AKACHRIS

"Yikes!!!"

2011-04-18T19:56:00.000-07:00

According to my mom, I was actually born on April 18th at the cusp of the next day and that the kind doctor fudged the date of my birth to April 19th to save the cost of an extra day at the hospital.
That story doesn't really do anything for me.

Happy Birthday to me.

-Chris

WTFF's - "What The F--k Fridays!!!"

2010-06-25T21:49:00.001-07:00

I'm sick, sored, tired and now partially hungover.

Have a great weekend!!!

Talk to you later.

-Chris

"In Business...Cards"

2010-06-21T05:31:00.001-07:00

I finally got off my ass and designed by personal business cards [is that an oxymoron??]. Actually, my friend Maurice designed them but I supervised [THANKS MAURICE!!!].

Here's the front...

...and the back...

The modern Chinese font was sourced through my friend Clarke and polished up by my friend Kristine. I also am working on my business business card which has a very similar design aesthetic.

I bought them through Vistaprint and they should be arriving today. I'm a little ambivalent about Vistaprint as company as they pulled almost bait-and-switch by offering cheap and discounted business cards but make their money by nickel-and-diming on items like uploading an image/photo/design [$2.49 for each side]; a color back side [$9.74] and of course, shipping and handling [I paid $13.68 for 7-day delivery vs. $26.20 for 3 business day; $9.52 for 14-day; and $5.67 for 21-day delivery].

I had an interesting and fun weekend.

Belated Happy Birthday wishes to my Grandmother!!!

Belated Happy Birthday wishes to my friend Bea!!

Talk to you later.

-Chris

"Leftie"

2010-04-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

I'm currently in San Francisco.

Blog to you later.

-Chris

"The Sandwich Report"

2010-04-10T21:10:00.001-07:00

I did a favor for one of my favorite comic book writers Kurt Busiek on Friday.

MOCCA [Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art] Festival happened in New York City this past weekend. I was very ambivalent about it, having been the all the previous incarnations, and partially because it's at the 69th Armory. I was at the 69th Armory last month for the Village Voice 3rd Annual Choice Eats Tasting Event, which was pretty fun in itself, but the venue is old and dated. Unfortunately, New York City lacks comparable sized venue space.

My suggestion would be that MOCCA hold their annual festival at One Hanson Place in Brooklyn, next to the Atlantic Terminal, where The Brooklyn Flea was housed during the winter [see photo below]. The major drawback is that there is no real place for panels, but the bonus is the amazing food being served there like lobster rolls from the Red Hook Lobster Pound. Maybe The Brooklyn Flea can go without their usual vendors for one weekend.

Blog to you later.

-Chris

"The New Yorker Caption Contest - 2009"

2010-03-31T21:59:00.001-07:00

Here are my entries for The New Yorker Caption Contest for the rest of 2009.

11-30-09

12-07-09

12-14-09

12-21-09

Blog to you later.

-Chris

"Dead On"

2010-03-29T21:02:00.001-07:00

My guess about the plot point for Castle [Season 2, Episode 18] was right. It was somewhat cliche.

Next week's episode evidently involves a mummy and a curse, and guest-stars actor Erick Avari [see photo below].

If he looks familiar, it's because he had a small role as an archaeologist in The Mummy which involves a mummy and a curse. I also just saw an episode [Season 1, Episode 13] of Leverage last week also with same actor and involving some Eygptian artifact [it might have been a mummy but I don't remember for certain] and a curse. Talk about getting typecasted. As a financial analyst, I tend to notice patterns and commonalities even in television.

Blog to you later.

-Chris

"Manic"

2010-03-29T17:33:00.000-07:00

Monday is good night for television. My DVR is very busy recording a bunch of shows - How I Met Your Mother, 24, The Big Bang Theory, and Castle. I've stopped watching Heroes several years ago during Season 2 when the stories became cliche and melodramatic. I occasionally still watch an episode of Chuck because the actress Yvonne Strahovski is THAT attractive and beautiful, and because my former employer formerly published a Chuck comic book.

Last week's episode [Season 2, Episode 17] of Castle ended in a cliffhanger. Below is my brief recap of the cliffhanger and my prediction. The text is colored white and you need to highlight the section to see it.

The episode ended with the character Kate Beckett getting out of the shower and answering her cell phone. The title character Rick Castle called to warn her that the killer stalking her [during the episode] was still alive. And then her apartment exploded. My prediction is that Beckett survived by jumping into the cast iron bathtub that she was just taking a shower in.

Blog to you later.

-Chris

"The New Yorker Caption Contest - 11/23/09"

2009-11-22T21:18:00.000-08:00

Here's the latest...

Talk to you later.

-Chris

"The New Yorker Caption Contest - 11/16/09"

2009-11-15T19:59:00.001-08:00

Here's my entry for latest The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest...

Talk to you later.

-Chris

"Snakes on a Plan"

2009-11-10T12:23:00.001-08:00

I really like Mark Gruenwald's take on the Serpent Society, an union of super-criminals. I wasn't too crazy about some of the designs.

Anaconda: I wasn't too crazy about the gills on Anaconda so I gave her a mask with a respirator look.

Black Racer: Got rid of the green wig and gave her a sleek-looking helmet along with cutting blades on her forearms [like the old Fer-de-Lance]. Otherwise, the costume remains the same.

Bushmaster 2: It made no sense for an assassin to have such an undisguisable feature, so I got rid of the bionic snake-like lower prosthetics, and gave him normal bionic legs.

Coachwhip: Minor changes only. She is covered head-to-toe in a bodysuit.

Copperhead: I totally revamped the costume so it looks more like an armor or battlesuit. I have him more of an energy projector [electricity].

Cottonmouth: Minor cosmetic changes to his cowl. Like the other members of the Serpent Society, he is now covered head-to-toe in his costume.

Death Adder 2: The costume is pared version of the original. No super-long fin or tail. I always found the image of these characters [Bushmaster, Death Adder 2 and Rattler] disguised in public with only a fedora and trenchcoat as ridiculous and straddling the wrong side of the line of suspension of disbelief.

