In Honour Of CFL Hmingthanga, 7 years later

I am the first non-Mizo to dedicate this studious post to a Mizo.

CFL Hmingthanga is possibly one of the least known popstars in all of India, except Mizoram.

He was born in 1965 and died in 2012. He had made dozens of albums and was really popular in his home state of Mizoram.

George of The Jungle finale in the works

Today I'm drawing a storyboard for a huge George of The Jungle finale in the works.

The animated film finale will be connected to both Seasons 1 and 2, as well as the Disney film with its sequel and the original tv series. The cast will be altered once more to include Funimation and Sony Pictures actors, because the film is going to be more violent than its live action Disney counterpart.

My version of Disney's Ursula Stanhope is Erin Stanhope. She is going to be a reporter and is hinted to be Astro Boy (2003) character Richard Kisaragi's wife. Her only child is Yuko.

Doctor Towel Scott is returning, this time with a biological child.

Disney's Jungle Book: stepping into the lives of villains

Stepping into the lives of villains, or more accurately visualising them for the screen, is a fairly huge task.

It's fair to say that I've briefly read the story that featured Buldeo in a Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book complication. Yes, he's a recurring antagonist, but I can give him more sympathy and make the audience sympathise him more because he's a human character.

In one of my episodic dreams, titled 'The Day Shere Khan Died', the animated version of Shere Khan finally regains a lot of sympathy, even though he lost his prey to poachers, and his estranged mate (she's such a big villainess) taunts him everyday, which I think of as the combined reason why he's the main antagonist for the current two animated Jungle Book films.

Oversimplified: In honour of Roswitha Haas, the queen of mockbusters

Roswitha Haas was born on January 28th 1940 in Bavaria, Germany during WW2. She was about 5 years old when WW2 was done. Roswitha was married to Adolf Haas, and they've had four surviving grandchildren altogether. 

She is most famous as the queen of animated mock busters, because she wrote for nearly all the films Dingo Pictures had ever made. She died on December 8th 2015 in Beratzhausen, Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany.

RIP, Roswitha Haas.

Quality in Mockbusters and other knockoffs: a weird case

Hello, I'm doing a careful study of quality in mock busters and other kinds of knockoffs. 

It's interesting to note that Asians and Europeans have produced and directed live action Tarzan movies, which are mostly decent knockoffs of the old Tarzan films. 

My favourite Tarzan Knockoffs are the gory ones featuring has-been beefcake Barry Prima, his equally brazen female counterpart Wieke Widowati and a stuntman in his sun bear outfit. In 2 of these films, Tarzan has a local counterpart in Sumatran jungle-raised Tarzan boy Sambo (that's so confusing) and the characters accompanying them and rivalling them are also locals.

Until the mid-1990s, the most boring Tarzan Knockoffs were from Spain. Now, the worst Tarzan knockoff of all time is Dingo Pictures' Lord of The Jungle. The only named human characters of this story are fake John Clayton, fake Alice Rutherford Clayton, fake John Clayton Sr, Professor Bloomsdale, Linda Jane Bloomsdale, and William Stewart Clayton, as well as fake John and Linda Jane’s infant son, fake John Clayton Jr (who only made a simple, bare cameo). 

Nowadays, the cruddiest live action Tarzan Mockbuster of all time comes from Nepal and is actually a creaky continuity reboot of Babbar Subhash’s Adventures of Tarzan, another so bad it’s steaming good Bollywood classic. In turn, the latter is loosely based upon all three official Tarzan films known as Tarzan, The Ape Man. 

Joe Kubert’s Tor: a masterpiece

Not rewritten until November 27 2022. 

Tor is a comic book character created by Joe Kubert and Norman Maurer. 

The science of Heaven and Hell

Heaven is itself based on the atmosphere. It can also be fragile, because pollution affects it.

Its inhabitants are all angels and demons which include: Yesod, Malkud, Da'at, Netzah, Tifiret, Chesed, Keter, Chokhmah, Baraqiel, Bezaliel, Binah, Zachriel, Shelegiel, Turiel, Ananiel, Uriel, Leliel, Sahaquiel, Chazaqiel, Eistibus, Ein Sof, Hemah, Gabriel, Michael, Remiel, Raziel, Rahab, Matariel, Israfel, Remph, Dumah, Sandalphon, Samshiel, Phanuel, Suchlaph, Shateiel, Samyaza, Penemue, Sariel, Zaqiel, Kokabiel, Tamiel, and Suphlatus.

Disney's Tarzan: the aliens

Olga von Clock - Alien leader of the alien legion.

