For those of you who enjoyed the first Sgt. Frog holiday poem, here’s the followup that I wrote in 2005 when Fox News was starting its big “War on Christmas” campaign. I prefer the first poem as the verse is tighter, there are less series in-jokes and the themes more traditional and less topical. Still, there’s a few lines here I’m proud of.

Right now I’m in the midst of moving, so life is pretty chaotic, but when I settle down I’ll post my first update on Return to Labyrinth 3 (and maybe put up a first image.

Poem after the jump!

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Return to Labyrinth volume 1 went through three very different takes before we arrived at the one that went to press. In the very first draft, goblins played an even bigger role in the story, and the tone was much more influenced by Terry Jones and the Monty Python element. While a few of the jokes were recycled in the final scripts, most of this draft was, thankfully, archived before the approval process. One character who survived the drafts, however, was Panjan Spittledrum – the Goblin Mayor.

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I wrote this holiday poem back in 2002 when I was going through my Sgt. Frog (Keroro Gunsou) kick at TOKYOPOP. Originally I was planning to create Sgt. Keroro’s personal blog, as seen in volume 1, complete with a regularly updated poetry section. Adam Arnold, who was an old friend from animefringe (now at Seven Seas), was going to build the site and we’d maintain it with regular updates written by the sarge himself. Sadly, Kadokawa wasn’t able to appreciate the genius of this idea. In fact, my rampant Sgt. Frog enthusiasm got me in hot water with Kadokawa after I created an ad by cutting and pasting panels from volume 1 to create a mini-manga promoting the series. Apparently cutting up the panels and writing new dialog, even for an ad, is a BIG no-no. (I really should have known better, but my enthusiasm for this series was unstoppable). There were 3 versions of the ads that made it to press in late 2002 before the ad was quickly pulled, destroyed and never emulated again.

Anyway, here’s the first of two “classic” Sgt. Frog Holiday Poems!

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UPDATE: Moyashimon was licensed. Dallas, I’m waiting for my kickback.

All right, Del Rey — You’ve tackled bugs. You’ve relaunched one of the best seinen series ever translated. It’s high time you tackled the next big oddball otaku crossover from Kodansha — Moyashimon: Tales of Agriculture! It’s like House meets Osmosis Jones meets 4-H. The series follows Tadayasu Sawaki, a freshman at an agricultural college who can talk to bacteria. He uses this bizarre talent to solve mysteries save his friends from deadly contagions. And as an added bonus, it’s cute as hell!

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Fed up with Fruitcake and Fudge? Sick of Snickerdoodles? Looking for the tastiest, most addictive sweet that you can make for next to nothing? Then here’s your answer: chocolate-covered candied ginger! It’s simple to make, relatively fast and unlike many treats that you might send as gifts for the holidays, it’s guaranteed to get eaten. Recipe follows.

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Adventures are always great, but choosing your own — Priceless. That’s why I’m proud to present my very first blog-based Choose-Your-Own-Adventure story:

• Skub’s Kitchen Adventure

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You know you’ve made it when your words make it into a music video on youtube.

Seriously, though – It really is heartening to see Return to Labyrinth embraced by fans – so much that they’d intermingle it with the original film that we all love. Thanks, Smalls 3491!

A decade ago I had the pleasure of seeing many Henson props from Labyrinth, Muppets and other properties in an exhibition at the Museum of the Moving Image in London. I was half-expecting the props to shatter my childhood memories by looking more like plush toys than personalities – on the contrary, seeing the props up close showcased just how amazingly detailed the work is at the Jim Henson Creature Shop. Unfortunately, not all of the Creature Shop creations received the same archival treatment. Thankfully, prop restoration folks like Tom Spina are saving these fragile treasures before they are lost to decay. Most recently, they saved everyone’s favorite chivalrous terrier – Sir Didymus: Read more…

Welcome to Gobblin.net – a place for news, commentary, recipes and random curiosities from across geek culture. For the time being, it’s also your headquarters for info on Return to Labyrinth, the manga sequel to the cult classic 80’s movie that I’m penning for Tokyopop with illustration by Chris Lie. There are a lot of great voices out there covering manga & otaku culture – I hope that I can add to that discussion and provide a venue for discussion and debate without being entirely redundant. Any feedback you have to help make the site better is strongly encouraged!

Also, if you’re thinking of ordering Return to Labyrinth or any of the other series I work on as a freelancer, consider purchasing them through the links on the left. The books listed there are ones that I have worked on as writer, editor or contributor. As this work is for-hire, I don’t get royalties from the publisher, so a few extra pennies for your support is welcomed!

Cheers,

Jake