Friday, November 9, 2007

The Studs Calendar Magazine 2008

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So you think you're satisfied with the pics you see on the net? There's nothing like holding this baby in your two hands. The pages are big, the quality crisp -- details like the fine hairs growing on the armpit or around the belly button or the delicate contours of nipples or the pores of skin are vivid and savory and nearly life-size. I'm tempted to curl up in bed next to the pages.

The eight models are members of a soon-to-be-launched boy group called The Studs. Not all of them are at par with my personal taste in men, but there's no denying each of them look especially good, photographed spectacularly well. The X-Ray Books have thus far been consistently exquisite works of beauty. The lesson here is that execution and quality of production are as important as the models employed.

It's not a full calendar though, and that's my only gripe. Some photos are cut visually down the middle by the line that separates two adjacent pages. A full-spread centerfold would allow an unobstructed view of Dion Ignacio's underwear bulge, for example. But once you accept that this is really a photo booklet more than a calendar, then it's easy to see it's the best of its kind out there -- its virtues a possible template for others to follow. A warning to the discreet buyer: You need a large bag in which to fit it. God, I love it when it's big.

GRADE: A

Related Link:
X-Ray Book Yahoo Group

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gud thing i have an art bag to carry this calendar home!! hehehe. Mike tan and "Masahista" boy for me are the best pages of this Xray publication!

Anonymous said...

I love the Coco Martin spreads! Though if only JC Cuadrado was a little more daring he would have been my favorite of the lot, hands down. :P