Event: Komikstrip 2011

(From last year's Komikstrip)

I'm excited about February's Komikstrip 2011 to be held at my alma mater UP Los Baños.

Ever since I've been exposed to the indie komiks scene way back in my college years, I've always been looking forward to a komiks event to come in at Los Baños. Years after I graduated (and worked) KomiksTrip came about their first foray last year attended by some of the country's best indie komiks makers such as Budjette Tan (Trese), Carlo Vergara (Zsa Zsa Zaturnah), Gerry Alanguilan (Elmer), Manix Abrera (Kikomachine), Memer and Michael David of Culture Crash, The Punxxx Komks Crew, Hazel Manzano (Callwork) etc.

(From last year's Komikstrip)

I've heard from the organizers that they'll be bringing in roughly the same peole from last year and more. And that's a good thing since events like KomiksTrip don't come around often in Los Baños, more so in Laguna. So there's gonna be more komiks, autographs, pictures and other stuff for us this year.

I'm particularly excited about Rommel Estanislao's confirmation in the event. Rommel, also known as Omeng and ~dinuguan on deviantart.com is what shobiz calls a triple threat: he draws, he does graphic design and sculpts clay figures of komiks characters. Check out his deviations here. Silent Sanctum Manga is also a draw for me this year. I am yet to have a copy of their works which, based from their website and reviews of their works from other komiks artists, are fun to read. I've also heard that Andrew Villar will be there bringing along his 'Hari' komiks in print form.

(From last year's Komikstrip)

And yes, there will be even more as the organizers say, so I'm really looking forward to this. Visit the event's blog, their website and like them on Facebook and Twitter. And as with this kind of event, expect a number of reviews on komiks and stuff that I'll be acquiring so see you around.

The Redemption of Panty And Stocking

Panty to the left and Stocking to the right

If you have not heard of or seen Gainax' Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt, you better do so.

I'd call it a shock show, and even then that term seems to be an understatement. Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt (let's call it PASWG from now on) feels like a Gendy Tartakovzky cartoon on crack. It follows the adventures of Panty and Stocking (sic), an angelic pair of sisters who fell from Heaven's grace and who must now redeem themselves in order to go back. Aided by Garterbelt (a black priest with a huge afro), who has a storied past himself, they cleanse Daten City of nefarious beings known as Ghosts.

Sounds fluffy? Not actually.

the main cast (clockwise) Garterbelt, Panty, Chuck and Stocking

You see, Panty and Stocking are a dysfunctional pair with Garterbelt and the rest of the cast adding in the chaos. The sisters slack, bicker and bitch their way through each and every episode laced with Gainax' trademark twisted humor. That is the meat of the show and revolves quite a bit around how many guys Panty romped with and how much sweets Stocking devours in each 15-minute segment. Garterbelt on the other hand tries each and every time to be the moral anchor of the sisters though his own flaws tie him up.

Ghosts were mentioned a while ago, them being the main antagonists of the show. Each one is dealt with by Panty and Stocking in a brutal way. The sisters do this for 'heaven coins' which are tokens they collect for them to return to Heaven. Most of the time, Panty and Stocking are shown to be discontented with their rewards and in a way represents how things go about in Daten City.

Scanty and Kneesocks

Midway through the show, it was revealed that the Ghosts are merely puppets of the Mayor of Daten City, Corset with the demon sisters Scanty and Kneesocks as his subordinates. Corset is determined to open the gates of Hell contained within Daten City and like Garterbelt, orders the demon sisters around to do his deeds for him. Scanty and Kneesocks on the other hand are not mere palette swaps of Panty and Stocking. Scanty is nefarious but pompous while Kneesocks is the more aggressive of the pair but both are obsessed with 'rules' and are surprisingly polite and proper despite being tagged as demons. 

So we've got all those things happening on the show and more. Each and every episode is different and may seem to be incoherent or unrelated to each other but truth is, the whole show stitches itself together as it nears the end. And in a way, despite the characters and situations being brash, uncultured, rude and explicit (there's sex in it, go figure) PASWG manages to be an entertaining and heartfelt show like any other Gainax offering made thus far.