Fer-de-Lance 2: The new character is male who wears a battle armor equipped with mini-rocket launchers [his "lances"]. I wanted to give the Serpent Society some more members with long-range capabilities.

Puff Adder: Like Cottonmouth, only minor cosmetic changes to his cowl.

Rattler: I created a totally new costume/battlesuit. It's a padded costume [as protection to the vibrations his weapons generate] with shock gauntlets [similar to the Shockers].

Rock Python: Again like Cottonmouth and Puff Adder, only minor cosmetic changes to his cowl.

Sidewinder 4: The newest Sidewinder is cunning and ruthless. Besides his battlesuit [only minor changes with the cowl area], he is utilizing two new devices - the Snake Charmer system [each member of the Serpent Society is implanted with a cybernetic implant that render them into a dazed and incapacitated state if activated] and the Snakeskin [each Society member has a version of Sidewinder's teleportation circuitry that is good for one jump to a pre-determined location - usually a teleportation receiving platform hidden in the trailer of a semi-truck].

Talk to you later.

-Chris

"The New Yorker Caption Contest - 11/09/09"

2009-11-08T18:49:00.001-08:00

Here's my entry for this week...

It's not my best work.

Talk to you later.

-Chris

"Casting Couch"

2009-10-30T22:51:00.000-07:00

The new television season has started and I've fallen victim to it. Thank god for the DVR.

Two new shows that I like this season are FlashForward and White Collar. Both feature FBI agents as some of the main characters. Evidently the writers and casting agents for both shows were on the same wavelength as they both have black male and lesbian agents in supporting [and not leading] roles.

Of course, maybe it's just me because I tend to notice patterns, commonalities and coincidences. For example, I theorized that there was an Entourage curse as many of the guest stars died within months of their appearance on the show for Seasons 2-4 [Chris Penn, Bruno Kirby, and Sydney Pollack]. No known deaths for Seasons 1, 5 or 6.

UPDATE: I just saw the latest episode of White Collar, and evidently they got rid of the lesbian agent played by Marsha Thomason and replaced her with a heterosexual female agent played by Natalie Morales [formerly of the underrated but cancelled sci-fi comedy The Middleman]. While that makes perfect sense to spice up the series by having sexual chemistry between the con man main character and the female FBI agent, it now throws a monkey wrench into my blog entry.

Talk to you later.

-Chris

"The New Yorker Caption Contest - 11/02/09"

2009-10-29T10:19:00.000-07:00

For the last several months, I have entered The New Yorker Caption Contest on a regular basis without any luck. While I will gladly admit I'm not the funniest person in the world, I think I have a great sense of humor plus I can be pretty witty and sarcastic on occasion.

So I have decided to post my entries for public viewing. Here's the latest...

Please let me know what you think.

Talk to you later.

-Chris

"Con Wars - Dazed and Confused"

2009-10-27T08:05:00.000-07:00

The New York City comic book convention war between Wizard and Reed Exhibitions continues.

There are great summaries and synopses at Bleeding Cool, The Beat and Robot 6 [at Comic Book Resources].

While there has been mention of Wizard's excellent mainstream news coverage, I saw something in Time Out New York which was not covered. For those of you who don't live in the Tri-State area, Time Out New York is a pretty popular local magazine, right behind New York and The New Yorker. Check it out below, it's the first blurb in the bottom section - "Best of the fests" with the photo of William Shatner.

So what's so strange or baffling about this blurb, Mark Texeira [who is currently drawing random stuff for Marvel Comics] is mentioned FIRST!!!

BTW, the blue highlight is mine and not the magazine's. The yellow highlight and arrow are the magazine's.

For those of you in the media business, sections like these are often rewritten versions of press releases so I'm guessing that the Big Apple Comic Con promoted Mark Texeira. And if you look at the Big Apple Comic Con guest list here, he's listed as a "Special Guest" in the top section ahead of sports legends Yogi Berra and Joe Frazier, top-selling comic book artist Jim Cheung, and pop culture icons as Linda Hamilton and Adam West.

I love Mark Texeira's work and think he's one of the great underappreciated comic book artist, but there is no way he should get first billing before guests of honors Jim Lee [the most popular comic book today] and Joe Quesada [the E-I-C of Marvel Comics] or William Shatner in the blurb.

So why was he getting such attention??!!? I'm guessing because the spelling of his name is close to ubër-popular Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira, and that Big Apple was hoping there would be some confusion among the general reading public.

When I get a chance, I'm going to elaborate further on the whole Con War and how I think it will be good thing for the general convention goer.

Talk to you later.

-Chris

"Aftermath"

2009-04-26T13:52:00.001-07:00

The older brother is officially married. Congratulations and best wishes to him and his lovely bride.

-Chris

"Cleaning House"

2009-02-05T23:00:00.001-08:00

Hey Boys and Girls, Mr. Chris is cleaning house and about to donate his brand new graphic novels to a charity unless one of his friends wants them.

Here's the list. Check it twice. I don't give a F--K if you're naughty or nice. The first to claim a book by e-mail or text message, it's theirs. Deadline is the day before Valentine's Day because I only have so much love and patience.

DC Comics:

Batman vs. Two-Face TPB (2 copies)
Batman: The Resurrection of Ra’s Al Ghul HC
Black Adam: The Dark Age TPB
Booster Gold, Vol. 1: 52 Pick-Up HC
Checkmate, Vol. 1: A King’s Game TPB
Hawkgirl, Vol. 3: Hath-Set TPB
Infinity Inc, Vol. 1: Luthor’s Monsters TPB (2 copies)
JLA Presents: Aztek, The Ultimate Man TPB
Justice League Elite, Vol. 2 TPB
Justice League of America: Hereby Elects TPB
Justice Society 2 TPB
Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century, Vol. 1: Tomorrow’s Heroes TPB
Mystery in Space, Vol. 2 TPB (2 copies)
The Question: The Five Books of Blood HC
The Question, Vol. 2: Poisoned Ground TPB
Robin: The Big Leagues TPB
Superman: The Man of Steel, Vol. 6 TPB
Teen Titans/The Outsiders: The Insiders TPB
Showcase Presents Robin the Boy Wonder, Vol. 1
Showcase Presents Justice League of America, Vol. 3

