Comics: Tuesday Mornings

Illustration and Story by: Hench Dulin

(4/5 ★★★★☆)

The Good:

The cute way of meeting someone with the help of Pollo the chicken paves the way of how the two characters cross paths.

The idea of a meet up for a breakfast meal, offered by a food truck that has a chicken running around to advertise, is such a cool and simple plot.

A food blogger meets chef meet cute story is such a joy to read.

This story has also made a great representation of the LGBQTIA+ community by having an inclusive "bear" type of character. The artist portrayed that not all boys love (BL) themed stories need to have characters that have a chiseled and well defined muscles. Sometimes, they may be on the plus size.

A nice easter egg can be seen of Komiket in this comic.

The Bad:

I guess the only bad thing here is that we don't know why they gave out free coffee refills during Tuesdays.

The Verdict:

Tuesday Mornings is a very simple meet cute love story that subtly represents a different demographic of BL. This representation does great as it shows the reality that not all queers have a six pack abs. Some only have one but is a great chef. Ultimately this comics is a win a for love.

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

Facebook Page: Henchman Draws

Twitter: @henchmandraws

Instagram: @henchmandraws

Comics: My Special Relationship with Art

Illustration and Story by: Gusstelier

(3/5 ★★★☆☆)

The Verdict:

This comic deals with an assessment of one's self for the past years. It takes a look at the soul of the artist on his relationship with his work.

This a nice reminder to all of us to never forget to pause and examine one's passion on how far we have improved ourselves.

It advises that the first step that must always be undertaken is to always practice your craft everyday for one to be a master of it.

"I can make my canvas my soul."

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

Instagram: @gusstelier

Twitter: @gusstelier

Facebook Page: Gusstelier

Comics: School Run ~ Issue 1

Macoy x Ardie Aquino Edition

Illustration and Story by: Macoy and Ardie Aquino

(4/5 ★★★★☆)

"In post-zombie apocalypse Philippines, life is good! Or at least as good as you can expect in a third-world country with 80's technology and an everpresent zombie plague. But as Maki and her friends will soon discover, just getting to school in the morning can be a real killer.

SCHOOL RUN is a tongue-in-cheek zombie story with everything you look for in the genre: humor, action, social commentary, and the undead munching on kids."

The Good:

After almost a decade, School Run is back as Macoy made a collaboration with Ardie Aquino.

This update is thrilling to see in so many ways. It now comes in color with the dialogues updated from Filipino to English.

The cover has been changed to show a crowd full of zombies with some of the main casts in it. Also within the hoard are the creators so one would find it amusing to try and guess which one are they among the zombies.

The previous panels and script originally drawn by Macoy has been given a new look by Ardie. The details that can be seen at the background of the characters are worth to look at. Knockoff logos of familiar companies and brands can be seen like Food Panda, Angkas, Skull Head, and Meralco. An added bonus was the additional signage stuck on a post promoting Ardie's Home Massage Service beside a Mackoy Plumber post.

The story describes of a post-zombie apocalypse world that occurs in the year 2035. It still gives a fun and fresh look of the Philippines with young children as the main characters.

The Bad:

One of the biggest concern with this post-zombie apocalypse version is the NZP or the anti plague medicine that everyone appears to be taking. The presence of this item, which was also present in the original version, leaves a lot of questions. It insinuates that by forgetting to take this pill will turn you into a zombie aside from the primary means of exposure to a contaminated blood or body fluids. It begs to question if the zombie virus was also airborne. It is also appalling that no new drug has been invented yet in order to increase the interval time for this medication be taken by the general population. The need to take a pill every 4 hours is going to be a tiresome chore because it means setting an alarm so you could wake up from your 6 to 8 hours of sleep just to take this anti plague pill.

The Verdict:

Zombie apocalypse themed stories is still a nice story to dwell on. This updated version is more child friendly in comparison to the original one. This can be seen as the head of one of the characters pop up at the back of the school bus. Looking at it in black and white back then gives a more chilling scenario in comparison to the current multicolored zombies in the series.

