Novels: Si Janus Silang at ang Tiyanak ng Tábon

Story by: Edgar Calabia Samar

Adarna House

(5/5 ★★★★★)

(Cover by Borg Sinaban)

"Sa tournament ng TALA Online

sa bayan ng Balanga,

namatay ang lahat ng manlalaro

maliban kay Janus.

Sunod-sunod pa ang naging kaso ng pagkamatay

ng mga kabataan sa computer shops sa iba't ibang

panig ng bansa. Kinontak si Janus ng nagpakilalang Joey,

isa rin umano sa mga nakaligtas sa paglalaro

ng TALA na gaya niya. Hindi inasahan ni Janus

ang mga matutuklasan niya mula rito na mag-uugnay

sa kaniya sa misteryo ng kinahuhumalingan

niyang RPG - at sa alamat ng Tiyanak mula sa Tábon!"

The Good:

The world building was meticulously done considering a realistic and an online world must be illustrated in order to be able to engage the readers into the world of Janus Silang.

For a young adult series written by a Filipino, the author has managed to give us a different perspective of our world, most especially about our mythological creatures. Creating an RPG (role-playing game) that has an interesting BAT (Bayani-Anito Tandem) concept to overcome different creatures ranging from a lone tiyanak of level 1 up to the diwata of the seven ponds in level 7 of the game. TALA (Terra Anima Legion of Anitos) seems to be really great if this could actually be played in real life as you fight off the legion of the soulless in every level.

This novel never runs out of surprises as some pieces of Philippine history were thrown in to the story. The biggest one was Janus discovering the true story of the Tábon cave in Palawan and the involvement of the tiyanak in all of these deaths.

The Bad:

If there's one thing that I can't understand in this novel, that would be the "dilang-karayom" of the manananggal that is frequently used. It might be an expression originally created by the author for this series but it could be something else altogether. As of the moment, nothing significant can be found in the novel or online regarding this phrase.

If you're using the book 101 Kagila-gilalas na Nilalang, which was also written by Edgar Samar, as a reference to check all the creatures mentioned in the novel, you might want to look for another reference since the Berberoka that appears on level 4 wasn't mentioned on that book.

The Verdict:

This novel will surely drain away the happiness within you as you reach the last pages of the book. A surge of different emotions such as shock, anger, despair and sorrow will be felt as the author left us astonished by the smooth unveiling of the painful truth.

The 1st book of the Janus Silang series will really amaze you from the start up to the very end. A Filipino reader would be really pleased and be proud of having the opportunity to read this excellent work of Edgar Samar. His way of making us vulnerable to be able to also feel the emotions of Janus was astounding. What starts out to be a simple RPG themed story slowly darkens as the author slams right into our face the horrors of the truth that we didn't perceive to be out of place from the very start.

This is a novel that is highly recommended to all, especially to those who are fans of the Harry Potter series. Don't be discouraged if you think the book lack some pages. I'm sure the author is nearly done with the next volumes of this series before the tiyanak discovers what he is doing.

"Babalik ako sa panahong di mo inaasahan para kunin sa iyo ang noon ko pa gustong malaman." - Tiyanak

Book Update: Si Janus Silang at ang Tiyanak ng Tábon Manga Adaptation Launch Date

After launching the 2nd book of the popular young adult series, the Janus Silang series, on the 36th Manila International Book Fair (MIBF), the manga adaptation of the 1st book is currently on its way to Komikon 2015.

Events: Finalist of the 2015 Filipino Readers' Choice Awards

The votes have been counted and the top three for each category has been announced. It is up to a panel of judges to determine the winner for each category. The winners will be announced at the 5th Filipino ReaderCon that will be held on November 28, 2015 at the Henry Sy Sr. Hall, De La Salle University - Manila.

Guides: 2-Day Passes to Komikon 2015

The 11th Annual Philippine Komiks Convention is almost here to give us once more the biggest komiks convention that will take place at the Bayanihan Center, Unilab Compound, Pasig City on November 14-15, 2015.

Comics: The Zoo: Illust Book

Ink Jinks Comics

(3/5 ★★★☆☆)

"The Zoo Illust Book is a collection of different art styles and illustrations created by Filipino artists who have come together to share their talents into this project."

The Verdict:

The Zoo by Ink Jinks is a nice catalog to showcase the different illustrators of the group. Different styles and techniques can be seen in this collection. This could serve as a guide on whose artist to watch very closely after their art style caught one's attention.

More of Ink Jinks Comics can be seen at:

http://www.inkjinks.deviantart.com

http://www.inkjinks.tumblr.com

Facebook Page: "Ink Jinks Comics"

Events: Experiencing the 36th Manila International Book Fair

I attended this year's Manila International Book Fair (MIBF) for two days, September 19-20, held at the SMX Convention Center. For a book lover, that time is really needed especially with all the book hunt and book signing that I want to accomplish.

September 19, Saturday

I arrived after attending the Asia Pop Comicon, held at the World Trade Center which was conducted at the same number of days with MIBF.

Books purchased for entry to MCF

It was the Mini Comics Festival (MCF) 2015 held by Black Ink Comics (BIC) that I was rushing to attend on this day. Tickets were needed in order to be allowed to get in or you could just buy two (2) BIC books at their MIBF booth and just present the receipt at the event area of MCF.

BIC 0012

The MCF 2015 was held around 3:00-6:00 p.m. at the Meeting Room 5 of the SMX Convention Center.

It was great to have some of the BIC books be finally signed. Most especially BIC's 12th book which is still in its original black & white cover.

