The official website of author, preacher, copywriter and publisher Carlo Carrasco.
Hey sports readers! The Vermosa Sports Hub Sprint Tri held recently made it on the sports pages of the following Philippine newspapers.
Manila Bulletin
People’s Tonight
Malaya Business Insight
For the complete race results and list of winners, click right here.
Visit the official website of Vermosa Sports Hub right here.
Watch out for future Bike King races at its official website.
Released in late 1994 by Marvel Comics, Spider-Man 2099 #25 had a double-sized issue with an embossed cover that shined as it was laced with foil. The number 25 on the edge of the cover was stylized to capture people’s attention on the shelves of comic book specialty stores.
Back in the 1990s, Marvel had a “tradition” of releasing comic books with gimmick covers with anniversaries in mind. Notably the 25th, the 50th, the 75th and 100th issue and more got released with covers that came with foil or chromium or hologram or simply a hard embossed material. In other times, the anniversaries of the featured superhero/superheroes were celebrated with gimmick covers on comic books marking the celebration.
With regards to Spider-Man 2099 #25, the 2099 universe of Marvel had reached its 2nd year. By that point of time, the Marvel’s 2099 line of comics was already at full publishing blast with several monthly series (Spider-Man 2099, Ravage 2099, Punisher 2099, Doom 2099, X-Men 2099 and Ghost Rider 2099) plus a quarterly comic book (2099 Unlimited).
Written by Peter David and drawn by Rick Leonardi (with ink work by Al Williamson), the comic book begins with a short scene about Miguel O’Hara’s (Spider-Man 2099) mother moving on her way to meet someone. The spotlight then shifts into the heat of the rematch between Spider-Man and the cyborg Venture.
Later Miguel’s mother meets a certain tycoon at his mansion…
When it comes to quantity, this comic book has a Spider-Man story of 22 pages, a Hulk 2099 story with 8 pages (a prequel to Hulk 2099 #1 specifically) and a story called Net Loss with 10 pages. The first time I read this comic book back in 1994, I anticipated more Spider-Man 2099 content but got surprised with the other two being part of it. Marvel decided back then to use Spider-Man #25’s content to expand and emphasize the 2099 universe.
When it comes to quality, I find the Spider-Man 2099 story here a worthy read not simply because Peter David wrote it but because he crafted a story that connects and relates well with what happened in Spider-Man 2099 #1. When I reached the end of the story, I really felt compelled to go back to the very first issue to re-examine what happened.
As this was the 25th issue of the series, Peter David and Rick Leonardi were more proficient as a creative team. The aesthetics of Leonardi’s art (inked by Williamson) is pretty much the same but I noticed that the illustrator added more power on key moments of the action. Ultimately this story is worthy of the 25th issue anniversary treatment.
The Hulk 2099 short story by Gerard Jones and Malcolm Davis meanwhile serves only to build up the mean green monster for its monthly series. Hulk 2099 was never an interesting character to me and this one did not change my view of him.
The final short story Net Loss was rather weird. Even though I read a lot of 2099 comic books, the story by Peter David and Tom Grindberg just did not captivate me.
Overall, I find Spider-Man 2099 #25 a worthy comic book to add to your collection and Spidey’s story alone is worth it.
Spider-Man 2099 #25 is recommended.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
X-Men: The Last Stand is better than X-Men: Dark Phoenix? What a joke driven by hatred and uncontrolled emotions of negativity towards the latter.
Released in 2006, X-Men: The Last Stand was the third movie of Marvel’s mutants which made $459,359,555 worldwide establishing new box office records at the time including the Memorial Day weekend opening and a single-day record for Friday openings. It was also the highest grossing X-Men movie until X-Men: Days of Future Past exceeded it in 2014.
While the first two flicks were directed by Bryan Singer (who literally abandoned this movie in favor of the big letdown Superman: Returns), this one was done by Brett Ratner who is best known for Rush Hour films. For the superhero concept of the film, Ratner clearly depended on the script by Simon Kinberg (who directed X-Men: Dark Phoenix) and Zak Pen (X2: X-Men United).
