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Posted April 8, 2012 by Tony Tuason in Comics
 
 

Indie Komiks That I Wish Had More Books And Were Continued

I love comics – international and local, even though I started really late. But hey! better late than never right? I admit that lately and for the past year I haven’t picked up that much local komiks especially since there were a ton of books that were released last November’s KOMIKON – I pretty have much a lot of catching up to do. For the past 2 years I still managed to read komiks, and there are titles that I would always remember because I did enjoy reading them such as – TRESE (my peyborit) by Budjette Tan & Kajo Baldisimo, the multi-award winner Elmer (another peyborit!) by Gerry Alanguilan, Bathala: Apokalypsis by David Hontiveros and Ace Enriquez and Ang Astiging Boy Ipis (w/ I absolutely had fun reading) by Paul Michael Ignacio and various artists.

Indie Komiks - Weng Weng, Talim and Askal

But there are also komiks that I always think of, not just because its good, but it’s simply bitin and leaves you wanting more. For this I’m naming 3 titles — Talim, Askals and Weng Weng is Agent 00. If there are already continuations and sequels that have been published please tell me :)

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TALIM
by Omi Remalante Jr and Rhiver Quilantang

Talim is a story of a knife wielding vigilante seeking revenge and answers for his troubled mind. The story opens up very quickly in introducing this vigilante and making his move against someone who he alleges to have committed a crime against him and a certain woman.

The pacing and storytelling was really good, especially with the effective use of narration and flashbacks. The use of shadows and light in the art does make the story more gritty. As the story progresses, the readers are revealed to details about the background of this vigilante and how he could be really mentally unstable. The twist in the end certainly leaves us wanting more, in learning the truth about the vigilante’s past and if this vigilante – Talim is a good guy or bad guy.

You can check out Talim #1 Preview pages here.

 

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WENG WENG is AGENT 00
by Ronald Tan and Research of Andrew Leavold

I only know about Weng Weng because of the stories my parents told me when it comes to movies during their time. So when news came out regarding this Weng Weng as a secret agent comics by Ronald Tan, I got excited. When I got a copy, I wasn’t disappointed. It had sort-of biography of Weng Weng, his humble beginning which was somehow weaved into him becoming a 00 agent. The book had a lot of cool ideas, think of old school + cool, a mini james bond.

The story as it progressed, definitely felt rushed. Some sub-plots and scenes were told in few sentences and were fitted into single pages only. It would’ve been a lot cooler if this ideas and sub-stories were to be explored more in succeeding issues, and the storytelling would be more structured, and that includes actual dialogue and interaction between characters – because it definitely has good characters in it (just basing it on their looks and codename, yep, they’re cool). The last page says “To be continued..”. Hopefully, it gets continued because I’m surely buying it.

You can read the entire book here, courtesy of Andrew Leavold.

Weng Weng is Agent 00 by Ronald Tan

 

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ASKALS
by Dodo Dayao and Bong Leal

When I went to the 2010 November Komikon it was by mere chance that I saw Dodo in such a crowded place. Back  then I was just starting out exploring indie stuff, and since I knew Dodo personally and I knew he had great taste in comics, I immediately bought  Noisy Blood and the last remaining copy of Askals – the cover was the first thing that caught my attention, and I immediately thought that I must have it. Bong Leal was with him so I was really glad that I had their signatures on my copies.

When I got home and opened the first pages, I was blown away with the art, it’s style and reading the rest was like getting high.  I can’t believe it was a local comic book. There are a lot of characters, who are very different from each other, such as supernatural beings, a little innocent girl, drug addicts, etc, but Dayao and Leal were able to manage them and fit into the story.  The location of the story was set in Quiapo and with its excellent narrative by Dodo and the way Bong captures it as a real pinoy setting, it made me feel like I was really in it and made me experience something that I haven’t experienced in real life whenever I stroll the streets of Quiapo. Askals has a gritty, noir, cinematic feel, something mystical and  even spiritual — it seriously has great art that speaks for itself, and a writing that’s so good it’s mindf#&k. Askals isn’t perfect, some art were inconsistent especially with the inking. The climax and the plot might be a mess or could require a second reading in order to absorb. The end is really open-ended and that’s why we need to see more.

Dayao and Leal, is such a very good combo and them working on a book together that is as good as Askals, may it be a continuation or a different book, it still should happen. And that this kind of book is what the indie scene needs right now – Daring, and a type of book that you read with a beer in hand.

You can read Askals parts 1-2 here, and decide for yourself.

 

I really wish this books would continue, or that some other writer or creative team would pick these up and maintain its quality and even make it better. If you guys think we missed out on some books that are currently out of the scene, please tell us. And if possible, send us a copy so that we could read them and talk about it too. And maybe we can get their attention in continuing their works right? :)


Tony Tuason

 
Tony is just your average guy who loves comics, toys, games, movies, and all those geek goodness.