Finding the perfect gift for Christmas

It's that season of giving again. The hard part is finding that perfect gift for someone! You don't buy some generic thing. It has to be well thought. I really hate it when they say, "it's ok, it's the thought that counts!" But it means that you failed! You didn't get the right gift! Pressure much? Hells yeah!

I have a list of friends I want to give gifts to. But among them, there are around 2 people you don't want to disappoint.

As for me? I'm really not into the whole receiving thing. It's all about the giving! :) Seeing the person you gave the gift to smile will be worth it already.

So now, yeah, I'm pretty worried. I already did pre-Christmas shopping but I think they're not good enough... =/ Oh well. Will try again.

For exchange gifts or Kris Kringle, I just wanna get Fully Booked GC's and I'm a happy man!

Anyway, to end this entry, I'd like to share a Christmas story.

I believe it was 1989. My Lola gave me this big box. When I opened it, it was the Spider-Mobile together with a Spider-Man action figure. It was this 3-wheeled red car that had a hook in the front that you could pull then would retract. Miguel and I were the only ones old enough to play with toys since Jonty and Nina were babies at that time. (I can't find the picture on the internet :( )

I guess I owe it to my Lola since it was because of her I'm a Spider-Man fan. :)

Walang paghihirap na hindi natatapos

"There's no hardship that doesn't finish" - It's better in tagalog, I know.

I've been saying a lot about 2009 being a difficult year for me. It's definitely been a hard year. But I always look back at this saying. I guess it sort of tells you that there's always light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes you just have to be brave enough to walk towards the light.

I think my Lola doesn't want me to have a bad 2009. I think she wants all of us to remain strong.

It's the unexpected that makes you happy the most.

Remember the What Ifs entry?

Well, I think I answered it last night. High Risk, High Return.

Like I said, you just have to be brave enough to walk towards the light.

Keep your chin up guys. All will be well.

Being alone at home...

I'm usually home alone these days.

For October, my brother took a short vacation abroad and my parents are extremely busy! So now, I'm just at home, tweeting, surfing, and planning what to do for next year.

Now? My parents are busier than ever before, my brother has school and his schedule is just loaded. Me? I end up either eating alone or eating out alone. Hahaha.

So anyway, there was one particular night that I had to turn off all the lights in the house. As I was going up, the toilet in my Lola's old room (which is now the den again) makes a flushing sound. That was at 11:30 at night with all the lights off. $##!$%!^&& It can't be. I go outside and I ask Maris (who was been with us for so many years) if the toilet was busted... She kept on laughing but in a scared way... She didn't want to check the den but I said that we had to! NO WAY I was going in there by myself.

I find out that the toilet was busted. But still, right after closing all the lights and you suddenly hear that.

Lola, I'm sorry. I love you very much. It'd be nice to see you again but please not late at night... Takutin pa naman ako especially when I'm all alone in the house. I still miss you each and every day...

It's so quiet when alone. The best thing to do is to keep yourself busy.

Thankfully, I'm not home alone now :)

Just felt like updating the blog!

We all look like we feel...

"We all look like we feel" as said by Chris Carabba.

These are people who do not wear masks. I believe that if you really want to show your true feelings, then you go out and look like how you feel.

You feeling happy because of something/someone? Go show it! Show that person that you're happy!

You feeling sad because someone hurt you? Go show it! Be true to yourself!

You feeling angry about something? Don't keep the anger inside, that's bad for the health.

Anyway, I guess the point I'm trying to drive at is that I believe most of us don't want to show these feelings because we're afraid to get judged. Some of us may fear rejection while some may feel that they'd hurt someone.

I think the people who should know how you feel should be given that.

So here I am being honest, right now, I'm feeling really happy -)

Signed Stuff

OK, Last na to on James Jean. Just want to share the things I had signed :) I had all the stuff I wanted signed so it was mission accomplished for me!

I thought things like this just happen in comic-cons abroad but thankfully, Fully Booked made a lot of geeks so damn happy :)

He just sketched Snow White!!!

SMILE!

Fables: Covers by James Jean (Apparently, they don't print this anymore)

Lucky to have gotten a Snow White sketch on the "1001 Nights of Snowfall" book

Should I explain why I chose Runaways? Look at the title of my blog :)

One of the best BKV books ever! Had to have this signed!

