Gempak Malaysia's Comic!

>Title: 143 Siri Maskeret Cinta
>Price: RM6.50, RM7.50 SB/SWK
>Created by: Kaoru
>Cover Page by: Kaoru
>Published by: Gala Unggul Resources Sdn Bhd, 2002
>Main characters: None, Compilation of shorts stories.
>Main language: Bahasa Malaysia + Rojak

First off, kudos to the only successful female illustrator who breakthrough Malaysia's man dominated graphic novel industry. This is a compilation of short love stories, each presented differently. If people thought that the stories in this graphic novel are happy endings, think again. Yes, the main theme is love but in reality, love doen't always end with happy ending, right?

So prepare yourself for heartaches, surprises, fantasies and laughters too. There is also a secret meeting of the characters in the book with the artist herself at the end of the comic. Look out for it.



One of the things you will notice are that the cuteness of the charecters, whether they are male or female. Kaoru's unique strokes managed to brings the cuteness out. The characters that were drawn for this book were able to show what kind of personality they have within such short pages. One thing's for sure, guys and girls alike can tell the personality by the character's fashion sense.

Every stories, the clothing/fashion for the characters changes - giving readers a whole new idea on the setting of the stories. Each of the short stories have a different feel so that one would not get bored of the same predictable scene each time. There seem to be a special highlight in this book, which were the characters of Kaoru's Cake House.

Another important note is that the love stories are not always a happy one. The versatility to twist the short story line is great. It makes the story believable and touching.



One of the things that i find it distracting was that the drawing in the panels for each of the stories. It tries to demand your attention which will cause your eyes to shift around instead of reading continuously. The panelling for this comic is just alright as some of the arrangement will cause you to reread it again.

The dialougues are long but won't really affect the readers much. Even though the drawing is cute, there are some tiny bit of adjustment when it comes to details. Other than that, there are no more complains.



Well, if you are a fan of love stories, this is really the book for you. For others who are looking for a different style, this book is for you too!

Pros: Variety of DIFFERENT love stories, fashion is great, good short stories.
Cons: Eyes will be looking everywhere instead of one spot, panelling can be improved.

Rating: 7/10

Calv out!

Guess what? The cute artist (Kaoru) and the comical artist (Keith) will be meeting their fans for an autograph session on Merdeka's Day!!
So what are you waiting for? Grab your graphic novel and prepare for that day!
Of course bring the right graphic novel. XD

The details are as following:

Date : 31.8.09
Time : 12pm – 12:45pm
Venue : KLCC, Reading Room, Hall 5
Agenda :
Autograph on their graphic novels & merchandises of GEMPAK STARZ (bring your own or you can get latest titles in BookFest).

But before the autograph session begins check out their Comic Workshop (in Mandarin)!

Date : 31.8.09
Time : 11am – 11:45am
Venue : KLCC, Main Stage, Hall 2
Agenda :
Part 1 – Character design by Keith
Part 2 – Computer Screen Tone Effect by Kaoru

So fans out there, join them!!!
No idea what to do? Learn behind the scenes of creating a comic!
It will surely be a fun time there!

Sources from Gempak Starz.

Calv out!

The first comic for me to review.

>Title: Under 18
>Price: RM9, RM10 SB/SWK
>Created by: Zint
>Cover Page by: Zint
>Published by: Art Square Creation Sdn Bhd, 2001
>Main characters (on the cover) : Ax (middle), Kaio (left), Yosi(right)
>Main language: Bahasa Malaysia + Rojak

This whole book revolves around the extreme/crazy lives by all the different personality characters. The story ranges from comedic situation where you can laugh until you peed your pants, the fighting scenes and there is even a puppy love.

The main characters that they focus the most are Ax, Kaio and Yosi.
By looking at the front cover, most probably you can guess their leader is Ax while Kaio and Yosi are the followers.

The artwork for this comic is nicely done especially the facial expression. It bring even more color to the stories. The character development can be seen early in the story and it will definitely grow as the chapters go on.
The way the dialogue was arranged is neat and readers don't need to read it twice to understand what are they talking about.
Other than that, readers would not have a problem with the direction of the story as the panelling for this comic is almost flawless. Transition just great!~


One of the things that i wish was there will be more fighting scenes.
The fighting scene was usually quick and simple.
i think that's all the "bad" part about it.
Not being bias or anything but i can't really find anything else to say.


All and all, i really recommend this comic to everyone.
Just fork out RM9 for this great illustration. i guarantee you will not regret it!

Rating: 9/10

(Note: If you want more pictures for this comic, drop a comment. i will not publish the whole chapter though.)

Calv out!~

Yea, this is my first time writing a review blog so forgive if i miss out any details.
And i am doing reviews on comic books that are published by Gempak Starz. Woohoo! Support local!!
Yea... But they do have comic's from China, Thailand, Korea and of course Japan.
Hmm..

Before i start doing anything i will just make a simple explanation on how i will review the lucky (unlucky?) comic.

There will be a simple summary of the book, the good, the bad and finally the ratings. XD
Simple no?
Oh oh, and of course all this is just my opinion so don't take it too hard. >.< Rating will range from 1 (Throw it out) to 10 (God like). Here are a few of my Gempak Starz collection:


The comic on top of my bed. Yea, messy.


So what if i reread the comic again? if i like, i like it!


Basically i have Gempak Starz comic scattered all over my house! XD


See, told you there are Japanese ones as well.


Ah, the classic, the wrapper is still on!


This may seem a lot but there are MORE!
Sadly, there are not enough places to fit it in!

Calv out!