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.

Comics: Tibok ng Utak ~ Blg. 4: Jomari Angeles

Story by: Jomari Angeles

Illustrated by: Manix Abrera

National Book Development Board
(3/5 ★★★☆☆)

This is another freebie to the early birds of Komikon 2014. Limited copies were given away by the NBDB (National Book Development Board).

The Plot:

It is a short poemish look on Jomari Angeles' experiences as an actor and how he handles that profession.

The Good:

The nice illustrations made by Abrera has given life to Angeles' poem styled story.

The author has also made an interesting style of conveying that story through a repetition of words.

The Bad:

Later on, the uniqueness in the style it was written wears off and this becomes a simple story that just plays with words.

The Verdict:

Story wise it is a big no for me. So far it bears Manix's name that makes people want to collect this. Add in the fact that limited number of copies exists. It is mostly a collector's item for fans of Manix

Guides: Reviewing One Mantra's 2014: Top 5 Filipino Comics

2014 was proven to be an exciting year for the local comic industry. As local publishers slowly have their eyes on the potential of comics and the readership for it. One Mantra tried to review some of the local comics out there whether they were published or "indies".

This is a look back at our reviews for 2014 as we list our top 5 recommendations amongst those who deserve to be part of our readings this 2015.

5th: Precinto 13 ~ Calling The Parents Of A Little Girl In A Blue Dress by Budjette Tan and Atan (Alamat Comics)

In anticipation for the release of the 6th book of the Trese series, Budjette Tan gave us a nice appetizer with a Precinto 13 story. This short story deals with a nice lesson aimed much more to parents than their kids. This is a nice snack as we waited for our Christmas gift from the creators of Trese. Those who went to Summer Komikon 2014 were lucky enough to be able to get copies of this nice treat.

4th: Dark Side ~ Book 1 by Ron Mendoza and Erwin Arroza (Black Ink Comics)

One way to catch a Filipino's attention is a nice mystery story. Add some elements of detective work and paranormal activities and you are bound to have an audience listening to you. I guess you're thinking of a black and white Visprint comic book, but I'm actually referring to a book from Black Ink Comics. The Dark Side is a nice deviation to a girl babaylan warrior that Visprint made us accustomed to. In contrast to the babaylan warrior, the cast in this story are three NBI agents who are known as the Shadowcatchers. They are an interesting group as they solve a missing person's case that involves a love affair with a vampire in this book. A little more creative world development from Ron Mendoza could be the start of a following for this series if it was continued to be done excellently.

3rd: School Run ~ Parts 6 & 7 by Macoy

This is a story of a group of students stuck in the middle of the road with zombies and time as their enemy. At first, it already sounds boring since it looks like a typical zombie story. However, School Run differs a bit from the zombie transformation by adding a critical element to it. This is by becoming a zombie if he/she fails to take the anti-zombie medicine regularly. It's just like your daily dose of vitamins. However, its goodbye to your zombie virus controlled free body once you miss a pill. In these 2 latest issues of School Run, it has left a lot of its readers in sadness as one main character is given a head shot while another one is awaiting a similar fate. The simplicity of the illustrations of this series makes it safe to be read by younger kids and at the same time give adults a reason to be hooked to it.

2nd: 12 Silent Comics by Manix Abrera (Visprint)

There's always an assurance that we'll have a good time reading a graphic novel imprinted with a Rak en Rol! Quality sign. An artist that lives up to a challenge, Manix Abrera gives us this comics that doesn't have any dialogues in it. Despite its absence, these 12 stories can still make any reader feel a lot of emotions especially with the last story that could make a tear shed from the eye. This ambitious project of Manix nonetheless lands a good spot on our list.

1st: Zombinoy ~ Issue 1 by Geonard Yleana (Pelikomiks Studios)

Getting tired of the zombie genre? How about holding off that thought of skipping this comic. Even though the zombie apocalypse never ceases to be around in all sorts of medium these days, Zombinoy gives you an enjoyable ride. Have the story to take place in the Philippines. Now, add in the twist that it is in the early days of the zombie apocalypse and it is confined to the Luzon island of the country. Then pitch in the good use of each panels, the well thought dialogues and the great character development. All of those makes this 1st issue of Zombinoy on our top list. The creative team behind this series had remarkably stood up to the challenge of creating a comic with that cinematic feel. Eating with a popcorn in hand while reading this Pelikomiks Studios' comic works fine as you are brought in to a future Manila populated with zombies.

2014 was a good year of making reviews for One Mantra. We look forward to bring more insights on our local comics this 2015.