The Philippine Online Chronicles

Ahh…. Got to love that new komiks smell. Let's go over some of the noteworthy indie comics released during last month’s Metro Comic Convention at the SM Mega Trade Hall, a mix of newcomers that caught our eye, and a new installment that changed our minds about an ongoing series:

Codename Bathala #1/2 by Jon Zamar and Judd Abinuman

A wheelchair-bound Air Force pilot gets a second chance at flight—and more—when a terrorist attack forces him to don the mysterious Bathala armor. Not coincidentally, super-powered freaks have begun to crawl out of the woodwork wielding hi-tech weaponry suspiciously similar to the Bathala suit, and a shady organization appears to be pulling all the strings from the shadows. It’s very familiar territory, but Zamar’s take is fresh enough to be interesting, and his development of the material so far shows promise. The real attention-grabber here, though, is Judd Abinuman’s stellar art. His comics panels look more like animation cells, and his rendition of the Bathala armor, done in a style reminiscent of the Justice League cartoons, is refreshingly original—pinstripes and all. We can’t wait to see what this guy draws next.

Patintero #1 by Kai Castillo

People of a certain age will remember patintero as a game we used to play, while others only know of it through the reminiscences of others. Castillo takes his reminisce a bit further, imagining a world where patintero is a major international sport, complete with a globe-spanning league (La Liga Patintero) and a dedicated cable channel (Patintero TV).

In this premiere issue, Castillo deftly alternates between a high-pressure championship match between the American Dream Stars and Philippine Eastern Suns, and a group of young aspiring patintero players, one of whom is blind, but gifted with extraordinarily heightened senses.

Ang Astiging Boy Ipis #2 by Paul Michael Ignacio and Gilbert Monsanto with Bayan Knights

The long-awaited second installment in the fan-favorite superhero series is definitely worth the wait. The formula remains the same: lovesick-loser-turned-insectile-hero dishes out acrobatic moves and one-liners while bashing innuendishly-named superbaddies. This issue, however, is better than the first in every respect: better laughs, better action pieces, better character and plot development, even the mushy romance bits are handled better.

We particularly loved the supervillain Incredible Bull, a minotaur-like parody of over-patriotism who smashes Toyotas and Hondas in favor of Sarao jeepneys and calls the cheeky heroine Phantom Cat “ingliserang haliparot”. Let’s hope this starts a trend of Boy Ipis villains who are actual characters rather than walking penis jokes.

Retreat (prototype) by Paolo Cruz, Claire Villacorta & Bunny Luz

Retreat follows one night of girltalk among four upper-class Catholic school girls as they share a bottle of forbidden Jose Cuervo inside a room in a Batangas retreat house. Boys, sex, peer pressure and Life in General are discussed with a rich sprinkling of literary and pop culture references.

Cruz and Villacorta demonstrate a sharp ear for dialogue and Luz’s bold visual storytelling and fluid brush strokes breathe energy into what could otherwise have been formidably dense arrangements of text. However, there are times when it’s hard to keep track of which character is speaking at a given moment. In fact, it’s a challenge merely to tell the characters apart: two of them, Cheska and Kaye, are drawn nearly identically. For such a character-driven piece, this is a major problem that hopefully can be addressed by the time the non-prototype issue comes out.

Dra. Yap by Hazel Manzano

The subtitle to this story reads: “A True Story About a Doctor Who Unknowingly Joined Satanism.” ‘Nuff Said. It is remarkable how Hazel Manzano has blossomed from a newpaper cartoonist making simple three-panel punchlines to this confident graphic storyteller. Since she started experimenting with longer autobiographical works earlier this year, her storytelling technique has just gotten better and better. But even if you’ve never heard of Hazel Manzano before, you are going to enjoy this zany, creepy and highly entertaining story about the eponymous psychically-gifted doctor.

Estrella: Ang Simula #1 by Jeri Barrios

As you can see from the page samples, Jeri Barrios is not the best technical draftsman around. He dresses up his mediocre grasp of anatomy with spray paint-effect colors, photographic or CG backgrounds, and as many Photoshop effects as the page can hold. However, his Estrella: Ang Simula has three really great things going for it: 1.) It is obviously a labor of love and that love leaps out of every page and is contagious, 2.) It is such a throwback in its sensibilities that it instantly triggers nostalgia for the “good old-fashioned” superheroes of yesteryear, and 3.) it is fabulously campy. Rebecca Superior is a modern, independent woman who is a failure at being a modern, independent woman. Her superhero alter-ego Estrella has dangling earrings made of starlight, Diana Ross hair, and her secret weapon is a glowing crystal of energy that comes out of her womb.

Bathala: Apokalypsis #1 by David Hontiveros and Ace Enriquez

By far the most ambitious and most accomplished indie comic to come out of this year’s MCC is this work, penned by David Hontiveros based on an idea by Gerry Alanguilan. Basically, it’s Superman vs. God in the Apocalypse. Only here we have a Superman analog named Bathala. And as for the God-analog: we have yet to see, but if the sixteen-eyed lion reclining under a painting of the Crucifixion on page 3 is any indication, it probably isn’t going to be pretty.

Issue #1 takes its time in setting up all the subplots, of which there are a few: there is a twin brother who wants to upload himself to the internet, an anti-Bathala named Thaba’al, a girlfriend that may have had an aphrodisiac amulet hidden in her slice of chocolate cake. The plot threads feel rather disparate at this point, and indeed nothing yet is said about the hows and whys of the approaching end of the world. But the tale is told with a deft hand, and Hontiveros maintains our attention nicely. Ace Enriquez fleshes out Bathala’s world in heavy blacks and stark whites, as if to emphasize the contrast that is one of the main themes of the work. He captures the iconic spirit of the characters very well, especially Bathala.

Did we miss any of your favorite releases from this year’s Metro Comic Con? Tell us about it in the comments.

[Image source: Photographs from the author; Copyright holder/s maintain appropriate rights.]

---

Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites