The Key To The Fortress.

The wait is finally over. マン・オブ・スティール (Man of Steel) has finally come to Japan. It has been extremely difficult avoiding spoilers though some have been unavoidable. (There's going to be a sequel! With Ben Affleck as Batman!) Ah well, I am going into the flick with low expectations so we shall see.

There has been surprisingly little merchandise in the conbinis...as in NONE! For breakfast today, I ate some コーンフロスてイ (Corn Frosty, the Japanese equivalent of Frosted Flakes) because it had a Superman box plus you get some kind of a flying Superman doodad inside. You blow into it with a straw and a wheel spins around, not very Super!

We shall see what goodies await me at the cinema! I have waited months to add this mini-Supes to my key-chain. Let's hope he is a welcome addition!

Speaking of key-chains, I have upgraded mine to become a member of Starfleet! Beam me aboard.

When I bought the above, I also included a mini-Enterprise to plug into my iPhone headphone slot.

Okay Clark, it's time to go. I hope you'll enjoy your space next to Cupie-Spock and Darth Maul!

Wow, Cupie-Spock doesn't look very healthy at all, does he?

Hail To The King.

Today is the King's birthday, Jack "King" Kirby, that is. Here is issue 112 of Captain America for your viewing pleasure. (I really need to figure out my scanner again, sorry about the camera shots of the book.) It's not your eyes playing tricks, the purplish hue is just the way these Kobunsha books were reprinted.

Be sure to click on any of the above to Modok-size them.

While digging up dirt on this post, I discovered that the last time I showed some Jack Kirby-drawn Cap, the stats show that not a single person has viewed this entry. Please rectify this situation by clicking this.

If you're too lazy to click that, here's the cover again plus Commander Rick's interview with Joltin' Jack back in his Prisoner of Gravity days.

While you're at it, check out an old post about the Mighty Thor why don't you.

Finally, here are parts 2 and 3 of the above interview for you!





Happy Birthday Mr. Kirby, you are missed.

Back to School.

After a long few weeks of staying up late and sleeping in, that luxury has stopped. I tried to fall asleep at 12:00am but a few more restless hours and the Sandman finally came around 3:30. Fortunately I managed to awaken to my alarm and was bright eyed and bushy tailed for my school today.

Grade 5 got some review (they'd remembered most of the pre-summer's lessons which is good news), a game where they were blindfolded and drew shapes on the blackboard and a "What did you do for the Summer Vacation print.) They didn't have much time to finish their pictures, but here's a pick of the best.

Fireworks, festivals and fright.

Grade six also got review (once again, rather proud of their recollection abilities) and a "Simon Says" type game to teach imperatives. They had a little more time to finish their sheets, so there's a bit more detail. More fireworks, a few water-parks, lots of swimming, kakigori (shaved ice) and bugs.

These three are my favourites. Jellyfish, some sweaty girl and the last one of 3 girls riding a cat has something to do with a near-death experience!

Anpanmania.

A few days ago, I finally had a chance to visit Sendai's Anpanman Museum.

Last year I made it to the bakery but this time I was given the grand tour, accompanied by my galpal Hisako with her sister and nephew in tow. It can't really be called a museum per se, more like a huge interactive play centre with several places to buy Anpanman goodies and treats. Regardless, it is a good environment for a rambunctious 4-year old, the kid was running around nonstop for 4 hours!

I hadn't yet eaten breakfast so I grabbed a Horrorman head from the bakery to tide me over.

We wondered from site to site (more like chasing wee Hikaru who couldn't stay still) and I snapped a few random shots that amused me.

It took about 30 minutes to upload that video so I won't be doing that again!

I went to the Little Boy's Room not realizing that it really was for Little Boys only. I managed to use the urinal but it sure is a good thing I didn't have to go #2. (And, no, that is not Powdered Toast Man, it is しょくぱんまん Shokupanman.)

We had a quick lunch to re-energize Hikaru. (Word of advice: stick to their baked goods, the cuisine is below average.)

More wandering around, most notably to a simple game centre (expensive but you get a cool cape) and a gift shop with a play centre in the centre.

We managed to catch the main show and this hyper-gal with a squeaky voice introduced Anpanman and Shokupanman. It was actually rather fun!

All this time, I thought this guy was "Viking-Man" even though he looks nothing like a Viking. He is the head villain who rots Anpanman named  ばいきんまん Baikinman. He's a villain from the "Germ Planet" and is the leader of the Viruses. His Japanese name means "Bacteria Man". That's actually much cooler than a Viking!

I was glad to make his acquaintance!

Here are some more of the villains, notably his henchmen, かびるんるん Kabirunrun which are nothing more than mold/mildew and my favourite, ホラーマン Horrorman, a meek skeleton who throws his bones and falls apart a lot.

Pretty funky dance for a guy made of bones:



 I have no idea who this guy is, some Frankenstein hybrid I guess. Pretty cool looking!

I doubt if I'll ever go back there unless another kid drags me along. (Not Hikaru though, that kid is exhausting!) So I picked up a clear file as a memento. It was the only piece of merchandising that had Horrorman, so I had to get one.