Artichoke Adobo

Taking up comic books again after more than 15 or so years of being out of it is like moving back to your old neighborhood. While the changes that happened while you were away will continue to shock you for a little bit, there will always be some little out of the way place that haven’t changed, and, being human, you probably will try to latch on to the familiar, bask in the nostalgia, reminisce about a better time.

X-men #1 and an Uncanny X-men year 2006.
How things change but still remain the same.

Good Ole’ Chris

Chris Claremont was head honcho for most of the X-books I read when I was younger. Month after month I found myself looking forward to his stories as I mooched off of my friend’s subscription (oh yes I had an underprivileged life). I still remember my favorite X-men arcs:

1. Mutant Massacre - I loved this arc most of all. This was probably the time I was seriously getting into reading the X-men. I remember that my first ever X-book (and this one I owned) was the one with a Wolverine Rick Leonardi cover, the one where he fought Sabretooth off a cliff and Colossus was psycho-somatically paralyzed after he killed Riptide. Even then, I loved the fact that characters were getting killed left and right (I admit, these were 3rd and 4th stringers and Morlocks to boot but then again, at that age, they were all the same to me) and that the atmosphere was that of desperation. In this arc, I was also introduced to the power of one of my favorite X-badguy group, the Marauders. Scalphunter, who could fashion various weapons from the gadgets he puts on his body. Harpoon, an Eskimo who can change the harpoons he hurls into energy. Vertigo, with a power that is as obvious as her name. Riptide, the spinning badguy who hurls ninja stars (back when ninja stars were still cool. Scrambler, the suit-wearing, mutant-power scrambling member that every team should have. The tremor causing, Arclight. Ah such classic baddies for a simpler time. 2. Fall of the Mutants – I followed all of the “Fall of the Mutants” non-crossovers (X-men, X-factor, New Mutants) but enjoyed the X-men version the most. Right out of the Mutant Massacre crisis, the X-men had to deal with THE ADVERSARY (okay… I admit, it sounds stupid now). Saving grace was the prominent role of my favorite X-man, Longshot, in the solution against Adversary. Good thing he had hollow bones (okay… the solution was also stupid). 3. Reavers Saga – X-men in the outback with an aborigine door-to-door service guy, what more could you want. I think the villainous Reavers were great badguys were perfect. Pretty boy, Bonebreaker, Skullbuster, Cole, Reese, and Macon, and Lady Deathstrike. While their “powers” extended to just a little more than being cyborgs (there was very little distinction), I thought Claremont pulled off some good, old-school characterization. Motivation, on the other hand, was forgettable. 4. Blue Team: Asteroid M – Ohhhhh… Jim Lee back when Jim Lee was fashionable. Taking off from the Inferno saga, the new X-men team reunites with the old X-men team. This was an exciting time for me. I mean… Cyclops, Rogue, Psylocke, Gambit, Wolverine, and Beast. And what better way to start a new X-men series than to pit them against their archenemy, Magneto (better yet bring in a Magneto team called, The Acolytes). 5. Blue Team: Omega Red – Two words that make this one of my favorites: Omega Red and Maverick (wait… make that three words… or four if you count the conjunction). Looking past the Carbonadium Synthesizer nonsense, this, to me, was a solid story that successfully introduced a kick-ass character.

Chris in this brave new world

A lot has changed in 15 years. Even the face of comic books have changed – literally. While comic books of my younger years focused on the cover art to feature the talents of the visual artists, the comic books of today prominently displays the entire creative team with the writer top-billed. This suggests that the reader of today puts more importance in the story itself rather than the art.

I, for one, would gladly buy anything with the Peter David or Neil Gaiman stamp on it. Recently, I’ve also acquired a taste for writers such as Millar, Johns, and Vaughan. Chris Claremont’s name, on the other hand, continues to grace titles like The Uncanny X-men and New Excalibur.

For most of the comic book enthusiasts I know, though, Claremont’s writing has much to be desired. It’s as if, sadly, he has fallen from grace. While opinions vary from “he should have quit while he was ahead” to “let him be, his build-up has always spanned multiple arcs”, I can’t help but feel that there is something wrong, more precisely, something lost.

