Komiks conquering Television

by rhardo

Nowadays, komiks are coming out again in an insanely wide scale. Yes, very true! But sadly, not on prints — that part is suffice to say… on a struggling side — rather in a more realistic and modernized visuals where a major fraction of audiences are tighly coagulated. I’m referring to Philippine Television. 

And what I am about to show you speaks for it. See for yourself…

But of course, these aren’t really komiks like the KOMIKS we are talking about… you get what I mean? Hehehe!!!

Most of these concepts were fleshed out from popular comics way back during the time where komiks were still very much thriving. But I’m already glad and elated to see this kind of shows sprouting everywhere — well, at least in two major TV networks. Nevertheless, it’s safe to say… this industry is still ALIVE!

Some people say  it’s now the trend, is it? Well, I just hope that trend goes back to flipping of pages.

Trese and Skyworld Comics Review

by jaybhoi

TRESE Murder on Balete Drive By Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo

if i am to describe trese in one word i’ll probably blurt out a lot of words… one by one… starting with “wow!” and “kick ass”(if that can be considered as one word), but i think the best word to describe it would be “different.” as i read through its pages, i wanted to compare it to something like the x-files or twilight zone or even the short-lived eerie indiana series, even harry potter. but i couldn’t i just couldn’t. trese is on a league of its own. taking the world of philippine mythology to all new heights. like it was real, but on a dimension different from ours. it captivated me, it lured me into alexandra trese’s world. this twisted up detective story is a whole new kind of weird that is right up my alley. its probably the best comicbook i’ve ever read. but then again, its unlike any comicbook i’ve ever read. lyk i said, its incomparable. the art of trese is well suited to the stories it portrays. after reading book one this afternoon, i went to megamall to find book 2. that’s how good i think it is! i haven’t finished reading the 2nd book yet, and i don’t think i’ll be disappointed that i bought it. i’m glad i got a copy at komikon, and i’m glad sir budjette signed it for me. he just earned himself another fan.

SKYWORLD issue 1 and teaser for issue 2 by Ian Sta. Maria and Mervin Ignacio

One mistake i did was, I read Skyworld after reading Trese. I ended up comparing Skyworld to Trese as i started reading it. I was still stuck in a “TRESE” state of mind. MY BAD! In the first two or three pages, i was paying more attention to the art of Skyworld than the storyline. And let me say, Ian Sta. Maria is a master at details. The looks, the feel, the costumes and weaponry of Skyworld; it’s simply spectacular. It blew me away. I hungered for it to be in color, its probably gonna rip my socks off if it was. I was reading it with my mouth open and my eyes wide with my index finger tracing across the lines as i marveled on its details. I say the hard work Ian put into creating the look of Skyworld paid off, no matter how long it took to finish. To Mervin Ignacio’s credit though as the plot thickened (so to speak) in the mid pages of the book i felt i was being sucked into a new world, Skyworld! I felt for the tikbalang hero, i felt his rage, his purpose. Skyworld is deeper than i originally thought. It was gritty and on a level of fantasy that blurs the borders nightmares and dreamscapes. and the story was blending in well with the art as any good comicbook should. it was bloody and raw, it was like frank miller’s 300 on a Philippine history setting. I was awestruck.. well done guys, well done!

In closing, i can only say that if our comic book industry is pouring out titles like trese and skyworld, i think pinoy komiks is walking on sturdy soil and is treading on the right path. I think all that’s left now is to spread the word. To make people realize that its out there. And i’m one of the lucky ones who got to experience it first.

Tropa #2 Review

by Planet Makus

 As awesome as the first issue was, Tropa komiks #2 is definitely something that gives you much, much more. In Tropa #1, we got to know the main characters first – in issue #2, that is where we got to know more about their motives and that is where the action actually takes place. We really get more glimpses about each character’s past in here and we also get to meet some new, mysterious characters on pages 39 and 40, for example (Hhhmm… I wonder who that guy with baton and an amulet is…)
What’s more, Gilbert Monsanto enlisted 16 top-caliber artists to either ink his penciled work or to do the actual artworks in some pages themselves. So yes, this is really an all-star artist issue. We get some internationally-acclaimed Pinoy artists who have worked in Marvel, DC and Image such as Lan Medina (Punisher, Silver Surfer, Fables), Edgar Tadeo (Wolverine) and many others. In addition, we also meet promising new talents in the industry such as Renie Palo, Francis Ordoñez, Jon Zamar, Francis Lim etc… That is why even if you’d browse the pages randomly, you can be assured that you will find quality artwork really.

