ABANGAN: The Best Philippine Komiks 2014

I read this book for two reasons: I support creators of stories written in short form – artists who commit to direct storytelling without sacrificing content and emotion; and I always wish I can live through the days when kids hold Komiks and not tablets.

It is for these reasons that I had the newest Komiks book in town, ABANGAN: The Best Philippine Komiks 2014. It is a worthy collection of the best* Filipino modern Komiks as adjudged by four experienced Komiks editors.

* I cannot justify why they are the best in the country because I haven’t read all Komiks in circulation. Also, I’m sure there are a lot of other artists whose works remain in notebooks because they lack the opportunity and connections. To support my claim, even the editors noted that “almost all of the Komikeros included are from Metro Manila, and that majority of them are hetero-normative males.”

Going straight to the point, I wish to extend my praises to the standouts in this collection:

The Populars. The inclusion of Budjette Tan and Kajo Balidismo’s TRESE: THIRTEEN STATIONS in this collection is not a surprise for me. The story shares how Alexandra Trese chased a clan of Aswang (ghosts) that is responsible for a series of murder which happened in various MRT stations. The creators mixed Filipino mythology (Aswang, and goddess of death – their version of “Kamatayan”) with socio-political narrative – a combination I’m sure would appeal to readers who are either looking for mere entertainment or a good case study in literature/sociology courses. This story will never go outdated because of its formula and I also won’t forget it because it’s the same story included in the short-story collection “Manila Noir.”

(To Tan and Balidismo, I hope you’d be kind enough to share a different excerpt in another collection next time. Thanks!)

Meanwhile, Paolo Fabregas’ FILIPINO HEROES LEAGUE VOLUME 2 is another pleasant treat. Fabregas successfully modernized the retelling of Martial Law for younger readers who probably don’t have any idea why they don’t have classes a day in February and August each year. He also represented the masang Pilipino through fictional superheroes as they save the country from authoritarianism. If Fabregas continues doing this amid all the political events that change Philippine bureaucracy, I’m sure he won’t run out of stories to tell and Komiks to publish. Good for you, man! Please continue killing the Barong Lords and making heroes out of commoners.

Legitimately Good Reads. One of the main challenges Komiks face is relevance for the digital, younger readers. (In local context, hirap silang lumaban sa mga katulad ng “Diary ng Panget,” “She’s Dating the Gangster,” and a whole shelf of PSICOM young adult novels from Wattpad).

Having said that, my favorite in the collection is Russell Molina and Ian Sta. Maria’s SIXTY-SIX. Here’s why: As the title suggests, the Komiks features a 66 year old man who takes care of his wife who is suffering from dementia (or amnesia), and communicates with his unica hija who is working abroad. Later on it was revealed that the man is actually living alone and still has issues with her partner’s accidental death. Molina and Sta. Maria didn’t seem to be bothered by the problem I just mentioned above. They just approached storytelling anew using old characters in an old medium which for me is genuinely brave and artistic.

In addition, Emiliana Kampilan’s DEAD BALAGTAS seems like the funnier version of Lourd de Veyra’s “History” on TV 5. Kampilan bastardizes our history and heroes in each of her strips. For Kampilan, the Japanese army killed Doraemon and Nobita when they travelled back to the Philippines in 1942, Jose Rizal replaced Doña Teodoro’s eyes with electrocuting goggles, and the US government failed to bribe Melchora Aquino with a McDonald’s happy meal. I don’t care if these are not true; I just support Kampilan’s fearless versions of our history and I wish my history teachers entertained me that much as well.

Meanwhile, Carlorozy’ DARWIN’S ASSOCIATION OF DELICIOUS EVILNESS brings us inside a child’s mind as he struggles to play his role as a student and his aspiration to be a superhero. Add to the complexity of his story is an everyday encounter with school bullies and his attempt to being badass like them. Darwin is hero and villain combined; his mind is violent, complex, and miserable but his evilness effortlessly solicits frequent laughs-out-loud.

Short, Sweet Selections. Noel Pascual and AJ Bernardo’s CRIME FIGHTING CALL CENTER AGENTS contains few dialogues but highly entertains as well. Just try to imagine what a simple handshake means when a former call center agent passes through his teammates and they introduce him to their new supervisor – akward! Egos reach the universe as the characters stare at each other while gripping the other’s hand. Truly an epic meet up!

Meanwhile, JB Palabon’s PUSO NEGRO is also one of the funniest selections in ABANGAN as it shares how one tactless man can endanger innocent civilians. In three pages, Palabon invites readers to sit in the middle of his jeepney and watch as the passengers experience crazy turn of events. Palabon’s story will surely capture a lot of Pinoy readers especially those who has, in one way or another, had an unpleasant jeepney ride.

Rob Cham and Petra Magno’s SPOOKY TALES OF THE HERE AND NOW presents the problems of millennials who are heavily reliant on social media. I thank Cham and Magno for visualizing some of my pet peeves online. On another hand, While Rob Cham and Auti Nones didn’t create the strips in COMICS, they did a fine job of selecting the funnier sounding punch lines in stories from Garfield, Archie, Casey, Kelvin and Snobbes, and Fancy.

Reading ABANGAN is a pleasant break from my usual novel-memoir-essays book selection. I enjoyed the experience of reading a book made of Komiks by Filipino writers who are not yet in the mainstream scene (except for Manix Abrera and the makers of the first two I mentioned above). I will continue to support them and I hope I can be exposed to more local Komiks in the future.

Just to mention, my father, an artist by his own credentials, would always light up when sharing his childhood stories spent with Komiks. He used to trade Komiks with his friends, and they also read them together in the UTMT (under the mango tree). I know that Komiks has influenced my father’s artistry and for that alone, I think I owe this medium some sense of gratitude. I know that I have to pick it up from the shelf and let strangers know that Komiks still exist.

Komiks are the “memes“ of the past, only a lot entertaining, socially relevant, and sensibly humorous.

That’s it for now. Thank you for reading. In the meantime, I have to turn my attention to the next books on my reading list and as the title goes – aABANGAN ko nalang ang 2015 collection.