The story begins some time in the past with Charles Xavier and Magneto visiting the house of a little girl named Jean Grey whose power of telepathy and telekinesis make her dangerous. Her own father thinks she has an illness. In another scene, a young boy desperately tries shaving off something on his back which turned out to be a mutation. To put it short, the prologue establishes the two concepts this movie tried to emphasize – the Dark Phoenix (from the classic comic book storyline by Chris Claremont and John Byrne) and the Mutant Cure (in reference to one particular episode of the 1990s X-Men animated series).
The result? A rather unfocused narrative that bogged the movie throughout. In the present day, Charles Xavier and the X-Men are no longer hiding from the federal government (which in turn has Hank McCoy/Beast as part of the US President’s cabinet). A cure that can neutralize the mutant gene has been revealed and eventually Jean Grey suddenly returns back to life in front of Scott Summers/Cyclops. Then trouble in the story (and for this film in particular) sets in.
On storytelling, the lack of focus on a central concept really dragged this movie down even though the filmmakers made attempts to link them together. This is a very unfaithful adaptation of the Dark Phoenix Saga – instead of showing the Phoenix Force as a cosmic entity the filmmakers used the dual-personality concept in Jean Grey. There are no alien civilizations (read: no Lilandra) involved nor anything related to outer space (a key element in the comic book storyline). With regards to the cure concept, Rogue in this film makes a move to be cured loosely following what was shown in the animated series.
Having these two concepts connect to each other showed Magneto getting motivated to rally the mutants to oppose the humans. Jean Grey meanwhile gets controlled by the Phoenix personality and gets very destructive with power which makes her an asset to Magneto and his brotherhood of evil mutants.
As the filmmakers struggled to tell the story, the social relevance and symbolism emphasized in the first two films got weakened. The core concept of mutants getting isolated and discriminated by humanity simply because they are so different became much less relevant here.
As if that was not bad enough, the characterization also changed for the worse. Magneto here became one-dimensional as a villain and the way he reacted to Charles Xavier’s destruction in front of him and Jean Grey reflected bad screen writing. Any true X-Men fan would know that even though he and Xavier were adversaries with a past friendship, Magneto should have been outraged over his old rival’s destruction and strike at Jean Grey (even if it is suicidal for him to fight a more powerful entity, the Phoenix).
For his part, Charles Xavier turned out to be a manipulator of Jean Grey’s mind making him look as evil and manipulative as Magneto. Jean Grey, despite actress Famke Jansen getting more screen time than before, ended up as a visual tool and was clearly NOT the central figure of the story rather she ended up being a tool of power by Magneto. By today’s standards, Jansen’s portrayal of Jean Grey/Dark Phoenix pales in comparison with Sophie Turner’s performance in X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
More on characterization, the triangle between Iceman, Rogue and Kitty Pryde was executed with no real depth and only served to show Anna Paquin’s character search for the means to be normal (because Rogue absorbs the power and life of people she touches) which ended up being not so meaningful for viewing. Young adult Angel’s (one of the original X-Men in the comics) minutes-long presence in the movie only served to showcase special effects. Storm’s prospect of succeeding Xavier as leader of the X-Men and the school was sloppily done. Oh yes, the showing of multiple mutants (in supporting roles, non-speaking roles or as mere background characters) that weakened the narrative of the first two films was even worse here. As a result, there’s quite a lot of fan service in this movie.
Going back to storytelling, I should say that the early demise of Cyclops (played by James Marsden for too little screen time due to his work with Bryan Singer on Superman Returns) and Charles Xavier were attempts by the filmmakers to raise the stakes and even shock viewers. The problem is that the third act of the film became more of an action and CGI bonanza ultimately failing to justify the loss of Cyclops and Xavier. The story ended with not much impact on me as a viewer and the late scenes showing Magneto recovering a little of his power (plus the post-credit scene about Xavier’s survival) were unsatisfactory. By comparison, X-Men: Dark Phoenix concluded with satisfaction.