Most of the original fans would be pulled back to rediscover the story of Maki. I just hope we can finally see the ending of this series.

More of the creators' works can be seen at:

Ardie Aquino:

Instagram: @chikidoodledoo

Macoy:

Twitter: @komiksnimacoy

Comics: Ang Jowa Kong Crosswise ~ Episode 4: Meet The Bestie

Illustration and Story by: Tsambolero (Raphael Unta)

(5/5 ★★★★★)

The Verdict:

Leonardo "Leo" Aurelio's best friend Sampaguita "Sammie" Rhose Catacutan gets to meet his boyfriend Thomas.

Laughter engulfs as the professional monster hunter meets the aswang. An exchange of funny tirades ensures as names such as "lumilipad na daga" (flying rat) and "angry lesbian dora" were shouted.

He can be seen at:

Twitter: @Tsambolero

More of Ang Jowa Kong Crosswise can be seen at:

Penlab: "Ang Jowa Kong Crosswise"

Comics: Ang Jowa Kong Crosswise ~ Episode 3: Hunger

Illustration and Story by: Tsambolero (Raphael Unta)

(5/5 ★★★★★)

The Verdict:

We got 7 panels for this NSFW episode.

This answers the question of how do they do the deed once Tomas is in his other form.

Tsambolero really gave us an interesting couple that is likeable. I just think we ought to know what Tomas hunted to eat for food

He can be seen at:

Twitter: @Tsambolero

More of Ang Jowa Kong Crosswise can be seen at:

Penlab: "Ang Jowa Kong Crosswise"

Comics: Ang Jowa Kong Crosswise ~ Episode 2: Celebration

Illustration and Story by: Tsambolero (Raphael Unta)

(5/5 ★★★★★)

The Good:

The artist really did a great job illustrating the different emotions on his two main characters.

The Bad:

Still this is only 4 panels long.

The Verdict:

A romantic candle light dinner fills the mood of the two lovers. Tsambolero's art are really great to look at. I just hope he draws a longer story in his next episodes.

Just be mindful of what you are eating if it is allergic to your partner. You don't want to kill the love of your life.

He can be seen at:

Twitter: @Tsambolero

More of Ang Jowa Kong Crosswise can be seen at:

Penlab: "Ang Jowa Kong Crosswise"

Comics: Ang Jowa Kong Crosswise ~ Episode 1: Hatid Na Kita!

Illustration and Story by: Tsambolero (Raphael Unta)

(5/5 ★★★★★)

"Ang Jowa Kong Crosswise follows the life and times of Tomas and Leo, who -- for all the world -- look like any other yuppie same-sex couple in their twenties. They, too, fight about all those domestic things long-term couples bicker about. But then again, Tomas and Leo are no ordinary couple, and it's not because they're gay. Tomas is a bloodthirsty, self-segmenting, folkoric creature of the night, while Leo is ... well, just Leo."

The Plot:

Late for work? Grab is still 10 minutes away? It looks like a job for Leo's crosswise partner.

The Good:

The story and art are really loveable to look at. The creator did a great job in this online comic.

The Bad:

The only bad thing is this is only 4 panels long.

The Verdict:

Tsambolero gives us a sweet and hilarious take on an interesting same-sex couple that involves different creatures, wherein their main focus is love. This episode ends with the lower half of Tomas still polishing the floor with a coconut husk.

The artist made an adorable couple in the image of Tomas and Leo where readers will keep on coming back for that 'kilig' feeling.

He can be seen at:

Twitter: @Tsambolero

More of Ang Jowa Kong Crosswise can be seen at:

Penlab: "Ang Jowa Kong Crosswise"

Anthology: Balik Tanaw

Illustration and Story by: Ardie Aquino

Ardie Aquino Comics

(4.167/5 ★★★★☆)

"Ang librong ito ay koleksyon ng mga komiks na nagawa ko noong 2015. Ito ay anim na kwento na tungkol sa paghanap ng kaligayahan, pagluto ng sinigang, pag-hingi ng extra rice, lihim ng kasama mo sa bahay, pagkain ng bawal at pagbalik tanaw sa buhay. Sana sa bawat paglipat mo ng pahina ay madama mo din ang mga emosyon na nadama ko noon."

