Comics: Si Janus Silang at Ang Tiyanak ng Tabon

Adapted by: Carljoe Javier

Illustration by: Natasha Ringor

Anino Comics

(2/5 ★★☆☆☆)

"Ang akala ni Janus,

pangkaraniwang laro lang

ang TALA Online.

Sunod-sunod ang pagbabago sa buhay niya

matapos ang kahindik-hindik na pangyayari

sa RPG tournament na sinalihan niya.

Pero nang matuklasan niya

ang tunay na kaugnayan ng larong ito

sa alamat ng Tiyanak ng Tabon,

wala na siyang magawa

kundi ipagpatuloy ang paglalaro!"

The Good:

The cover of the book was wonderful. The layout was also neat. The smooth illustrations of the main story in contrast from the TALA online game was nice to be seen visualized in this book.

The Bad:

The story was poorly adapted from the source material. Several details have been omitted to give space due to the illustrations and restriction of the number of pages. An example was the huge trust that Janus immediately gives to a stranger he has just met online. It was also strange for Renzo to speak about the same experience of almost being taken away by a Tiyanak like creature just like what happened to Janus' father. It was peculiar since Janus never disclosed that information prior to Renzo's recounting of his experience.

The news report was also inconsistent. Initially it was reported that the deaths at the Malakas internet cafe shop was an addition to the total number of deaths of children who died after playing an online game. This is in contrast to Mang Joey's narrative to Janus as he tells him that the deaths that occurred at the Malakas internet cafe shop was not the first case since earlier cases were overshadowed by bigger news reports.

Further improvements to the illustrations are suggested. It would have been better to have 2 different art styles whenever the story focuses on the present and whenever it shifts back to the olden stories regarding the tales of Tiyanak and Tala.

The background also needs refinement. The sharpness of the edge of the corners of the house or the cabinet as an example doesn't quite work to be pleasant to the eyes. Also, the bird's eye view of a character looking up needs to be polished. The eyes of the character was drawn looking to be cross-eyed (exotropia) on page 46.

In some panels, the story and art does not convey the same message. Such is the moment wherein Janus is playing TALA  at home while Mang Joey and Renzo faces a Do-ol. The message of Mang Joey from the speech balloon doesn't match with what appears on Janus' cellphone. It also gives a misconception that Mang Joey has telepathy in contrast to cyberkinesis or technopathy that was explained in the novel.

The Verdict:

Janus Silang is a great young adult series created by Edgar Samar. However, this comic book adaptation does not seem to be at par with the novel.

It does not give enough hype for new readers to pick up the source material or the next book in the series if this is the starting book.

It's best to recommend the first novel to the new reader of the series before introducing them to this comic book adaptation.

Comics: Anino Comics Komikon 2015 (Preview)

Ang Subersibo

by: Jose Rizal

Adopted by: Adam David

Illustrated by: Mervin Malonzo

(2/5 ★★☆☆☆)

Si Janus Silang at Ang Tiyanak ng Tábon

by: Edgar Calabia Samar

Adopted by: Carljoe Javier

Illustrated by: Natasha Ringor

(5/5 ★★★★★)

In preparation for Komikon 2015, Anino Comics printed out a 6 pages preview of Ang Subersibo and the manga adaptation of Edgar Calabia Samar's Si Janus Silang at Ang Tiyanak ng Tábon. These were given out for free at the October Komiket 2015.

Ang Subersibo is an adaptation of the novels, Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, of Jose Rizal. It was written by Adam David and the illustrations by Mervin Malonzo.

The concept looks promising. However, the first five pages of this preview feels a bit dragging as Rizal introduces us to the story. Then, it left us hanging as we almost got a taste of how close this comic adaptation is to the novels of Rizal. The illustrations were not clear. (Clearly it is just a preview copy after all). But given how awesome Malonzo's illustrations appear on his comic book Tabi Po we could presume that he also did great on this comic.

Si Janus Silang at Ang Tiyanak ng Tábon is a young adult novel written by Edgar Calabia Samar. The manga adaptation of this young adult novel was written by Carl Joe Javier and illustrated by Natasha Ringor. In comparison to the preview of Ang Subersibo, this part has a nicer preview copy. The details of the illustrations are much clearer.

