A Moment I'll Always Remember...

Komikon 2011...

I was browsing, as usual, through pages and pages of comic books and skipping from one table to another at the Indie Tiangge when I heard a guy say, "Uy! Andito si Tony DeZuniga."

His friend replied, "San?"

And the other pointed to where Sir DeZuniga was sitting.

I looked over and saw a very serious-looking old man and his wife, busying themselves over posters and sketches. And I remember saying to myself, "The man who created Jonah Hex is here!? That's great! I want to meet him." So I squeezed through the crowd that surrounded Sir Tony's table and found myself staring at a treasure trove. I couldn't decide which one to buy and I was on a tight budget since I had to make sure that I could still be able to go back to Laguna after the Komikon or else I would be walking all the way from Boni. That's not good.

So I stayed by the table, ogling over all his works like a maniac staring hungrily at a woman's thigh. If I was going to buy something, it must be something that was unique. Something that he only made a few copies of.

And I found it. After hours and hours of scavenging, I found it.

I lifted it up and his wife told me, "You have a good eye. He only made 20 of those. That's the last one."

What luck! I had the last one! And he only made 20 of it. I know 20 is still a two-digit number but among billions of fans. I'm one of the 20 people who got a limited poster!

I was so happy and so I smiled and said, "Talaga po? Wow! Swerte!"

She smiled and replied, "Papirma mo sa kanya." Then she pointed at him.

I nodded like those aesthetic little dogs on a car's dashboard and approached Sir Tony.

He asked me what my name was. I said, "Ched po."

He replied, "Ched? Parang Chedeng?"
"Ah, opo...?"
"Ang tunay mo bang pangalan ay Mercedita?"

I smiled wryly, "Ah hindi po, sir."

Then he replied with one eyebrow raised, "Sigurado ka?"

And I didn't know how to answer that. I wanted to say that I really admired all his works and though I was not intensely familiar with all of them, I look up to him and someday be able to contribute to Philippine Comics the way he did but that was way out of topic. We were talking about my name and if I was sure it was my name. The time of answering had passed. And so, he signed away and handed me the poster and smiled. And I left feeling dazed and confused like the song. And for a while, I thought, "Yeah, maybe my real name is Mercedita. Most people think it so..."

Then I looked at the poster and saw what he wrote.

I knew he must have written it a hundred times, maybe he even practiced it but it meant a lot to me as an aspiring illustrator. And how often do you meet Sir Tony? For a person like me, not so often and before that moment, I thought maybe not at all. But that moment happened. And I was happy. Very very happy. Elated, that's the word. I was so elated that I was walking around the Komikon grounds staring at the inscription. It was a magical moment, indeed.

And so, I'm taking this opportunity to thank Sir Tony DeZuniga for inspiring all of us - artists from all generations - to master our craft and embrace the challenge that comes with triumph. You were the vehicle that paved the way for Philippine Comics to be recognized internationally and for that, we are ever thankful and proud of you. You will always be remembered and truly missed.

Rest in Peace Sir Tony.

PS: Sir, if you ever meet her, please tell her we also miss her...especially today.

Weekly Roaming with a Vantage Point: Volume 5

Here I go again... just the usual. The everyday gets messier and messier and I sometimes find my chin helplessly sticking out on the surface of deep water. My toes barely touching the seafloor...or lake...or pond. I will keep on walking, though, even if I have to trudge.

Look to the Left

Education

Stand

Break-in

Star-Cross

Hand Down

Until next time! (^___________^)

PS: I'm thinking of buying a proper camera. What do you think??

On the Avengers

I loved it! It had the right amount of action, comedy and sci-fi. I was very particular with the battle scenes because the last action-packed movie I watched on the big screen had the longest battle scene at the end and it did not help with the story (Transformers 3. Yes, I know. Name dropping.) 


The flow of the story was just right. The dialogues were very catchy. Almost campy, if I should say. I just find the script very witty. A few would be:


Tony Stark: "No offense, but I don't play well with others."
Steve Rogers: "Big man, in a suit of armour... take that away, what are you?"Tony Stark: "Uh...genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist."



Tony Stark: I'm taking the party to you.
Natasha Romanov: That doesn't look like a party to me.


Bruce Banner: "We're not a team. We're a time bomb."


I have a list in mind but I'm afraid of putting it down wrong. There were also many scenes that I had a good laugh - when The Hulk punched Thor out of the scene, when Loki tried to compel Tony Stark, when Black Widow was putting Fury on hold. My favorite so far was when The Hulk beat the living crap out of Loki. Best. Scene. Ever. Loki was not even finished with his monologue. And also that scene with Agent Coulson where he shot Loki who was again at the middle of his monologue. Good job, mortal. You make earthlings everywhere very proud. (^_^)  


The graphics was good and the stunts were explainable. The scene where The Hulk jumped on a building and matched Iron man's speed as he fell from the sky to the earth was sound in the world of Physics. This is compared to the stint Superman pulled with Lois Lane - Lois just two feet above the ground and Superman swooping in. She should have been cut into pieces - with the amount of energy she had and the angle from which Superman came from. Wrong DC. Wrong. (I'm not a Physics nerd. Just heard that from Sheldon Cooper, XD)


If anyone would ask me if they should watch it, I'd recommend it. It's not an entry to Cannes but it's a great movie to sit down, relax and have a laugh or two or three. It does kind of look unfair that all the funny lines came from Tony Stark. I know he's the sarcastic one but at least give Thor a few. The rest of the gang had their moments. Coulson was more memorable than Thor. The only time I remember Thor if he was not being stupid about his brother Loki was when he was punched out of the scene and that was a Hulk moment. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it. Cheers to the Avengers especially the Big Guy! (I'll be referring to Stan Lee but we can read through the subtext and pretend that it's the Hulk.) 