The Good:

Ardie's craft really has improved. This could be seen from the changes that he made with the Extra Rice with Extra Tries story as an example. His illustrations also improved, if one would compare this 2020 version to the 2015 original.

Balik Tanaw is a new story included in this 2020 remastered edition of Ardie's 2015 comics.

The best story in this compilation is Ang Roomate Kong Aswang. It tells about the battle between a human and an aswang, which mostly centers on the aswang pictured as a bad roomie rather than his identity.

Reading beyond the surface of this story would give the picture that every person is different and unique. It could be due to gender, sexual orientation, religion, nationality and even species. Despite these differences, what really matters is how a person interacts with others. Being angry to an individual does not need to be discriminatory but rather it could be plainly due to his or her awful demeanor towards others.

The Bad:

This anthology would have been better if the layout was improved. Some pages are hard to read due to the parts that are near to the spine of the book. This problem is already evident on the foreword page.

All stories exists in the same world except for Balik Tanaw and Hipon sa Hapon. It would have been interesting if they were connected in some way.

The story that didn't do well was the bonus story, Balik Tanaw. Its never ending story didn't work with me. If your future self went into your past to try to save your past self from doing the same steps, why on earth would you repeat the same things. It could have easily worked out by not helping the character find the crystal in order to prevent the same things from happening once again.

The Verdict:

Ardie's throwback to his previous works by creating an updated and better version of them is a good concept. It measures the growth you have achieved with your craft in doing so.

This anthology is a gateway to Ardie Aquino's weird and absurd ideas. Be sure not to miss it.

He can be seen at:

Facebook Page: Ardie Aquino

* Breakdown of Rating:

★☆☆☆☆ -

★★☆☆☆ - 

★★★☆☆ - Balik Tanaw

★★★★☆ - Burn Baby Burn, Sinigang: Kwento ng Lumbay, Extra Rice with Extra Tries

★★★★★ - Ang Roomate Kong Aswang, Hipon Sa Hapon

Comics: Extra Rice with Extra Tries

Illustration and Story by: Ardie Aquino
Ardie Aquino Comics
(3/5 ★★★☆☆)

The Plot:

We all have our own inner demons.

The Good:

The illustrations from Ardie are consistently great. He truly owns this weird chibi style of illustration.

The Bad:

The extra rice that was the title and main focus of the cover page illustration of this comic was not part of the main story. It only serves as an addition in the epilogue.

The Verdict:

This comic, as I percieve, is a motivational one. It tries to convey that no matter how much life scares us, even through our inner demons, we must always get out of bed and fight the day out.

Our dream serves as our refuge. A place to heal and regroup our thoughts on how to fight once we wake up again.

He can be seen at:

Facebook Page: Ardie Aquino

Comics: Sinigang: Kwento ng Lumbay

Illustration and Story by: Ardie Aquino

Ardie Aquino Comics

(3/5 ★★★☆☆)

The Plot:

A Filipino pork stew cooked to perfection with MeTube as a guide.

The Good:

The illustrations are becoming a trademark of Ardie Aquino's simple and neat artwork. It can be seen on how the ingredients were drawn.

The story is simple and could remind readers of memories of love and care through cooking.

The Bad:

Based on the flow of the story or recipe, an ingredient was missing from pages 1 and 5. Pepper was not included even though it was used on pages 12 and 13.

The Verdict:

Sinigang is a simple comic book that takes a look at our past. It gives that comforting feeling after engulfing a warm and delicious pork stew on a cold and rainy day.

The food brings beautiful memories as one savors each spoonful of pork stew. This is our Filipino dish  story equivalent to the Ratatouille dish of an American film.

He can be seen at:

Facebook Page: Ardie Aquino

Comics: The Graveyard Shift ~ Issue 1

Illustration and Story by: Chelsea Oleta

(4/5 ★★★★☆)

 "A little magic never hurt anyone."

