Six komiks I liked from summer Komikon
by rick olivares
Just like that, the Summer
Komikon is done. It was another fun day as both a fan and an exhibitor to be
among people with similar tastes.
Some things that were pretty
popular…
Stickers! Fetching for a low as
PhP10, these were a hit with fans.
Freebies! It seems that selling
your komiks isn’t enough. Freebies such as postcards, bookmarkers, stickers, or
pin-ups add to a good buy.
There weren’t a lot of new
releases but here are six books that I picked up and liked:
Tales from the Kingdom of Tundo #1 (story and art by Mark Del Rosario)
A dark fantasy story in the
mythical kingdom of Tundo that was once ruled by Lakan Bunao Dula who forged an
alliance of sorts with the world’s mythical creatures. He wakes up some time
later as an amnesiac. In the midst of a battle with some kapres, he learns his
identity. But that is just the beginning of the mystery.
Not since the late Nick Manabat
have I seen a n artists use a lot of dark and heavy inks. But it does suit this
dark fantasy.
Ellie: An Inktober Story (story and art by Patrick Concepcion)
A thirty-four page black and
white stand-alone piece. For fans of Michael Cho’s Shoplifter or even Craig
Thompson’s work (and Concepcion’s style is reminiscent of the latter). It’s a
mundane story but the art is really fetching.
Mono Kuro: The Windless Valley (story and art by CY Vendivil)
For fans of anthropomorphic
stories, Stan Sakai’s Usagi Yojimbo, David Petersen’s Mouseguard, and Jeff
Smith’s Bone. The fourth issue in the adventures of Momiji, a fluffy-tailed
rabbit swordsman sworn to protect the world. Thus far, all the stories in this
series are silent stories with the reader left to figure out things. In this
story, Momiji stands guard at the gate and holds fast against demons.
Interesting stuff. I think that that the story needs a very good inker.
BGMBYN (story by Reginald Tolentino with art by Jap Mikel)
Not a comic per se but an
illustrated story of an alternate history set in 1896 when Philippine insurgents
battle the Spanish empire. Good stuff. The art is reminiscent of Matthew
Reynolds who did excellent work on Image Comics’ short-lived adventure series,
“The Mercenary Sea”.
Bawal Mamatay: May Tumawid Na Rito (by Toto Madayag)
The latest collection of works by
cartoonist Toto Madayag and his satirical look at life. In this follow up to
“P’Cha, E ‘DI Komiks”, Madayag offers his own take on social media humor and
memes.
The Nivene Assumption (story and art by Nib Santos)
When Nivene’s dog, Graeme, utters
a word to her, the young lass must figure out if she is going crazy or if
there’s another purpose to her life akin to an animal whisperer. If you like
Marguerite Bennett and Rafael de Latorre’s “Animosity’. Chapter one of an
ongoing series.