Performances? The actors did what they could with the weak screenplay. Patrick Stewart played Charles Xavier managing his school but gets burdened heavily as Jean Grey returns with the Phoenix in her (which makes Xavier feeling guilty over his past manipulation of Jean’s mind). Ian McKellen played a one-dimensional Magneto (forget about the reasonable fighter for mutants you saw in the first two films) and really had little room to flesh him out. Clearly this version of Magneto, even though he has a lot of screen time here, is rubbish when compared to the cinematic Magneto in X-Men: Dark Phoenix.
Hugh Jackman as Wolverine is clearly the hero of this movie and was given a lot to do showing a deeply concerned Wolverine as well as showing him with lots of action on-screen. His emotional reaction towards Jean Grey near the end of the movie was believable. Halle Berry meanwhile failed yet again to capture the leader in Storm from the comic books.
Another thing to mention regarding the weak script is the lame attempt at humor in the film. Just look at the exchanges of words between Wolverine and Beast which only made me frown instead of laughing.
Exchange 1
Dr. Hank McCoy: Wolverine. I hear you are quite an animal.
Logan: Look who’s talkin’.
Exchange 2
Logan: Well, for all we know, the government helped cook this up.
Dr. Hank McCoy: I can assure you, the government had nothing to do with this.
Logan: I’ve heard that before.
Dr. Hank McCoy: My boy, I have been fighting for mutant rights since before you had claws.
Logan: [to the Professor] Did he just call me boy?
If there is anything positive at all with this movie, it is the spectacle (action, stunts and special effects). If you want to watch an X-Men movie without thinking too much and just enjoy the spectacle, The Last Stand is heavily loaded! The scope of destruction (including the major showcase of Magneto’s power with the Golden Gate Bridge) is also great and helped this weak movie look epic (even more epic than the better film X-Men: Dark Phoenix). There is also a big battle of multiple members of Magneto’s brotherhood attacking the soldiers at the Alcatraz facility. Action is where director Brett Ratner is good at and it temporarily helped this film feel fun to watch. The visual design and special effects are of good quality as well.
One last positive thing to mention here is the casting of Kelsey Grammer as Hank McCoy/Beast and his performance was, indeed, superb. I really saw the scientist, the intellect and the fighter of Beast from the comics translated nicely in cinematic form.
A striking shot as a result of Magneto’s power.
By today’s standards of superhero movies, X-Men: The Last Stand unsurprisingly went from big-budget disappointment to what is now an overall bad movie that just happens to have some fun action sequences. As far as adapting the Dark Phoenix Saga from the comics, this film is definitely inferior to X-Men: Dark Phoenix. X-Men: The Stand does look good when compared to the terrible X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
If you are a true fan of the X-Men or if you are moviegoer who wants the best superhero cinematic experience, I won’t recommend watching X-Men: The Last Stand.
But then if you are a moviegoer who cannot do anything except hate and uncontrollably bash the new movie X-Men: Dark Phoenix, then maybe The Last Stand will be your bout of fun.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
Back in 1992, Marvel Comics published the Infinity War limited series which dealt with a new conflict that brought the superheroes together. It was the sequel to 1991’s Infinity Gauntlet.
To emphasize the scope of Infinity War, several comic books from other regular series published by Marvel had specific issues serving as tie-ins. In this retro review, we take a look back at Spider-Man #24.
Spider-Man #24 begins with Peter Parker waking up from a nightmare. Careful not to wake up his wife Mary Jane, he decides to go out in the middle of the night.
“Who ever said super heroes are supposed to sleep? At least I didn’t wake Mary Jane up this time. Got to get out to clear my head,” Peter Parker thought. “Sheesh! I’m Spider-Man and I love being me!”
As Spider-Man swings during the night, Jason Philip Macendale (the Hobgoblin) wakes up too from a nightmare. This makes him decide to work out a bit and then go out disguised as the Hobgoblin flying with a glider. He also happened to be training himself with the handgun.
Eventually the two will encounter each other but not head-to-head. Rather they get into conflict with the Demogoblin (a more demonic version of the Green Goblin) and, more notably, the Spider-Man Doppelganger (a biologically monstrous version of the superhero with eight arms, sharp teeth and animal instinct).