The Good:

It has a nice cover. The illustrations were clean and neat to look at. Representation of the common skin tone of our people was represented well in this comic.

The Bad:

I know its a cliffhanger, but the last panel was not clear on whether the creature was a werewolf like monster or a lion like beast.

The Verdict:

Mayo, a witch or mangkukulam, is an interesting character. Her story of travel to the United States is one to look forward to. Hoping that the story of Maya the teenage mangkukulam impress us on the next issues.

She can be seen at:

Facebook Page: "Oletarts"
Tumblr: Oletarts
Twitter: @oletarts
Instagram: @oletarts

Comics: Suicide Squid

Story by: Lian Martecio

Illustration by: Albert Custodio

(2/5 ★★☆☆☆)

 "A group of inked creatures were trapped in an aquarium

after a boy fancied catching them in Gotham Sea-ty.

  His last catch was cunning JoeQueer who masterminded

an escape plan.

Makakapuslit kaya ang mga pusit?"

The Good:

This is a nice superhero satire themed comic. It plays a nice pun to the Suicide Squad team by having Gotham Sea-ty and a kid name Bruce along with his dog, Wayne.

The Bad:

It was just an average comic. Not that bad, but it was not that exciting though.

The Verdict:

Hats off to Martecio and Custodio for coming up with this witty and superhero satire filled comic.

Hoping to read more works from them.

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

Lian Martecio
Instagram: @lianxious

Albert Custodio
Instagram: @mandawyun

Comics: Itch

Illustration and Story by: Mich Cervantes
Rated: Ages 13+
(5/5 ★★★★★)

The Plot:

Aya Estrada a student in an all-girls schools is coming to terms with her adolescence. Her sexual curiosity is put at crossroads when she realizes that the environment she thrives in demonizes and shames this type of topics.

The Good:

The sexual awakening of adolescents were neatly told while maintaining this comic good to be read by ages 13 and up. The creator even came up with a fake porn url in order to maintain the story's age appropriateness.

The realities of slut-shaming done by students to their peers feels familiar to many people. In a society where religion plays a huge role in our culture, many of these questions regarding sexuality are mostly frowned upon, especially in a Catholic school. The most common defense uttered is abstinence, as mentioned by Aya's mother.

This comic also gives us a fresh look on the sexual awakening that occurs on girls because oftentimes it is the boys' sexual awakening that we are exposed to. No depiction of a girl admitting her curiosity about sex was uttered as blatant as seen in this comic.

The Bad:

None that the reviewer could see.

The Verdict:

Another great slice of life story that focuses on the sexual awakenings of girls during their puberty.

It does a good job of presenting realty instead of turning this into a very censored comic that deals about how girls tend to think and act on their curiosities on a certain age. It intelligently presents to use that curiosity about sex is normal and that abstinence is also normal. One does not have to pick any of the two and say that the one not chosen is abnormal.

Cervantes does an excellent work with this story. Just be careful with your pet bird, if left unnoticed it might get eaten by the kitten.

She can be seen at:
http://www.themichlife.tumblr.com

Comics: Walang Laman Ang Kahon

Illustration and Story by: Chocnut-san
(5/5 ★★★★★)

"Bago pa makarating sa akin ang balita, nakahanda na ang lahat.

Ang mga papeles, pamasahe, ang dormitoryong tutuluyan ko, at ang trabahong papasukan ko.

 Ako nalang daw ang kulang."

The Good:

The cover was well made. It gave that eerie feeling that this might turn out to be a suspense or horror story. It gives the vibe that something could be coming out of the box like the ones that was done in the movies The Ring and The Grudge.

The story revolves around Dino who leaves Tacloban in order to work in Manila. An emotional departure scene was shown in the airport similar to how our OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) leave our country.

The plot appears to touch on the loneliness that resides within Dina that could be a familiar feeling to anyone who had to leave their family for work.

The Bad:

It could have been a bit better if a few more details could have been explored on in order to know the condition Gina is experiencing. It would be nice if it at least it was hinted if what she is experiencing are just hallucinations due to stress, anxiety and even possibly trauma, due to the fact that she resides in Tacloban which suffered the most when Typhoon Haiyan struck, or if it was a paranormal thing.