Now I’m not claiming to be a comics historian whatsoever so I wont mind being corrected at all if I’m wrong but I think Sacred Mountain has really done something that has never been done in the country before (or, at the very least, something that do not happen very frequently). I mean, where else could you find 16 world class comic book artists working on a single story? Well, yes I know that GASI, Sonic, Infinity and others had a lot of artists in their komiks in the past but they did different stories in one komiks, didn’t they?

The inkers really did great. As an example, well I always thought that Divina Diuata was cute but I think she looked cuter when Alejandro “Boy” Sicat (Stone, District X) inked pages 1 and 2. She was very beautiful there that I almost fell in love with her right then and there. Heheh…

In addition to inking one page, acclaimed inker Gerry Alanguilan (Superman: Birthright, New X-Men, Liquid City) also contributes an article entitled “Inks, Inking and Inkers”. Needless to say, that’s just appropriate and timely for this all-star inkers issue. As usual, his article is really educational and entertaining at the same time.

As if that wasn’t enough, we also get a treat for the special cover which was actually a collaboration between Monsanto and Leonard Banaag (Taleweaver writer for DC/Wildstorm). I really think this one’s so impressive and they really deserve a compliment for this awesome piece.

Because of the mentioned reasons and many, many others, Tropa #2 is really a more jam-packed issue than its predecessor. This issue has really set the standard so high that it would really be challenging to top this.

On the other hand, I have no doubt at all that Gilbert Monsanto and his artist friends can always come up with something more. And hey!.. Oh yeah…. I saw the Demigods preview on the ad pages again. Now that’s something I would REALLY love to read some time soon (after Rambol #3 gets released, of course).

Kalayaan #1-4 Comics Review

by Planet Markus

Having come across two positive reviews online (by Robin and Jaybhoi), I really had high expectations for Kalayaan comics. To be honest, however, reading all 4 issues didn’t actually meet those expectations - it exceeded it! Gio Paredes‘ Kalayaan comics was really quite an experience for me.Well, of course, I wasn’t totally blown away by Kalayaan #1. That one was a quick read for me but despite that, I really liked Blood Fang as an enemy. The idea that he grew bigger and bigger but increased in spped and strength at the same time was something I liked so much. Big guys that move fast sounds like a good idea to me.
Kalayaan #2, on the other hand, gives away a few glimpses in Kalayaan’s past. Gio really did well in building up the suspense for the last pages. The way the villains got hold of our hero was relaly quite interesting.

Among the 4 issues, Kalayaan #3 was the most action-packed. This was the issue where Kalayaan actually dealt with the actual villains that tried to kill him on the previous issue. And by the way, the concept of a high tech hut on pages 3 to 5 was really a cool one. I thought that was pretty awesome. On page 8, just before the actual fight, Kalayaan crushes the GPS in his hands in front of his enemies. Now thats some attitude you got there, Kalayaan! Keep it up, I like that too!

Now, for Kalayaan #4, Gio warned readers in the previous issue that this particular issue would be, in his own words, a “shocker.” When he said that one, he really wasn’t kidding at all. If #3 was all about action, this one balances things because it is filled with lots of emotions and drama - done in a very, very good way. I don’t want to spoil some important points of the story but I’d like to share that the moment I saw the image of a flying superhero with tears on his eyes, I knew that that was gonna stay with me for a long time. For me, that means that no matter how “powerful” and “superhuman” heroes are, they are still “humans” and are still intact with their emotions and feelings. If you have faced frustrations in life, you’d have no problem relating to that.

Despite Gio’s warning, I really would have to admit that I wasn’t prepared for the last page. I went something like “WHAT???” for that one. I guess I can say that this last page haunted me . There’s just so much emotion in that that I pondered about the scene for several days.

Over all, I’d commend Gio Paredes for his efforts on Kalayaan comics #1-4. Here’s a comicbook writer and artist who certainly isn’t the best in the world but who does it all out of sheer love - love for comics, as a medium and love for his characters. Furthermore, its really a joy to witness how he improves his craft with every issue he releases. He makes sure that each one is better than the previous ones he has come up with. He really managed to give us more than “just another superhero story”.

Check out his titles and see for yourself.