Raoul Decode - Her husband. 

Collecting things

I wonder if who will do it? 

A pair of Epoch Family Kamishibai sets may be nice.

Ripoffs and competitors

Here come the rip-offs and competitors....

Soyuzmutfilm made two largely faithful adaptations of both Rikki Tikki Tavi and the Jungle Book eight years apart.

Chuck Jones made two decent-quality competitor adaptations of both Rikki Tikki Tavi and The Jungle Book a year apart.

At the same time, Filmation made a celluloid animated tv show, which was its own decent-quality adaptation of the Tarzan books that lasted from 1976 to 1980.

Nippon Animation made a celluloid anime, which was its own good-quality competitor adaptation of The Jungle Book lasting from 1989 to 1990.

Golden films made two rip-offs of both The Jungle Book and Tarzan nine years apart, even though it was the Tarzan film that fared better in terms of faithfullness and quality. The Jungle Book ripoff with redhead Mowgli was, strangely enough, the first Jungle Book adaptation with Jim Cummings, predating the Jungle Book 2 by 12 years.

Bevanfield films made its own ripoff of The Jungle Book in 1992. It was crude and in poor quality.

Jetlag productions made a good quality and relatively faithful competitor version of The Jungle Book in 1995.

Low budget German cartoon studio Dingo Pictures made its own ripoff of Tarzan in 1999. It was a very crude and poor quality film called Lord of the Jungle. 

DQ Entertainment still makes a 3D tv show and its various film spinoffs, which are its own decent-quality competitor adaptations of The Jungle Book.

Constantin Film made a badly motion captured ripoff version of Tarzan in 2013.

Arad Animation made a disappointing competitor adaptation of the Tarzan books for Netflix, which lasted from 2017 to 2018.

Jungle Lovers and Jungle Yarns

An upcoming anthology

The scenery of Joe Kubert’s Tor

Joe Kubert’s Tor is known not just for its large array of stone punk archetypes, it is also known for its amazing scenery. 

The 1953-54+1975-76+Sojourn incarnation has the prototypical Tor living in a subtropical savannah, indicating that the prototypical series is somehow set in a fantasised cross of Bangladesh, Vietnam, Laos, PRC, Myanmar, and northeast India.

The 1993 incarnation has its variant of Tor living in a patch of the Himalayan foothills, indicating that it’s set in a fantasised mix of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand, which are three North Indian states. 

The 2008 incarnation has another variant of Tor living in both the jungle and savannah, indicating that it’s set in a mix of south and southeast Asian nations. 

Adapting the Classics: Tor

After a sludge of potentially good concepts never came up within Joe Kubert’s lifespan, his character Tor strongly needs an animated series of his own, which is mostly because another prehistoric fantasy concept, Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal, has become a success both nationally and internationally due to having little dialogue. 

Sometimes I’ll add female characters into a proposed animated series centring around Tor himself, such as the lady wearing a diadem (who appeared in the original 50s prototype and its 70s remake), a fawned over redhead (who appeared in the 90s series) and a mysterious grey skinned lady (who appeared in A Prehistoric Odyssey). 

In the proposed animated series, Tor himself is the bereaving son of a brutal female warrior and her somewhat nebbish bodyguard, and it is he who also has a redhead son, a brown haired grandson, and a crapload of great grandchildren. 

Disney's Tarzan: The Purgatory revision

The Purgatory is the headquarters of a dysfunctional supernatural college in a geographic location called the sediment, which is between the soil and the mantle void. Many of its members are generally misunderstood, thereafter they would rather escape the HQ by surviving tumultuous encounters with the real world.

