¡Qué horror! 2013

Candidate #9

MANIAC

(May 2012)

While Elijah Wood returned to the hobbit thing in An Unexpected Journey, he also revisited the whole serial killer thing in Franck Khalfoun’s redo of William Lustig’s 1980 slasher, Maniac.

Written and produced by Alexandre Aja (with help from frequent collaborators Grégory Levasseur and Maxime Alexandre), this one has some brutally effective kills courtesy of the awesome Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger of KNB EFX, plus it’s largely presented to us from the POV of Wood’s Frank Zito, the titular psycho.

As far as content and narrative elements, this is certainly not the most original of this year’s ¡Qué horror! candidates thus far, but it’s got a bunch of things going for it.

There’s that tricky POV cinematography (from the aforementioned Maxime Alexandre), a score by Rob* reminiscent of Georgio Moroder’s work for Paul Schrader’s Cat People remake, and an excellent callback to two of Jonathan Demme’s films. (Note: Playing what has become the signature theme to The Silence of the Lambs’ Buffalo Bill may not be the smartest choice for a music cue after you’ve just invited a virtual stranger up to your apartment.)

* The Maniac score is available as a limited vinyl release from Mondo with "variant white vinyls randomly inserted."
How awesome is that?!

(Maniac UK quad courtesy of impawards.com.)

¡Qué horror! 2013

Candidate #8

THE DAY

(September 2011)

It’s a film brought to us by WWE Studios, with Iceman and Meriadoc Brandybuck in it in front of the cameras, and as co-producers.

How can you possibly resist?

Sure, it’s yet another dark, nihilistic post-apocalyptic tale, but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that it’s a well-made one, with just enough moments in its narrative to make you want to see it through, if only to see who lives and who dies past the end credits roll.

Plus, aside from Shawn Ashmore and Dominic Monaghan, there are some other familiar genre faces here: Ashley Bell (from The Last Exorcism), Michael Eklund (from yet another dark, nihilistic post-apocalyptic tale, The Divide), and Shannyn Sossamon (who you may remember from either A Knight’s Tale, Wristcutters: A Love Story, Life Is Hot in Cracktown, or the English-language remake of One Missed Call, depending on your particular cinematic leanings).

Plus, Marc Blucas is also in here as a co-executive producer (I presume because he’s collaborated in the past with director Doug Aarniokoski, on the less than stellar Animals, which I believe has a review stashed somewhere in the Iguana Archives*).

So, if dark, nihilistic post-apocalyptic tales are your horror speed, you could do a whole lot worse than The Day.

* Reviews for The Last Exorcism, Wristcutters: A Love Story and The Divide can also be found in the Archives as well.

(The Day OS courtesy of shocktillyoudrop.com.)

SEROKS: PALADIN(S) CHARACTER DESIGN CONTEST
UPDATE

Greetings, Earthlings.

If you haven’t heard, we’ve got an ongoing Character Design Contest (details here) tied into my latest Visprint title, SEROKS Iteration 1: Mirror Man, which can now be found on the shelves of the country’s leading bookstores. (And if you don’t see it on the shelves, please ask for it.)

This announcement is to inform all you mighty fine people that the contest deadline has been extended to May 25, 2013.

So, for those of you who may have thought we didn’t give enough time for you to cook up your entries, well, you’ve now got more time.

So come on, then. We’d like to see your creativity in action!

Again, all other contest details remain the same and can be found here.

Plus, there’s the other contest open to any comic book artists who’d like to collaborate with me; details for that are here.

Thanx again to everyone who’s shared their kind words about SEROKS with me, and those who’ve spread the word on the vast and sprawling Interwebz.

Your generous support is heartily appreciated.

you can’t drink just six,

Dave

PIMP MY STUFF
SUMMER KOMIKON 2013 TITLES

For all you mighty fine folk who plan to be at the Bayanihan Center this Saturday, April 13, these are the new titles that are launching:

AGYU: Surfacing

Issue 1 (of 3)

By David Hontiveros and Vinnie Pacleb

Elias Sandoval has always felt different.

Being half-enkanto will do that.

But not even the strange difficulties of his childhood could have prepared him for what he is today: a decorated proeliator of good standing in the Royal Enkanto Guard; world-renowned mixed martial arts heavyweight champion; and now, the buwaya’s chosen to bear the mantle of the legendary hero, AGYU.

And that’s only the beginning…

Join Elias months after the events chronicled in Kadasig: The Skeleton at the Feast 1, as he dons the garb of Agyu for the first time, and quickly starts to make some enemies…

Δ: A Vision of Dust

Issue 2 (of 4)

By David Hontiveros and Xerx Javier

In the many rooms of the House that is the World, there are arelim and shedim. Most men know them as angels and demons.