So don't let all the crass and crudeness hinder you from watching this. No not even if the characters are named after underwear. Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt like Neon Genesis Evangelion, FLCL and Aim for the top before it is true to the Gainax mold of bringing the unconventional to the otherwise mundane world we live in.

My 10 'To-get' Toys and Kits for 2011

2010 was a very good year for me, at least when in the latter parts where I got gunpla left and right as hand-me-downs and gifts (thank you people, you know who you are) as well as I got to own a RG 1/144 RX-78 Gundam.

So here's my 10 'To-get' Toys and Kits list for 2011, a smattering of what I missed last year and things to come this year:

3x more awesome than any 1/144

1. RG 1/144 Char's Zaku - is on top of my list since I want this paired up with my RG 1/144 RX-78 Gundam. In my humble opinion, I think this is the cooler of the 2 Real Grades released thus far, as it is the Red Comet's personal Zaku II. What can you or me want more?

See? It can do THE POSE

2. Revoltech #101 - Gunbuster - I have been waiting for a kit or figure of Gunbuster to roll out for the longest time and the last one saw light in the late '90's as is already a rare one. Now Revoltech has finally come up with this, I'm definitely going to get it. It has all the bells and whistles that any Gunbuster fan can ever wish for: combining gimmick for the 2 Buster machines, effect parts and the ability to do 'THE POSE'. And that's all in one affordable package.

Been waiting forever for this

3. Yamaguchi Revoltech #8 - Jehuty - same with Revoltech Gunbuster, I have been waiting for a kit or figure of Jehuty forever (and any Zone of the Enders fan for that matter). There was never a word of it until now. Thanks Kaiyodo.

Nendoroid Stocking is still moe' even as a prototype

4. Panty and Stocking Nendoroid - Every fan of the WTF-you're-thinking-Gainax-this-is-effin-awesome anime Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt has anticipated this. I bet no one's gonna be content with just Panty or Stocking alone. I know I'm buying a pair :D

Guess I don't have to look up the ceiling anymore for these guys

5. Alien Revoltechs - I love H.R. Geiger's xenomorphs since they appeared on-screen and I have scoured far and wide for the old Kenner toys, which I have but a couple. And now that they are part of the Revoltech line, I wouldn't have to look any further.

Now if I can also find one of those early Escaflowne plamos

6. Kotobukiya Dirfringe/Delphine - Broken/Break Blade is today's L-Gaim/Escaflowne/Dunbine, all of which I loved because of the 'ancient mecha' concept behind the said series. Dirfringe/Delphine is a must get for me then by default.

Do you remember this?

7. Bandai VF-25 Messiah - The VF-25 may not be the most original VF design to come out but I loved the modularity of the Messiah so I'm sold on this one.

Another dash of moe'

8. Hoi-hoi sans - Yeah, a break from my usual mecha acquisitions. 'To-get' for me because of sheer moe' 'nuff said.

The sword is enough reason to get this.

9. HG 1/144 Gundam 00 Qan[T] - I've heard the Gundam 00 movie was awesome, and the Gundam 00 Qan[T] more so. Definitely a must get for me, along with the other movie kits.

Where for art thou TRON figures?

10.Any TRON figure - but most importantly the ones with the animated faces, as that particular gimmick impressed me much. Never seen one on any of the local stores and as such these are going to be a hard find.

There. It's a long list but it's my job (and pleasure!) to get these by year's end. Or most of them anyway. Stay tuned!

News,reviews and photos from gunjap, TOMOPOP and Toy News International

Happy New Year!

Some people call these plastic crap. I call 'em treasure

Happy New Year Everyone! And I do hope it will be a good year for all of us.

2010 was a bad year for me for the most part, financially if I had to mention. I experienced being the 'padre de pamilya' for the household for about half a year and that said I think my paternal instincts kicked in (hehe).

Nevertheless, circumstances will never get the better of me. There were a lot of good things that happened as the year closed. I got a second job as a freelance writer yet again so I think that will at least alleviate my current financial situation. I got a slew of Gundam plastic models and related items like goods and supplies as gifts this Christmas and I am a very happy camper with all those. And I got to paint and build some of them before the year ended. I got to reconnect and reunite with some of my old friends to boot. Truly a good turn of events on my part


In a way even though things started bad, I guess the sweet stuff really happens in the end. Again Happy New Year to us all.