. So I felt good and wise about myself for brining only enough cash, and balanced my time getting free swag and spending my money on limited edition comics. It's a good thing there were a lot of things going on at Wizard World, both for the fortunate and unfortunate. Though I still wish sometimes I brought my cards with me so I could get some nice toys. But there's always a next time, and it's probably a good idea to start saving for Wizard World Chicago 2009.

Black Lagoon

I can get into anime but I'm no otaku. I only watch popular series like Naruto, and never take risks of buying obscure titles. But if I do want something obscure, I usually check the forums I frequent at and find anime threads. Last night, when I did some digging, most otakus in the forum were singing praises about Black Lagoon. So I trusted their word and bought 3 DVD volumes of the series.

Turns out those otakus were right, Black Lagoon is one explosive title. I got hooked right after watching the first episode. What I like, in particular, is its setting has a lot of grit, grime, and action prevalent in the criminal underworld society. The "girl with guns" theme is also interesting, as you'll often see nuns with guns (who also sells guns) and maids with guns. There's also a strong character diversity in the series, in which all characters comes from a different ethnicity or political affiliations. From Japanese to African-Americans, and Neo-Nazis to Islamic Fundamentalists.

Trigger Happy Revy

All in all, I enjoyed watching all 3 volumes of Black Lagoon. Unfortunately, I've only watched the first 12 episodes (it goes up to 24 episodes). So it's a bit of cliffhanger for me. I wish they'd release the next 12 episode of Black Lagoon: Second Barrage here in the States soon.

Wolverine and the X-Men

Marvel has released a trailer for the new animation entitled Wolverine and the X-Men. It's probably a sequel to X-Men: Evolution, although set in the near future, since the art is almost a-like. As seen on the trailer, the new animation will feature a wide array of mutants from the comics, even the underused ones such as Mojo and Spiral. But what I like about this new show is that the cast is based on the present days of the X-Men (probably from the Astonishing X-Men comic title due to their costumes), which means no Jean Grey and yes Emma Frost. It's always good to have Emma Frost on the team. The only thing I don't like about this new toon is the title.

Anime Flashbacks

I love Naruto. Lately, however, it seems that half of the Shippuden episodes are just flashbacks. The flashbacks are very recent too (as recent as the last episode or twenty frames ago), and not about something that occurred 20-3o episodes before. Are the producers/writers doing this so those new to the series can catch up, or they don't have anything to show? I thought the fillers before the time skip to the Shippuden episodes were bad. But these flashbacks are even worse.

Panchira Teacher

Just bought and watched the DVD, Panchira Teacher (or Panty Flash Teacher). It's about a gullible teacher that does "inappropriate" things, with good intentions, to help her sexually perverted students. It's actually the first adult anime that I liked. Mainly because there's nothing gross in it. Just an interesting plot, sterling art and animation, and good looking characters.

Comics -To- Animation

I've been zealously practicing with some guitar exercises (courtesy of John Petrucci's Guitar Discipline video) for almost a week now. However, the exercises involves a lot of finger stretching. It's quite tiring and can be a little bit too much for a rusty guitarist like me. So, when the cramping and aching starts, I take breaks and watch episodes of the Justice League instead.

The Justice League

Justice League is one of my favorite comics-to-animation. Even though the creators of the series didn't actually play it as close to the books, the changes they made were welcomed. One change that I like is having Hawkgirl as part of the team instead of Aquaman. While the king of Atlantis is a real bad ass, he's still a fish that can't hang in a base that's orbiting in space. Plus, Hawkgirl adds gender diversity to the team. Another change, and the most interesting one, is the flirtations between Batman and Wonder Woman. I never thought it's possible that Wonder Woman, an amazon princess who thinks less of men, and Batman, a lone warrior who considers women as distractions, could actually have a "thing" for each other. I guess opposites do attract.

Anyways, here are some of my other favorite comics-to-animations:

• Batman: The Animated Series - I can't afford any comics back then, so I don't know Batman that much. This cartoon, however, introduced me to Batman and made me realize that he is best fictional character of all time.
• Spawn - This was on HBO when I was still in college. This is one serious animation and, plus, it's Spawn. Need I say more?
• X-Men - This was a very cool cartoon series. It showcased a lot of important events from the comics, such as the Phoenix Saga. It even showcased an ending where the X-Men actually graduated from Xavier's School.
• X-Men Evolution - Another X-Men cartoon in the early 2000, that is loosely based on the Ultimate X-Men (I think). Most of the X-Men are still in their teens and Wolverine is actually one of the teachers in the mansion.

Shinigami/Death God

I was really bored last night and found playing Lord of the Rings Online to be a slow grind. So, instead, I decided to download and started watching Bleach and Death Note, two popular anime series that many anime fans have been raving about. So far, I like them both -but I'm really impressed with Death Note- even though I've only seen the first episodes of each series.

Coincidentally, both protagonist in Bleach and Death Note have gained their powers from a Shinigami (translated as Death God in English). However, their intentions of using their newly acquired powers is what separate both series. The protagonist of Bleach, Ichigo, has a more simple and noble agenda to protect. So it's a bit cliched, but it's really too early to say that since I haven't seen the development of the series. On the other hand, Light, of Death Note, who plans to use his powers to cleanse the world of criminals and then rule his created utopia as a god, is more of an anti-hero. It's an impressive anime, Death Note. The story is really mature and, unlike many anime, there's less fight scenes.

I will continue watching both and see the development of both series. I might have to set a date for a Bleach or Death Note Marathon so I can watch all the released episodes at once.

Tenjho Tenge

I went to FYE store earlier this day and found a DVD of the anime Tenjho Tenge on sale ($8). I don't know much about the series but I bought it anyways. The anime doesn't offer much though. But the non-stop action is really entertaining and the art is sterlingly done, especially the female characters. The story, however, is poorly written. But that's too early to say since I've only seen 4 episodes.