REVIEW: A Rebirth After 30 Years of Pugad Baboy in Pugad Baboy XXX

Remember “Ang Hiwaga ng Dueńas”, “Babman”, “Maidnappers”, “The Olongapo Caper”, and “Retraining”? Hardcore Pugad Baboy fans would definitely remember these epic tales back in the 1990s when Pol Medina was the force majeure in the Philippine cartoon strips. Funny, virtually uncompromising, biting sarcasm, oozing with social-political commentaries, and ultimately, Pinoy na Pinoy punchlines! Back in the day, every compilation of Pugad Baboy has a single or two story arcs, but upon volumes 16 to 20, there are many compilations that are, well, just compilations per se. In addition, a new set of Young Turks in Pinoy comic strips rise up to shake the status quo, most noticeably Manix Abrera’s Kikomachine Komix. And, the age of political correctness is upon us, making Pol’s brand of joking slowly but sadly anachronistic to the new generation, plus the fact he left the Philippine Daily Inquirer, transferred to a news website called Rappler, and last March of this year, finally landed in the comics section of the Philippine Star, together with Manix’s fellow contemporary, Lyndon Gregorio’s Beerkada. Worse, last year, for the first time in 29 years, there was no new Pugad Baboy volume released. What happened? I don’t know.

But now, the wait is finally over! Pugad Baboy XXX has finally arrived, and oh my gulay, it’s like reading the Golden Age of Pol Medina comedy! This issue marks the three decades of Pugad Baboy existence, hence the subtitle “30th Anniversary Special”, thanking fans, especially those who live and support through thick and thin of Pol’s (mis)adventures in bringing real (and corny) laughs and socio-political-cultural nitpicking without compromise at all. Unlike volumes X and XX that are larger and thicker, XXX is 103 page long, but the substance is nonetheless superior because Pol gives us an epic story arc plus connecting aftermath stories that demand to reread without being bored at all. I’m about talking “The Returnee” storyline that is one of the longest stories Pol ever made (127 strips) and it harks back to the apex years of Pugad Baboy visual sequential storytelling. To top of all that, Polgas, “ang asong-hindi” and one of the creator’s three avatars, was virtually invisible there. It’s up to fans’ favorite unhinged sinner, “ander-de-saya” and Kapampangan soldier Paul Sabaybunot to fulfill his last two missions before riding off the sunset.

This story has almost all of the elements that made Pol the alpha male comics creator then: excellent quasi-noirish take on the Pinoy soldiery; conspiracy build-up (or I say theorizing) on our current diplomatic and political situations; interesting villain and his/her characterizations; action-packed sequences particularly in the forests of Pampanga and islands of Cebu; intricate and meticulous painstaking details especially in close-ups panels that demand your attention; unexpected twist turns along the way; and most significantly, that wicked humor longtime PB fans sorely miss them. This story marks an important crossroad for the Pugad-verse because another chapter of life (and possible story arcs) has paved way for the PB characters after that arc: Retirement. It has already foreshadowed at the beginning of the book, “Creating Guilt”, in Pol’s other avatar, Adagulfo “Dagul” Sungcal, Jr. Yet, instead of disintegrating into numerous nonsensical stories, “The New Entrepreneurs”, “The Help”, and “Joboy’s Diabetes” continue on that serve as the aftermaths, if not the consequences, of the main narrative. There, including the first part, Pol’s irreverence and unhinged-ness towards political correctness, blatant hypocrisies of these so-called moralists, and of course, politics and pop culture are definitely pure Pol’s, including his self-loathing deprecation even it’s borderline corny already.

Since XXX is an anniversary book, it has special features. The most prominent of these is Pol’s announcement of his upcoming second graphic novel entitled Blood Of The Shinobi, a more than two decades-in-the-making PB spin-off. From the looks of it, it will sure to surpass Pol’s first graphic (but emotionally heavy one) Pirata. The pencils are already topnotch, what more when it’s colored…CAN’T. WAIT!

Yes, this book has its share of flaws. Some minor typos if you look so closely. Two pages of repetitive “polgastrology” (most annoying, really). And, this is Pugad Baboy, bawal ang mga balat sibulayas, ok?

Nevertheless, Pugad Baboy XXX is the true rebirth of Pol Medina as a visual storyteller. He finally gets his creative mojos back, fusing the regale and the whining brand of comedic deliveries. The annoying Rappler-PB years are now erased (these volumes are the dark years of PB, waste of paper, if not monies). The long line in this year’s summer Komikon is the true indicator of Pol’s rejuvenation. Hopefully, his newfound hunger continues!

Reviewed by Christian Paul Ramos