With regards to its quality, the story sheds light on Spider-Man’s uneasy connection with Hobgoblin. As for its connection with Infinity War, the Spider-Man Doppelganger’s presence linked the Spider-Man monthly series in a serviceable fashion, specifically what happened near the end of this comic book was reflected in one of the pages of Infinity War #1.
Still I felt that this comic book was a missed opportunity to truly emphasize the Spider-Man Doppelganger as a new menace in Spider-Man’s part of the Marvel universe. There is not enough spotlight on the monster (whose first appearance was in Infinity War #1 by the way) nor was its battle with the superhero proved to be satisfying when it comes to emphasizing spectacle for the readers.
Quite notably, the narrative and action had to be shared with the Hobgoblin who is technically the 2nd lead character in this comic book. Sure he got to fight the Demogoblin and the Doppelganger providing comic book action but I preferred to see more of Spider-Man versus the Doppelganger as this was their first encounter.
When it comes to visuals, penciller Larry Alexander did a satisfactory job overall. While the faces and hairstyles of Peter Parker and Jason Macendale don’t look different enough from each other, Alexander clearly put more effort to make a few key moments of the action scenes stand out.
Overall, Spider-Man #24 is a satisfying read. It marked Spidey’s first-ever encounter with the Doppelganger but was bogged down by the way the story was crafted. If you plan to buy this old comic book at all, don’t pay a full dollar for it.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
For some time now, Tahanan Village in Parañaque City has several stray cats all around its areas as confirmed to me by Tahanan Homeowners Association, Inc. (THA) officials and personnel I talked with over the past few years.
I recently visited the village and inquired if they still have a stray cat population problem going on. It turns out they still do and I easily spotted stray cats just outside the clubhouse and near the open-air basketball court.
I managed to meet and talk with former THA president Augusto Tejada and he said that the population of loose cats is real and remains difficult to solve.
To put things in perspective, stray cats are those that entered the village and roamed around endlessly in search for food, for places to explore (including the households) and interact with other cats (whether pets or stray cats) with whom they could mate with and produce infants. These loose animals also produce waste by urinating or releasing their feces around. When desperate for food, they tend to forcibly tear open plastic garbage bags.
Tejada told me that the association has already advised its members (households) to refrain from feeding stray cats as it will only encourage them to come back for more and, even worse, take residence in the household knowing food is available.
He said that dealing with stray cats is very difficult to do. Firstly, those loose animals are really difficult to catch or entrap due to their speed and agility. Secondly, the cats are intelligent and the physical environment around the village provides them many means of escaping.
“The stray cats are smart and they are able to find ways to survive and find a place to live in which are also hard for people to reach. I remember finding such cats living on the gutters of roofs,” Tejada told me.
Adding further challenge to catching the loose cats are the many trees around the village which can be easily climbed fearlessly. The trees also provide access over the walls of homes.
With regards to solving the growth of the population of cats – both pets and stray cats – it has been suggested that the methods of spaying and neutering be done. Spaying and neutering are ways of sterilizing cats by means of performing a surgical procedure on the males (removing their testicles) and the females (removing their ovaries and uterus). The procedure is done by a professional animal veterinarian while the cat is sedated. Cats that are at least 6-months-old are eligible for the procedure.
I found online the Philippine Pet Birth Control Center Foundation (PPBCC) which offers spaying and neutering services. They charge P500 for each cat (and dog) for sterilization as of this writing.
Theoretically, residents can have their pet cats sterilized so that their household won’t be overwhelmed by the potential multiplication of cats.
Still, this brings back the problem of how village authorities and residents could catch the stray cats which remain very elusive. There is also the risk of being scratched by the said cats when they react to people catching them.
Another thing to consider here is to determine how to catch stray cats not only efficiently but also doing it without harming them as there are animal rights advocates around. Here in the Philippines, there is the organization called the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) which advocates the prevention of animal cruelty through education, animal sheltering and advocacy.
It remains to be seen how the growing stray cat population problem will be solved in Tahanan Village.