I can't just forget UMBRELLA ACADEMY #1!!!

Visiting CSB for the James Jean talk

Yup. I'm still on a James Jean high! I took a leave from work today so I could listen to James Jean's talk today at the College of St. Benilde. The talk had limited slots and Jonty and I were lucky enough to RSVP on time.

Mr. Jean basically showed his art and how he was influenced and all that. It was nice to know that he was inspired from Comic Books. Wolverine #31 was the very first comic he read. Plus the thing he drew when he was 13 was inspired by Jim Lee's style. It was an X-Men drawing.

Look at what he can do now! (See below)

(THE X-MEN!!!)

(Wolverine #31)

James Jean has come along way and he's accomplished so much. It's just sad to note that someone asked if he'd return to comics. He won't :( He wants to focus more on painting and having art shows. But it's all good. He really can't limit himself to just doing covers for comics. Plus he won cover artist of the year for 6 years in a row now! Wow!

I learned that a lot of his artwork had a mix of pencils, Photoshop, and even Flash! He admitted that he didn't like Illustrator. He stuck with Flash.

(Jaime Daez and James Jean)

Also, Pinoy Comic Book artists attended the event. Heubert Khan Michael, Carlo Pagulayan, Stephen Segovia, Jason Paz, Ernest Jocson, Jay David Ramos, Harvey Tolibao and Philip Tan (who happens to be visiting the Philippines) dropped by. After James Jean, they had a panel discussion in the afternoon for the students in which Gerry Alanguilan joined.

(With Philip Tan!)

(Philip Tan and Gerry Alanguilan)

The Panel
Gerry, Philip, Ernest, Carlo, Jay, Heubert, Harvey

I think it's cool how Fully Booked organized this whole event for the fans. I mean, think about it. It's difficult to bring an artist here from abroad. They've brought in Neil Gaiman, Ben Templesmith, and now James Jean. Awesome!!! Who's next??? We'll have to wait and see... But if I had my choice, bring in BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS, BRIAN K VAUGHAN, MARK MILLAR, OR JOE QUESADA!!! Hahahaha.

But thank you Jaime Daez and Fully Booked for this event! You guys made a lot of Fanboys and Fangirls happy! :)

Interviewing James Jean

Last Thursday, after Rock Ed Radio, I got a text from Erwin Romulo saying "Are you free Saturday, 5:45pm?" I asked him why. He then replied "This interview with James Jean."

That was around 12 midnight already and I just lost sleep. Holy crap! It was JAMES JEAN for pete's sake! I didn't pass that up.

So Erwin asked me to do the interview but I asked him if Jonty can also go since he's more of the writer. We got the GO signal from Mr. Romulo and the rest was history.

November 21, Jonty and I went to Fully Booked High Street at around 10:30. There were already fans lining up but thankfully, we got 10 and 11. Not bad for 2 Fanboys.

So the Cruz bros came back to the Fort at around 5 to meet up with Erwin since he was to facilitate the interview. Jed Segovia of Inquirer did the interview first and he even scored a White Violin sketch from Mr. Jean.

After his interview, it was our turn. We said hello to Mr. Jaime Daez and he remembered us for being the first guys to go to Fully Booked to see Ben Templesmith back in 2007. The man is an awesome fanboy. Plus he had a good memory!

We entered his office and it was full of priceless artwork from JG Jones, Dave McKean, Bill Sienkiewicz, and of course, James Jean.

As I entered, there was the 7 time Eisner Award Best Cover Artist winner, waiting in his seat.

The interview started after and the rest was history! Just grab a copy of UNO Mag once it comes out. You can read my interview there :)

(playing it cool)

(listening to the man's answers to my fanboy questions)

We didn't get sketches nor have our books signed. We respected the guy and we wanted to properly go through the process. So we fell in line with our stubs. :)

The interview was awesome! It was a fanboy's dream come true! :) Just look at me and Jonty's smiles below! Hahaha. Sayang lang blurred. But it's all good. According to Gerry Alanguilan, "Blurred is the new focused!" :)

(Blurred is the new focused. Photo by Erwin Romulo)

(Just look at Jaime Daez's collection! Frikkin AWESOME!)

