Elmer

What would happen to the world if chickens suddenly started gaining sentience? This was what the comic Elmer was mostly about. Jake, a rooster with great need of anger management, has to go back home since his father Elmer was quite sick and expected to pass away soon.

Elmer finally passes away and Jake's mother hands over to Jake his father's diary. Once Jake starts reading the story of Elmer, the reader joins his journey in tracing the history of man's reaction to chicken's gaining sentience. Obviously, it was not something that men nor chicken easily accepted. I mean how else would you react to your dinner suddenly talking and some even attacking you? And in the midst of such a global issue, how did it affect individual lives of humans and chickens?

The theme of discrimination is nothing new. It has been an age-old tale that has been told over and over. What makes Elmer different, other than the fact that the tension is between human and chickens, is the beautiful story telling and line work of Gerry Alanguilan.

Alanguilan has made quite a name of himself in the international comic scene for his comics art. So it is no wonder that the art, especially the details, of the comics is impeccable. I could not helped but be awed by the painstaking effort he put in each feather, in each cloud, in each leaf on a tree.

The story was also able to infuse social issues with personal ones. The discrimination is not something that chickens experienced, Jake also has disdain against the human fiancee of his sister. His anger has bred tension in his home, yet it is also understandable because Jake somehow thinks that being a chicken has affected his own search for a job.

There are so many layers in the story, which theme can be considered simple but with an execution so unique. The menage a trois of the story, the storytelling and the artwork truly makes Elmer deserving of its Will Eisner nomination.

Launch of Gerry Alanguilan's Elmer

I have been wanting to get a copy of Elmer for almost a year now. I was able to find a copy in Comics Odyssey for P650 but I did not have that money at that time. During the Summer Komikon I was able to read a few pages of Elmer in the Komik Nook which got me more and more interested in the comic. Gerry Alanguilan announced in his blog a while back that there will be a mass release in paperback with National Bookstore.

It took several months since his announcement for NBS to release the comic but finally last October 15, there was a launch at their Best Sellers branch in Galleria. Jan and I attended the launch which was hosted by Jiggy Cruz.

I was happy with the turn-out since there were quite a few people present. It's always nice to see local arts being supported. What was more fun about it was Jan and I won a special edition Elmer shirt. Woot! I usually never win any thing in raffles. After the interview and the Q & A, there was some pica-pica served. Guess what it was. Chicken lollipops and Coca-Cola. Jake must want to claw our eyes out if he finds out. LOL.

My fingers are crossed that I win either the Trese iPad or the Elmer iPad. Because that would be more awesome than winning a shirt!

Trese

Last October 8, Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo launched the fourth book of Trese. (I would have been there if not for a fiery celebration of basketball victory down in Katipunan.) This collection, I have been waiting for since... well, since I finished reading the third book.

Cover of Trese 4: Last Seen After Midnight

For the unitiated with Trese, the comic is about Alexandra Trese and the Kambal. Whenever there's some strange crime in the neighborhood, some crime which can not be explained by forensic science, Sgt. Guerrero of the police calls on Trese to do her own version of underworld sleuthing. Trese deals with white ladies, kapres, manananggals, duwendes and a slew of elementals and mythological creatures from Filipino folklore.

This is way beyond Lola Basyang stories. Budjette has succeeded in merging the world of the living and the world of the undead. There is still something to fear in them, but they can also fear us and they can fear each other. Kajo was able to render Budjette's ideas with his beautiful yet gritty and dark artwork. I could not imagine any other artist who can illustrate the story of Trese better.

The dustcover

The fourth book is like most Trese compilations with four stand alone stories. "Cadena de Amor" is about a young sapling running amok looking for the gardener Florabelle. "A Private Collection" is about the mystery of a murdered manananggal. Trese tries to discover the cause of deaths and coma cases that occur during the same time in one dormitory in "Wanted: Bedspacer." The last story, "Fight of the Year" is an interesting inside look at the unusual albeit almost benevolent manner of achieving glory and fame of a world-renowned boxer.

All the stories are engaging and have quite interesting twists, though Private Collection could have been fleshed out more. However, I discovered that it was supposed to be the plot for the short film they were trying to make but due to budget constraints had to be shelved. It would have made an AWESOME movie! The Bangungot, I would say, has joined the ranks of my favorite Filipino mythological creatures, alongside the Kapre, Tikbalang and the Duwende.

To be honest, however, I like the other compilations better. But that should not take away from how good Trese 4 still is. It still offers a lot of excitement very much worth reading. I could say with conviction that Trese is one of my favorite comics ever, local or international. It's that good!

If you have not read any of the books, get all of them now! If you are a Trese collector, go out there and get the latest book!