Burroughs Demons

Oah - Oah was the Purgatory princess.
Dooth - He was the Purgatory’s corrupt hick.
La - This interpretation of La has all the damn body parts that a typical female demon has. She is also a commonly unfeeling entity but doesn't speak much English at all. The reason why she never speaks much English at all is that her speech patterns are surprisingly irregular, given the fact that she was raised by Bigfoot apes.
Tha - Tha is a less nefarious one with a bigger human language speaking role than La.
Nao - Nao was Nemone's and then Doria's wise lady in waiting.
Darus - La's old friend who is behaviourally similar to Devilman's Kaim. Speaks in stilted English.
Kaj - Kaj was Doria's man in waiting, later dumped by the purgatory's high priestess to work at the caves.
Akamen - Atka's cousin. Akamen had a father who was clearly menacing, a grandmother who was dumb, and a grandfather who was cautious.
Herat - King of Thobos, a city in the Ruhengere region of Rwanda.
Lailah - Herat’s wife.
Mentheb - Herat’s daughter.
Atka - Queen of Ashair, a vampire civilisation in the Akagera region.
Herog - Herog was such a pretty guy among the demons, he got dubbed as the Badshah of the Purgatory.
Metak - Dooth's minion, a kuudere kind of minion.
Alextar - Dooth's estranged brother.
Nemone - Queen of the purgatory who has invaded many lands in search of mates, primarily because her sad past life as a human left her anguished.
Thudos - He was Doria’s first boyfriend.
Doria - High priestess of the Purgatory.
Tomos - Tommy, as he is nicknamed, is the Purgatory’s vandal.
Xertsle - Lady Xerxes, as she is nicknamed, is the archer of the Purgatory.
Zygo - He was the Purgatory’s mayor’s son.
Phorouse - He was Zygo’s best friend, admirer and minion.
ValThor - Val was the crooked old demon who taught Tomos and Xertsle how to assassinate humans with arrows.
Menofra - Menofra was Doria's sister, a tsundere kind of sister.
Kandos - Kandos was GemNon’s minion, a moe kind of minion.
GemNon - He was the lord of the purgatory before being banished by Doria.
Phordos - Tomos’s faithful companion.

Rulaman: the prehistoric fantasy novel that inspired generations

Rulaman is a popular public domain classic which has been translated into Russian, Korean and other languages, but not into English yet. 

There’s a high probability that Rulaman inspired Joe Kubert’s Tor, Shotaro Ishinomori’s Ryū the prehistoric boy, Jong Jin Yi’s Baba the cave boy, and various other prehistoric heroes. 

The significance of Joe Kubert’s Tor

Tor is a prehistoric fantasy comic franchise co-created by the late Joe Kubert and Norman Maurer (but owned from the 80s-90s onward by the super talented artist and later his own studio, Joe Kubert Productions). 

There’s the 1950s Tor comic book series and its own kin. 

The 1950s series is the prototype for all the other incarnations. The prototype’s eponymous hero is considerably lighter and softer than other incarnations. He strived for a better world. 

While the 1975 DC series is largely a remake cum reprint, it’s safe for me to assume that this incarnation’s eponymous hero also appears in a then all new volume 1, itself a revised origin of his own backstory, which began life as a failed comic strip. The two sojourn strips made in 1977 are technically both loose sequels to the St John incarnation and the pilots to both the Marvel and DC incarnations. 

There’s also the 1993 Marvel series, which is perhaps a darker but more ponderous continuity reboot to both the 50s and 70s incarnations. There’s also a short story made in 1991 which is its beginning. Its eponymous hero, now a gritty fella, must survive in a world just as unforgivingly deadly as it was when his father was once alive. 

The 2008 DC series, a more optimistic continuity reboot of both the St John-Sojourn and Marvel incarnations has its eponymous hero go into a mysterious mountain containing a deadly underground world. 

Garfield Gets Real, 12 years later

Garfield Gets Real is my favourite childhood movie, but what about the facts?

Based on the comic and the characters by Jim Davis, Garfield Gets Real is full of 4th wall breaks and insider jokes, therefore it's a postmodernist classic.

1. The locations are inspired by real life: The Park in GGR is inspired by the much cliched Central Park.

2. This film helped me distinguish reality from the fake: It's so awesome that it made me think of the rather ambiguous boundary between the real and the fake for the first time.

3. Temporary friends for Garfield and Odie: The three temporary friends for Garfield and Odie are Shecky, Waldo and Sheila.

Classic Devil Man

DevilMan is one of the most controversial and famous manga of all time, because it's created by the man behind the Chogokin greats, Go Nagai.

The whole story starts right now. The two films bearing the moniker Classic Devil Man (it's my moniker for them because they're largely faithful to the manga's first two volumes) were created by a minor, Tokyo-based Japanese animation studio named Oh! Production

Oh! Production is more usually known in the Arab world for animating Future Boy Conan and in most non-Anglophone countries for animating old school Doraemon. However, I suggest that Classic Devil Man is its first big hit in the Anglophone world.

The late Kazuo Komatsubara animated the two Classic Devil Man straight to video films with style, while the then-inexperienced Umanosuke (first birth name Tsutomu) Iida directed both with kudos.

As a cult classic for fans of old school anime, Classic Devil Man has been dubbed into Castilian and Mexican Spanish, French, Italian, Catalan and most famously a mix of British and Canadian English.

