Flashed Before My Eyes

While riding a tricycle across the old town commercial center last week, I saw that a bunch of the old landmarks had been replaced with classy dining places, and more businesses had sprouted on longtime vacant lots. There were a few establishments, however, that remain open after over 20 years. Passing by that area, I’m reminded of the old places--betamax rental shops and comics shops—that I frequented there as a boy. It was a quiet, safe commercial center that I went to alone when I was growing up.

It looks so alien now, more modern and sophisticated-looking, yes, but being in the area still evokes nostalgia. I’ve been looking back to the past these last few months, like I’m at a crossroads, and everything reminds me of things I’ve done, and hoped for, when I was younger. I keep looking at turning points, and I think I'm learning to appreciate the good things more.

It’s been over five years since I touched my old notes, conceptual sketches and rough drafts of comics stories. The detailed, handwritten stuff are arranged in a way that only I can understand, as tweaks and later ideas were listed as they materialized in my head, accompanied by questions that, likewise, would only be understood by myself when read. I sifted through them again, just so I could get a feel of ideas that I’d forgotten about. What I found, surprisingly, were some things that made me excited again.

Going through that stack of papers, I realized how much time I had back then to actually sit down, research, and compile facts that were relevant to what I wanted to do. And what I wanted to do, and still want to someday, is something big, ornate, sweeping, and maybe something that’ll get other people excited too.

As I was re-reading them, I came across a page that didn’t have anything to do with the concepts. It was only a few lines, a very journal entry-like piece that, without getting really specific here, expressed how bad I was feeling during the time. And it was stunning, the way it was so honest and sad, and I’m flooded with memories of that specific period in my life.

That was a dark, bad time. I think, to distract myself, I had to keep writing and drawing things that would appeal to me. I had to create separate fragments of a bigger picture, and I kept hoping that one day, I’d be able to tell stories through a synthesis of my own thoughts, words and pictures. Not to prove to anyone that I could. Well, at least not anymore, now. It’s more of sharing what’s in your head and hoping in the process that people would connect with your questions and understand what you wanted to say.

It’s really nice to see that people have pursued telling their own stories, and they’ve improved tremendously through the years. Comics-creating friends like Arnold Arre, Budjette Tan, Carl Vergara, David Hontiveros and Gerry Alanguilan, as well as newer colleagues, have conjured up and shared worlds and continue to tell different stories through the medium. I’m glad that a lot of them are inspiring others to do their own thing.

After Lexy, Nance & Argus, which, thankfully, continues to appear in people’s “favorites” profiles, I’ve been repeatedly asked what the next comic book project will be. To be honest, that’ll depend on my work and financial situation. But I want to work on my old action-packed ones now. Really, I do.

With Every Beat of My Heartsong

To Mumble be the Gloria. Brittany Murphy and Elijah Wood as penguins in 'Happy Feet'

After her two postponed phoners early this month, I was finally able to interview actress-singer-producer Brittany Murphy last Wednesday. The article came out yesterday in the paper, so again, thanks to editors Pam and Tim for that.

Interesting coincidence, over the course of the interview, there were three different Millers mentioned: George the director, Frank the graphic novelist, and Arthur the playwright. Hmm, nice coinkydink. Anyway, Ms. Murphy, she sounded sweet and was very accommodating during the phoner. She talked a bout a few things, including her work in The Ramen Girl, Sin City and her latest movie, Happy Feet (where she plays the popular penguin Gloria). As we were wrapping up, she told me that I was “such a sweetheart.” Well, it was a pleasant experience, and I liked that she responded to my questions generously.

When Heroes Go Down

A few spoileriffic Civil War # 5 questions: So, Spidey’s tough new armor is now fabric-like and tears like regular clothing? Also, why did the Daredevil versus She-Hulk and Mr. Fantastic battle happen off-panel? How did Reed react to Sue’s letter, because the moment that he read it wasn’t shown? When did Tigra “defect” to the other side? Wait, a lot of important things have happened off-panel so far, and that’s been a recurring serious complaint with this main Civil War title. Back to the questions: Will Punisher kill off anyone other than nobody villains? Did we really need to see a double-pager of the simple-looking Negative Zone jail again? And where does Tigra hide her Stark cellphone? Hrmm…

Lots of questions, but this issue was just okay. Good to see the Secret Avengers roster expand to include the BAD Girls, some Nextwave members and maybe, just maybe, the Punisher. Other comics I recently got… Astonishing X-Men # 18 finally explained Emma’s recent Hellfire Club involvement. Liked that one better. Good dialogue, as always. New Avengers # 25… um, not bad for a single-issue story, but, really now, who the hell is Kenny???

Tenderness

Oh, kewl, there’s a new wave show over at K-Lite as I type this. Just turned on the radio and was searching for a little… tenderness. Ahem. Nice selection of songs, so far. I miss the old BMFM station, which played new wave music all day long. Damn, that was long ago.