Comics: Tarantadong Kalbo ~ Volume 2

Illustration and Story by: Kevin Eric Raymundo

Komiket Inc.

(5/5 ★★★★★)

"Nagkagulo sa bakuna, nag-agawan ng itlog, nagkanaw ng dalgona, nagmahalan ang mga baboy, naghabulan ng jetski, nagtulungan sa mga pantry, at tumindig para sa bayan. Ito ang koleksyon ng mga komiks ni Tarantadong Kalbo sa unang parte ng 2021, ang sequel sa pinakamasagwang taon nating lahat."

The Good:

An update of the current sociopolitical events of the Philippines is presented in this 2nd book of Tarantadong Kalbo. Government response against the COVID-19 pandemic are best illustrated in the strips Distancing, 'La Pa, Variant, and Dance Shield Revolution. Even the public's perception of living with this virus are potrayed in Quick Group Pic and Conyo Mask [with Conyo Wings].

Trese's adaptation as a Netflix series was celebrated in several strips here such as Represent and Santelmo and Outta Nowhere.

The best editorial cartoons in this compilation is Saglit. This four panel strip will really knock at your heart.

The Bad:

This only captures half of the events that occurred in the year 2021. A 2nd book of 2021 compilation is expected to appear in the 3rd volume.

The Verdict:

Tarantadong Kalbo's comic strips show the Filipino life through the usage of 90s pop culture references to depict the drama in our everyday local politics.

An addition of quick news bites through Balitangero was amazing. On the other hand, Inuman Sessions: Historical Distortion provides us an educational material that discusses historical distortion and historical revisionism.

Tarantadong Kalbo Volume 2's best and most tearjerker work so far is the four panel Saglit that reflects the pandemic situation of the Philippines during the COVID-19 Delta Variant surge.

He can be seen at:

Facebook Page: Tarantadong Kalbo

Twitter: @KevinKalbo

 

Comics: Tonio Tikbalang ~ Volume 2

BIC0075
Illustration and Story by: Jake Vicente

Black Ink Comics

(5/5 ★★★★★)

"Ano sa tingin mo ang mga

problemang hinaharap ng mga

enkanto na nagpapanggap na

tao at ano ang dahilan kung

bakit nila ito ginagawa?

Sundan ang buhay-estudyante

ni Tonio, na isang batang

tikbalang, sa mundo ng mga

tao kasama ang kanyang

kaibigang kapre na si Kanto.

Isang babae ang nakasalubong

nila sa loob ng paaralan pero

iba ang pakiramdam ni Tonio sa

babaeng ito. Isa rin kaya siyang

enkanto?

Sa dami ng mga tao sa loob

ng paaralan, sino-sino kaya

ang mga enkantong

nagpapanggap lang na tao?"

The Plot:

The second volume of Tonio Tikbalang compiles chapters 4-6. The chapters are titled "Itanong mo sa Barbero", "Girl Next Classroom" and "Urband Legend" for chapters 4, 5 and 6 respectively. Chapters 4 and 5 deals with fun facts on our mythological creatures (kapres and sirenas). But in the end, all three chapters continues its job of giving stories that teaches on obedience and to not believe in a gossip unless it is proven to be true.

  

The Good:

Volume 2 of Tonio Tikbalang has an impressive look as a Filipino manga. The illustrations have improved in comparison to volume 1. Every space was adequately utilized.

Jake Vicente continues his great job in this 2nd volume of Tonio Tikbalang. The stories continue to impart good character to its readers while teaching some fun facts on our kapres and sirenas.

The Bad:

The cover looks more of a draft compared to the art inside. Both the front and back cover could use more of the art style done inside the comic book.

The Verdict:

Tonio Tikbalang's volume 2 shows how a Filipino manga would look like if it is bombarded with our locals (kapres and sirenas).

A few more of this volumes and Jake Vicente would have already given to us his own version of Doraemon stories. Instead of a bullied kid that has a cat, from the future, help him in everyday situations as they learn the basic lessons of life, Tonio Tikbalang differs in such that the Philippine mythological creatures are the ones who teaches us life's lessons on how to be a human who cares and shows respect to everyone.

A must read especially to school aged kids.

More of the creator's works can be seen at:

Facebook Page: "Estranger"

More of Black Ink Comics can be seen at:

Facebook Page: "Black Ink Comics"

Twitter: @BlackInkComics

Comics: Skyworld ~ Volume 2

Story by: Mervin Ignacio

Illustrated by: Ian Sta. Maria

Edited by: Budjette Tan

Rated: For Mature Readers

Alamat Comics

National Book Store Inc.

(5/5 ★★★★★)

"Every legend hides a lie

The Queen of the Asuang and her legion

have taken over the country

Alexandra Trese leads the resistance

along-side Makabo, a Tikbalang warrior,

and Kaio, a Duwende trickster.

Trapped in their epic battle is Andoy,

a teenage boy tasked with uniting an army

of Tikbalang, Enkanto, Kapre and Duwende

against, the Asuang.

But before he can lead them, he must

first recover a mystical sword

that was once part of

the fabled Yamashita Treasure."

The Good:

No doubt the story and the illustrations remains to be great and even better in this 2nd volume of Skyworld. The creators of Skyworld took us even further as we were reintroduced to familiar stories and characters. Stories re-envisioned through their own retelling, like the 40 days and 40 nights of flood story and the story of Malakas and Maganda were appealing enough to make you forget how they were originally told. We were also given a treat as famous individuals, such as the U.S. President Barrack Obama and General Tomoyuki Yamashita, makes an appearance.

Crossovers of characters from other Alamat comics continue to persist as Kadasig joins the team of Andoy in battling Rianka in Manila.

Every panel was great to read since none of them bear any text that was near to the spine of the book.

The Bad:

I'm not sure if this is a typo or it was written as such but on page 30 it can be seen that it says, "It was Treses's idea to evacuate everyone here when war broke out." It may appear that it does not only refer to Alexandra Trese but it could also allude to her brothers as well. It would have been mind blowing to see the creators of Skyworld do a crossover of all the Trese siblings in this story.

The Verdict:

The third and fourth books, Prodigal and Requiem respectively, in volume 2 of Skyworld brings all their game for the conclusion of the story in Rianka's takeover of the Philippines. An exhausting climax, unforeseeable twists, a last minute suspense and the surprise ending, the creators of Skyworld has indeed created their own Philippine legend with this book.

One of the Philippine's finest graphic novel that tackles very well our culture, from our legends up to our history. Skyworld takes us to a journey wherein stories we had heard and read from our childhood are revisited and re-imagined. Ignacio and Sta. Maria has indeed created a masterpiece that will be among those that will be cited if your looking for a great Philippine comic book.

"Imagine if you can - hordes of asuang, prowling the streets of Tokyo, climbing the Eifel tower, walking up the White House lawn!" 

More of Skyworld can be seen at:

Facebook Page: "Skyworld"

The illustrator can be seen on:

http://iantoy.deviantart.com