Vertigo:

The Exterminators, Vol. 4: Crossfire and Collateral TPB
Incognegro HC
Kid Eternity TPB
Sandman Mystery Theatre, Vol. 6: The Python TPB

Wildstorm:

Gen13, Vol. 1: The Best of a Bad Lot TPB (2 copies)
Gen13, Vol. 2: Road Trip TPB
Grifter & Midnighter TPB (3 copies)
A Man Called Kev TPB (2 copies)
Majestic - Book 2: While You Were Out TPB
Majestic – Book 3: The Final Cut TPB (2 copies)
Maxx, Vol. 6 TPB
The Midnighter, Vol. 1: Killing Machines TPB (2 copies)
A Nightmare on Elm Street, Vol. 1 TPB (2 copies)
Ninja Scroll TPB
Red Menace TPB (2 copies)
Red Sonja/The Claw TPB
StormWatch: Post Human Division, Vol. 1 TPB
Team Zero TPB
Texas Chainsaw Massacre TPB
Tom Strong Book 6 TPB
Welcome to Tranquility, Vol. 1 TPB
Wetworks 1 TPB (2 copies)
Wetworks 2 TPB (2 copies)
Wildcats v3.0 – Brand Building TPB
Wildstorm Armageddon TPB
Wraithborn TPB

Talk to you later.

-Chris

"Happy New Year"

2009-01-02T06:38:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone. Best wishes to you and yours.

Talk to you later.

-Chris

"M is for Magazines, Money and Monday"

2008-12-29T21:58:00.000-08:00

I'm ashamed of myself for not getting my Christmas/Holiday cards out. I bought them, actually, I bought them last year. I've been lazy but that's not anything new.

So maybe it's karma that I only got bills and solicitations in the mail. That's not true either as I did receive my $20 gift certificate from Rite Aid [for spending $100 in a two-month period]. Normally I shop at Duane Reade for their 5% rebate but I'm a cheapskate and 20% > 5%.

I am currently testing out the personal finance software site - www.mint.com which aggregates all of your bank account, credit card and investment information. It will then consolidate and track your spending [at least what you spend via your bank debit or credit card] - for example, it will tell you how much you spend eating out at restaurants or shopping or for groceries.

There are a lot of kinks in the system [i.e. lots of uncategorized or miscategorized items] and minimal financial advice [for example, it tells me I will earn an extra $88 a year if I switch checking accounts from Chase to HSBC, which honestly is not worth the aggravation of looking for a HSBC branch in New York City. I wish they would tell me something useful like what I would save by refinancing my mortgage, which I am thinking about and currently researching.

I will probably give www.wesabe.com a chance in a month or two.

I also got three magazines in the mail today, which while not unusual because I subscribe to too many darn magazines. Monday usually means The New Yorker [which I usually enjoy and informative] and New York [which is enjoyable, informative and useful]. Occasionally, one of my monthly magazines will show up like Popular Science or Men's Journal. I was kind of shocked to see Time Out New York only because it usually arrives on Wednesday.

I went through The New Yorker issue but the only thing interesting I saw was the Cartoon Caption Contest. I really don't care about Jewish Kosher food inspectors in mainland China or the history of The Village Voice. I have unconscienably-high stacks of unread magazines and my new rule if an article doesn't interest me in the first two paragraphs or with some amazing graphic [usually a photo of pretty girl does it], then I'll skip over it.

My goal is to go through 10 issues a day until the magazines are gone. The issue of New York does better with the cover story - "Adam Platt's Where to Eat '09". Another thing that stands out in the issue is the real estate section item titled "Fame Slept Here" where the magazine editors are kind enough to provide the current NYC address for R&B music sensastion John Legend. Yes, the title makes it sound like John Legend doesn't live there anymore but that's not the impression I get when I read the actual story.

I understand the real estate market is really soft now, especially for $1.25M residence, but is the extra marketing really worth the potential security risk?

I also managed to complete the crossword in the magazine under two hours, working on it on-and-off as I cooked and ate dinner...and in pen...though somewhat messily.

I'm going to leave the Time Out NewYork for tomorrow as there's a book I want to get to.

I have some plans for the New Year, a couple that are somewhat interesting, which I hope to share soon.

Talk to you later.

-Chris

"Home Alone"

2008-12-12T21:16:00.000-08:00

I'm home on a Friday night...in New York City...by myself. Cue the violin strings.

There were opportunities to go out tonight...to mingle with other people...socialize. But it's cold and I'm tired and potentially sick. Plus I was out last night from 4:30PM onwards past midnight...drinking...exerting myself physically [bowling and volleyball]...in the rain.

Was it me or was yesterday the worst rainy day in a long time in the New York area. No question mark as that was a rhetorical question. It wasn't just that it rained and rained without any sort of break or letup but it was rained hard, and the wind carried the rain under the umbrella so it provided little protection.

After work, I went down to Chinatown to buy some bok choy as they don't really sell good bok choy on the Upper West Side. I also bought some sushi for dinner as a stall in a market. Eleven pieces for only eleven dollars!!! How can you go wrong with that!!! I mean, besides the potential likelihood of food poisoning.

Granted that I don't have the greatest taste buds in the world, but it was definitely good...especially for the price...and I'm still not sick.

Did I mention that I went bowling last night. Again, another rhetorical question. It was with my co-workers at my relatively new job. I always thought I was an okay bowler but I did really well as I had the second highest score in the first game, and was leading in the second game before our time ended. So I guess I'm better than I thought or my co-workers suck at bowling, probably the latter.

Talk to you later.

-Chris

"Is This Thing On??"

2008-12-11T22:04:00.001-08:00

Testing. Testing. 1...2...3...testing.

-Chris

"History"

2008-11-08T05:20:00.000-08:00

For those of you with their heads stuck in the stand, history was made Tuesday night as...[I'm choking up here]...as...as the first Vice-President from Delaware was elected. How monumental is that??!!?

