Book Update: Whatever Something Shadow Trese Book 8 Cover Preview

One cannot have too much Trese goodies this year. After posting the Trese vision board of stories and books last January 6, 2021, Budjette Tan finally laid out the title and cover of the 8th Trese book that had a working draft name of Whatever Something Shadow.

(Image from Instagram account of Budjette Tan)

Trese 8 is officially titled as Shadow Agents. An interesting image that consists of Madam and the Askaleros were shown here. Following the way the title of the previous Trese books were made, Trese 9 is bound to have a shadow on its name as well.

No release date as of writing was announced regarding this 8th Trese book that will be published by Avenida Books.

More information about the Avenida Edition of Trese books can be seen at:

Facebook Page: "Avenida Books"

Trese Books 2021 Update:

Book News: Trese's Book Releases for 2020 and 2021

Book News: Budjette Tan Reveals Upcoming Trese Books

Anime News: Anime Adaptation of Trese on Netflix

After their humble origin as an ashcan comic, Trese has reached another milestone as the Netflix anime adaptation now presents a release date. Mark your calendars as Netflix drops Trese on its streaming platform on June 11, 2021.

The anime is based on the multi-award-winning Filipino graphic novel of the same name created by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo.

The first official announcement of this adaptation was made last 2018 at Netflix's "See What's Next Asia" event at the Marina Bay Sands, Singapore. It is produced by Jakarta and Singapore-based BASE Entertainment with Jay Olivia as the executive producer and director.

The series will have 6 episodes which will be released all at once. Part of the soundtrack of the series will be performed by UDD for the song Paagi.

As of writing, the trailer on the platform is dubbed in four languages namely: Filipino, English, Japanese and Spanish. On the other hand, the subtitles offered are: English, Filipino, Japanese, Spanish and Traditional Chinese.

The English language will be headed by the voice of Shay Mitchell as Alexandra Trese. Other voice artists are Griffin Puatu, Matt Yang King, Jon Jon Briones, Steve Blum, Carlos Alazraqui, Manny Jacinto, Eric Bauza, Darren Criss, Nicole Scherzinger, Lou Diamond Phillips, Dante Basco and Rodney To.

The Filipino language is amazingly headed by Liza Soberano as Alexandra Tresa. Other voice artists are Simon dela Cruz, Apollo Abraham, Christopher Carlo Caling, Eugene Adalia, Cheska Aguiluz, Christian Velarde, Bryan Encarnacion, Nica Rojo, Jo Anne Orobia-Chua, Jose Amado Santiago, Steve dela Cruz, Rene Tandoc, Steffi Graf Bontogon-Mola, RJ Celdran, Elyrey Martin and Steven Bontogon.

So mark that date on your gadgets as we are ushered back into the world of Trese, in its new anime form. Loosely wandering the streets of Metro Manila, our Philippine mythology creatures are constantly kept in check by Alexandra Trese who continues to fight for balance and peace. This will premier one day before our independence day.

"In Manila, where dark supernatural forces pervade the criminal underworld, it's up to Alexandra Trese to keep the peace - but there's a storm brewing."

Anthology: Trese ~ Book 1: Murder On Balete Drive

Story by: Budjette Tan

Illustration by: Kajo Baldisimo

Alamat Comics

Visprint, Inc.

(4.25/5 ★★★★☆)

"When the sun sets in the city of Manila,

don't you dare make a wrong turn

and end up in that dimly-lit side of the metro,

where aswang run the most-wanted kidnapping rings,

where kapre are the kingpins of crime,

and engkantos slip through the cracks

and steal your most precious possessions,

When crime takes a turn for the weird,

the police call Alexandra Trese."

The Good:

Trese is a great masterpiece done by an excellent writer and an incredible artist.

Who knew that our Filipino creatures would also adapt with the changing times. The best example among them is the Nuno sa Manhole.

There's a lot of great elements here but the best story, or case, would be the 4th case. Tan gave a wonderful homage to a well known Filipino superhero. The last panels of that case poetically ends with so much love and care.

The Bad:

No matter how incredible the story and art seems to be, it is a disservice to see how the layout was done. A reader cannot fully appreciate Kajo's illustrations. It is because some details of his art were at the edge of the panels which in turn were seen to be near the spine of the book.

The spell done on the 1st case, which was written in Baybayin like characters, could have been better if it was an actual word written in Baybayin.