On occasion, both these races have been known to spill their seed onto humankind, producing hybrids forever caught between species, having characteristics of both, but belonging to neither.

Miguel Samson is one such hybrid.

He is the second point of our triangle.

Miguel has caught up with Lora… and Lucio, who just happened to be with Lora at the time. But now that he has, what’s he going to do with them?

And what’s his connection to Lucio?

SEROKS Iteration 1:

Mirror Man

(Available at the Visprint table)

SEROKS FOR SALE!

MANY MODELS, MANY USES!

FOR SECURITY, MANUAL LABOR, OR SEX!

CHOOSE FROM A WIDE VARIETY WHILE STOCKS ARE AVAILABLE.

CALL ARNEL AT 09108-SEROKS.

I first explored this dystopic future world just over ten years ago in the short story, “Kaming Mga Seroks,” which went on to be honored with a Palanca Award.

Now, alongside artist Alan Navarra, I’ve returned to that world in Seroks Iteration 1: Mirror Man, the first in a series of short fiction collections set in a world where everything is a commodity, and everything can be pirated, even people.

A world where the truth is ugly and a fake can be a hero.

The following comic book titles will also be available at the Alamat table:

KADASIG

Volume 1: The Skeleton at the Feast

Issue 1 (of 5)

By David Hontiveros and Ian Sta. Maria

Kadasig has served the Lady Ibu for centuries.

He was human, once. But today, he is a living, breathing kutummu, his skin now merely the scabbard for the seemingly infinite array of weapons he draws from inside himself, weapons he shapes from his own flesh and bone, to best serve the Lady in the only way he truly knows how.

He is the Lady’s kallaapu; her knight, her enforcer.

He is her beet tilli; her arsenal.

He is her kak daami; her bloodstained weapon.

And she is about to use him to finally lay her enemies low…

Picking up where the Underpass story, “Katumbas” left off, “A Life Less Ordinary” is the first of five chapters of The Skeleton at the Feast, chronicling the further adventures of the tsinelas-wearing badass, Kadasig.

This “second printing” is for all those who didn’t get to grab a copy at last year’s October Kon, and contains a number of Kadasig fan art pieces personally selected by Ian to run in the comic’s pages.

And, the non-‘Verse title:

BATHALA: Apokalypsis

Issues 1 to 5A/5B (of 7)

By David Hontiveros and Ace Enriquez

What if there was only one superhuman in the whole world?

What if the world was about to end as predicted in the Book of Revelation?

What can one superman do to hold back the hand of the Almighty?

Plus, if you’ve happened to have joined either of the two Seroks-related contests, you can also submit your entries to me, at the Alamat table.

See all you mighty fine people at the Kon!

you can’t drink just six,

Dave

QUASI-COROLLARY SEROKS "CONTEST" (aka COMIC BOOK ARTIST SEARCH)

Greetings, Earthlings.

In case you stumbled here apropos of anything that came before, let me just say that if you’ve read my latest Visprint title, SEROKS Iteration 1: Mirror Man, then we’ve kicked off a contest involving character and costume design, and if you’d like to see the details of that, hit up the Visprint Facebook page or refer to the earlier post directly before this one.

If, however, you’re really just here for this particular post, then here it is:

If you happen to be an artist who may be interested in collaborating on a comic book with yours truly, then here’s what I’d like you to do.

Send in a 3 to 5 page comic book sequence based on any scene in any of the stories contained in SEROKS Iteration 1: Mirror Man.

I’ll be looking at not just your art style, but also your storytelling technique, how you utilize the sequential panels and their layout to best execute the scene you’ve chosen.

If you’ve also decided to enter the “Paladin(s) Character Design” contest, then preferably, you should use the character design you’re also submitting, so I can see that costume design in action as well.

The completed pages should be fully inked. You have the option of submitting, heh, Xeroxes of the pages in their pencil form as well, so as to give me a better idea as to both your penciling and inking skills.

I’d also like to see, aside from any superhero action in your pages, some quiet moments as well if possible, so I can gauge not just your fight choreography capabilities, but your ability to capture the drama of the moment as well.

Also note, if you’ve decided to join this Artist Search as well as the “Paladin(s) Character Design” contest, that passing the Artist Search does not instantly constitute a win in the Character Design contest; I may think your art style would be perfect for a comic book while not necessarily being crazy about your costume design. Or, for that matter, vice versa.

So if you’re taking part in both, be prepared for that possibility: that you win in one, but not in the other.

