Jak

Jak may refer to:

Jak and Todd

Jak Hurley and Todd Nolan are two fictional comic strip characters from the UK comic The Dandy who rose to popularity as the comic's main strip after its re-launch in 2004. Originally known as simply Jak, both characters received equal billing after the popularity of Todd from readership.

Character history

Early strips (1997–2004)

Jak's first incarnation was drawn by Jimmy Hansen starting from issue 2924, dated 6 December 1997. The strip played mostly on his relationship with his father (though not to the same extent as Molly and Beryl the Peril from that time). The second incarnation in the early 2000s (decade) was drawn by David Sutherland, who drew Jak's dad with black hair and a beard, and introduced a cat called Spike. Both strips portrayed Jak as younger than his modern-day counterpart and Todd was absent.

Dandy re-launches (2004–2010)

Finally, Jak was reincarnated with the Dandy from issue 3282, dated 16 October 2004, coinciding with the relaunch of the comic that same week. This time it was drawn by Wayne Thompson, and the cast had changed again, introducing Jak's friend Todd and sister Mandy—and Jak got the surname Hurley. Unusually, this time Jak was promoted as a brand new character, even though he had only disappeared from the comic earlier that year. He replaced Desperate Dan on the cover and was brought in in an attempt to boost the comic to modern-day youth. He continued to be the cover star for two years until 2007 marked the second radical Dandy launch in a decade.

Jak (Jak and Daxter)

Jak is a fictional character and primary protagonist of the Jak and Daxter series, being the titular playable character in all games in the series with the exception of the spin-off game Daxter. He was created by Naughty Dog Inc, and made cross-over non-canon appearances in PlayStation Move Heroes and PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, serving as one of three protagonists in the game former. From his introduction in Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy to the last Naughty Dog-developed game Jak X: Combat Racing, Jak was voiced by Mike Erwin. In the High Impact Games-developed Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier and PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale, he was voiced by Josh Keaton.

Throughout the series, Jak's gameplay carried signature platformer attributes. Perhaps most notable is the character's unique ability to channel "eco", a powerful substance of multiple colors and varying specialties, giving the player an array of powers to help battle enemies.

Jak's character received positive reception. He was listed 26th on the Guinness World Records Gamer's Edition 's "Top 50 Characters of All Time", and in a poll conducted by Game Informer, Jak was voted 28 in the top 30 video game characters of the decade. He and his sidekick Daxter were listed in the top 25 best duo in gaming, coming in fifth place by IGN. However, IGN also noted that they liked Jak better in Jak 3 than in Jak II due to his developed maturity; "he wasn't a whiny, brooding emo figure like in the second game."

Fobia

Fobia is a Mexican Rock en Español band from Mexico City. The current line-up includes vocalist Leonardo de Lozanne and guitarist and lead songwriter Francisco "Paco" Huidobro. The rhythm section is made up of ex La Ley drummer Mauricio Claveria, former Caifanes, Jaguares, and La Barranca bassist Federico Fong, and keyboardist Dario González Valderrama.

History

The band was formed in 1987 by Lozanne and Huidobro, brother of Micky Huidobro of Molotov. The original lineup consisted of Lozanne, Huidobro, bassist Javier Chá Ramirez, keyboardist Iñaki Vazquez, and Gabriel Kuri on drums. Kuri was later replaced by Jorge ‘la Chiquis’ Amaro who was followed by multi-instrumentalist Jay de la Cueva, (lead singer of the Mexican hair band Moderatto).

Fobia was one of the original Rock en Español bands to emerge from the Mexican Rock en Español / Rock en tu idioma (Rock in your language) boom of the late 1980s, alongside Caifanes, Maná, Neón, Maldita Vecindad y los Hijos del Quinto Patio and Los Amantes de Lola; all of which followed in the footsteps of Soda Stereo – who by the late 1980s had amassed a huge following in the Americas. In December 1987, RCA Ariola de México held a "Rock en tu idioma" battle of the bands contest in Mexico City. Fobia was eliminated early on and Los Amantes de Lola went on to win the contest. In spite of their early elimination, executives from Ariola decided to schedule an appointment with Fobia. According to legend, the band missed their meeting with Ariola because they weren't able to enter the building due to problems with security. Following the incident, the band's luck improved. Saúl Hernández of Caifanes produced their first demos and Ariola eventually signed them.

Fobia (album)

Fobia is an album released by Mexican rock band Fobia. Their self-titled debut album was released in 1990. The songs are primarily themed around common phobias and anxieties, filled with dark humor and melodic music inspired by British bands like The Cure. Songs like Los muñecos and Las moscas deal with the fear of dolls and flies respectively. Other songs like Dios bendiga a los gusanos and El crucifijo deal with the anxieties of love. El microbito delivers humor and a quick change of pace towards the album's finale. It is worth noting that the songs listed above are all hits.

The band received critical and commercial success, added to the fact that Rock en español was going through a revival at the time and new bands seemed to come out of the woodwork.

The original lineup was:

Track listing