Thursday, February 27, 2014

Kapitan Tog #1 by Freely Abrigo


I finally got my hands on Kapitan Tog #1 (of 3) by Freely Abrigo. I bought this comic book last Komikon Baguio for 60 bucks.

He signed my copy and man! Me and my wife were very impressed with his handwriting. It’s so clean it looks like it’s been printed on the comic itself haha!


I also got this awesome free sketch:

Anyway, Kapitan Tog is a silent comic meaning the pages are completely wordless (well, except for the SFX, of course).

Ask me to describe it in two words and I’ll give you this: hysterically hilarious!

Freely shows us that he is truly a master of his craft, skillfully relying on facial expression and slapstick humor to tell his story and successfully draw laughter from all of us, his readers.

It’s really a nice breather to find comic books like this nowadays. This is the perfect title for you if you think you just want a break from all the dark and gritty and obscene stuff out there. This will have you laughing, I assure you that. And since this is an all-ages title, you won’t have to hesitate sharing this with others. I’m sure kids and adults alike will enjoy this one.


I regret I didn’t pick up Kapitan Tog #2. It was available on Freely’s table during the event. I can only blame my pocket for that since we were on tight budget that day. I’ll definitely make that my priority the next time I get to see the guy. But before that, I’ll drop by my local bookstores and look for his Kulas books from Visprint. I’m officially a fan for life!


- Mark Rosario






Thursday, February 13, 2014

Dalawang Liham ni Ronzkie Pacho-Vidal

Dahil Valentine’s Day ngayon, naisipan kong i-review itong komiks na “Dalawang Liham” ni Ronzkie Pacho-Vidal. Nabili ko noong nakaraang Komikon Baguio. P60 bawat kopya pero P100 na lang pag binili mo yung 1 at 2.

Kuha ni Kristopher Dimaano Garello
Nung una, medyo nalito ako sa covers. Akala ko isang issue lang ito kasi sobrang similar yung concept at execution. Pero kung titignang maigi, mga bata pala yung nasa cover ng #1 at mas matured naman yung nasa #2. Sa back cover naman, nakalagay ang description ng kwento: “A story about a right love at the wrong time.” Muntik akong mapakanta. Hahaha!

Artwise, sobrang impressive nitong gawa ni Ronzkie. Ganda ng pencil work. Naaaliw akong tignan yung mga stroke nya sa buhok. Napaka-elegante hehe. Astig din ng details lalo na pag yung puno ang dino-drowing nya.

Eto yung sample ng isang panel nya:


Storywise, nakakawiling basahin yung kwento. Tsaka ang galing ni Ronzkie managalog. Natural na natural ang mga bitaw kahit medyo poetic ang ilang linya. Magaling din sya mag-express ng emosyon ng character. As a reader, mas madali ma-imagine yung nararamdaman ng characters pag magaling ang wordings. Ganun ang naramdaman ko habang binabasa ko ito.

Maganda rin yung idea ni Ronzkie na maglagay ng sulat (as in liham) sa dulo ng bawat issue. As in merong maliit na sobre at pink na papel na bubuksan mo pagkatapos mong basahin ang komiks. Kumbaga, hindi ka lang basta reader. Bigla kang magiging parte talaga ng kwento na para bang ikaw mismo yung character.

Weird lang siguro ako pero nag-alangan akong basahin yung sulat nung una. Feeling ko invasion of privacy hahaha! Nakakatawa yung letter (kudos sa Ninja Turtles reference) pero may kurot sa dulo. Magaling yung idea. Very effective.

Naging “instant fan” ako ni Ronzkie dahil dito sa Dalawang Liham. First time kong makabasa ng komiks nya at sigurado akong hindi ito ang huli. Bibili ulit ako next time ng mga gawa nya!


- Mark Rosario