Having personally read the novel from which this manga was adopted from, I could say that the preview was nicely done. Ending on the scene where Janus is suddenly surrounded by dead TALA players would make anyone checking out this teaser wonder as to how the story would go on.

This teaser of Ang Subersibo and the manga adaptation of Si Janus Silang at Ang Tiyanak ng Tábon was a nice surprise from Anino Comics last October Komiket 2015.

The forthcoming Komikon 2015 is sure to be a grand one for Anino Comics as they prepare to release 2 new books. One of these is an adaptation of the famous novels of Rizal while the other one is a manga adaptation of a popular Filipino young adult novel. Anino Comics sure is determined to make their presence known this November 2015.

More information about these two new books from Anino Comics can be seen at:

http://www.adarna.com.ph

Facebook Page: "Anino Comics"

Novels: Si Janus Silang at ang Tiyanak ng Tábon

Story by: Edgar Calabia Samar

Adarna House

(5/5 ★★★★★)

(Cover by Borg Sinaban)

"Sa tournament ng TALA Online

sa bayan ng Balanga,

namatay ang lahat ng manlalaro

maliban kay Janus.

Sunod-sunod pa ang naging kaso ng pagkamatay

ng mga kabataan sa computer shops sa iba't ibang

panig ng bansa. Kinontak si Janus ng nagpakilalang Joey,

isa rin umano sa mga nakaligtas sa paglalaro

ng TALA na gaya niya. Hindi inasahan ni Janus

ang mga matutuklasan niya mula rito na mag-uugnay

sa kaniya sa misteryo ng kinahuhumalingan

niyang RPG - at sa alamat ng Tiyanak mula sa Tábon!"

The Good:

The world building was meticulously done considering a realistic and an online world must be illustrated in order to be able to engage the readers into the world of Janus Silang.

For a young adult series written by a Filipino, the author has managed to give us a different perspective of our world, most especially about our mythological creatures. Creating an RPG (role-playing game) that has an interesting BAT (Bayani-Anito Tandem) concept to overcome different creatures ranging from a lone tiyanak of level 1 up to the diwata of the seven ponds in level 7 of the game. TALA (Terra Anima Legion of Anitos) seems to be really great if this could actually be played in real life as you fight off the legion of the soulless in every level.

This novel never runs out of surprises as some pieces of Philippine history were thrown in to the story. The biggest one was Janus discovering the true story of the Tábon cave in Palawan and the involvement of the tiyanak in all of these deaths.

The Bad:

If there's one thing that I can't understand in this novel, that would be the "dilang-karayom" of the manananggal that is frequently used. It might be an expression originally created by the author for this series but it could be something else altogether. As of the moment, nothing significant can be found in the novel or online regarding this phrase.

If you're using the book 101 Kagila-gilalas na Nilalang, which was also written by Edgar Samar, as a reference to check all the creatures mentioned in the novel, you might want to look for another reference since the Berberoka that appears on level 4 wasn't mentioned on that book.

The Verdict:

This novel will surely drain away the happiness within you as you reach the last pages of the book. A surge of different emotions such as shock, anger, despair and sorrow will be felt as the author left us astonished by the smooth unveiling of the painful truth.

The 1st book of the Janus Silang series will really amaze you from the start up to the very end. A Filipino reader would be really pleased and be proud of having the opportunity to read this excellent work of Edgar Samar. His way of making us vulnerable to be able to also feel the emotions of Janus was astounding. What starts out to be a simple RPG themed story slowly darkens as the author slams right into our face the horrors of the truth that we didn't perceive to be out of place from the very start.

This is a novel that is highly recommended to all, especially to those who are fans of the Harry Potter series. Don't be discouraged if you think the book lack some pages. I'm sure the author is nearly done with the next volumes of this series before the tiyanak discovers what he is doing.

"Babalik ako sa panahong di mo inaasahan para kunin sa iyo ang noon ko pa gustong malaman." - Tiyanak

Book Update: Si Janus Silang at ang Tiyanak ng Tábon Manga Adaptation Launch Date

After launching the 2nd book of the popular young adult series, the Janus Silang series, on the 36th Manila International Book Fair (MIBF), the manga adaptation of the 1st book is currently on its way to Komikon 2015.