Jonty and I got really really lucky with this one. We had an awesome time! Definitely once in a lifetime!

The what ifs of life...

I started catching up on "How I Met Your Mother" recently and I'm just around 5 episodes behind. I just need to start watching Season 5 now.

So anyway, I couldn't help but reflect on the "What Ifs". One of the props from the show is the yellow umbrella. We still don't know who the mother is though. But the yellow umbrella Ted found belongs to the "mother". So when the umbrella is shown, Ted narrates what if he didn't go out that day, what if he turned left instead of right, what if he didn't stop at the magazine stand? He wouldn't have met the Mother...

I have a knack for thinking of "What Ifs" just like Ted. I guess the Marvel Comic contributes to this...

OK, why am I thinking of these What Ifs?

I don't know, I guess that past month has got me thinking of some things. I mean, a couple of months ago, I was feeling so so low. Back then I was asking all the "Whys". But as time progressed, I saw how life worked... You'll be surprised. Everything happens for a reason. Now, I think things are turning for the better. I'm happy and I haven't been this happy for a while.

What if a different decision was made? Then I wouldn't be where I am now would I? :)

What if you're reading this now instead of doing something else? :)

Smiling at the camera

I had to go to some shoots for the family but last night was rather a bit more special.

I had a photo shoot with Jonty and of course, my lovely Mom :) She's being featured in a magazine so Jonty and I were part of it.

It was more comfy actually. The photographer made it easier for us. Plus they didn't put any lip gloss on my lips! "Guys should look like guys" said the photographer. YES! THANK YOU! I said in reply! Hahaha!

It'll be a while til the magazine comes out. 2010 pa. You won't miss it :)

On TRESE

With respect to Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo, this is just my humble and honest opinion on their masterpiece called TRESE.

Gerry Alanguilan said it best in the foreword of TRESE vol.1

"You have no idea how excited I am for you"

I re-read vol. 1 and I just can't seem to get enough of Alexandra Trese and The Kambal. I'm telling you, the mythology Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo created is just pure greatness! The stories are just top notch grade A pure awesomeness.

OK, so TRESE is about a crime investigator of the paranormal named Alexandra Trese. She solves cases that involves the weird activities that happen in Metro Manila. The very first issue involves Balete Drive and the White Lady. If you're a fan of Philippine folklore and all the horror that's involved, you will enjoy the book. If you like that plus mystery, you'll love the book. If you like what I just said and loves comics, you'll ask for more and more and more from Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo.

I'm telling you, TRESE is like probably one of THE greatest creations in COMICS HISTORY!!! It kicks ass and the characters are just awesome.

The best payoff is volume 3 because in my opinion, it is THE best origin story ever. I like it on how the origin is told towards the latter part. It's just sheer genius. ANG GALENG MEHN!!! Hahahaha!

I absolutely love this book and I hope Mr Tan and Mr Baldisimo create more and more of TRESE!

Spreading the chocolove :)

These made me happy when I saw them inside the supermarket! Finally! They're available! It's that time of year again!

KIT KAT Dark and KIT KAT ChunKy Cookies and Cream from Australia are finally available on shelves!!! :D

Got these in Rustan's Magallanes. They're extremely limited and available in selected GMA and Luzon supermarkets.

These are perfect for gifting! Spread the chocolove!!! :)

Following your dream

I was talking to an officemate the other day. He was asking me on what I wanted to do in the future. So I told him upfront that I wanted to make my own comic book. I had my hesitations. Why? It's hard to enter the Philippine Comic Industry.

But it's a dream!

After this year's KOMIKON, I couldn't help it but get inspired by Gerry Alanguilan, Budjette Tan, and Manix Abrera. These are guys who are just passionate about KOMIKS.

Plus I was affected by a realization that people today have forgotten to dream big. It's a major problem of our country now. People have lost hope.

So now, I'm gonna follow my dream. I will make my own comic. My goal is by KOMIKON 2011. It's got to have a perfect story. So give me time to practice first ok? :) There, I'm announcing it. I'm gonna follow my dream :)

Hindi ka Nag-iisa MTV

Check out this music video



I got so many goosebumps when my family and I watched the rough cut of this MTV.

