COMIC BOOK REVIEW: Tibok ng Utak #4

One of the perks of being the early birds in the annual Komikon convention is getting free stuffs, most particularly indie comics. I luckily got Tibok ng Utak #4 (2014) by Jomari Angeles and Manix Abrera. It comprises of exactly twenty pages. Most of these leafs contain one splash art, while two to three panels fill the rest. For the record, this is the first time I got and read this annual series, so I have no exact idea(s) if ever this latest chapter is different (or the same) with the rest.

Don’t let this very thin issue let your guard down. This work demands multiple readings due to its sparse artwork and its less dialogue. As a matter of fact, most singular panels have one word to nothing at all, leaving anything to your imagination and/or interpretation. The title alone is both titillating and tantalizing at first, but after going through this, your other parts of the brain would surely activate and instinctively crying for more readings. Manix Abrera’s artistic trademark delivers once again, never let the fans (and critics alike, I firmly believe) disappoint.

[Check out… LET’S TALK KOMIKS: Manix Abrera’s 14, Ang Komiks Nya na Tahimik]

Similar to his magnum opus 14 (yet), his art does the heavy hitting in conveying a number of subtleties behind the grand picture he and Angeles want to present. The “double” or repetitive words Angeles writes serve only as guides to Manix’s broad artistic spectrum in interpreting the zeitgeist of our own society. We want to be famous, most particularly by becoming actors. Quite indeed, a nameless male figure’s subconscious thinks of becoming one. Yet unlike many of today’s crop of actors, this dude goes beyond show business. Manix and Angeles make sure readers emphasize the true value of reading—the REAL DEAL. I like how the artist hits the nails synthesizing reading comprehension and visualization by having the character goes through the pages of two thick books and climbs up the top of the stairs, portraying the slow but steady process of reading-thinking-comprehending-analyzing-synthesizing books that what many of us (especially members of this generation whose knowledge comes from mostly the internet) either deny or taken from granted. And in the end, the nameless figure spreads the benefits of reading to the general populace that only Manix can interpret so well.

[Check out… COMIC BOOK REVIEW: 14]

Since this latest installment is in partnership of the National Book Development Board, whose mandate is build a “culture of reading” amongst us, both Manix and Angeles fulfills this objective, but since this is only limited to very few (and lucky) attendees and fans. I hope sooner than later, this same government agency and/or some publishers (hopefully Visprint!) collect and publish this creators’ seminal and imaginative work. Many of us consider “reading” a school chore—mandatory and ultimately, boring. I understand that notion, but in this case, reading is beyond that. Our brains beat once we take “reading” seriously. This slim graphic novelette proves this. I can’t wait for its next installment next year (either in compilation or its next chapter). Great job, Manix and Angeles!

by C. Paul Ramos