Cast 12: Catharsis, The return of an old LOVE 
Finally. After 8 years, fans of Cast will get what they’ve long been waiting for—Cast 12: Catharsis.
Cast, the teen dramedy comic series created by Jamie Bautista and Elbert Or, will release its much-awaited issue on August 2014 at Fully Booked branches.
Voted by fans as Best Series in the 2009 Komikon, Cast is unlike most comics. Instead of being about fantasy and superheroes, Cast is about real life. It’s about a barkada of students from different exclusive all-girls and all-boys schools, who are performing together in a musical. The series follows their adventures: getting over stage fright and learning the ropes of production, meeting all kinds of people, falling in love with the right—or wrong—person, and all the crazy things that they get into, all for the love of the musical and their friends.
Cast was first released in 2003. Bautista wrote and Or edited, while then unknown artists Stephen Segovia and Harvey Tolibao did the art. Later, Rex Espino, Jhomar Soriano and multi-awarded Arnold Arre joined them as artists. All in all they produced 11 issues and a prequel.
Just when the story reached its climax, Cast was put on hold due to the collaborators’ schedules. Nevertheless, fans kept sending emails, clamoring for the next issue to come out.
So after waiting 8 years what can fans expect from the story? “This is the issue that ties together many events from previous issues. There are very many seeds I planted years ago that will finally take fruit in this issue,” says Bautista.
Cast 12 gives closure to the fan-favorite Lel and Joe subplot. In past issues, we see Lel, one of the best actresses in the group, not-so-secretly pine over Joe, who seems oblivious to her feelings. Lel finds out that Joe has a secret crush on someone in the musical and agonizes over who she is and how it happened. Finally, Cast 12 gives Lel and fans the answers to their burning questions.
Cast 12 was written by Jamie Bautista, and Jhomar Soriano did the art. There are also pages by past collaborators (who are now superstars in their own right)—Tolibao, Segovia, Espino and Arre. Collaborators are slated to appear for a panel interview and signing during the launch event on July 19.
With these great artists in his arsenal to make this story come to life, Bautista admits that what makes Cast 12 resonate with fans is that “it’s a special mix of raw truth and well-crafted fiction.” Because it deals with
themes about “old loves, jealously, and the nature of genuine love,” it strikes a chord with romantics everywhere, and awakens the young, naïve, and hopeful person in all of us.
Cast 12 will be available in Fully Booked for P100. For more information, go\to: cast10.wordpress.com or visit to our Facebook page: fb.com/TheCastComic. For event updates and invitations to special events, please email info@thecastcomic.com.