Let’s take a look at his current titles:

1. The Uncanny X-men – The arc that just finished involved Rachel Grey (formerly Summers) exacting revenge on the Shi’ar death squad that wiped out her entire genetic line and took away the drool-conducive Jean Grey from the fanboys of the world. While I am of the minority that is not complaining about the final dying of the Phoenix (a plot line that has been rehashed one too many times), I think Claremont failed in capitalizing on a goldmine of possibilities. Instead, he played it safe by playing the “Rachel Grey is a good girl after all” card with very little in the way of angst, motivation, or characterization. 2. New Excalibur – I must admit, I had high hopes for this title. It was one of the first ones I put on my pull-list after I decided to seriously get back into collecting comic books. I got myself all the back issues and made sure that I was getting 1st printing books as I anticipated that, once years go by and the story picks up, these will be of some value. Sadly, the first arc was totally disappointing with the New Excalibur (which to me has a promising team composition) dukes it out with Dark X-men and some Warwolves – a good premise if you think about it, but one that did absolutely nothing for me. Even the turned-a-new-leaf Juggernaut was not able to save the book for me (Incidentally, I don’t remember Juggy being as dumb as he is portrayed in this title).

The Final Analysis
So what went wrong? How could such a distinguished writer as Chris Claremont lose track of what makes comic books work?

My theory is that he hasn’t. His writing style and his stories are as intricate and slow-burning as they were 15 years back. Chris still functions in the subdued taken-for-granted vespers of the late 80’s. The superness in super-hero books simply have taken a back seat, so has big, building-crushing team battles, two realms that Mr. Claremont has been known to be comfortable in.

The problem is, the tastes of the reader HAVE CHANGED. We look to more effective stories now with, and it may be a tall order to expect this from superhero books, as much emotional realism as we can get. There is one thing that, I feel, sorely lacks in Chris’ books… that is a healthy dose of Humanity.

I guess I’ve always been a geek (in one form or another), but, to me, Comic Books would always be the litmus test of geekiness.

I recently decided to go back to comic book collection for a number of reasons not least of which are the conversations I’ve been having with my friend and podcast co-host Kid Flash X (for those of you who do not know me, we host a fairly popular podcast called Live at USA.PH). He’s been telling me about what’s been happening in the comic book world recently and it got me reinterested.

See, I quit comic books a long time back being an avid collector (well more of reader) when I was in high school. I used to collect X-Men (from X-Men #1), Uncanny X-Men, X-Force, and X-Factor with some weird prize titles here and there (TMNT #1, Death of Superman, etc.). My interests, though, gravitated into more tangible things such as playing in a rock band and the like. I went into other hobbies such as Magic:The Gathering and Warhammer 40K and literally stopped my comic book affliction/affection cold (I did continue to collect Sandman TPBs).

It’s been more than 10 years now and I’m finally back. There are some things I’ve learned about myself while I was catching up:

1. I love amorality. That is probably the main reason why I love the Ultimate Marvel Universe so much. I started my renaissance in this continuity where heroes were not heroes but gray, tortured, misguided things with too much power. In it Captain America is overzealous, so is the turd Professor Xavier… and both Magneto and the Axis of Evil make very valid points.

Sandman was appealing to me because of how the amorality painted such a tapestry of sadness in the world… but I digress.

2. I’m quite easy to please. KFX has been ranting about all the X-Titles whenever I get to talk to him. He makes some strong arguments about how the writing has deteriorated, how Wolverine is overexposed, and how X-Books are now nothing more than flimsy cash cows made of recycled paper. In a sense I agree with him, but having read the books from the DECIMATION arc, I can’t help but feel they are part of a great big epic story that I just can’t miss.

KFX endorses Astonishing X-men, Ultimate X-Men, and nothing else. I love X-Factor, New X-Men, and Generation M so far.

3. Make Mine Marvel. On the one hand, I’m sure it is partialy due to the fact that I am familiar with the characters and have been with Marvel since I first started but it is also because I can’t get past the stupid names the DC characters have (must I mention Elongated Man?). I also can’t seem to wrap my mind around the Infinite Earth theories.

And now the bottomline (and this is kinda sad): Comic Books have revitalized my interest in life. Been out of sorts lately and things haven’t been working out in my life quite as planned. Comic books help me get through the sadness… SPOKEN LIKE A TRUE FANBOY.

Listen to our GEEKCASTS at our podcast site Live at USA.PH.

Famous BBQs

There are certain places in Metro Manila that just have to be reviewed if only to validate their status as legends in the food and beverage scene. The quainter (is that even a word?) the place , the more out of the way, the more inclined am I to review it. Countryside, while not out of the way, is a restaurant who has achieved cult status by simple word of mouth. It is frequented mostly by Katipunan-going college people who take the time to cross Aurora boulevard and park their fancy cars on the curb.

If you’ve traversed the C-5 Katipunan road at just about dinner time, I’m sure you’ve noticed the unusual taffic build up just before you get to the Industrial Valley turn. That’s Countryside, where the most tender 18 peso barbecue you’ll find in Metro Manila.