Are you a resident living in village that has a growing population of stray cats? Are such animals bothering you? Do you wish to share something here at my website to help other readers? Please respond by commenting below.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
I love worshiping Lord Jesus and God the Father at church on Sunday worship along with our local community of very faithful and prayerful Christians. As part of our worship, our church’s musicians perform Christian songs using a combination of vocals, drums and electric guitars.
Before, I explained in detail why I love the song Happy Day which sometimes gets played at our church. There are many other Christian songs that can be admired, be enjoyed and be used to worship the Lord. One particular song that caught my attention lately is You Are Holy.
Released in July 1998 as part of the Hillsong Worship album Touching Heaven, Changing Earth, You Are Holy was written by Reuben Morgan and, to this day, many millions of Christians around the world listened to it and praised the Lord with it during Sunday worship. The late-1990s Hillsong Worship performance of it is available in video through YouTube which I recommend you watch and listen. Oh yes, Darlene Zschech‘s leading of the vocals is great.
To understand the essence of the song, posted below are the lyrics for you all.
You are holy, holy
Lord there is none, like You
You are holy, holy
Glory to You my Lord
You are holy, holy
Lord there is none, like You
You are holy, holy
Glory to You my Lord
I sing Your praises forever
Deeper in love with You
Here in Your courts
Where I’m close to Your throne
I’ve found where I belong
I sing Your praises forever
Deeper in love with You
Here in Your courts
Where I’m close to Your throne
I’ve found where I belong
You are holy, holy
Lord there is none, like You
You are holy, holy
Glory to You my Lord
And I sing Your praises forever
Deeper in love with You
Here in Your courts
Where I’m close to Your throne
I’ve found where I belong
The lyrics clearly emphasize holiness, praising the Lord, glorifying Him, loving Him and the faithful Christian’s dedication to Him. Lines like I sing Your praises forever and Lord there is none, like You are understandably powerful. The lines Where I’m close to Your throne, I’ve found where I belong perfectly conclude the song.
The holiness aspect of the song easily reminds me of my relationship with the Lord and my true purpose in life. I should say that as long as we Christians keep being faithful, keep learning from His teachings and achieve whatever tasks the Lord assigned us with, we will ultimately be rewarded by Him accordingly (Revelations 22: 12) and God is always the righteous judge (2 Timothy 4: 7-8, Deuteronomy 32: 1-4) whose decisions are final, just and definitive. As faithful Christians who already accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we all should look forward to judgment because it is our opportunity to be found faithful.
Going back to the song You Are Holy, I love listening to it. Going beyond appreciation for it, the song really helps me praise the Lord in a very personal way. Truly You Are Holy is a holy song! As such, I recommend to you readers to take time out to listen to it from start to finish. You can order the album right here and here. Don’t forget to read the Holy Bible and pray in tongues to the Lord afterwards.
In closing this piece, I must tell you, my readers, to resist and disregard the propaganda being spread online emphasizing that the use of drums and electric guitar for playing music at church on Sundays is inappropriate to the Lord. That is simply false and whoever composed such propaganda are pawns of people who have narrow views about what church and Sunday worship music should be. Do not let those people fool you and instead of wasting time on them, focus on your relationship with the Lord and do not let religion get in the way. Back to music, the use of drums and electric guitars for Sunday worship music at church is actually fine and legitimate, and also useful to help Christians praise the Lord and connect to Him spiritually. Christian rock music is okay and so is having a band at church. Now we can move forward to the Lord!
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
Las Piñas City Mayor Imelda T. Aguilar announced that the City Government has issued their Green Card which is now accredited at the Las Piñas City Medical Center (CityMed). Holders of the said card may use it in case of confinement at the mentioned hospital.
CityMed is the newest hospital where the Las Piñas City Green Card may be used. It is located along Marcos Alvarez Ave. Barangay Talon Singko, Las Piñas City. The other hospitals where Green Card is accredited are Las Piñas Doctors Hospital (LPDH), Philippine General Hospital (PGH), and San Juan De Dios Hospital. These hospitals have coordinators to help facilitate the confinement of the card holder. There is a special ward dedicated to patients who have Green Card in LPDH and CityMed.