A snarky snippet of a dark scene, shown and heard clearly in a strongly Anglophone trailer, has proven that Canadian voice actress Larissa Murray, who did an amazing Tarzan like yelling scream when she dubbed Miki Makimura for the Anglophone market, was probably there to change history.

Another woman who persisted in the hilarious dubbing was Liza Ross, the wife of British born Canadian tv actor Garrick Hagon of X Bomber Star Fleet fame. She dubbed Sirene (as Lucy Franks) for the Anglophone Market and did a deep voiced impression which attracted (not yet internet-ready) anime and horror fans!

What is plastic waste?

Plastic is one of our most familiar substances. Its easy translucence and shapeliness belies its more awful impact on the environment.

The science of Hell

Hell is a concept based possibly on the mantle, the hotter layer of the earth's crust. Its inhabitants are all demons and angels which include; Azazel, Baal, Abaddon, Zagan, Asmodai, Gadreel, Marbas, Af, Xaphan, Beelzebub, Sathariel, Amaymon, Belial, Paimon, Ammon, Shax, Haagenti, Satan, Hod, Beleth, Asbeel, Astaroth, Simikiel, Lucifuge Rofocale, Azrael, Satanachia, Amaros, Agaliarept, Fleruty, Hasmed, Sargatanas, Gevurah and Nebiros.

Unladylike by Cristen Conger and Caroline Ervin

Warning: thankfully, not much inappropriate content

I've rented a library book and read it for the first time in my own eyes. Here it is! This book isn't meant to be entertainment, it's meant to be advice even though entertainment can be its second goal.

In the ladylike matrix of parochially shitty patriarchy-ridden standards, girls next door are luckily far more likable than bridezillas (referring the clichés of mad brides, the original Boston Globe definition and the title of a popular tv show that gave its swag to them all) and vice versa. The scenario is also familiar to men, albeit with roughies being the likeable lead.

The #MeToo revelation has already impacted Hollywood a few years back, but what about the epic and (almost always) endless systemic blowback which is primarily, but not always, the ruthless gulf between teen starlets and their bosses?

And according to a Guardian reporter, that gulf is technically the film system itself.

Here are the rage-ridden ethnic stereotypes popularised by that same old shitty film system, if not totally created by them otherwise.

Thankfully, despite the horrid virtual signalling, almost every kind of malignant bias is (kind of) diminishing its presence in Hollywood due to healthy fucking backlash.

Biosphere integrity is good!

Biosphere integrity is one of the most important rules nature has to offer.

A blogger's view on The Ryū Trilogy

Here is my view on The Ryū Trilogy.

Don't you all know who really was the man behind Cyborg 009 and Skull Man, Super Sentai and Kamen Rider? Was he also the king of Tokusatsu? He was Shotaro Ishinomori.

The three protagonists are all called Ryū in the manga trilogy (anime spinoff included).

The first one is a prehistoric stonepunk fantasy ancestor, who (surprisingly) happens to be a part-alien himself in the manga version. His loincloth-cum-leotard closely resembles that of Tarzan's in both the silent films and the earliest comics, except it is yellow in colour and fashioned more like a yukata. Like him, he was raised as a fosterling by a middle aged hominin named Kitty in both manga and anime versions. He has an estranged birth mum named Esta and four companions called Tekedon, Kiba, Ran and Don. His many rivals often try to thwart his adventures, but they all lose their mojos at the end.

The second one is a leading delinquent named Ryū Todoroki. He has various acquaintances which include a one-eyed queer girl named Akame who never speaks very much, plus there are various other (mostly unique) besties out there. He also has a very sexy girlfriend. Their main enemies are mostly robots (one of whom had killed the main delinquent's dad).

The third one is a future descendant named Ryū Shibata. His mate is Maria Andersen/Henderson, whose brother is Jimmy. They have numerous friends like Isaac the robot, hominin Peki, bearded cyborg Kami, and a one-eyed monster child. Their many foes include men with tails, carnivorous trees and the like.

What is a pulp opera?

HELLO Curious teenagers! Let me show you how I coined the term pulp opera. 

The term pulp opera refers to any cheap novel with large amounts of drama, action, and adventure. 

The Gora Gopal conundrum

The Gora Gopal conundrum

Gora Gopal is a comic character created by Spanish artist Carrillo. Unlike various other Jungle Guys and Girls out there, it seems that Gora Gopal, in Carrillo's original version, was a post-war Anglo-Indian (albeit of British descent) 'lost child/man' named Tom Colvin raised by elderly mentor and guru Chandenagor in the jungles of Bengal. His girlfriend is Carolina.