Best Buy: 50 Peso Dinakdakan

They serve an amalgamation of different Filipino dishes from all over the archipelago. Their grillery serves dishes with a Davao accent. Their papaitans and dinakdakans are Ilocano. The rest are Kampampangan fare. Sisigs and Kalderetang Kambings and such. Note that they are pretty expensive for a non-airconditioned, no ambiance roadside resto. Still, the food is pretty worth it. Not too much to sing to the high heavens about, but consistently satisfying viands nonetheless. A meal (1 viand and 1 rice) will probably set you back by 100 pesos. If on a budget, 2 bbqs and a cup of rice should suffice.

In any case, try Countryside along Katipunan. For the happy eater in you.

Sweet Kalderetang Kambing	Big Bowl of Sotanghon: 150 kesos
Nothing special papaitan	You’d think there’d be more Lechon Kawali

I’ve never been a pizza lover but I do enjoy the occassional pizza meal. So it is pretty rare that you can catch me seeking out a pizza place.

Hepa-testing the pizza!

What did happen this last weekend was I found myself with a lot of time to kill and a walk away from a small “Di Mark’s” pizza counter over along shaw boulevard in the San Juan-Mandaluyong area. Now I remember eating this particular brand when I was little. I remember liking the taste and little else. So I decided to sit down, have a good solo lunch, and listen to podcasts while having myself a pizza.

It did not disappoint. The space, while a little cramped (especially due to the fact that a squad of police officers were dining there when I got in), was close to spotless, with good decor and choice of furniture. Don’t get me wrong, it is still a pizza counter, but a good one as pizza counters go.

The highlight, though, is and will always be, the pizza. I’m gonna sound like a total fanboy here but I can’t stop singing praises to the Di Mark’s pizza I tried. I, of course, asked what their specialty was and was told that I should go for either “The Big 22″ (22 toppings on every slice), or “The Mad Scramble” (Italian Sausage Meat, Pepperoni, Mushrooms, Green Peppers, Onions, Garlic, Black and Green olives, Chicken, and Tomatoes). I decided on a personal size (8″) Scramble.

Going on a Mad Scramble!

The Killer Condiment Combo!

This pizza rocked! It had the perfect mix of thick toppings and crunchy thin crust. It was even more filling than I thought it would be. Sliced into four, each bite offered a carnival of flavors. Complement this mix with what I would like to call “The Killer Condiment Combo” by bathing it with Hot Olive Oil (Labuyo in medium quality olive oil), Pepper Flakes, and Di Mark’s hot sauce and you’d be thinking “This is well worth it!” with every gulp of water.

Overall I give this pizza place 5 Gaping Navels! Something I haven’t given to any establishment as of yet. This rating, of course, considers the restaurant’s position relative to other establishments in the same market.

Yum for one.

To listen to our audio review, please download the Hepa Contessa segment of the “Live@USA.PH” podcast here (Episode 24 A).

Oh well, some good things never last. I’m writing this article regardless of the possible flaming I’m gonna get from my warhammer buds.

Space Wolves getting ready to charge!
For those of you who know me, you would know that I play Warhammer 40K to relax and get my mind off the rigors of real world existing… well mostly. While I may have a competitive streak here and there, I can honestly say that it has NEVER been topmost in my mind. That’s why, after some ample coercion from the likes of Lito Tan and Garrick Lee, I decided to get back into the hobby. To make it more interesting, I joined the famed Gladiator Cup, a month-long (or longer) tournament of sorts. I joined even with my non-existent knowledge of the new 4th edition rules.

While I had a decent showing (4 Wins and no Losses) I decided to quit it mid tournament. The toxic attitude of some of the participants just didn’t hang right from where I was sitting. It’s just too damn serious. So there… you can have the championship… not that I would’ve won it… but who knows. All I know is I’d rather play good competitive yet friendly games from here onwards. Ricky Lozano… if you are reading this… I want you!

Sayang talaga. Here are some pics of my last Glad Cup match against Ronald’s Space Wolves.

Psalmi Deo Chorale

Is the title clear enough? This was a disappointing experience to say the least. Now, so many months after the incident, I still feel it is my moral obligation to write about it. So here goes…

West Lake Restaurant is a restaurantized version of the West Lake dimsum spots you see in and around the more popular malls. Like its smaller counterparts, West Lake Restaurant serves a variety of dimsum, dumplings and noodles prepared in the traditional hong kong way. It is located in the middle of Eastwood City Walk, near “Cable Car” and “Heaven & Eggs”.

