Comics: Beloved Engkantado Horrors ~ Issue 1

Illustration and Story by: Motzie Dapul
Project Bayani Imprint
(3/5 ★★★☆☆)

The Plot:

Rio Anderson, 4th heir to the Salvador clan, and Siglo, a tikbalang formerly controlled by a mad sorcerer, were suddenly attacked by a siyokoy tribe who seeks revenge for all the mahiwaga lives that has been lost brought about by the dark tikbalang. 

The Good:

If a growing romance between a human and a tikbalang isn't enough. We are presented with a same sex relationship scenario through the characters of Rio and Siglo.

This kind of relationship isn't touched by most comic book creators, especially comic book creators who tackle topics about our Philippine mythological creatures. This is definitely a new picture being presented to us.

The Bad:

The title was not quite clear on what we should be expecting. A love story? A scary story? Or a mix of a dark and scary kind of love story?

The illustrations could require some improvements. It was also part of the reason why the title isn't quite clear on what we should expect from the story. If it's really a dark story, I hope the atmosphere will illustrate that on the succeeding issues.

In addition, the illustrations need improvement with regards to Rio and the siyokoys. Rio's hair shading was inconsistent in comparison to Siglo, whose jacket was evidently shown all throughout the scenes. For the siyokoys, their appearance looked closer to a bird tribe rather than a water tribe. What I presume are scales on their torso and shoulders appear to look more like feathers. Their overall design would remind me more of birds rather than creatures with scales.

The Verdict:

This is still an interesting comic. A yaoi version of Trese's Alexandra Trese and Maliksi pairing.

With all the engkanto stories that we currently have, Dapul gives us a different take on our mythological creatures, as they embrace a forbidden love that remains to be a taboo in our society.