“The additional hospital accreditation of the Green Card will provide more options and convenience to Las Piñeros when seeking medical help,” Mayor Aguilar said.
Green Card is the hospitalization support program of the city government of Las Piñas; it subsidizes up to P30,000 of the total hospital bill of the confined patient. Every member of the family when hospitalized is entitled to the subsidy.
Presently, there are 200,000 Green card users. The Green Card project is being managed by the Mayor’s Office and the City Social Welfare and Development Office. It may be availed by all bonafide Las Piñas residents.
According to Mayor Aguilar, “we are in the process of negotiating with more hospitals in Las Piñas for the expansion of Green Card accreditation.”
+++++
“I’m not who I was any more! I’m not who I’m going to be! I am the Night Man.”
The above words were from the vigilante called the Night Man, a character co-created by comic industry veteran Steve Englehart (Avengers) and Darick Robertson for Malibu Comics’ Ultraverse franchise. Those words formally opened The Night Man #1 which I’m reviewing here.
To put things in perspective, a vigilante is described as a member of a volunteer committee organized to suppress and punish crime summarily (as when the processes of law are viewed as inadequate) according to Merriam-Webster dictionary. To put it broadly, the vigilante is a self-appointed doer of justice.
Published in 1993 by Malibu Comics, The Night Man #1 tells the story of Johnny Domingo, a jazz player whose life changed in the pages of The Strangers #1 (also written by Englehart) in which he (while driving a vehicle) got by a cable car (that was just hit by an energy burst from the sky) resulting a piece of shrapnel embedding into his head.
Perceived by others to be doomed, Domino strangely survived and was well enough to resume his normal life. The difference is that the incident made his eyes dilated permanently which forces him to shield them from bright light.
Just as Johnny walks down the street, he learned he gained an uncanny ability when he hears, for the first time, the evil thoughts of a man (wearing a coat and a hat) planning to kill a lady on Saturday night.
Knowing what heard, Johnny wondered if he was crazy and what if some woman would truly be in danger. He then decides to follow the man with evil thoughts and watch his moves. Eventually Johnny followed the man to a restaurant by the beach and saw him talk with a pretty waitress named Ginger who agreed to a Saturday night date.
Carelessly Johnny approached the man too closely and got noticed, forcing him to run away and got chased until he got into a taxi that drove him away.
A short time later, Johnny starts his new career as a vigilante as the Night Man.
In terms of storytelling, The Night Man #1 was nicely paced and never felt dragging. Within its twenty-eight pages of story, the comic book took gradual steps on introducing Johnny, how the incident with the cable car impacted him, how he became a vigilante for the first time and what went on in his mind as he became the Night Man. Given his rich experience as a writer, it is no surprise that Steve Englehart delivered a solid script.
It was also engaging to see Night Man being a determined yet very vulnerable vigilante. During his first mission in costume, he managed to beat a few bad guys but ended up getting hurt. This kinda reminds me of the vulnerability seen in the cinematic icon John McClane in 1988’s Die Hard.
The art by Darick Robertson, with ink work done by Andrew Pepoy, was nicely crafted. The civilian and vigilante looks of Night Man were well defined. The visualization of action nice and when Night Man gets hurt, he really looks in pain.
Going beyond Night Man, this comic book has a short preview (five pages, including credits) of Rune, a character created by Barry Windsor-Smith. Rune is described to be a voracious killer whose prey is all humanity and he is an alien leech who despoils the flesh of victims, culling their lifeblood into the essence of power. Rune is also a dying creature fighting for survival against the malignant disease burning inside of him.
Overall, The Night Man #1 is a worthy addition to your comic collection if you are interested in the Ultraverse (which is still kept in limbo by Marvel which acquired Malibu Comics in the mid-1990s) or are interested in vigilante-type superheroes. If you are obsessed with whatever Barry Windsor-Smith created, then the Rune stuff is a must-get.
The Night Man #1 is recommended.
Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com
Hi sports fans! The Vermosa Sports Hub Sprint Tri happened this morning at the very modern Vermosa Sports Hub located along Daang Hari in Imus City, Cavite.