The Controversial Emp Platter

Sezchuan Eggplant

Shark’s Fin Noodles

That’s the extent of the unbiased stuff I’ll be posting. In fairness they did have good Mami. The rice meals were okay too. Still, the service sucked so much I felt like storming out at various points. It was bad enough that they served each of our orders about 15 minutes apart which created problems. Forgivable, though. I’m not one to knock someone’s teeth out over cold food. What irked me, though, was how they got so many of our orders wrong, worse of which was how they served Andrew an “Emperor’s Platter” (180 Pesos) instead of what he ordered which was “Century Egg Platter” (45 Pesos). We learned about the mishap only after we ordered a second platter and saw the difference. They then forced Andrew to pay up even if it was their big mistake.

Anyway, it’s been a while but I had to write this. Enjoy the pix.

Check out the nun at the left hand corner.

If you’re hankering for some medieval dining, there is this restaurant that the Hepa Contessa recommends. Now it’s nothing fancy (actually the opposite) and is just a little pricey for it’s serving size but I do think you should try this at least once in your life. I’m planning to eat there maybe twice a year.

Monasteryo is a theme restaurant heavily influenced by that Italian resto near Don Bosco, Makati. It offers novel meals inspired by the cooking of the different religious Catholic orders. To set the mood, the waiters are dressed in navy blue, close colar slim suits that clearly allude to seminarian garb. They all even wear a small gold cross on their collar to bring the message home. The waiteresses, on the other hand, wear those bib-like white things that flying nuns used to wear. First time you see them, it gives a minor shock, but I guess that was the intention of the owners all along.

The food they serve is a mix, a fusion, if you will. To be more precise, it is a fusion of Good Food and Bad Food. I mean, I will absolutely rave about the Beer Soup that I had and then rant about the Beef Ribs (which was their specialty, apparently). Their designer Ice Cream was good. Their Tuna-Brocolli casserole was interesting but, in the end, gives no reason to exalt the high heavens.

Dining in their bare, dungeon-like space, I can’t help but think of how the Dungeons and Dragons characters would have loved it there. I imagine Raistlin and Caramon sharing a bowl of Vegetable Soup and fried mutton. Or Flint Fireforge shouting out the the scrambling nun-wenches for some more ale. I was even tempted to go there in full D&D attire, broadsword in hand. Who knows, I might get lucky and find a much needed Cleric for my party, or a Paladin even… and maybe a damsel who will offer me her hand in exchange for my party slaying the legendary Robinson’s Galleria hydra (do you guys remember that urban legend?). Oh well… one can fantasize.

So please try this place out. It is in Greenbelt 1, in between the Delifrance and the Mr. Donut stores. It is in a location that has never been too lucky (with places like Juansoy, et al, closing down). You can’t miss it. Just look for the most desolate and empty place in the mall. Please, please, please give it a shot. I’d want to go back there next year and see that it is still operational. Or else you better find me another place I can sit and wait for my party while having a bowl of Beer Soup.

Nightlords shove it up the Deamonhunters’ asses!

Okay. I finished my third game in the Gladiator Cup Warhammer 40K 4 week tournament. I need to finish four more games in the series and I can’t help but think how it would be so difficult to find time for this. Still, I registered and I should finish.

Defiler Hydrocephaloid Obliterators

More so due to the fact that I somehow won my first three games (against John Zablan’s Night Lords, Lito Tan’s Witchhunters, and Mark Lim’s Deamonhunters… in that order). I think I’m leading the boards right now but it’s still anybody’s game. I’m also kinda torn on whether or not I want to win Store Champ. The reason why I picked Hobby Haven was because of the roster of people who joined the tourney in that store. These people offered as much challenge as possible without power gaming the fun out of the entire thing. I’m just so worried that I have to face un-fun, serious-as-hell, out-to-win people in the finals. We’ll just see where this goes, I think.

In any case, it’s just the right time to do my first battle report summary.

Game 3: Kill the Inquisitor

This game allowed us to use special rules in achieving the set victory conditions. First off, the deployment was pretty weird, with Mark getting a 24″ x 24″ square on a long side of the 6′ x 4′ table. He was also allowed to deploy terrain (bunkers, barricades, etc.) at his leisure. Too bad the store didn’t have enough terrain to represent the obstacles. So he ended up fielding 2 bunkers in between two hills.

Jason X bitch slapping a Dreadnought.

My MVP Biker Squad.

I, on the other hand, could only deploy in a six-inch arc around his deployment zone. Deciding to hammer through a flank, I deployed most of my units on the left side of the table and assaulted on the first turn (ignoring the stupid sentries that were supposed to deter me from my purpose). It was all bloody carnage from then on, with my deamon prince wiping out a squad on the first turn and then getting into close combat with his HQ by the second turn. As this was going on, my heavy weapons kept firing at his support infantry and my Raptors swept up everything else that was left.