My three other Indo-centric projects will be Rikki Tikki Tavi (the mongoose in this version will be a short tailed one) and The Tea Lords. One of which is Rudyard Kipling's story whereas the latter is by Hella Haasse. Rikki will be relatively short for a full length film at 52 minutes, whereas The Tea Lords will be a sprawling tv series set in colonial Java.

Super Sentai stuff

Weird, even though Super Sentai has been a part of pop culture for a lot longer, some of its shows are not yet suitable for the anglophone audience. Power Rangers is mainly different from super sentai due to its more culturally diverse characters and its use of Anglophone references. 
Galaxy Star Knights 
Ironically the first ones to appear in Super Sentai history, the Galaxy Star Knights are going to be set fifteen years after MegaForce.
LoveHeart Jackers 
Among the most interestingly costumed Power Rangers, LoveHeart Jackers are the only ones not to fight giant monsters. Funnily enough, their time was thirty years before the Mighty Morphs appeared, therefore they’d be among the originals. 
Battle Fever
Along with Electric Fighters and Sun Vulcan, Battle Fever will be first in the Marvel-Toei trilogy to get adapted into a video game. Unlike almost all power rangers, the Battle Fever team consists of multicultural people, 4 of whom are males but not Americans, except for Miss America. The costumes are also among the most humanised in history.
Electric Rangers 
One of the Ishinomori-Marvel gems, Electric Rangers would be set four years after Power Rangers SPD.  Sun Vulcan 
Being the second upcoming Power Ranger show in history to retain a Super Sentai name, Sun Vulcan is both a sequel to and a continuation of Electric Rangers. 
Hexagon 
The first Power Rangers show to feature two teams, one of delinquents and the other of police trainees. 
Goggle Rangers 
Set sixteen years before SPD and four after Hexagon, the Goggle Rangers are inventive young policemen who would save their world from the net’s most nefarious attacks. 
Techno Academy
Even though Maskman is its super Sentai counterpart, the Techno Academy is set fifteen years before the Mighty Morphs. 
BioMorphers 
Funnily enough, in super Sentai it’s long before Go Busters, but in Power Rangers it’s a few years after Beast Morphers! 
Geo Changelings
Consisting of stranded young soldiers, the Geo force finds solace in the magic of morphing into and communicating with creatures.  Train Jackers 
Children of LoveHeart Jackers, these guys have strong interest in trains and would like to fight against Wild West monsters in a time of public transport recession. 
Electric Flashers 
The first Power Rangers team in history to permanently have a double life inside and outside their birth world, they were kidnapped by the Mess Organisation for research, but got saved and then raised by some Flash aliens. 
Liveman Heroes 
One of the few in history to combine a super sentai name with another, the team consists of five members, two of whom are children of the Techno Academy’s power couple. 
Jet Force 
Two years before the ZooMan Camp, the Jet Force team consists of five bickering but mostly funny friends, who join forces together in order to save their world with avian magic from habitat loss exacerbated by an illegal logging company in the Andes. They are also the first bilingual team. Turbo Junior
Set two decades after Power Rangers Turbo, the team consists of the Blue Turbo Ranger’s protégés. They are all high school students like their super sentai counterparts. 
Five Force
Five siblings from the Talley family have had their parents killed by monsters invading the Californian heat, but got rescued by and then grew up with aliens in another world called Sidon. 
ZooMan Camp 
The ZooMan Camp consists of anthropomorphic animals in a preteen book coming to life (with human disguises), in order to surprise a birthday boy whose grandma got killed by the same logging company from Jet Force. 
Constellation Knights
The constellation Knights have nine members whose shared motif is Greek mythology. 
Fossil Force
A sequel to Dino Charge, Fossil Force’s motif is dinosaurs, even though they are also good archaeologists. 

Nice tidbits

Once upon a time in a far, far away land, Emma Lazarus made poetry within the worthy flowery tongue of light. 

Her poems were pretty of values dissonant. They’re wonderfully lippy and crackly. 

Cast of Argentine telenovela Teach Me to Live

Clodine / Asai (Violeta Urtizberea): She is the daughter of the Fernández Salguero couple and the true granddaughter of Amanda. She was raised by monkeys in the jungle and is a natural, fresh, tender and wild young woman unaware of evil. Since she cannot speak, she repeats everything she hears.

Lucas Linares (Pablo Rago): He is a young and handsome teacher. While he is responsible and gentleman, he is fun and informal. He only fell in love once and suffered. The arrival of Asai, whom he must teach to behave like a person, will be his second chance in love.