Seriously, I'm so happy that Barack Obama was elected President of the United States. But not because he is African-American, but because he is from a big city [Chicago]. I'm tired of the Republican monopoly that "America"and "American values" are somehow exclusive to smalll towns in middle America. Fuck that!!

Last Friday on Halloween, I attended the NYC Halloween parade in the Village. Lots of great costumes, but the strangest thing I saw wasn't someone dressed up but this...

When I first saw it, I thought maybe there some scene being acted out in the back of the truck but there was wasn't. It wasn't hauling a float either.

I'm guessing, the driver accidently made a turn somewhere and got stuck in the human traffic of the parade....or maybe it's actually a U-Haul truck.

-Chris

"Election Day"

2008-11-04T08:48:00.000-08:00

I voted this morning.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

-Chris

"The Number Two"

2008-11-03T22:52:00.000-08:00

I like to take photos of interesting things...stuff that stands out.

Here's the menu board of a sushi restaurant that I ate at up in Mt. Kisco, NY in May 2008.

Something doesn't sound right.

-Chris

"Jonesing"

2008-10-23T21:44:00.000-07:00

It's been almost three weeks at the new job. So far, so good.

I started without taking a vacation or time off so I've been treating myself to some goodies --- lots of books and CDs.

I also had dinner at Momofuku Ko this past Saturday. A truly amazing experience, probably worth the high price of admission. Sometimes you have to splurge in life...occasionally...once in a while. There's some buyer's remorse now. It feels wasteful, especially with what's happening in the economy now. The food was truly great...the marinated fluke, the various types of pork, the quail egg and caviar, and the Arnold Palmer sorbet [brilliant!!].

Talk to you later.

-Chris

"End of an Era"

2008-09-22T13:10:00.000-07:00

After a little over five years, I will be leaving DC Comics. My last day is Oct. 3rd.

I start my new job the following week. Details to be forthcoming or maybe not.

-Chris

"Modern Superstitions"

2008-08-13T00:48:00.000-07:00

Is this still seven years of bad luck if I walk under this??

-Chris

"Williamsburg"

2008-07-21T22:29:00.000-07:00

I spent the better part of Monday evening and night in Williamsburg --- barhopping mostly. Interesting enough.

I'm a little enamored with the string of Asian restaurants on Bedford Ave. off the L-Train Station. It's something I need to revisit.

The hipster vibe is evident, almost palpable. It didn't help that I was dressed up, though I did go sans tie and jacket while in Williamsburg.

Lots of video and photos taken tonight.

Talk to you later.

-Chris

"California Dreaming"

2008-07-11T03:28:00.000-07:00

I visited my brother and his fiancee over July 4th weekend in San Francisco. They live an idyllic life which I'm not ashamed that makes me very jealous.

Maybe I need a change of scenery.

My friends Jennifer and Joanne moved to Portland, Oregon. Before they left, they house sat my apartment while I was away on vacation and they were between residences. Somehow they managed to get my bathtub nice and pristine. This is the stained bathtub that the previous owner could not make pretty while she tried to sell the place. I'm going to SO miss them.

Me in Golden Gate Park with my nephews - Rocco and Duke

Me with WALL-E and EVE at Pixar Studios. I'm playing the role of Forrest Gump.

Talk to you later.

-Chris

"Beantown"

2008-05-24T04:29:00.001-07:00

I'm in Boston. Go figure.

-Chris

"Ghosts of Covers Past"

2008-05-20T22:40:00.000-07:00

I was looking through the Marvel Solicitations for their product being released in August 2008 and I came across the cover for Ghost Rider Annual #2.

It looked a little familiar. So after a little research, I found the following in my collection which I scanned for your comparison...

This issue came out in early 2007 and was timed with the release of the Ghost Rider movie. The colors are a little different but it's the same image. From what I know, Maxim commissioned the image from Marvel who hired the artist so Marvel technically owns the image and has every right to reuse it, not to mention the copyright and trademarks to the character Ghost Rider.

If Marvel does use this image as the cover for Ghost Rider Annual #2, it means they will save money on the issue because they don't have to pay for a new cover, which is again their every right. From a financial standpoint, it's a very smart move.

I'm just curious if Marvel is paying the artist some sort of reuse fee as the artwork? Just for the record, I know the artist and do not speak on his behalf. I also wonder if the image is relevant to the story --- does Ghost Rider drive up the side of a building in the issue? I just hope one or the other is true as it would be really greedy and, IMHO, unfair of Marvel to reuse a cover that they themselves were paid for.

Speaking of comic book characters on the covers of mainstream magazines, this week's Sports Illustrated cover which features Bizarro [as drawn by Mark Bagley - the artist on the DC Comics weekly comic book series Trinity].

Does this mean that George Steinbrenner is Lex Luthor??!?

-Chris

"Full Auto"

2008-05-18T23:47:00.000-07:00

Saturday was a most interesting 24 hours. After volunteering and brief snack in Chinatown with the other volunteers, I rushed up to my place on the Upper West Side in a cab. I usually take the subway but I was late and in a rush.

While I got home in a relatively quick time, but not before the African Muslim [he told me he was] cab driver gave me a rant about the evils of the "white man" and the "jew" and their eventual demise on Earth and inevitable trip to hell. Considering that I didn't do anything to encourage him, I thought it was pretty bold and a little presumptuous of him to say what he did. I did try to record him on my cell phone camcorder but the background noise just drowns out his rant.

I think you can hear him say "...I don't want the white man to make it..." or something like that. While I was offended by his statements, I don't care enough to get him fired or fined or whatever. Encountering whackos is part and parcel of living in New York City.

Later on my way upstate, the car that I was riding was rear-ended. We were driving up the Henry Hudson Parkway when got hit from behind twice near the entrance to the George Washington Bridge. Evidently, the recent NYU graduate fell asleep at the wheel and didn't break in time. Luckily, no one was hurt though the bumper of my friend's car definitely need replacement. Because we were literally parked on the third lane of the highway, I was very fearful that something like this might happen.
Besides the automobile drama, it was a pretty nice and quiet weekend.