The Verdict:

Walang Laman Ang Kahon presents itself to be a mystery suspense story about Dina's thoughts and feelings. She is aware that nothing is inside that box but with all the emotions that she had accumulated, it led her to believe it was her way back home.

This beautiful and creepy one-shot comic is an excellent horror story.

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

Facebook Page: "Chocnut-san"
Instagram: @chocnut_san

Comics: Nang Mainlove Ako Sa Isang Sakristan

Illustration and Story by: Richard Mercado
Silaw Publishing
(5/5 ★★★★★)

"Two seventeen-year-old boys, Francis and Didoy, get caught kissing at the back of the subdivision chapel. Out of shock, the two boys escape and go on a journey they'll never forget"

The Good:

This is an excellent coming of age story. Francis and Didoy's love story were neatly told along with the struggles experienced by members of the LGBT+ community. The realness of one's dilema of living in an environment wherein your loved ones follows the conservative route really gives a huge stress to an individual was depicted.

There were two great emotional moments portrayed in this book. First is Francis going back home and being welcomed by his mother with open arms saying, "Welcome home anak." It gives the impression that despite everything that has a happened, a mother's love to her child is one of the reasons why she has come to accept whatever her child turned out to be.

The second moment is the pinky promise done by Francis and Didoy. The promise of pure and innocent love in the midst of struggling to know who they are and how to deal with expressing their love in a judgmental world just gives the shivers.

"Now that there's someone who has my back, I will try moving forward, starting with the people whom I love." - Francis

The Bad:

The style of illustration might not get the attention of some who are looking for a hotter depiction of the characters. The weird faces of the characters on some angles on some panels might also give some thumbs down to others.

The Verdict:

Mercado delivers an offensive comic book to strict conservatives due to its title and illustration. But to an open minded individual, this is definitely a simple story of innocent love in a coming of age set-up. A love so pure it will really pierce your heart and make you shed a tear as the conversations about life and love progress.

This is a must buy in those collecting great slice of life stories.

"I thought since he seemed so interested with the sakristan I'd let him join so he would have some friends. I didn't know he was that intrested." - Mrs. Suarez

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

Instagram: @richardmercz

More of Nang Mainlove Ako Sa Isang Sakristan can be seen at:

Facebook Page: "Nang Mainlove Ako Sa Isang Sakristan"

Penlab: "Nang Mainlove Ako Sa Isang Sakristan"

Comics: K ~ Issue 1

Story by: James Bernardo
Illustrated by: Brian Balondo
Rated: For Mature Readers
Pelikomiks Studios
(2/5 ★★☆☆☆)

"A serial killer is systematically assassinating politicians, policemen, and government officials. A veteran detective is on a mission to stop this wave of murders before time runs out."

The Good:

The cover was captivating enough for a passerby to take a look for a moment. Rarely will you see a politician, a Philippine politician to be exact due to the barong that was seen worn by the man, as he expresses fear of what could be a murder about to happen.

The plot looks promising. The illustrations also complimented really well with the manner the story was told.

The Bad:

As much as it wants to get the audience be excited for it, this story didn't deliver well for a first issue. The only thing that might get some curious enough to continue reading it is due to the deaths linked to a symbol. A symbol and nothing else.

Another thing that I can't seem to understand is the moment wherein a person from the crowd watching a crime scene tells others to be quiet because someone is "naglalaba" or doing the laundry.

The last thing is the title. Although it's still the first issue, at least we could have gotten a slight idea on why it was called K. K for killer or kill?

For a first issue, it failed to deliver in getting readers to put this series as a must sought out comic during conventions.

The Verdict:

Despite the premise and illustration, K failed to deliver a striking "wow" in order to get readers be interested in this series.

Hope the next issue gets published soon or we might see this series be killed a bit too early.

More of K can be seen at:

Facebook Page: "Pelikomiks"

Comics: Ang Laptop

Story by: Francis "Kong" Martelino
Illustrated by: Chocnut-san
(3/5 ★★★☆☆)

"a young man gets in trouble with the employees of a computer repair shop after asking for a refund."