It was sad seeing the image of my Lola in the video. I really miss her a lot. But the next scene was Tito Noy and then Tita Kris. That part made me realize that the members of my family are doing there share in our time of difficulty. My Lola's not with us anymore but I really believe that July and August made us closer to one another...

We have a loooong journey ahead. But I think that we just have to support one another. We have to make each other realize that we are not alone in this challenge to make our nation better. HINDI KA NAG-IISA!!!

We are all in this together!!! :)

To all new registered voters...

Even if there are still 2 days left, I just want to thank everyone who REGISTERED TO VOTE!

I cannot stress how happy I am for all the newly registered voters. I was really afraid that people still don't care. But with the stories I've been getting, it really is so heartwarming to know that people registered.

I have friends who fell in line for hours. But I think some had it worse. Hats off to you guys!

My grandfather died for democracy, my grandmother lived for democracy. We really can't take it for granted. We really really can't!

So, those who devoted all their time and effort to register, thank you for preserving our democracy!!! You guys rock!!! Mabuhay kayong lahat!!!

Unexpected... But happy

The things that make you more happy when you don't expect them to happen.

For those who've seen 500 days of Summer, didn't you think the "Expectations vs. Reality" scene was awesome?

Expectations are one of the key reasons for major disappointments in life. The more you don't meet what you expected, the greater the hurt.

I've learned to accept a lot of things this year. I know it's only October but 2009 has been a difficult year. It was really a matter of accepting life as it is. It was the first time I've lost someone who I loved so much. My Lola meant the world to me. Though she's not here physically, she has been making her presence felt. Well, to me at least. I think she's helped me get stronger.

You win some and you lose some in life. There are twists and turns in life. In those turns, you won't know what you'll see. Just let go. Don't expect.

I've been happy lately because of pleasant surprises in life. Not expecting makes life more enjoyable actually. :)

Don't be afraid of tomorrow. You might like it!

Manix Abrera's "12"

I'll agree with Gerry Alanguilan when he said that one of the best things to have come out of KOMIKON 2009 was Manix Abrera's "12".

The book contains 12 short stories in comic book form. But it's a silent comic! No words at all!

But it'll make you laugh, cry, feel good, feel bad, puke, and so many other things. Manix did a heck of a job with 12. He's a comic book genius! This was one of THE BEST comic books I have ever read in my entire life. Being an avid comic book reader, this is top notch BEST IN CLASS!

The drawings are simple but totally effective. Telling a story without words is so hard to execute but Manix made it look a piece of cake for him. This book is out of this world brilliant!

It's in full color and it's worth every peso! I was fortunate to have my copy signed by Manix himself.

People, if there was one book I can really really really recommend, it would be this. You don't like words. Read this book!!!

I have to check where it's available first. But I would assume that it would be available in comic book shops by now.

I hope Manix reads this because I would like to thank him for creating this masterpiece!!! May he create many many more comics!!! Mabuhay si Manix Abrera!!!

Blue, Yellow, Gray

The tandem of Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale did a couple of books a few years back. These were the "colored" ones.

Namely, the books were Spider-Man: Blue, Daredevil: Yellow, and Hulk: Gray (Spidey is the only one who didn't have previous costume/look) All were mini-series.

Featured were Peter Parker, Matt Murdock, and Bruce Banner. In these stories, it dealt with them coping/reflecting on their first loves who passed away... Gwen Stacy, Karen Page, and Betty Ross.

Now I found these books good reads since these heroes were trying to forget about their first loves. They were trying to move on but just couldn't. The books showed a process of returning to the past to heal. All of them had different methods. Peter was talking to a tape recorder during Valentine's Day, Matt was writing a letter, and Bruce was talking to his shrink/friend Doctor Leonard Samson.

I got to see more and more of the human side of these characters. Here they were, grieving for losing their first loves. The sadness in the words they were saying, the special moments they were reflecting on. Simple but moving.



I think the whole concept of "first love" was tackled excellently by Jeph Loeb. Though they moved on, the firsts would always remain. I think these were the best ones written by Jeph Loeb for Marvel, since he came back, he hasn't really written anything that's at par with these. Sorry Mr. Loeb but I didn't like Ultimates 3 at all...

