I wanted a bit of a break from novels during Holy Week, so I decided to start tackling some comics I’d been meaning to read for a while now.
Here’s a roundup of the comics I read over the holidays: “Trip to Tagaytay” by Arnold Arre, “Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady” by Carlo Vergara and Elmer Cantada, and “The Dark Colony Book I : Mikey Recio & the Secret of the Demon Dungeon,” by Budjette Tan and Bow Guerrero.
I came across “Trip to Tagaytay” on Wednesday night; I was waiting for my sister to get off work and we were going to hang around until the traffic blew over, so I needed a b00k to pass the time.
“Trip to Tagaytay” depicts an unnamed protagonist sending messages to a loved one as he is in transit to Tagaytay. Except it’s not as straightforward as that: it is set in post-apocalyptic Philippines, and it’s not pretty.
Following a meltdown brought on by a combination of a weapons war, leadership crises, and a series of natural calamities, the aftermath is a cesspool of humanity, where amid the advancements in technology (space travel, instantaneous transmission, high-speed trains that cut through ocean tunnels, triple-deck skyways and more), exists a squalor of epic proportions.
Hyacynth, the protagonist’s girlfriend (to whom he is communicating), is one of the millions who have made the planetary exodus, establishing a new colony on an orbital space station.
This is a short graphic novel, but it packs quite a punch. While it was written back in 2000, it is quite chilling to think that reality is so much closer to the grim scenario painted in these pages. What is most striking about this book, however, is that in the face of this grossly metamorphosed world, I find that the protagonist signifies a beacon of hope for humanity, showing us that at the very core, he’s still very much like us in his longing for a simpler life, the value he places on family, his need for human contact, and his determination to look towards the future.
My book club friends have been recommending Arnold Arre for ages, and I’m glad his books are finally back in print. I’m set to read two more later this year (“Mythology Class” and “Martial Law Babies” — I got them signed at the last Komikon!), as I believe our book club has a discussion in the offing.
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
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“Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady” is another book that came highly recommended, by friends who had seen the original one-act play that debuted a couple of years ago on Virgin Labfest.
“Kung Paano Ako Naging Leading Lady” brings us to a household where Mely is employed as a maid. Trouble brews when her sister Viva stays over with Mely after a quarrel with their mother, pokes around, and stumbles upon the fact that Mely is employed by a group of superheroes.
I loved Carlo Vergara’s ZsaZsa Zaturnnah (the sequel, not so much) and I enjoyed this graphic novel as well: the dialogue is witty and there are plenty of laugh out loud moments. The sister dynamic between Mely and Viva is uncanny — having two sisters of my own, I know how this goes all too well: what starts out as a petty fight can quickly escalate into an accounting of all you ever did against each other (LOL!). I also like how this is plotted: the reveals are spaced out thoughtfully, and the story builds to an exhilarating finish.
Rating: 4/5 stars
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I got “Mikey Recio and the Secret of the Demon Dungeon” as a present (thank you, Jeeves and Joko!) and I don’t know why I picked this particular date to read it, but I got the shivers when I realized the story was set during the Holy Week.
In this first installment of “The Dark Colony,”18-year old Mikey Recio would rather be partying at the beach with his friends on Black Saturday, but he finds himself driving his grandfather to a remote church.
They make this trip once a month, but on this particular trip, Mikey uncovers an age-old secret that ties in his destiny with the battle of good versus evil.
For a very short read, I thought this book had some excellent storytelling in it. I read it in less than half an hour, and my eyes were glued to the pages as the horror grew (and grew and grew!). It’s just awesome. I’m not a regular horror reader, but I like a good scare when it’s done artfully, and I find that this prologue just hits all the right notes, with its fascinating myth and wonderfully detailed art that echoes the ominous tones of the story. The bonus (prose) story by J.B. Tapia, “The Mission at Estero de Vistas” in the form of a dossier entry on one of the characters we encounter in the comic, makes a chilling back story (with some truly horrifying moments), and whets the reader’s appetite for more.
There’s plenty more ground for “The Dark Colony” to explore, and I’m looking forward to the next installment in the series.
Rating: 4/5 stars