Organized by Bike King in cooperation with Vermosa Sports Hub with the support of sponsors Blackmores Philippines, Smart, hydration partners Pocari Sweat and Sip Purified Water, and official timer Garmin, the event was, as expected, successful. Participants and their respective family members or friends enjoyed the event and, as usual, the awarding ceremony was fun as before.
For you viewing pleasure, here are some action shots. Just click to ENLARGE.
Below are the other images…the awarding ceremony pics. Just click an image to ENLARGE.
The Vermosa Sports Hub Sprint Tri was the latest sports event to take place at the Vermosa Sports Hub which is the nation’s first one-stop training complex catering to athletes competing in international sporting events and serious sports enthusiasts.
The facility has a 50-meter swimming pool based on FINA (International Swimming Federation) standards and the country’s only International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF)-certified 400m track oval, a complete indoor training facility, and the 600-sq,m. Sante Fitness Lab, staffed by expert coaches, trainers, and visiting sports institutes.
Vermosa Sports Hub is an Ayala Land Development borne out of emerging trends: the rise in health consciousness and growing interest in multisport.
“People are spending more time and money to engage in physical activities, specifically sports,” says Ayala Land Vice President and Vermosa estate head Jay Teodoro. “We wanted to provide a venue for training for this market. Our bigger vision also is to provide a training venue for the next Philippine champion.”
The complete race results and lists of winners will be made available by Bike King here. Wait and it will come.
For other events of Bike King, visit http://www.bikekingphilippines.com
This morning, out of curiosity, I attended the Anime & Cosplay Expo 2019 held at one of the function rooms at the upper level of the SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia (SM MOA) in Pasay City.
What I saw there was quite amusing. The large function room had just enough space for the exhibitors, the stage with sound system and lights and the food sellers. Of course, the available space in between was filled with many, many anime and cosplay enthusiasts! Some enthusiasts were seen seated some feet away from the stage waiting for the next event to happen like a cosplay contest, special guest appearances, etc.
Moving around got tight from time to time which reminds me how popular anime and cosplay have really gotten among locals as well as how interested buyers are with the products being displayed for sale.
As I saw some stickers (of pop culture icons and anime figures drawn by local illustrators) for buying, I had to stand behind a buyer who was searching for stickers and asked questions to the seller. There were three other customers next to him also standing right in front of the booth examining the stuff. After patiently waiting, I finally got to the front of the booth, quickly picked stickers (for some friends) and bought them.
There was a lot of stuff that appealed to cosplay and anime enthusiasts. Cards, buttons, stickers, caps, shirts, costumes, cosmetics, dolls, action figures, posters and a few publications. Those who purchased what they searched for clearly were happy. I searched from some Macross-related items but found none.
And then I took time out to photograph some cosplayers for your viewing pleasure below. Just click to ENLARGE.
A lot of people went on cosplay emphasizing their favorite characters from anime while some appeared as characters from computer games. These cosplayers really paid close attention to their craft with regards to capturing the looks of the characters they portrayed from the hair color to the make-up, the costumes, the shoes, the accessories and the like.
And among the cosplayers, I spotted someone dressed as Spider-Man. Specifically, the cosplay at the event was geared towards anime and computer games (like those online JRPGs).
Even though my interest in anime has waned a long time ago, it was still a nice experience to attend the Anime & Cosplay Expo 2019. More than twenty years ago, I was a very avid anime enthusiast and video collector and back in those days, events focused on anime and some related interests were not that popular and were not well publicized.
Today there are these local organizations focused on special interests like anime and cosplay which can emphasize their interests and reach out to many people around the country via the Internet. When an upcoming event gets announced, the enthusiasts will respond and prepare themselves (and their money) for attendance. Not only that, there are now many local businesses willing to sponsor these anime and cosplay events. These developments show that there is now respect and trust for these kinds of events. If you ask me, an anime and cosplay event is more interesting than a city government-organized beauty pageant.
By the way, the Anime & Cosplay Expo 2019 has one more day left tomorrow. There are some scheduled activities set to happen. If you intend to attend at all, click here.
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