Lorena Beatriz Benítez / Clodine (Julieta Zylverberg): she is the true daughter of Benítez and Emilia, but after the accident they made Amanda believe that she was her granddaughter. It is whimsical, frivolous and superficial. She strives to be the leader of her group and her friends idolize her. She is attracted to Lucas Linares and will do her best to grab her attention.

Amanda (Adela Gleijer): She is Clodine's tender and kind grandmother. After the accident, the Benítez family make her believe her granddaughter is Lorena. Seeing on the news that a girl was found in the jungle, he decides to bring her to the mansion, since he believes she is the daughter of the servants.

Benítez (Jorge Suárez): He is the cruel butler of the Fernández Salguero family mansion, and the true father of the false Clodine. All his life he envied Agustín's economic well-being, but that, he exchanged with the babies after the accident that killed him. When the fake Clodine turns 21 and becomes the heir to the fortune, she plans to reveal her true identity and live like a king. He is Emilia's husband, the maid, and he stays by her side only to prevent her from revealing the whole truth.

Emilia (Patricia Etchegoyen): She is the wife of Benítez and mother of the false Clodine. Although she agreed to the exchange of the babies, she thought that the true heiress had died in the accident. She is very afraid and wants to tell the truth, but her husband does not allow it. Day by day she endures the mistreatment of her daughter, who despises her without knowing that she is actually her mother.

Minerva (Ana María Picchio): She is Amanda's lady-in-waiting, for whom she left her life in the background. She is reckless and does not express herself very well, but she is the only one in the house who dares to face Clodine. Although she closed her heart, she does not know that love will soon come again into her life.

Goyena (Germán Kraus): Correct and always very willing to solve any family issue, he is the attorney for Amanda. Although he is married, he will fall in love with Minerva, and next to her he will be in charge of unmasking Benítez.

Farsa (Pepe Monje): He is a corrupt lawyer who knows the secret of Emilia and Benítez, and is allied with him because he hopes to obtain an economic return when Clodine inherits the fortune.

Cristóbal Linares (Felipe Colombo): He is Lucas's younger brother, with whom he lives. He promised to mature and help with spending, but he can't handle his instincts. He escapes commitments and his weakness is women, until he meets Ro and falls hopelessly in love. Since she constantly ignores him, she resorts to the false Clodine to help him conquer her, promising to intervene so that her older brother can notice her.

Macu (Fernando Dente): He is a handsome young man and in a good position who is hopelessly in love with the false Clodine, but the appearance of Lucas makes the picture more complicated.

Ro (Laura Cymer): She is the best friend of the false Clodine. Although she is not very graceful, she has a very high ego. Together with Clodine, she will make life impossible for Asaí.

Ana (Valeria Lorca): She is the doctor who took care of Asaí when she was brought to Buenos Aires. By a request she is fired from the hospital, and will be in charge of warning Lucas about the dangers Asai is running in the City.

Marcela (Laura Azcurra): She is a teacher and is Lucas's girlfriend. Asaí's appearance will put her relationship at risk, so she will carry out all sorts of macabre plans to keep her at all costs.

How to soup up your style

How to soup up your style

Jessica of the schoolyard: Kiwi comics have gained an international audience in recent years. JOTSY has had been my fist major comic subject 3 years back. Surprisingly, I didn't know that IT IS partly INSPIRED by the Sukeban trend of 1970s Japan until now! JOTSY also unknowingly inspired Hollywood's Mean Girls.

Names

Beasts

Once Upon A Time, A Bunch of Beasts went into the park. But one day, a bunch of exterminators are going nuts. 

Saleh Ardisoma

Translated From Jual Komik Lama. 

In the world of comics, he is better known as just Ardisoma, even though it is his father's name. His real first name is Saleh, which in his comic works is written as Saleh Ardisoma, S. Ardisoma, S.A. Soma, or S.A.S. This name was inscribed on comic panels which later became a milestone in the history of comic books in the 1950s-1960s, accompanying RA Kosasih's phenomenal wayang adaptations of Ramayana and Mahabharata. There are three prominent titles of Saleh Ardisoma's comics, namely Jakawana, Ulamsari, and Wayang Purwa. Most of his publishing is under Melody. Melody Publishers was known to often innovate themes in comic publishing in the 1950s. Melody pioneered the publication of comic books in the form of graphic novels, as well as pioneering the creation of local superhero figures such as Sri Asih, Putri Bintang and others. Melody also pioneered the publication of comics with “local” themes such as folk tales and wayang.