-Chris

"Currently Out of the Blog"

2008-05-16T22:52:00.000-07:00

As part of Asian Pacific Heritage Month, I will be volunteering tomorrow morning when I will be helping spruce up a school in Chinatown. Then I'm off to a friend's birthday party/BBQ in upstate New York. So don't be surpised if I don't blog until Sunday or early next week.

My current kryptonite of choice...the Vanilla Bean Scones at Starbucks which are three (3) for $1.95 or mayb they're $1.75 for three and 195 calories.

My belief is the icing is made from powdered cocaine.

BTW, thanks to TAB for the birthday present -- I drank part of it last night.

-Chris

"The Breaks"

2008-05-16T07:51:00.000-07:00

I didn't blog yesterday due to extreme busy-i-ness at work and my friend's informal engagement party which I somehow got wrangled/tricked into organizing --- thereby ending my streak of consecutively blogging everyday in the month of May.

C'est la vie.

-Chris

"Big Pimping"

2008-05-14T08:40:00.000-07:00

I'm plugging the online web comic Ghost Pimp - written, drawn and created by my friend Maurice Fontenot which debuts May 15th on ACT-I-VATE.com.

I'd wish him good luck but I don't think he needs it.

-Chris

"Scrambled"

2008-05-13T20:21:00.001-07:00

In 1965, some twenty years after World War II and during the civil rights movement in the United States, DC Comics published Wonder Woman #157 featuring "the most startling villain ever devised" --- the Communist Chinese agent and mastermind Egg Fu - a supersized egg-shaped monstrosity with a Fu Manchu mustache as a weapon. I think most people would agree that this was a racist caricature, maybe not the hateful vitriol of neo-Nazism or the Klu Klux Klan but there's definitely malicious and spiteful aspect to the ridiculous of the character. It is a literal example of de-humanizing your enemy and Communist China was the enemy of this country at that time [and some people would argue they still are].

In 2006, DC Comics introduced a new version of Egg Fu called Chang Tzu in the pages of the popular weekly mini-series 52.

In subsequent interviews, a couple of the writers of 52 claimed the rehabilitation of the Egg Fu was one of their greater achievements in the series. Can someone please explain how the character is rehabilitated? At what one point does the re-imagined version stop being racist?

The fact is it wasn't the moustache or the bad English that made the original character racist. It was the intent. It was born of ignorance, insensitivity and a certain amount of cruelty. It is only barely tolerable in the historical context of the Cold War.

I understand that many comic book readers who read the original stories didn't see the racist elements and only saw the beguiling oddity of an egg-shaped villain, at least I hope that's the case. Maybe they're ignorant about the origins of theFu Manchu stereotype being "the yellow peril incarnate" or that the name probably came from a Chinese-American food dish as a joke.

So is it possible to only take only the "positive" elements of idea, symbol or character and discard the rest? Or are some things so tainted beyond repair or rehabilitation? For example, the Confederate flag -- Is it a symbol of slavery, oppression and racism or is it a symbol of states right and southern pride and history, or both? If there is legitimate feelings on both sides, whose side do you favor or is it possible to favor a side?

But it now seems to have gain acceptance within the comic book industry. Just google the term"Egg Fu" and "comic books" and 830 entries come up. I can't imagine that a couple of years ago.

I want to be clear, this isn't about political-correctness to me but acceptable social norms. In my opinion, this character is like a tasteless bad joke. An occasional tasteless bad joke at someone's expense is to be expected and tolerated --- an ongoing and persistent bad joke suggests an underlying problem, especially if there is no balancing positive influence.

Some many argue that I'm being too sensitive or that I can't take a joke, and you might be right. But the question I have is, why make the joke in the first place? Knowing the history of the character, why bring it back? Why the deep infatuation with the character? And what does that say about you?

Let me end this by saying that I don't think any of the writers of 52 are racist. I love Geoff Johns' work and I think Grant Morrison is one of the most creative forces in the industry. No one is perfect and I think this is one of their mistakes. Heck, I even made an egg joke in the blog post title, though it was more ironic commentary.

-Chris

"Sky Dancing"

2008-05-12T20:06:00.000-07:00

Saturday night, I went to see my friend's Mike's girlfriend Lisa perform at Jalopy in Red Hook, Brooklyn. Lisa is a dancer but moreover, she dances in the air using cloth strips like in the Marriott Residence Inn commercials. I think they call it aerial ballet.

I took two videos with my cell phone camera so pardon the quality.

If my girlfriend could do this, I'd marry her. I apologize if that sounds sexist but it's true.

-Chris

"Happy Mother's Day"

2008-05-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers I know - Carol, Rebecca, Sarah, Karen, Jay, Irene, Lisa, Jackie, and of course, my own mom.

-Chris

"Time Out"

2008-05-10T15:40:00.000-07:00

I'm calling time out today from blogging. I had a very busy morning and day, and have a busier night.

Happy Birthday to DC Comics Assistant Editor and Sinestro Corpsman of Sector 3493 Adam Schlagman.

May you reign in hell.

-Chris

"Representing"

2008-05-09T19:46:00.000-07:00

You may not know this but it's Asian Pacific Heritage Month. So as an Asian-American, I'm going to point out some of the horrible Asian characters and stereotypes within comic books even today.

One of the biggest problems is the tendency for Chinese superheroes and villains to have very colorful and descriptive names almost like stereotypical Native American names. I don't know if something is lost in translation or an over-exposure to badly-translated kung fu movies.

For example, in Batman and The Outsiders #6, the introduced a trio of Chinese metahuman operatives.

Angry Wizard - I'm just confused and baffled and speechless about this one. Though I can't wait for the next issue to find out if he's actually a practicing magician, and also to see if he's really angry or just slightly miffed.

Barefoot Tiger - I'm guessing it's because tigers normally wear shoes.

Dragonfire - simple enough name except do Chinese dragons even breathe fire??!!? I've done a little research and I can't find anything.