A typo can also be seen on Case 3, in the scene where Oriol is in the bathtub.

The Verdict:

This comic is a gem that stands among the great number of komiks the Philippines has produced. The "Trese universe" presents to us fresh eyes of what our Philippine mythology creatures could be doing in our present time. An investigation of the paranormal world is unleashed in this cases.

Tan and Kajo paints the Philippine society as a society that has not changed despite the advancement in technology. Despite our history being slightly touched, such as the Bukidnon Massacre and the Great Binondo Fire, the same injustices and inequalities remains the same to this day.

This comic book is heading towards a great future. Trese shines brightly like the first star that you would see at night.

"But these aswang are the blood thirsty and stupid kind."

More information about the Trese comic can be seen at:

http://tresekomix.blogspot.com

 

* Breakdown of Rating:

★☆☆☆☆ -

★★☆☆☆ -

★★★☆☆ -

★★★★☆ - Case 1, Case 2, Case 3

★★★★★ - Case 4

Book News: Budjette Tan Reveals Upcoming Trese Books

Looks like fans of the comic book Trese are going to have a blast this year 2021, as we all wait for the release of its Netflix adaptation.

Tan teases us multiple times in his social media accounts regarding Trese books not yet released to the public.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Budjette Tan (@budjette)

In Tan's recent post in his Instagram account, all future Trese books that will be released by both Avenida, a local publisher, and Ablase, an international publisher.

Avenida is seen to have new edition of Trese Book 1: Murder In Balete Drive, Trese Bloodlines Volume 1 and Trese Postcard Book 1. Unreleased yet to the public are Trese Bloodlines Volume 2, Trese Postcard Book 2, new editions of Trese Books 2-7, and Trese Book 8, titled "Whatever Something Shadow".

Ablaze is seen here with the released international edition of Trese Book 1. Unreleased books yet are international editions of Trese Book 2: Unreported Murders and Trese Book 3: Mass Murder.

2021 is indeed a year for Trese books as they reach to a more global audience.

Book News: Trese's Book Releases for 2020 and 2021

 

Budjette Tan made a huge announcement for Trese fans as he revealed upcoming books that we should watch out for.

The first one is a new series titled BLOODLINES. It is an anthology set in the Trese universe which would probably tackle Trese's other family relatives. The first volume would include stories by David Hontiveros, John Amor, Brian Balondo, Mark Gatela, Marvin del Mundo, Brandie Tan, and Jb Tapia. It will also include a new story from Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo. This is set to be launched this December 2020.

The second volume of BLOODLINES will be a treat for the fans since it will include stories solicited from readers. Selected stories will be drawn by Kajo Baldisimo. This is set to be released in 2021.

Another treat that will be coming out in 2021 is the Avenida Edition of Trese Books 1, 2 and 3. It is said to contain new artworks and additional pages that will further expand the stories of each arc.

The Trese volume definitely keeps on expanding to our wonder and amazement.

More information about the Avenida Edition of Trese books can be seen at:

Facebook Page: "Avenida Books"

Trese Books 2021 Update:

Book News: Budjette Tan Reveals Upcoming Trese Books

Anthology: Trese: Stories from the Diabolical ~ Volume 1

Story by: Budjette Tan

Illustration by: KaJo Baldisimo

VISPRINT
(5/5 ★★★★★)

 

This is one of the main reasons why I attended Aklatan 2013. It was one of the three books being launched by Visprint Publication. This is a treat that Budjette and KaJo has given to us in anticipation for the release of the 6th book of the Trese series.

Budjette, before starting his signing of the Trese books of fans, said a few words. He mentioned that this book, Trese: Stories from the Diabolical Volume 1, came about after receiving so many requests from the fans of the Trese series. They requested to have the stories that were put up in the website (www.diabolical13.blogspot.com) to be published in print after one story from the said website made its appearance in the Trese 6 Preview comic, which was released last Summer Komikon 2013. The story that was made part of the preview was "The Choir", which was also included in this book. The book contains 5 stories which are titled: "One Last Drink at the Diabolical", "The Usual Spot", "The Last Full Show", "The Choir", and "Coffee Black".