SMASH!

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/marvels_the_avengers/

Weekly Roaming with a Vantage Point: Volume 4

Hello Folks! I'm currently cramming my thesis and I'm hoping and praying and hoping that I make it through. Just praying most of the time. As I am doing my time, I relax doing this. Enjoy as I have! (^_^) 

Daylight

Daylight 2

Clean Air

Out

Escape

Murder Scene

Staring Contest

Dusk

Dusk 2

Drive By

Dusk 3

Center piece

Until next time!

On the Hunger Games

Congratulations! I finally found a movie that did not butcher the book. Although, there were still some scenes that did not quite uphold to the standards that I was hoping. But all in all, the movie was good compared to Harry Potter 6, Percy Jackson and, don't get me started on Eragon. 

I watched the movie a week ago and found the need to blog just now because...I have nothing else to do so here goes.

The intro of the movie was visually stimulating. You'll see how hard life is at District 12 and how dangerous of a life Katniss is leading, sneaking outside the borders and importing illegal game. You'll also see the difference inside the District and outside the border. The inside is dull and gray while the outside is lush and green. The cameramen did a sweet job.

I also liked the way the atmosphere was driven when the townspeople were at the assembly. It felt as though it was the holocaust and the people needed only two sacrifices. Another good visual comparison was when the tributes mounted the train which had an interior covered in velvet and shiny ornaments. The lighting helped in exaggerating the tiny details so it was easy to compare the District from the train and then the Capitol. The Capitol looked as I expected it to be - chaotic and vibrant. So was the training grounds and the games ground. 

On to the acting... Jennifer Lawrence delivered a great performance. If the movie was salvaged in any way, they owe it to her. I held my breath when she came up to take her sister's place at the games and I got so worked up when she was having a hard time getting the tracker jackers. She delivered every scene impressively which made more sense now why she was offered the role. I will never question her acting prowess ever again. (^_^)

Josh was surprisingly great. When I heard that he was chosen for the role of Peeta, I quite disliked it because, first of all, I’ll be honest, the hair. He had brown hair and Peeta had blond (I know. Shallow, right?). But then, I thought, they can always change his hair. Look at what they did to Nicole Kidman’s nose at The Hours and she was perfect! So, I thought, he might be perfect for the role. And he proved me right. The scene in the car where Effie was talking to Katniss and Peeta was obscure from the scene but you can make out that he was crying, that is what I call presence. I also like the way he looked when he was called to be a tribute. Josh Hutcherson was Peeta but with brown hair.

The rest of the cast played their roles perfectly. I had Woody on my mind when I was reading the book and got around Haymitch. I thinking of Dakota Fanning or Elle Fanning when I was reading about Prim but Willow was brilliantly decided for the part. It was a good call because less fancy people, the less mainstream it will be (just a thought haha). Banks was best for Effie and so were Donald, Wes and Stanley for President Snow, Seneca Crane and Caesar Flickerman, respectively.

The movie was good. I enjoyed it but I won’t set high hopes on the second instalment. I do hope they do better. I really do.

This was the comment I posted at Rotten Tomatoes:

The movie was not bad but it was not also great. There were some instances where I found myself impressed by how the scenario was treated (the chaos at the beginning of the games and the death of Rue) but there were some scenes where I found myself looking for something that was missing (the two leads in the cave and the berries). Nonetheless, I enjoyed the movie and it pretty much salvaged all the important stuff from the book.

Until the next!  

http://www.thehungergamesmovie.com/

Weekly Roaming with a Vantage Point: Volume 3

I was trying to catch an inspiration today (as if that was possible...but IT IS possible given that my inspiration is a person or an animal or a kite or a flu or a migraine with a side of fever). Anyways, I'm blank but I have already edited some photos. So here we go.

Up and Away

Green Part 1

Green Part 2

Hall

Stairs

That's it for today. I know its not as much as the earlier posts. Finals have been tough on me. But I'll try and keep it up. Have a nice one! (^o^)/

Haha...I'm really bad at keeping promises. I wanted to post the pictures a week ago but I kept thinking that they weren't ready. Then I thought, who am I getting ready for? Hahahahahaha... I hate my brain. Anyways, here we go...


Weekly Roaming with a Vantage Point: Volume 2

Push to Start

Patrick by the Waves

Smiley

Sugod!!!

Patrick with the Dudes

The Shining Mickey

Moon River

Boy Meets Crime Novel reading type of Girl

Boy Meets Girl in Sandals

Boy Sits with Girl in Sandals

Fix You

Hide Out

The Time Machine

Hopefully, I'd be able to upload the rest next week...As PROMISED! XD

Until next time!