Comics: Tonio Tikbalang ~ Volume 2

BIC0075
Illustration and Story by: Jake Vicente

Black Ink Comics

(5/5 ★★★★★)

"Ano sa tingin mo ang mga

problemang hinaharap ng mga

enkanto na nagpapanggap na

tao at ano ang dahilan kung

bakit nila ito ginagawa?

Sundan ang buhay-estudyante

ni Tonio, na isang batang

tikbalang, sa mundo ng mga

tao kasama ang kanyang

kaibigang kapre na si Kanto.

Isang babae ang nakasalubong

nila sa loob ng paaralan pero

iba ang pakiramdam ni Tonio sa

babaeng ito. Isa rin kaya siyang

enkanto?

Sa dami ng mga tao sa loob

ng paaralan, sino-sino kaya

ang mga enkantong

nagpapanggap lang na tao?"

The Plot:

The second volume of Tonio Tikbalang compiles chapters 4-6. The chapters are titled "Itanong mo sa Barbero", "Girl Next Classroom" and "Urband Legend" for chapters 4, 5 and 6 respectively. Chapters 4 and 5 deals with fun facts on our mythological creatures (kapres and sirenas). But in the end, all three chapters continues its job of giving stories that teaches on obedience and to not believe in a gossip unless it is proven to be true.

  

The Good:

Volume 2 of Tonio Tikbalang has an impressive look as a Filipino manga. The illustrations have improved in comparison to volume 1. Every space was adequately utilized.

Jake Vicente continues his great job in this 2nd volume of Tonio Tikbalang. The stories continue to impart good character to its readers while teaching some fun facts on our kapres and sirenas.

The Bad:

The cover looks more of a draft compared to the art inside. Both the front and back cover could use more of the art style done inside the comic book.

The Verdict:

Tonio Tikbalang's volume 2 shows how a Filipino manga would look like if it is bombarded with our locals (kapres and sirenas).

A few more of this volumes and Jake Vicente would have already given to us his own version of Doraemon stories. Instead of a bullied kid that has a cat, from the future, help him in everyday situations as they learn the basic lessons of life, Tonio Tikbalang differs in such that the Philippine mythological creatures are the ones who teaches us life's lessons on how to be a human who cares and shows respect to everyone.

A must read especially to school aged kids.

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

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