It was great meeting the writer, Herbs Navasca, who wore a pair of blue contact lens on that day, and illustrators, Alvin Bragais, Jana Dhel and Rhea Padullo. A regular attendee of Komikons would easily recognize the multi-talented Jake Vicente.

 

 

The other books that I had purchased on MIBF 2015 on this day came from PSICOM Publishing Corp.

Goodies from Day 1

September 20, Sunday

More books and booths were needed to be found on my 2nd day at the MIBF 2015.

First from my list was Goodwill in which to my surprise was not a participant of this book fair. I just lost the chance to have my hands on a Pediatrics book by Del Mundo.

The next booth was C&E Publishing, Inc. to get my needed medical text books. However, unlike last year's MIBF, C&E Publishing seems to have fewer copies of the latest books on display.

Then, there's Adarna House, a new booth to my eyes that should be checked out. The decorations of their booth was really festive which led them to be awarded as the 1st runner up in the Best in Booth Design Contest.

 

Photo from Adarna House

The last purchase came from Anvil Publishing, who once again were selling their books under National Book Store (NBS). The last book that I purchased was Dean Francis Alfar's A Field Guide to the Roads of Manila. This new book has little promotion on various social media such that I had only come to know of it through word of mouth.

Fully Booked was crazily heavily jam packed this year. I guess they might have been stocking more choices on their shelves than NBS, thus, pulling the attention of book lovers towards them.

In comparision to MIBF 2014, MIBF 2015 seems a bit bland. The booths were still confusing and hard to find. What OMF Literature did was a nice idea that hopefully would be imitated by the other booths for MIBF 2016.

Goodies from Day 2

MIBF 2015 generally feels toned down in terms of excitement on my part. The desire for books is there but the craving was really less. The ambiance did not also go well for me which was probably due to booths that were hard to find, even in the midst of pre-planning my book hunt.

Here are the things that I got from the 36th Manila International Book Fair

• First Aid for the USMLE® Step 1 2015 
• McGraw-Hill Education 
• 101 Kagila-gilalas Na Nilaláng
• Edgar Calabia Samar
• Adarna House 
• National Medical Series for Independent Study: Obstetrics and Gynecology 6th Edition 
• Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 
• Attack on Titan ~ Volume 2 
• Viva Psicom Publishing Corp. 
• Attack on Titan ~ Volume 3 
• Viva Psicom Publishing Corp 
• Tonio Tikbalang ~ Volume 4 
• Jake Vicente
• Black Ink Comics 
• Dragon Breed ~ Volume 1 
• Black Ink Comics 
• A Field Guide to the Roads of Manila and Other Stories 
• Dean Francis Alfar
• Anvil Publishing 
• Si Janus Silang at ang Labanáng Manananggal - Mambabarang 
• Edgar Calabia Samar
• Adarna House 
• Life In Progress ~ Book 2: Geek Machine Telemetry 
• PSICOM Publishing

Events: Experiencing Asia Pop Comicon Manila

We have been really lucky for Manila was chosen as the starting place of Asia Pop Comicon (APCC).

APCC is an international pop culture convention themed around comics, film, toys and collectibles, animation, games, cosplay and every thing pop cultured.

Different local and foreign booths were scattered all throughout the main hall of the World Trade Center (WTC). Dozens of exhibits wowed geeks of all ages. There's some aliens from Studio ADI, Hulkbuster from Comicave Studios, and even Starwars from Lego.

 

Two minicoopers were being doodled on by a group called as Band of Doodlers, a group from Singapore. You would just be fascinated (and envious) of their skills in decorating a car, most especially a minicooper!! Their live vehicle mural sure is a sight to see.

The artist alley was also a gold mine. Aside from the local artists whose works could be bought and then signed or have the artist make a sketch of yourself on the spot, we were graced by the presence of the works of the Dean of Philippine Comics and National Artist for Visual Arts, Francisco V. Coching. His works were made available for readership that could be easily accessed by the current generation.

An interesting work were the models displayed at the ACube booth. These figures of Titans, Starwars and even Draganball that were exhibited were also up for sale.

APCC has been a wonderful experience. It's the closest that we can get from experiencing the grand San Diego Comic Con without the need for a plane travel and a U.S. visa.

The only disappointments that were mostly encountered were the last minute cancellation of appearances of some celebrities and the very confusing crowd management. Being in line for more than an hour is tiring enough, but add in marshals who were terrible in deciding on how they would want the crowd to get in (especially during the Captain America: Civil War Exclusive Screening) would really get the exasperation of the crowd.

In general, the WTC was a pleasant venue to hold APCC. Amidst the large crowd, it still felt spacious (probably due to the few number of exhibitors in which I felt there were little representation for the other comic publishers such as DC, Image Comics, etc.)

Various celebrities from different pop culture graced us with their presence. From the different film and TV celebrities, YouTube personalities, international and local comic artists, vinyl toy creators and cage guests, the first leg of APCC 2015 here in Manila has been a great one.

Here are more pictures from the event.

(Deadpool with the Infinity Glove and Stones?!!) 

(A group of Spideys have arrived)

Avengers: Age of Ultron Diorama

Here are the things that I got from Asia Pop Comicon Manila

• Lapu-Lapu
• Francisco V. Coching
• Ang Morion ~ Vol. 2 Issue 1: Alamat ng Maskara
• Wan Malinao Mañanita
• Frances Luna III Illustration Firm
• Archie #1
• Mark Waid and Fiona Staples
• Archie Comics

Poster from TeeTurtle

 

These Cube It figures are freebies from the Comicave Studios booth. Cube It figures were given out for free at 12:00 noon and 4:00 p.m. for the entire Asia Pop Comicon.