Comics: The Mythology Class

2nd Edition

Illustration and Story by: Arnold Arre

Nautilus Comics

(5/5 ★★★★★)

(Cover C "Nicole-Kubin Cover")

"Summoned to a secret gathering one stormy night by the mysterious Mrs. Enkanta, Nicole finds herself face to face with tikbalangs, kapres, and all sorts of engkantos - new found friends, she embarks on a quest into the realm of myth and folklore where she fights alongside heroes of her childhood against an age-old terror. Follow in their footsteps as their adventure takes them through the familiar streets of Metro Manila and into a world more fascinating than they had ever imagined."

The Good:

This comic opens our Philippine pre-hispanic era for discovery.

A cast of college students, old aged teachers and a familiar yet a new and extraordinary view of the local mythology, the story introduces us once again to those familiar tales. A time before the battle of Mactan took place. The era where the gods of nature took reign and the enkantos were still believed to be true by many.

The story has a lot of good points. One of those were certain conversations written using the baybayin alphabet. The use of this alphabet opens our eyes to the rich culture that our ancestors had.

References to Ibalon warriors, Alunsina, Bantugan, and the kris weapon were effectively used here. A new object known as the Narra tablet seems original to the ears. It's like a different version of the Code of Kalantiaw wherein instead of laws, stories about mythological creatures are the ones written on it by Bantugan.

Other references included Francisco Balagtas' Adarna bird, Francisco Coching's Pedro Penduko and a Philippine Legendary book, whom I think was a nod to some of Arre's source material.

The illustrations of this comic book goes hand in hand with the story perfectly. The distinction between reality and dream sequences were beautifully executed.

A couple of splash pages and the two-page spreads intensified a lot of the scenes. The best splash page would be the Aswang Reborn and Tikbalang Drift illustrations. They command a huge scene for the story. However, the most rewarding picture would be the two-page spread of the Monument of Batch 2000. It gives off that feeling of graduation even though the class only took 4 months.

Each design really played homage to our past. The most interesting design that Arre had created for this story would be his take of our local hieroglyphic type of drawings. These design may make you wonder of an early Egyptian type of culture, minus the pyramids and the giant sphinx of course!

The Bad:

The worse thing that occurred in this comic book is that the story has to end.

The Verdict:

The Mythology Class takes us to a ghost busters type of story, wherein capturing a couple of escaped enkantos were needed to be done before the morning class starts.

Mrs. Enkanta, Nicole and the rest of the group will truly be a memorable adventure that Arre has luckily invited us to join.

A story written more than a decade ago, the class always feels new and old. It's an adventure that Bathala calls all of us to accept.

So call on the others, for Mrs. Enkanta, Nicole and the rest of the group are just waiting for the story of our ancestors be told.

"Promise me never to forget those stories. Maybe someday you might find yourself in one of them." - Nicole's Grandfather

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Penlab: "The Mythology Class"