This demon-haunted world
We recommend The Dark Colony: Book 1, Mikey Recio and The Secret of The Demon Dungeon by Budjette Tan (story/script), Bow Guerrero (art/story), and J.B. Tapia (script/story). It’s got an ancient secret society, a plot that conflates adolescent turbulence and paranormal phenomena (Buffy!), medieval weaponry, and yes, demons.
The comics introduce the protagonist Mikey, who is disgruntled because he has to spend Good Friday driving his Lolo when he could be frolicking on the beach with his friends. There is definitely no frolicking on this school holiday, unless your definition of frolicking involves malign beings from the chasms of hell. (That’s not a metaphor, we mean literal malign beings.) The short story is presented as an archival case file that takes the reader into the mythology of the Dark Colony.
The writing is crisp and engaging, the illustrations clean and elegant. The tension begins right on the first panel and continues till the final page. As an over-reader we were disturbed by what we thought were clerico-fascist bits in the story, but then we don’t have the whole story yet (For more clerico-fascism, read the news). We’re looking forward to the next issue…which we hope won’t take a year.
The Dark Colony: Book 1, Mikey Recio and The Secret of The Demon Dungeon is available in bookstores.
Another comics staple: Superheroes. Vigilantes with extraordinary powers, they exist outside the criminal justice system. How do you know they’re on your side? Watch this short by Marcus Alqueres, via Dangerous Minds.
The Flying Man from Marcus Alqueres on Vimeo.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
July 12th, 2013 at 16:52
I have to check this out.
For one, I am in dire need of my comics fix since I dropped DC with its abhorrent New 52 relaunch a couple of years ago (and I don’t really collect Marvel except “Thor” and “Spider-man” back in the late 80s/early 90s – I do enjoy the Marvel movies, however). The only thing new I’ve bought from the “foreign” industry is Buffy Season 9, and even that I’m buying in TPBs so they are few and far in-between.
For another, I discovered Budjett’s “Trese” only about last year or early this year, and it is awesome.
I think “Trese” should be at least a movie… but better still, an ongoing weekly TV series ala Buffy. Of course, local filmmakers might ruin it like they did the ZsaZsa Zaturnnah film adaptation (which was basically neutered, no pun intended). Still, a well-made adaptation of “Trese” could be awesome because we don’t really have anything of this sort in the local film/TV scene, and it will be a welcome break from all the soap operas.
If “Dark Colony” is anything like “Trese” in terms of quality, then I will definitely get it. Thanks for the heads-up!
July 13th, 2013 at 11:56
Budjette Tan’s on the roll! I will definitely buy at least 7 copies (as gifts, naturally).
July 26th, 2013 at 05:25
nice. Thanks for the pointer. allancarreon try Brian K. Vaugn’s Saga.
July 29th, 2013 at 21:51
Finally got a copy of Dark Colony, and it IS good. I wonder if somewhere down the line it will crossover with Trese.
Incidentally, I finally got Trese 5 also, and it is intriguing now that Budjette is setting up Trese’s archenemy, the Madame (I wonder if Imelda will ever read this and what she would think), as well as possible love interest, Maliksi (previously introduced as the Tikbalang prince who likes to assume human form). Half-horse love interest: cue dirty jokes here.
I also got the urge to buy Paolo Fabregas’ The Filipino Heroes League, Books One and Two, and am about to read them. Hopefully these are also good.
giancarlo: I’ll look for those. Good thing is, Neil Gaiman is returning with a new Sandman mini-series this October. Grant Morrison is also finally doing All-Star Wonder Woman. As these are independent of New 52, I will definitely get them and believe they will not suck.