Tarzan was a fictional character created by Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1912. Tarzan was transferred to the comic strip format in 1929 by Hal Foster. The plunge of a muscular male figure who was raised by apes, but who was good-looking and smart had caused a huge outbreak of comic artists in Indonesia. That outbreak was in the form of inspiration to create new comic figures. Tarzanesque Figures were created by Indonesian artists. RA Kosasih created Tjempaka (Cempaka), a once popular female Tarzanid character. John Lo also created a female Tarzanid named Nina of Kalimantan. Bahzar, a Medan based North Sumatran artist, created Mala, Eng created the Zanga character, the Javan-born Chinese Indonesian (convert to Islam) Kwik Ing Hoo created the Wiro character, and many other figures including Jakawana (Djakawana) by Saleh Ardisoma. The story is very similar to the story of the "creation" of the original Tarzan. A child named Kohar was abandoned in the forest and then raised by a great ape (who’s perhaps a matronly Central Bornean orangutan) so that he becomes Jakawana, a wild man who befriends other animals. Kohar wears a pair of leopardskin trunks connected to the upper body, exactly like Tarzan in early Hal Foster comics. Jakawana as a character began to popularise Saleh Ardisoma to the Indonesian masses. In my childhood, in the 1960s, the name’s old spelling (Djakawana) was mentioned quite often. In my sister's reading garden in the past (1967-1969), there were many who borrowed its two volumes. 

 

The creation of the genre "Tarzanide" or "Jungle Adventure" does require a good mastery in creating images of human anatomy because the characters in it often do not wear much clothes. Comedy artists of this genre will be increasingly trained in drawing human body movements and muscles more closely. In addition, good mastery in creating images of animal anatomy is also needed because usually a jungle adventurer will meet various types of animals. Scenes outside the room - especially the forest - also dominate the picture on the panels. Even though the story is not special, it is the trusty Jakawana story that makes Saleh Ardisoma more proficient in drawing the anatomy and motion of humans, animals, and depicting panoramic scenes of Indonesia's natural scenery, also building storylines. The skills gained from making Jakawana comics were very supportive in innovating the puppet drama genre which he worked on later.

Ulamsari is one of the comic book titles by Saleh Ardisoma which is also quite "sought after" at the time, also "highly collectable" by current comic collectors. Ulamsari is an excerpt from the background of the Mahabharata monkey story. In contrast to RA Kosasih who worked on Mahabharata by trying to be obedient to the Indian standard (although in the end there were still some adjustments), generally the wayang comedy that Saleh Ardisoma worked on took more from the narrative of puppeteer puppet show. Ulamsari tells the story of Raden Abhimanyu who turns into a beautiful fish named Ulamsari. The fish made Duryodhana Prabu’s daughter fall in love.

From the comics produced by S. Ardisoma, in this genre of "wayang", Saleh Ardisoma received a position that was quite appropriate and accepted by the community. Amongst all his works, it can be said that his own take on Purwa, featuring comic book variants of Wayang Puppets adapted from the characters themselves, is the peak. S. Ardisoma's Wayang Purwa, published in 1956, is one of the cornerstones of comic history, especially in the wayang genre.

The term "Purwa" in the performing arts (wayang golek or kulit), by some experts, is interpreted as "the past". Some other scholars say that the word "purwa" comes from "parwa" (parva), namely episodes or chapters in the Mahabharata story. In fact, the Indian version of Mahabharata consists of 18 parwa, which starts from Adi Parva who tells about the origin of the Bharata dynasty, and ends with Swargarohana Parva about the final journey of the Pandavas to ascend to nirvana. Whereas the word Wayang itself actually refers to a form of performance art. So what is often referred to as "wayang stories" actually does not exist. What is there is a "story" that is usually sung in a puppet show and the story is usually a series of stories around the great story of Ramayana and Mahabharata.

The comic version of Wayang Purwa does not tell episodes in the parva from India but rather stories before the Ramayana and Mahabharata periods. RA Kosasih in the late 1970s, under the publisher Maranatha also made a comic with the title Wayang Purwa and with more or less the same content structure. Likewise with Oerip S. So, the term "Wayang Purwa" in cergam finally refers to the meaning of "stories that occurred before the Ramayana and Mahabharata".

