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.