It’s preferred that all entries be submitted in 5.5 inches x 8.5 inches size (regular bond paper size, folded in half, or 1650 X 2550 in Photoshop-speak), or any proportional size thereof.

The Artist Search opens up as soon as this announcement goes online and will run all the way through until shortly before SEROKS Iteration 2: Once in a Lifetime will be released. (Or until we say otherwise. We’ll be making further announcements as that date approaches; come right back to the Iguana for those. And yes, just to confirm, the Artist Search does not have the same deadline as the Character Design Contest, despite the notice at the Visprint Facebook page. Sorry about that.)

At the very least, you’ve got a whole bunch of months before then, so there’s ample time to send us your entries. Note though that I will also be taking into consideration the amount of time it took you to complete the pages; the rate at which you can pencil and ink a page is also a vital consideration should you decide to be the artist on a comic book.

Additionally, I stressed this in the previous Artist Search we conducted, and I’ll say it again here: if you do decide to join the Search, keep in mind that if we do end up collaborating on a comic book, there aren’t any upfront page rates involved for any of the creative team.

No one (including myself) gets paid for the work we’ll be putting into the comic. Any possible profit will come in only from royalties once the comic has been compiled and distributed by a publisher.

Other than that, you’ll be getting co-creator credit for any important characters you may end up designing.

So if you’re joining the Search, join because of your love for the comic medium, because you believe you can make a worthwhile contribution to it, because you feel you can do excellent work and you’d like to get that work out there for people to see.

Another thing that you need to be reasonably sure of before joining the Search is, should you be chosen, that you’ll be able to balance working on a comic book with all the rest of your usual responsibilities (family, work, etc.).

Having the talent and the urge to draw a comic book is well and good, but you also need to make sure you’ll have enough time to devote to the pages.

If you have any questions that I failed to address here, please hit up the Comments section of this blog post and I’ll do my best to answer them there.

While we will be accepting entries throughout the contest period via email (address appears below), we will also be accepting them at this year’s Summer Komikon (April 13 at the Bayanihan Center on Pioneer St).

Just come up to me--you should find me at either the Visprint or Alamat tables--say “Hi,” and submit your entries to me.

If you can’t make it to Summer Kon (or would be too hard-pressed to complete your entries in the time left), then email your submissions to bakemono68@yahoo.co.uk (Subject Heading: ARTIST SEARCH) and you’ll get an email acknowledging receipt of your entry.

Afterwards, you’ll only receive another email should I have further questions regarding a possible comic book collaboration.

(And keep in mind, that’s dot-co-dot-uk, not dot-com, lest your entries end up in someone else’s bewildered and befuddled Inbox.)

Please include the following information: Name; Contact Number (Landline and Mobile); plus any links to online galleries of your art (like a deviantart page, if you’ve got one).

And that’s that.

Best of luck to all the entrants, and for those of you who’ll be dropping by, see you at the Summer Kon!

you can’t drink just six,

Dave

SEROKS: PALADIN(S) CHARACTER DESIGN CONTEST

Greetings, Earthlings.

If you haven’t heard, my latest Visprint title, SEROKS Iteration 1: Mirror Man can now be found on the shelves of the country’s leading bookstores. (And if you don’t see it on the shelves, please ask for it.)

If you haven’t picked it up, please do. It features story illustrations by the mighty fine Alan Navarra, so picking up the book will make him happy too.

And if you already have a copy, have a particularly vivid imagination, and are an artist (or happen to know one), then we’ve got a contest for you.

We’re now accepting entries for a “Paladin(s) Character Design” contest.

The rules are simple: send in your costume design of either--or both--of the Paladin characters featured in SEROKS Iteration 1: Mirror Man (that would be Paladin/Roqué and Paladin Jr./Taylor), based on the descriptions given in the featured stories.

And what do you get out of it, you may ask.

Well, should you win, you’ll get bragging rights, for starters.

And, if the Queen of All Visprint is nice, she’ll also award you with an autographed copy of SEROKS Iteration 2: Once in a Lifetime, once it’s released.

You’ll be getting a personalized copy of Iteration 2 because, lo and behold, we’ll be running the winning character designs in its pages!

Think in color and submit your entry in color as well; it doesn’t have to be fancy coloring, I just need to know what the costume’s color scheme is. Remember, I’ll be taking a look at the overall design, and not how fancily you computer-colored it.

Sure, Roqué’s decked out in black leather, but Taylor’s uniform has a color scheme and that’s what I’m curious to see. I have an image in my head of what they look like, but I want to see these characters filtered through your artistic and creative sensibilities.