 

In the Wayang Purwa poem, there is an episode about Manikmaya, which is a story about how the Sanghyang Tunggal passed on his blessings to the children of the gods. Then there is the story of the original origins of the archipelago such as Semar and his family. After that, there is a story about Dewi Sri and Batara Kala. The Arjuna Sasrabahu episode in India itself was not too prominent, in Wayang Purwa it was enough to get a large portion. The story is combined with the story of Somantri and Sukrasana. After that, there were also episodes about Subali, Sugriwa, Ravana and the birth of Hanuman. Only in the last part of the episode was the abduction of Sprott by Ravana the mighty. The chorus stops at the time of Rama's attack on Alengka and the publisher is welcome to continue it in RA Kosasih's comic, Ramayana. The stories are indeed colossal. In it many scenes of war between gods and giants. The creatures that appear are also fantastic, there are giants, gods, monsters, animal-headed humans, and others. Saleh Ardisoma is able to describe it with beautiful and dramatic perspectives. His depiction of the palace and heaven also feels magnificent. In a long volume range, it can be seen that Saleh Ardisoma's skill in making comics is increasing. The pages in the final episode are much better than the pages in the first volume.

Wayang Purwanya Saleh Ardisoma, Ramayana - Mahabharatanya RA Kosasih (including Bharatayuda and Pandawa Seda) have represented the main outline of the main puppets. When we finish reading the three titles, it will be easier for us to follow and understand other wayang plays in the form of story excerpts such as Ulamsari. Until now, comic is the most up-to-date medium of wayang story that can be said to be successful because based on direct recognition from many people, they recognise the "puppet" stories for the first time from reading comic.

The comic book Wayang Purwa by Saleh Ardisoma apparently also attracted the attention of the French publisher, Trismégiste. In 1982, one episode of Wayang Purwa, Manikmaya, was published in English and French. In 2002, Wayang Purwa was completely reprinted in a smaller format by PT Elex Media Komputindo. In 2010, Saleh Ardisoma's best work was re-published in a large size. It seems that the Plus + publisher really understands the importance of the Wayang Purwa by Saleh Ardisoma so that it is immortalized in a luxurious format and is very worthy of being collected.

The best known Indonesian versions of Mahabharata and Ramayana are indeed "owned" by RA Kosasih, but S. Ardisoma truly and surely was the first designer of the "Wayang Purwa" universe in comic books.

By Iwan Gunawan

A guide to locations in Disney’s Cyberpunk Tarzan

A cyberpunk reboot of Disney’s Tarzan will feature many hidden cities in the jungles and savannahs of coastal West Central Africa. 

Mayombe in general: spanning at least four countries, Mayombe is the most biodiverse ecoregion in coastal west central Africa, just south of both the Sanaga and Nyong rivers and north of the actual Congo basin. 

Shark’s Mouth Lagoon: 

Thunder Valley: closer to the Ash Grey Mountains than to the Thunder Mountains.

Ash Grey Mountains: two greyed, deforested mountains sitting on top of the Thunder Valley and Thunder Mountains alongside the coast.

Thunder Mountains:

Snake’s Mouth Lagoon:

Coiled Snake Valley:

Dead Stone Valley:

Mandrill Gorge:

Reedy Lake:

Mandrill Valley:

Lake of the Rocks: the Conkouati Douli Triangle Islands are on this thin lake.

Ash Dark Mountains: three large, heavily mined mountains in the midst of Mayombe.

Misty Lagoon:

Mandrill Canyon: 

DragonFoot Villages: 

Night Canyon: 

Deathly Shadow Valley:

Toothy Mountains: two decaying, heavily mined mountains sitting on top of the Ash Dark Mountains.

Conkouati Douli Triangle Islands: a riverine island archipelago known as the adoptive home of Tarzan.

The Hidden City of Prandia: Prandia in the land of Tohr Kohr is a hidden city originally founded and inhabited by the Wizari.

Disney’s Cyberpunk Tarzan: The Apocalypse as told by Mrs Allegra Ujdur

The cyberpunk Disney’s Tarzan reboot may focus first on the origins of the various female and male Tarzans running around throughout coastal West Central Africa, ranging from Cameroon to Equatorial Guinea, Gabon to Republic of the Congo, and Cabinda to westernmost DRC.

Even though he was found by a Mangani, the main Tarzan, has learned a lot from his gorilla friends Terk and Flynt, such as roaring, chest pounding and trekking, all while manning up against fellow beasts, nonhuman or not. He is a wild young man swinging through the jungles of Conkouati Douli in Mayombe.

A shipwreck survivor named Vera Parker is a girl who also roars and pounds her chest, even though she sometimes is clad in only a bra and a loincloth.