Creators: Black Ink Comics

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Black Ink Comics: Redefining the Philippine Comic Landscape

One of the leading publishers of modern comics and manga today in the Philippines is Black Ink Comics. Known for their amazing works including Fairies Tails (Shortcuts) and My Midnight (Trilogy). It is among the many imprints of Precious Pages. They started in October 2012 where they released their first eight comics.

Black Ink Comics is under the roof of Precious Pages that brought us some of the most successful Tagalog romance pocketbooks. It didn't take the company long to join the bandwagon of authors and illustrators to revive and continue the comics industry in the country. They offer some of the most badass comics today.

Here's how Black Ink Comics define their works and some of their successful titles:

Shortcuts - it is described as a sixty pages comic book anthology with three different stories.

One of Black Ink's first shortcuts is Chichiru, A Spoonful of Tears and The Cruel Knight.

The story of Chichiru revolves around Tommy who happens to catch Chichiru, a mysterious flying fish and is capable of human speech. Chichiru gives Tommy his heart's desire: fame and money and unfortunately, the biggest tragedy of his life.

What would you do if being bullied at school makes you ill? And only the tears from your enemies can cure you? A Spoonful of Tears is the story of Cybil (a victim of bullying) together with his aunt and mother's journey for her care.

Morgan is the cruel knight feared by many for his barbarism. Until he met the sorcerer, Dagonet. Consumed by his revenge, Dagonet gives Morgan a punishment worse than death.

Series - these are 60 pages comic book released per chapter until the series ends.

  

 

One of the most intriguing series of Black Ink Comics is  Pepe: The Lost Years of Rizal. Move over the conspiracy about our national artist being Jack the Reaper, Pepe highlights Jose Rizal's juvenile (and oftentimes) magical adventures. If you are one of those historical fiction readers, this series is worth the read. Plus, you can intrigue your Kursong Rizal professor and classmates.

Stand - Alone or "Tapusan" - it is a one-shot story composed of 60 comic pages. Among their best stand-alone is Tonio Tikbalang. Born in the heart and mind of Jake Vicente, this is not your typical "engkanto-serye". The story focuses on Antonio, a Tikbalang (half-horse - half-human) and his best friend, Kanto, a Kapre (an enchanted giant man who dwells in large, old trees often seen with giant cigars in Philippine folklore).

The story is subdivided into three parts. Each deals with the struggles of Tonio and his friends in their adolescence while wearing a mask to hide their true nature.

Novel - is defined by Black Ink as a story composed of 24,000 to 60,000 words. The book cover and illustrations inside were drawn using Anime or manga style, hence, their Japanese comic look.

Anonymous, one of the pioneer novels of Black Ink, is a romance novel about Lanie and her "anonymous" lover who never leaves her side. Her "anonymous" lover is often depicted as a six-foot tall man with a recognizable long shadow. Find out their love story as you turn the pages of this romance novel. It was nominated in the 2014 Filipino Readers' Choice Awards in the Romance in Filipino (or Taglish) Category.

Black Ink Comics uses compact format in comic creation, swaying away from the traditional comic writing and style. Their format may be considered as a graphic novel with collaborative efforts from a single team of creators for each series or book. Their works are reasonable priced, depending on which type.

Black Ink Comics are pushing beyond the horizon of Philippine comics with a touch of Eastern and Western lore. Their series, Dragon Breed created by Elmer and Ma. Cornelia Damaso won in the Fourth Komikon Awards as the Best Comic Series of 2014. The team wishes to extend their stories to touch every genre including sci-fi, crime, fantasy, drama, horror and comedy. The Philippine comics are dead to many, for other's it is a dying form of literature but for Black Ink Comics, it is just starting.

Guest Blogger

Marky Ynota works as a writer and as a social media executive. A traveler, hiker and aspiring food connoisseur. He is also a fitness enthusiast doing yoga, cycling, swimming and running when not doing the aforementioned. His ultimate fitness goal is to join the Ironman and to climb Mt. Apo.