It's written by Chuck Dixon who I don't think is a bad writer, but then again I don't he's a great writer either. He seems to have an Asian fetish, having written Way of the Rat for CrossGen and the DC Comics mini-series Connor Hawke which is set in mainly Shanghai and features...wait for it...a fire-breathing dragon.

BTW, I actually really like the costumes. They're simple and uniform but modern and patriotic looking, all qualities valued by the Chinese Government, and not archaic like those worn by majority of the Great Ten [DC Comics other group of Chinese metahuman operatives]. My only problem is the use of Roman numerals instead of Chinese characters. The Chinese do use Roman numerals but in conjuction to Chinese characters, not in place of them. Otherwise, nice costumes.

-Chris

"3-2-1 Disappointment"

2008-05-08T20:53:00.000-07:00

The DC Comics weekly limited series Countdown to Final Crisis [formerly just Countdown] ended a couple of weeks ago which was probably a year too late. The general consensus was the series was a big failure, sure it sold well, but then again sales aren't everything and shouldn't be.

And so what was the cover for the last issue --- an homage or rip-off to the uninspired cover of the first issue.

In a way, the substitution/downgrading of the iconic DC Comics characters like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman with lesser known and more irrelevant characters is symbolic of the decline of the series from the first to last issue.

In hindsight, what did Countdown to Final Crisis accomplish? Darkseid and the majority of the New Gods had to died but the majority of the killing was done mainly in the mini-series Death of the New Gods. Moreover by delaying and almost replaying the final confrontation between Darkseid and Orion from Death of the New Gods to CtFC, it undermined both series.

All the drama with the "Challengers", Monarch, the Monitors, the Multiverse, Lord Havok, Arena, Harley and Holly, Jason Todd, the Atom, Jimmy Olsen, the new Forager, Mary Marvel, the Trickster and Pied Piper --- does any of it really matter and does anyone actually care. Yes, the question was rhetorical because the answer is no one does. I feel sorry for anyone who spent hundreds of dollars on Countdown and any of the related mini-series or one-shots -- all as unremarkable as the original.

-Chris

"Iron-Ons"

2008-05-07T22:08:00.000-07:00

In honor of the success of the Iron Man film, I'm posting images of various armored characters I have drawn for pitches over the years.

Titanium Man - this armor is based upon the Heroes Reborn Iron Man armor. I had a plot where the Gremlin [who had been killed by Iron Man] is also reborn on the Counter-Earth where the Heroes Reborn stories took place. The original Titanium Man armor never really appealled to me. The cable-like pseudo-musculature was a real pain to draw, as was the chain machine cannon.

Crimson Dynamo [Valentin Shatalov] - there was Iron Man issue where Tony Stark switched minds withValentin Shatalov - the Crimson Dynamo [at that time]. It ended with Shatalov being carted off for treasonous activities [committed by Tony Stark in his body] with the implication that he was to be executed. Shatalov reappeared in a later storyline with a more advanced Crimson Dynamo armor that was somewhat similar to Iron Man's. I just cleaned it up and tweaked it to make it more "Iron Man-ish". My apologies for the cropped bottoms of this and some of the other images.

Iron Trinity - these villains appeared in a Marvel Super-Heroes story where they fought The Falcon and haven't appeared since [that I know of]. I cleaned up their armor and changed their helmets to give them a little more individuality and to make it more look like The Iron Monger armor which their armors were based upon.

Chain - a member of the armored mercenaries known as The Seekers. His main weapon was an energized chain.

Grasp - a member of the armored mercenaries known as The Seekers. His main weapon were electrified gauntlets.

Sonik - a member of the armored mercenaries known as The Seekers. His main weapon was a sonic cannon which I incorporated into his chest plate. For each armor, I streamlined and simplified the look.

Samurai Steel - The character was a victim of the atomic bomb blast at Hiroshima or Nagasaki and wanted revenge against Stark whose father worked on the Manhattan Project. Borned deformed, he was a brilliant scientist and inventor. He created an armor which rivaled Iron Man's. He seemingly died at the end of the issue of Iron Man he appeared in. My storyline had him return and tied his storyline to that of Lady Deathstrike and the Cyberai [X-Men villains]. I didn't really change the look of the armor but made it more formidable by having it made of adamantium.

The Conqueror - a parallel Earth version where Tony Stark killed and then assumed the identity of Kang the Conqueror. My story idea involved him fleeing the Earth 616 after a fight with the Council of Kangs. My thinking was Tony Stark was his own worst enemy -- in idea which has since appeared in recent Marvel comic books [click this link for an example].

There was one Iron Man which I thought up but could never create a good design or plotline for. His name....Adamantium Man.

Kudos to the website Iron Man Armory which is a great resource.

-Chris

"One Step Back"

2008-05-07T20:27:00.000-07:00

Comic books seem to have made a lot of progress gaining mainstream attention and acceptance - especially recently with the success of the Iron Man film and the new Superheroes: Fantasy and Fashion exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Even still, misconceptions still abound. For example, there was a recent article "Heroine Chic - Superheroes, The New Black" in the NY Post where five superheroes were reimagined into actual fashion "looks". The chosen were Captain America, the Powerpuff Girls, She-Ra, Danger Mouse and the Hamburglar. Captain America is an interesting but passable choice. I could live with the Powerpuff Girls and even She-Ra and Danger Mouse --- but THE F--KING HAMBURGLAR!!! WTF!!! He's a fracking advertising mascot, not a comic book character.

Credits:
Styled by: Danica Lo
Photographed by: Victoria Will
Make-up by: Cynthia Rose at cynrose.com
Hair by: Francky L'Official for Francky L'Official Salon (1117 Madison Ave., [212] 628-7505)
Models: Hamburglar: Monika at APM

-Chris

"Stars and Stripes"

2008-05-06T15:38:00.000-07:00

I deleted my previous blog posts by mistake. I'm regretting it a little now. I managed to recover my blog post from September 25, 2005 - "Stars and Stripes" which I'm cutting and pasting the applicable portion here because it relates a little to the prior blog post - "Designing Women".