Take the descriptions in the text of Iteration 1, and go from there. Use them as a foundation and a jumping-off point and feel free to run wild.

Let’s see some awesome superhero spandex, people!

But also, and this is equally important, though you’re thinking in color, also execute that design as a black-and-white pin-up, which will be how your entry will appear in SEROKS Iteration 2, should it be chosen as the best.

And again, you can submit a costume design for only one, or if you prefer, both Paladins appearing in Iteration 1. (If you choose to submit designs for both, each design will be considered as a separate entry, so it’s possible that you may win for one, and not for both.)

That said, limit yourself to one costume design per character, so you really have to send in your best.

It’s preferred that all entries be submitted in 5.5 inches x 8.5 inches size (regular bond paper size, folded in half, or 1650 X 2550 in Photoshop-speak), or any proportional size thereof.

Note that there’s also a second, quasi-corollary contest, specifically for any artists out there who may be interested in collaborating on a comic book with yours truly.

If you’re interested in working on a comic book, then check the post right after this one for further details.

Now, the contest opens up as soon as this announcement goes online and will run all the way till April 27, 2013.

For further announcements as that date approaches; hit up the Visprint Facebook page or right back here.

Also, if you have any questions that I failed to address here, please hit up the Comments section of this blog post and I’ll do my best to answer them there.

While we will be accepting entries throughout the contest period via email (address appears below), we will also be accepting them at this year’s Summer Komikon (April 13 at the Bayanihan Center on Pioneer St).

Just come up to me--you should find me at either the Visprint or Alamat tables--say “Hi,” and submit your entries to me.

If you can’t make it to Summer Kon (or would be too hard-pressed to complete your entries in the time left), then email your submissions to bakemono68@yahoo.co.uk (Subject Heading: SEROKS CONTEST) on or before April 27, 2013, and you’ll get an email acknowledging receipt of your entry.

Afterwards, you’ll only receive another email should your entry be chosen as the winner.

(And keep in mind, that’s dot-co-dot-uk, not dot-com, lest your entries end up in someone else’s bewildered and befuddled Inbox.)

Please include the following information: Name; Age; Address (Real World and Email); Contact Number (Landline and Mobile); plus, any links to online galleries of your art (if you have any, like a deviantart page).

Hurm. I think that should be all for now.

Again, if you’ve got a very specific and particular image in your head as to how Iteration 1’s Paladins look, then send that image in.

We’d love to see it.

Best of luck to all the entrants, and for those of you who’ll be dropping by, see you at the Summer Kon!

you can’t drink just six,

Dave

PARANORMAN

(August 2012)

"Oh, man, that [old graveyard] is baaad news. It’s like, total slasher movie vibe. Why’d [Norman] go up there?”

Laika, the studio owned by Nike co-founder and Chairman Phil Knight and run by his son, Travis, brought us Henry Selick’s excellent adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline in 2009.

Coraline was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 2010 Oscars* and now, Laika’s second stop-motion feature, Paranorman, is also an Oscar nominee in the same category.

Not a bad Oscar batting average, if I may say so myself.

Written by Chris Butler (who worked on storyboards for Coraline and Corpse Bride), and co-directed by Butler with Sam Fell (director of Flushed Away and The Tale of Despereaux), Paranorman is a crazy-awesome ride that horror fans should get a massive kick out of.

“It’s not supposed to be [historically accurate]! It’s supposed to sell postcards and key chains.”

Norman Babcock (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is the town freak, which is bad enough.

But when you live in a town like Blithe Hollow (“A Great Place to Hang!”), where a tragic death that happened centuries ago has become the core of its economy and tourism, and you’re someone who can actually see and speak with the dead, then it’s so.

Much.

Worse.

Blithe Hollow is a town with establishments like The Lucky Witch Casino, Trick or Trim, Hung and Dried, and Witchy Wieners, and whose denizens, sadly, look strangely at the weird kid.

And it’s a town that Norman reluctantly finds himself needing to save when the fit hits the shan.

“Son! Step away from the zombies!”

With a brilliantly stylized, off-kilter look to its world and characters and a great voice cast which includes John Goodman, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Casey Affleck, Paranorman is a funny and touching tale that is a warm, heartfelt love letter to horror fans and misfits everywhere.   

Thanx, Laika. Seriously.

This is putting all that Nike cash to awesome use.

“Perfect. Now the geeks are in charge.”

* Coraline was up against Wes Anderson’s brilliant Fantastic Mr. Fox, among others, but the 2010 Best Animated Feature Film Oscar was ultimately brought home by Pixar’s Up.

(Paranorman OS’ courtesy of impawards.com.)