Anthology: Trese: Stories from the Diabolical ~ Volume 1

Story by: Budjette Tan

Illustration by: KaJo Baldisimo

VISPRINT
(5/5 ★★★★★)

 

This is one of the main reasons why I attended Aklatan 2013. It was one of the three books being launched by Visprint Publication. This is a treat that Budjette and KaJo has given to us in anticipation for the release of the 6th book of the Trese series.

Budjette, before starting his signing of the Trese books of fans, said a few words. He mentioned that this book, Trese: Stories from the Diabolical Volume 1, came about after receiving so many requests from the fans of the Trese series. They requested to have the stories that were put up in the website (www.diabolical13.blogspot.com) to be published in print after one story from the said website made its appearance in the Trese 6 Preview comic, which was released last Summer Komikon 2013. The story that was made part of the preview was "The Choir", which was also included in this book. The book contains 5 stories which are titled: "One Last Drink at the Diabolical", "The Usual Spot", "The Last Full Show", "The Choir", and "Coffee Black".

In here KaJo used a different style to illustrate some scenes in the story. As I had come to know, the artist used watercolor this time instead of having the usual sketching that he does for the Trese comics. He also did an interesting thing on the story "Coffee Black" in which the art is comparable to the abstract paintings you would usually see in coffee shops. The stories was written and edited really neatly by Budjette, knowing that there were some minor grammatical and typographical errors that can be seen on the ones uploaded on the website. These side stories, or as some would term them as supplemental stories for the Trese series, especially the story "One Last Drink at the Diabolical", are really nice to be read as they give us a wider perspective of the world of Trese. Since that story is clearly seen to be a prelude to the very first case of the Trese series. The end of that story signaled the beginning of the story "Case 1: At the Intersection of Balete and 13th Street". The other stories, even though they are not in direct correlation to any cases of the Trese stories that are published as of now, nevertheless are still equally good. The stories "The Usual Spot" and "Coffee Black" are short stories about love, in which I find the former story to have a more interesting love story. "The Last Full Show", on the other hand, tells of an interesting life being proposed to the elderly. This is by being able to have a moment to see a part of your life which you would like to reminisce before deciding if the experiences he or she had gone thru is already enough or satisfying. On the other hand, "The Choir" is a great Christmas story perfect for the coming Christmas season.

Overall, Budjette and Kajo gave us a treat by releasing this book. It really is a nice goodie while we await the release of the 6th book about the 6th child of the 6th child of Trese in the Winter Komikon 2013

More stories from the diabolical can be seen at:

www.diabolical13.blogspot.com

More of Trese at:

www.tresecomics.com

Facebook Page: "Trese Comics"