Saturday – I went to the Union Square Barnes & Noble for the various New Yorker Festival book signings. The numbered bracelets/passes had already been given out for Stephen King, but everyone else was pretty accessible. I arrived somewhat early and bided my time in the food court area. The food [a whole wheat turkey and cheese wrap] stank but they did have black cherry soda.

I got my copy of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay signed by Michael Chabon, who was signing at the same time as and at a table next to Stephen King. While Stephen King had a line that snaked through the 4th floor, Chabon’s was somewhat more manageable.

I even joked around with him.

Chris: Mr. Chabon, I just have a quick question for you.
Michael Chabon: Sure??
Chris: Whose that guy over there [pointing to Stephen King]?
General laughter by Michael Chabon, a personal assistant, and myself.

Michael Chabon: I think that’s..what’s his name…Dean Koontz.
Personal Assistant: Actually, I thought it was Anne Rice.

More laughter. Chris exits stage left.

A couple of hours later, I got my DVD box set of The Office and copy of his childrens book Flanimals signed by Ricky Gervais. I also got a good laugh.

Chris: I’m really looking forward to your new show Extras.
Ricky Gervais: Then I reckon you’ll be somewhat disappointed then.

I went to The White Stripes on Sunday -- thus the blog post title "Stars and Stripes"

-Chris

"Designing Women"

2008-05-06T04:44:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago, Details magazine had an interesting article by Michael Chabon about superheroes and women. Since I haven't seen it anywhere else within the comic book blogosphere, I scanned and posted it. Normally I'd link to it onto the Details or Conde Nast website but it's not there and I did search for it. If requested, I will take it down as I don't believe in violating copyright laws.

It's an interesting read and Michael Chabon lends a lot of credibility to the comic book genre. Moreover, in the interest of full disclosure, I briefly spoke with Michael Chabon at a signing once. The story can be found here - "Stars and Stripes".

-Chris

"Mom"

2008-05-05T20:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my mother - though I doubt she will ever read this blog or blog post.

I went upstate to visit my parents and grandmother yesterday and took them out for lunch as a pre-emptive Mother's Day/birthday present. Additionally as part of my gift, I allowed my mother to act all maternal without any complaints or griping from me, i.e. allowing her to load me up with home-cooked food.

One of the reason I visited was also to gather old photos of my brother Richard to give to his fiancee for a wedding website they're doing --- or at least, she is.

I came across a couple of my mom which I putting up.

Richard and Mom

Richard, Grandmother [maternal], Mom and me.

Happy Birthday Mom. I love you.

-Chris

"Headgear"

2008-05-04T21:54:00.000-07:00

This past winter, I took a photo of my friend Rebecca on my camera phone because her winter hat reminded me of some obscure DC Comics villain [and yes, that's a sad commentary on where my head is at any given moment - thinking about comic books].

I finally came across a picture of the aboven-mentioned obscure villain Brain Storm [aka The Star-Bolt Warrior].

Now if someone would only invent a winter hat whose fuzzy ball would glow and give off sparks [Wow - that sounded a lot more sexual that I intended].

-Chris

"Wild Times"

2008-05-03T09:54:00.000-07:00

When I was developing characters for my Power Pack pitch, I wanted to create a set of villains which were the anti-Power Pack. It went through a number of iterations - a group called The Deliquents under the sway of a "Fagan"-like adult leader; a more junior version of the Hellions; and finally The Wild Bunch - a group of mentally-disturbed and institutionalized, superpowered kids under the care of their psychiatrist Dr. Wilde. Thematically, they were the opposite of the tight, close-knit family Power Pack.

Amp [formerly Speedfreak]: He was formerly one of The Lost Boys and Girls [children kidnapped by Nanny and The Orphanmaker in the original X-Factor comic book series]. He had superspeed powers but I elaborated on it. The character was ADHD amplified and personified. His costume is a modified jumpsuit.

Disruption: Another throwaway and discarded Marvel character.

Figment [formerly Big Top]: She was formerly one of The Lost Boys and Girls [children kidnapped by Nanny and The Orphanmaker in the original X-Factor comic book series]. She could enlarge and animate her teddy bear Bonzo through psychokinesis. I believe she was described as autistic, which made hesitant to use the character because I don't know enough about the disease.

Schizoid [fomerly The Schizoid Man]: This character was a Spider-Man villain and actually a college student. Again, I was hesitant to use the character due the mental disease angle and name itself grates on me.

Dr. Wilde: The one original character I created for the group, ironically, is a very generic looking character with no powers. I really didn't even plan on giving him a costume and instead wear regular clothes.

There was another villain I created - Superpower. He was a fellow classmate of Alex Powers and rivals with him for the affections of Cassie Lang [who I wanted to add as a member of the support cast and made a classmate of Julie Powers]. This teen gained the abilities of the Super-Adaptoid and duplicated the powers of Power Pack. He looked like a teenage version of the Super-Adaptoid which he technically was.

-Chris

"Faithlessness"

2008-05-01T23:56:00.000-07:00

I saw Iron Man last night and it was great, possibly the best comic book adaptation ever. The tone was pitch-perfect. Robert Downey, Jr. was magnificent. The supporting cast and SFX were almost as good. And the storyline was very faithful to the comic book with some minor adjustments.

However sometimes, an adaptation cam be too faithful. For example, the Whiteout graphic novel cover...

And the Whiteout movie poster...

I'm sorry but that just looks wrong. The Frank Miller image had a strange, warped, almost-fisheye angle and a body position that looks physically impossible, but it's still typical Frank Miller. With a real person, all these deficiencies and flaws are amplified and pronounced.

-Chris

"Flash in the Pan"

2008-05-01T06:13:00.000-07:00

There are no spoiler warnings. I can't even begin to fathom the situation where if you read comic books and are one the Internet and haven't heard the news by now - that DC Comics is bringing back to life the deceased Flash.

A scan from the last page of the just-released DC Universe #0.

Whoo hoo --- Impulse/Kid Flash is back!!! Kudos to DC for the nice bait-and-switch, especially planting those rumors in the mainstream media.

