Comics: Tonio Tikbalang ~ Volume 1

BIC0069
Illustration and Story by: Jake Vicente

Black Ink Comics
(3/5 ★★★☆☆)

"Naniniwala ka ba sa mga enkanto,

tikbalang, kapre, sirena, duwende,

at iba pang mga lamang-lupa?

Paano kung totoo sila?

Paano kung namumuhay

sila sa ating mundo?

Paano kung ang inaaway at

inaasar natin sa eskuwelahan

ay isa palang enkanto na

nagpapanggap lang na tao?

Ano sa tingin mo ang mga

problemang hinaharap ng mga

enkanto na nagpapanggap na tao

at ano ang dahilan kung bakit

ginagawa nila ito?"

Tonio Tikbalang is a new series from Black Ink Comics. Created by Jake Vicente who is also an artist for Ink Jinks, we are given a story that revolves around the life of the offsprings of supernatural creatures that are part of our Philippine folklore. This volume contains 3 chapters. They are titled; "Hiwaga ng Kasaysayan", "Bigat ng Kamay, Tibay ng Loob" and "May Kaibigan Ka".

The main character of the story is Antonio "Tonio" who is a tikbalang. His bestfriend is Kanto a kapre, whom he usually hangs out with in their school. The other characters are Karissa "Issa" and Alyanna "Anya".

The first story is mainly about history. The pages of life that we should always look back from time to time in order to help us deal with our current problems. Crazy and funny lines were said by the characters in this chapter. It is seen mostly on page 10 wherein Tonio's father explains why tikbalangs should not fall in love with a human.

The second story deals mostly on fighting. It teaches us that fighting is wrong. If anyone challenges us into a duel, one should keep in mind that there is always a more nobler way to deal with it.

The third story is a nice closure for this volume as it shows that every man or creature is always in need of a company. One way to break off one's loneliness is to change your status from being unapproachable and replace it into being a friendly face to others.

This is a nice deviation from Jake Vicente's usually rated OT stories. I can say that despite the humor that has two interpretations on page 10, this could actually be a nice material to teach values to a kid. Each story combined with the nice and light atmosphered illustrations makes this book worth buying. Add in the humor that the creator has written. It gives the right formula if your looking for a nice relaxing story.

More of the creator's works can be seen at:

Facebook Page: "Estranger"

More of Black Ink Comics can be seen at:

Facebook Page: "Black Ink Comics"

Twitter: @BlackInkComics