Babbling Point

Two articles about Pinoy comic books came out in the Philippine Daily Inquirer today. The first one reprints our Trese interview by Paolo Chikiamco of RocketKapre.com For fans of komiks, Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo need no introduction, and neither does “Trese”, their komiks collaboration, now published by Visprint, which is one of the most popular and most successful komik series’ in recent memory. While komiks still remains, at this point, a niche market, “Trese” continues to make inroads into mainstream consciousness, its most recent success being recognition in the National Book Awards in the category of Graphic Literature. In their first post-award interview Kajo and Budjette talk about the success of “Trese”, the importance of their fans, transmedia storytelling, and the future of Philippine komiks: READ THE COMPLETE INTERVIEW AT: http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/super/super/view/20101218-309565/Treses-victory The second one is an interview b...

“Underpass” by various creators (Summit Media) A CHILLING journey to the dark, hidden places we fear, “Underpass” is a comic book anthology featuring four well-crafted horror stories. In “SIM,” Gerry Alanguilan shows just how much can go wrong when one picks up a discarded SIM card in a jeepney. Betrayal comes in many colors in “Judas Kiss,” a tale from David Hontiveros, Budjette Tan and Oliver Pulumbarit. There is a magnetic quality to the violence found in Hontiveros’ and Ian Sta. Maria’s “Katumbas.” Vanity and fame come at a pretty price in “The Clinic,” from Tan and Kajo Baldisimo. “Underpass” is a sidetrip worth your attention as it is both disturbing and amazing.  Read the other titles recommended by the Sunday Inquirer at: http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/sim/sim/view/20100424-266190/Booking_Passage  You can also read the complete story of THE CLINIC at: http://tresekomix.blogspot.com/2010/01/down-other-dark-corridor-clinic.html For more preview UNDERPA...

The Balut in a Superhero’s Underpants by Budjette Tan http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/sim/sim/view/20090517-205447/The-Balut-in-a-Superheros-Underpants These days, the “Easter egg” has been given new meaning. It refers to the secret scenes and paths hidden in DVDs and video games. They’re the “in-jokes” left by the creators of movies and TV shows for their fans to discover. If the Americans have their “Easter eggs”, we Filipinos have our “Balut eggs”. (Okay, I just made up that term, but it seemed appropriate anyway.) “Balut eggs” are those moments when Filipinos (or something Pinoy) suddenly pops up in foreign movies, TV shows, novels and comic books. You know what I’m talking about, right? Like that scene in “Constantine”, starring Keanu Reeves, where the possessed girl says, “ Papatayin natin siya! ” (Seems like demons converse in Tagalog.) Pinoy speaking characters were also seen in movies like the maid in “Her Alibi”, the pirates in “The Life Aqautic”, and Rob Schei...

TRESE in Manila Bulletin In the world of Alexandra Trese, heroine of the comic book series "Trese," there are many things that go bump in the streets of Manila whenever darkness falls, and the city’s enthusiastic club-goers only make up a small portion of it. Manananggals, tiyanaks, tikbalangs, and duwendes make their presence felt when the lights go out, and it is Alexandra Trese’s job to keep them in line. Read the complete interview at: http://www.mb.com.ph/issues/2008/11/01/YTCP20081101139546.html TRESE in the Philippine Star The spell both Budjette and his partner Kajo cast comes not from their influences mentioned in past interviews like the comic book “Planetary” or “Twilight Zone” but rather from Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman.” The heroine Trese calmly interrogates a rich dragon man who is heir to a Chinese mall empire and in another panel seeks help from a Quiapo merchant who can talk to cats. The world of “Trese” is a place where you must suspend your disbelief and accep...

Supernatural Storytelling By Ruel S. De Vera, Philippine Daily Inquirer, October 12. 2008 MANILA, Philippines -Almost from the very beginning, Budjette Tan has been surrounded by the unusual. “When I was a newborn baby, my parents moved into what turned out to be a haunted house,” he explains. “The ghosts were seen by my yaya and my uncles. My parents didn’t believe in such things, until one summer day after my mom gave me a bath. She said the right side of my face suddenly wrinkled up—that it looked like the face of an old man. She prayed over me until I became normal again.” Psychics were summoned and a séance held. “The psychics told the spirits that they had to move on to the next plane. The haunting stopped after some time.” Even Tan did not know that something similarly spooky would redefine his life later on. With him doing the writing and Kajo Baldisimo providing the art, Tan came up with “Trese,”a comic book series that follows mysterious investigator Alexandra Trese as she he...