In here KaJo used a different style to illustrate some scenes in the story. As I had come to know, the artist used watercolor this time instead of having the usual sketching that he does for the Trese comics. He also did an interesting thing on the story "Coffee Black" in which the art is comparable to the abstract paintings you would usually see in coffee shops. The stories was written and edited really neatly by Budjette, knowing that there were some minor grammatical and typographical errors that can be seen on the ones uploaded on the website. These side stories, or as some would term them as supplemental stories for the Trese series, especially the story "One Last Drink at the Diabolical", are really nice to be read as they give us a wider perspective of the world of Trese. Since that story is clearly seen to be a prelude to the very first case of the Trese series. The end of that story signaled the beginning of the story "Case 1: At the Intersection of Balete and 13th Street". The other stories, even though they are not in direct correlation to any cases of the Trese stories that are published as of now, nevertheless are still equally good. The stories "The Usual Spot" and "Coffee Black" are short stories about love, in which I find the former story to have a more interesting love story. "The Last Full Show", on the other hand, tells of an interesting life being proposed to the elderly. This is by being able to have a moment to see a part of your life which you would like to reminisce before deciding if the experiences he or she had gone thru is already enough or satisfying. On the other hand, "The Choir" is a great Christmas story perfect for the coming Christmas season.

Overall, Budjette and Kajo gave us a treat by releasing this book. It really is a nice goodie while we await the release of the 6th book about the 6th child of the 6th child of Trese in the Winter Komikon 2013

More stories from the diabolical can be seen at:

www.diabolical13.blogspot.com

More of Trese at:

www.tresecomics.com

Facebook Page: "Trese Comics"

Comics: Trese 6 (Preview)

Story by: Budjette Tan

Illustration by: KaJo Baldisimo

Alamat Comics
(5/5 ★★★★★)

Even though this is just a preview for the next installment of Trese 6, Budjette and KaJo gives us a short comic that is still worth to hold on until the complete one is released. In this preview, we are introduced to the same stuff, Manila's surroundings and its problems with the paranormal, however, we are finally given a glimpse of one of Alexandra Trese's brothers. Carlos Trese is presented here in which the underworld knows of him as "The Verdugo" and to some as "Uno the Hunter". 

His character is introduced finally here after just a few notations of him in the previous cases in the Trese series. In this preview, I can sense that a huge plot awaits us. A big battle may be emerging in this 6th book. I'm guessing it being the 6th book, a huge plot will be brought upon us in connection to Alexandra being the 6th child of the 6th child. Well with this story as a glimpse into that book, one thing will be sure and that is that many surprises awaits us in Trese 6.

Among other things in the preview of the 6th book, I just noticed a minor error. On page B of the preview, in the frame wherein JanJan's cellphone screen is shown. I think that the last message might have been from her teacher, thus it being a message which she received, it should have been placed in the left side and not on the right. Well it's just one thing that I had observed and I may be wrong about its placement, but hey its still a good read.

 

An interesting addition to this preview can be found on the back side of the comic. The Trese creators has managed to give us two stories by its inclusion of "Stories from the Diabolical." The story is presented thru Hank's character on how and what the "Diabolical" encounters daily. The story presented here is entitled "The Choir" which talks about a man in the denim jacket, a new customer of the Diabolical, and the strange experiences he has been getting lately in his aunt's apartment. He says that he was always woken up in the wee hours of the night by kids singing "Silent Night". This continued for nights with the number of kids increasing but as soon as he steps out of the gate to give them money for their beautiful voice in caroling they just disappear.

Well it was nice for Budjette and KaJo to also have made this story printed. The story "The Choir" apparently was actually put up online on December 24, 2008 with Elbert Or back then to do the illustrations. It would be nice for them to have these stories compiled up and be printed for avid fans of the Trese comics.

For the Trese fans out there, well done if you managed to get this preview. I can say that this will be a great addition to our collection. Kudos to Sir Budjette and KaJo for opening us to Trese's world. We, Trese and soon to be Trese fans, awaits for the release of Trese 6 and maybe if possible we can have a copy or a preview of the shortfilm Trese: Case One that was made by a group of DLSU students as their thesis film. Well it would be great if there were a CD copy. Hoping that all of us would be able to see it on the next Komikon.

Note: Some of the images were taken from the net, while the others were just a photo from my copy since I couldn't find them uploaded on the internet.

More information about the Trese Comic can be seen at:

www.tresekomix.blogspot.com

More stories from the diabolical can be seen at:

www.diabolical13.blogspot.com