Special mention should go to my 3-strong bike squad for destroying his Leman Russ, a Chimera transport, and one bunker with combined meltagun and powerfist attacks. Another highlight was when Jason X, my deamon prince, squared off with the combined might of his Eversor Assassin and his Dreadnought. All in all, this was a fun game that lasted well into the night. I made mistakes that people don’t expect me to make (like charging my overeager HQ into a useless unit on the first turn (when my Raptors could’ve dealt with them just as easily) but, hey, I’m just getting back into the game, right?

Painting a squad of Alpha Legion Marines

Can’t wait to play my next game.

On a side note, Mark Lim (who looks like a better-trimmed Hagrid) was an hour late for our game. I ended up painting some figs in the Alpha Legion colors to while away the time. Should be able to switch to playing that new army come January.

Alpha Legion

Blow by

This will be a short one but it’s long overdue methinks. I just have to thank Mox’s family for throwing me a good birthday dinner full of the things that I should be avoiding. They served all the “batok food” one could ever want.

Jay, Mox, and Ate Yella

Salad and Pancit

Sansrival!

Loling and Yayay

I’ve always been partial to litid-meats such as Crispy Pata and Kare-kare. Loling (Mox’s mom) was spoiling me enough that she served both Crispy Pata and Pata Tim on the table that night. Add to this all the other foodstuffs such as the Totoy’s Pancit sa Bilao and the Goldilock’s sansrival and you have a good feast going. The highlight, though, would have to be their home-cooked Bulalo with their patented kalabasa (squash) Sarsa. Yum yum! I ended up ignoring everything else and stuffing myself with the soup and the sarsa.

Thanks guys!

What it looks like:	What it is:
Crispy Pata (foreground) and Pata Tim (background)	Tastes good and is very deadly. Crispy pata is pork shank that is cooked in vinegar before being deep fried. It is known for it’s crispy skin and chewy tendons. Served with a soy sauce-vinegar-onion-garlic-sugar sauce, it is the staple of any Pinoy handaan. Pata Tim, on the other hand, is more oriental than Pinoy. It is a chinese dish of well… pork shank… served in a sweet sauce and on a bed of pechay-baguio. It is sweetened by sugar and flavored by a tree-seed called star-anise.
Bulalo	Another deadly dish. Bulalo is beef shank bone cut in half and then boiled in a broth of meat and vegtables. It is simple but takes a while to cook. The main attraction of this dish is the juicy marrow that sits inside the shank bone. I take my bulalo with a saucer of fish sauce (patis), peppers (siling labuyo), and calamansi. Yum!
“Sarsa de Leon”	I know. This looks like baby poop. It tastes great, though. Made by boiling squash and eggplant in beef broth, mashing them together, and then seasoning with salt, pepper, vinegar, and raw garlic, this side dish is great for adding some sour-salty flavor to broth or fried fish dishes. Perfect with bulalo.

Strong foward force. Meat of my Nightlords army.

I’ve been out of sorts lately. I’ve been in one of those slumps and haven’t written anything of interest on this blog for quite a while. First thing is that I recently got a promotion and am now the COO of Asia Online Solutions, Inc. Congratulations to me. One thing I found out was that it gets harder to find time for anything else. I’ve been focusing more on both my offline life and the live@usa.ph podcast. It’s sad that Artichoke Adobo was first to go.

I also learned that now, more than ever, I need to make time for my hobbies, if only to make sure that I keep sane. That is why I decided to get back to tabletop gaming. For those of you who have never heard of tabletop gaming, it is the hobby where grown men get to play with little toy soldiers on top of a large table. They move the soldiers around and pretend that they’re generals in a small war.

Fast attack!

Very nerdy. Warhammer 40K is a game of this sort. You can read up on it here.

Let me brag a little. I was the Grand Tournament (Nationals) Champion for 2004 and the Gulay Cup Invitational Champion of that same year. Soon after gulay cup, though, I retired from playing, semi sorted out my life, and waited for Juliana to be born. Now, though, I’m back through the infinite patience of Mox (she actually sat through and cheered for me in one of my recent games). And things are going well. Haven’t lost a game yet and that is surprising because we’re using 4th edition rules which I never learned.

Mirror Match

Before the battle

I even joined a 7 game tourney and won my first two games. I’m fielding my “Night Lords” Chaos Space Marines army for this tournament. Interestingly enough, my first game was against the only other Pinoy Night Lords player (his name is John Zablan) that I know. It was almost a mirror match but ended quite well for me.

Anyway, keep your eye on this space. I will probably feature some armies here as we go along.