“dennis the menace doesn’t look like his father. could he be illegitimate?”
-valdimir nabokov, c1970

“McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern Issue 13” by Chris Ware. dahil na impress ako ng husto sa award winning “jimmy corrigan, the smartest kid on earth” graphic novel, susubukan ko itong bagong anthology na edited ni ware. sa cover pa lang mukhang pamatay na – it unfolds into a huge supplementary cartoon na puno ng mga maliliit na panels with intricately drawn scenes that is so typical of ware’s comic books. featured din ang mga rough sketches ni peanuts creator charles schulz at naroon din si art spiegelman, ang author ng pulitzer prize winning comics na “maus“.

“The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen – Volume II“ by alan moore. kalimutan na ninyo yung pangit na film adaptation and just concentrate on the graphic novel. dito sa 2nd installment ay tuloy na naman ang mga adventures ng grupo. and like the first volume, this one rocks. the story revolves around the “war of the worlds theme” pero nagulat ako dahil nagkatuluyan pala si allan quartermain at si mina. nag sex nga sila eh (ng maraming beses) – very graphic. hehe. ang galing – if you have time to read just one book, make it this one. or, make it chris ware’s book. either of the two will do.

it’s a bird, by steven seagle and teddy kristiansen

nahilig ako sa comics dahil sa daddy ko. parati niya kasi akong pinapasyal sa avenida para bumili doon during the 70’s. di na nawala ang love affair ko with comic books to this day and i do have quite a lot in my collection already. i’ve been looking at it recently to see where my tastes for stories in this genre (dyen-re? ‘zhânru, gago! hehe) has led me. lately pala, my collection is being populated ng mga gawa nina neil gaiman, alan moore, grant morrisson, garth ennis, warren ellis, mike carey, john bolton at frank miller. batman? marami, kaya nga batjay ang pangalan ko eh. superman? in the last 10 years, isa lang ang binili ko. yung “death of superman” special edition. frankly, i hated it. nung bata naman ako, i did like him. pero, later on, i started to drift away from anything superman related. why? because he didn’t make sense at saka corny na yung mga “feel good” stories about “truth, justice and the american way”.

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kakatapos ko lang basahin (ulit) ang “my movie business“. ito ang memoir (memoyr? memwah, gago!) ni boss idol john irving. ang libro ay tungkol sa kanyang 14 year odyssey ng pag sasapelikula ng “cider house rules“. magandang dalhin ito sa eroplano. it’s short and you’ll probably finish it on a long haul flight from manila to aLA-eh with enough time for a movie or two.

to appreciate this book, you need to read the novel and watch the movie (in that order) because a lot of what the memoir talks about, revolves around how the screenplay and the eventual movie was created. this is an insiders account on the art of making movies, or to be exact, the art of how to make a movie out of a book. kung interesado ka sa mga nobela at mga pelikula, this book is for you. if you’re a budding film maker (like tanyaloca), this is a helpful book.

ang pinaka issue ng novel, film at memoir ay tungkol sa abortion. in particular about the history, morality, politics and controversies surrounding abortion related issues in the united states. habang binabasa ko nga ang libro, iniisip ko how this issue relates to the philippines.

tamang tama naman ang email sa akin ni idol ibet, ang kaibigan namin ni jet na nagtatrabaho sa africa. she is in manila on vacation at nabanggit niya na nanood siya ng dula na “BUHAY NAMIN” ni luwalhati bautista. ito’y tungkol sa abortion sa pilipinas. she started giving out figures that surprised me. for example… are you ready for this? “400,000 abortions are estimated to occur each year in the philippines”. there’s even a report that says “one out of four pinay women have had abortions secretly”. pakingsheet! at dahil illegal ang abortion sa bayang magiliw, most women resort to quack doctors o kaya umiinom ng pampalaglag. which is why “some 80,000 women per year are estimated to be treated in hospitals in the philippines for postabortion complications of induced abortion“. ilan sa kanila ang namamatay? i can only wonder.
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“well madam, i will tell you one thing. you are back in india for a good shaking.
here you will dance with death and be reborn. you will be a chameleon of karma…”

Holy Cow : An Indian Adventure by Sarah Macdonald. true story ng isang babaeng pumunta sa india when she was in her 20’s – asar na asar siya sa init, bahu at dami ng tao. she vowed never to return kahit na hinulaan siya ng isang bumbay na pulubi na babalik siya sa india dahil sa pag-ibig. after 11 years, nagkatutuo ang prophecy ng pulubi nang mag resign si sarah sa kanyang trabaho at bumalik sa india to be with the love of her life na isang reporter assigned to cover the sub-continent. nakakatawa ang novel na ito at if you’ve been to india, you’ll find out that everything she says is so true. kung di pa kayo nakakarating sa india, eh this book is the safest, most hassle free way to do it – ie alang amoy, bakang naglalakad sa gitna ng kalye, makukulit na taong mahilig mangalabit, etc.

Top 10 by Alan moore, Book’s 1 and 2. what would it be like if you were living in a world where everybody is a superhero – ulitmo mga basurero at pok-pok girls and boys ay may kanya kanyang kili-kili powers. maganda ang comics na ito, at highly recommended if you’re into this genre. paano ba ito bigkasin, “dyen-reh”? hehehe. john-rah, gago! parang ren-des-bus? run-dee-buh, gagi!