Also, as based upon the below scanned page from the same title -- DC Comics is evidently going to be launching a comic book based on The 300 which I'm sure comes as a surprise to Dark Horse Comics. Or maybe the two companies are going to launch a crossover one-shot Wonder Woman vs. The 300.

I really hope that people do know that in The Battle of Thermopylae, the Spartans did wear armor, moreover their armor was superior to those worn by the Persians, and that Frank Miller took creative license by portraying them as fighting naked -- an interesting but historically inaccurate depiction. But kudos to DC Comics for continuing to foster this falsehood and misconception.

-Chris

"Strike a Pose"

2008-04-30T11:49:00.000-07:00

The New York Daily News had a very comic book friendly issue today.

First, it broke the news of the return of much beloved DC Comics character.

Second, there was long and glowing article on Gwenth Paltrow, one of the stars of the new Iron Man movie and even called her "Supermom" in big splash letters.

Third, there was a full-page story on the upcoming Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy Exhibit [May 7th - September 1st, 2008] at the Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Based upon the above photo, I'm not terribly excited to see this. I'm much more interested in the Jeff Koons: On The Roof Exhibit featuring his incredible metallic sculptures.

-Chris

"Power Package"

2008-04-29T17:42:00.000-07:00

A long time ago in a galaxy far away, I once submitted a series proposal for the Marvel Comics characters Power Pack. Here are some of the designs...

Jack Power aka Cumulus: Cumulus means "mass" in Latin [mass as in physics and not the religious kind] and since his disembodied form looks like a cloud, I thought it would be a good name. In the original comic books, Jack is portrayed as being into sports. I wanted to keep that aspect of his character but that doesn't mean he isn't smart and versed in the sciences.

Katie Power aka Girlstar: It was simple and obvious name that I'm a little surprised that I hadn't heard it before -- she's a girl and she's generates light and energy like a star.

Julie Power aka Lightspeed: The only member of Power Pack to keep her original name. I had her as the de facto team leader and most grounded team member.

Alex Power aka Powerhouse: Now in his late-teens, I gave his body more tone and definition because he's older and because his powers are related to physical strength. Note -- I modified the costume designs from the original costumes by adding the belts and differentiating the gloves and boots of each member.

And the villains....

Black Horse: Villainous Kymellian alien with the power to manipulate his density and convert kinetic energy into superhuman strength. The symbol on the chest of his costume is the astrological sign for Libra aka "The Scales" which the Biblical rider of the black horse was carrying [and thus representing Famine].

Pale Horse: Villainous Kymellian alien with the power to absorb the life energies of whoever he comes in contact with, i.e. a "death touch". He is the leader of the quartet of Kymellians nicknamed "The Four Horsemen" by Jack Power. The symbol on the chest of his costume is the last letter of the Greek alphabet "omega".

Red Horse or Warhorse: Villainous Kymellian alien with the ability to generate and project destructive energy. The symbol on the chest of his costume is the red circle for the planet Mars. I apologize for not completely coloring this piece as I'm using MS Paint - the crudest of drawing programs.

White Horse: Villainous Kymellian cyborg alien with the ability to control machines and minds. The symbol on the chest of his costume is the astrological symbol for Sagittarius aka The Archer and because the Biblical rider of the White Horse carried a bow and arrow [and either represented Conquest or the Pestilence -- I went with Conquest]. "The Four Horsemen" are tenuous allies with renegade Kymellian scientist Malus Ebonstal. They represent a power bloc within the Kymellians and are enemies of the Whitemanes [the Kymellian family with ties to Power Pack]. Also like the new Power Pack costume designs, I tried to both differentiate the costumes for "The Four Horsemen" while also using common elements like the belts and shoulder straps to tie the group together.

Malus Ebonstal aka The Nightmare: Renegade Kymellian scientist who views Earth and humanity as one big laboratory and experiment. He is a skilled adept of the many powers inherent with the Kymellian race including energy generation and projection, teleportation and density manipulation. He has been nicknamed The Nightmare by Jack Power.

Geelah [pronouced "Gila"]: Cyborg Snark bounty hunter in the employ of the renegade Kymellian scientist Malus Ebonstal. His tail is equipped with an axe blade attachment which he uses to lethal effect. I don't know if anyone noticed but this drawing and previous drawing were done prior to the other drawings and are not as good -- I think I've since developed a style/look - have a better grasp of anatomy - no longer have a need to include unnecessary details.

Egwana [pronounced "Iguana"]: - Snark scientist and assistant to renegade Kymellian scientist Malus Ebonstal. Igor to Ebonstal's Dr. Frankenstein.

Shadowave and Blackbody: Humans endowed with superhuman powers by Malus Ebonstal. Each is capable of manipulating the extradimensional energy known as Darkforce for various effects such as flight, energy projection, force field generation and superhuman strength.

Talk to you later.

-Chris

"Cherry"

2008-04-29T11:39:00.001-07:00

For people looking for an activity this weekend, why not check out the Brooklyn Botanical Garden for Sakura Matsuri or "The Rite of Spring" - the start of the Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival.

And if the weather turns rainy and you still need your fix of Japanese culture, you can just pop over to The Brooklyn Museum and see the Murakami Exhibit.

-Chris

"April is for Birthdays"

2008-04-28T19:40:00.000-07:00

Last Monday was my brother's birthday. Happy Belated Birthday Bro!!!

April was month of birthdays including my own. So Happy Birthday to Anne, April, Rebecca, Clark, Sharon, Richard, Tim, Jennifer, Joanne and Rich ---- all who probably don't ever read this blog...especially since I've let it lapse in the last couple of years or so.

I work across the street from The Late Show with David Letterman. Last Monday, they closed off 53rd Street between Broadway and 8th Avenue to set up a tennis court so guest Maria Sharapova could play against Letterman and fellow guest Billy Crystal. Here's the video I took on my Palm Centro [i.e. the poor man's Treo]....

I really got to learn how to edit video on my computer. I really got to get my computer fixed.

-Chris

"Ooops!!"

2008-04-28T19:29:00.000-07:00

I accidentally deleted my previous blog posts. I'm sure there's some way to recover all of that sh-t but I don't care. Clean break. New start.

-Chris