Going back to the 3 books, they are all equally brilliant! However, being not so much of a fan of the Hulk, the Gray storyline caught me by surprise. I actually loved Hulk: Gray. It was pretty good! Spider-Man: Blue and Daredevil: Yellow are classics but you have to read all 3 to appreciate the work done by Loeb and Sale. They're all awesome!


I was reading a recent issue of Fantastic Four and Ben Grimm was supposed to get married. But he backed away because he saw Peter, Matt, and Bruce. In the background, the artist put the ladies. Gwen, Karen, and Betty. Ben Grimm thought that he didn't wanna go through what the 3 men went through. It was just plain difficult if the girl dies. Now note that Gwen and Karen were killed by deadly enemies of the heroes (Norman Osborn and Bullsye). I can't say arch nemesis because Bullseye isn't the primo against Daredevil. (It's Wilson Fisk, fyi :) )


So if you're a dude who wants to reflect/move-on. Try picking up these books. You actually may learn a thing or two. Start with Spidey and end with The Hulk.

It's good to see how human these super-powered people are. I think that's what separates them from the DC heroes.

Peter, Matt, and Bruce will forever be haunted by the sad memories of their first loves but they moved on. Although, they still have to put up with the baddies...

Check these books out guys! Top notch!

On Registering to Vote

I'm happy that most of my friends are registered voters. Though I have some who wanna vote but are just too busy... I hope they register.

But I'm happy that I have friends in the office who will be first time voters. I know that they wanna see change in the Philippines. They wanna see integrity back in Philippine politics.

We can always hope for the betterment of the country.

However, when someone wins the seat, we cannot leave it up to him/her. We have to play our part too...

That's why I'm happy that I have friends doing their part. They registered to vote.

After my countless kakulitan to them, they finally did :)

500 Days of Summer - my honest review

I'm not gonna post something inspirational. I'm here to talk about a fantastic movie that I just saw.

Spoilers ahead. Be warned.

500 Days of Summer was very well crafted, witty, fun, sad, and different all at the same time. The title alone will let you know that the 2 main characters won't end up with each other.

It was the perfect relationship set to end with an expiration date.

There will be things we will never understand on LOVE but that's the beauty of it. 500 Days made me see things that I could relate with. I was able to relate with the process of moving on.

Towards the end of the movie, Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), was told to look back at the past. But on a condition not to look at the happy memories. He had to look at the bad ones. I think that sometimes we ignore the simple bad things that happen in the relationship. You realize that when you look back at the past and see the flaws, you'll get to understand.

I think guys will have to go through their "Summers". I think it's something all, if not, most guys go through in life. You deal with heartbreaks. You get to live with it, forget about it, and finally move on with life.

What I believe in is that things happen for a reason. Whether it be good things or bad things, they happen for a reason. The reason, we may not understand but it's supposed to happen for the grander scheme of things.

To all the nice guys out there who got their hearts broken, watch this movie. You'll like it. I promise you that.

Early Christmas Ideas

My friend's girlfriend called me earlier asking for tips on what graphic novel to give for Christmas.

I thought that for the ladies who want to give their fanboy better halves a Christmas gift, here are my graphic novel suggestions.

I'm just gonna throw in the non-mainstream ones ok?

1. Invincible by Robert Kirkman (Image) - Spider-Man meets Superman.
2. The Sword by The Luna Brothers (Image) - just buy this, it rocks!
3. The Escapists by Brian K. Vaughan (Dark Horse) - Geek love!!!
4. Criminal by Ed Brubaker (Icon) - heavy reading but it's worth every page!
5. The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman (Image) - Not horror at all, it's character development at its finest!

Local ones rock too!

1. Elmer by Gerry Alanguilan
2. TRESE books 1, 2, and 3 by Budjette Tan
3. Martial Law Babies by Arnold Arre
4. 12 by Manix Abrera (ONE OF THE BEST I'VE READ... OF ALL TIME!)

You can get these books in the ff: if you're living in the Metro Manila Area

1. Druid's Keep - Gateway Center in Magallanes
2. Comic Odyssey - Robinsons Galleria, Ermita, Eastwood Cybermall
3. Fully Booked stores
4. Sputnik - Cubao Expo