The Good:

The story resonated how anime has been usually told. Most especially the fight scenes, wherein, a very intense match is being geared up with the use of simple weapons such as a box cutter and a long stapler. It was really funny to see the stats and short description for each item being wielded as a weapon.

The story was told in a way that humor and drama mixed well together that is really entertaining. An example is the setting the battle took place. It appears to be huge where in fact it's just a small store. The illustrator did a wonderful job of telling the script the writer had made.

The Bad:

The cover of this comic isn't that attractive for anyone to easily pick this up. The plot written at the back doesn't help either.

The Verdict:

A comic based on true events is one you might not believe is true for this comic. The story has been adjusted really good by its creators to poke fun at a very alarming news.

This one-shot comic is sure to be a stress reliever as it would remind you of the memories anime has. It is nice to read on your pastime.

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

Facebook Page: "The Hotdog Prince"
Instagram: @kongratss

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

Facebook Page: "Chocnut-san"
Instagram: @chocnut_san

 

Comics: Alak Extra Strong Feelings

Illustration and Story by: A Tango
The CoSmic Book

(1/5 ★☆☆☆☆)

The Good:

This comic has a nice cover. It has a simple but good script coupled with good illustrations.

The Bad:

The size of the paper inside this comic would have been better if it was the same size as its cover. It would have also been better if the comic pages were printed back to back. Not only does it saves paper but it shows the effort and passion of an artist to take the time in arranging the layout. It appears to have been effortlessly sketched then printed and just folded. It's a waste of paper for an 8 paged comic. 

The Verdict:

This simple story of love and alcohol was nice and simple. However, the artist's passion is not clearly that evident in the creation of this comic. It appears to be a lazy output. Even a high school student with good artistic talent and few resources could have easily created this comic, or even better than this one.

More of The CoSmic Book can be seen at:

Facebook Page: "The CoSmic Book"

Comics: I Grew Up, I Guess

Comic Adaptation of the Poem "What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up" by Jamie McGhee
Illustrated by: Chocnut-san
Genre: Slice of Life

(5/5 ★★★★★)

"A comic adaptation of the poem, "What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up" by Jamie McGhee that portrays the realities of being a young professional while chasing an indefinite dream."

The Good:

Let's start first with the cover. Who wouldn't stop to take a look at the beautiful cover of this comic. Aside from the beautiful drawing, the use and blending of colors strikes the eyes for an individual to be drawn towards it. It enhances the cover really well for anyone to pause and take a closer look at it.

The illustrations inside neatly matched the poem made by Jamie McGhee. The illustrations were neat and clean to look at.

The Bad:

I only wish that the entire comic book is colored. It might have been really amazing just by judging the use of colors in the cover.

The Verdict:

The dreams that one had before venturing out into the "real world" was nicely portrayed. The truthful reality of how the current world operates was depicted extremely well.

This comic book adaptation will surely hit the hearts of a lot of readers who back then had big dreams of conquering the world only to be held back by the reality that things work out a bit different than we had imagined it to be.

She can be seen on:

Facebook Page: "Chocnut-san"

Comics: No Label ~ Issue 1

Illustration and Story by: Hayme Pola

(1/5 ★☆☆☆☆)

"Sila ay nagkakilala.
Sila ay nagkausap.
Sila ay nagdesisyong pumunta sa isang art exhibit."

The Good:

The cover depicting an LGBT+ themed story looks promising especially with a title "No Label".

The Bad:

Improvements could still be done with how the illustrations such as the clothes, the character's limbs and even the eye glasses were drawn. The comic "Behind Closed Doors" was a bit better than this.

Story wise, I wish it could have told more. This first issue alone does not raise interest in getting the second issue of what happens when Ian Perez and Euren Reyes went to the art exhibit.

The Verdict:

Improvements should be done on the art and story telling of this LGBT+ slice of life series. The title looks promising but it lacks on the execution.

She can be seen on:

Instagram: @haymepola