You can never truly experience the magic a comic book holds until you pick one up. Playing around with the speech bubbles, sound effects, and distinct characters’ voices in every panel is one thing. But taking a one-way ticket into their universe, where you can be anyone your heart desires? That’s a whole different ball game.
Photo: GMA Pictures, Maharlika Sci-fi Komiks
That’s why Filipino authors and illustrators have spent decades crafting wonderful worlds for us through komiks. We witnessed their humble beginnings in print media as bite-sized gags in weekend columns that left us in stitches. Now, these vibrant adventures have evolved into larger-than-life quests that spark hope for a bright future beyond our everyday woes.
Komiks can awaken our once-dormant dreams with every turn of a page, no matter how long it’s been since we put them on the back burner. In real life, we’re cogs in a machine—running on sheer survival and the fleeting relief of having powered through another day, clinging to the distant possibility of bringing our aspirations to fruition eventually. But with komiks, the possibilities are infinite. One minute, you’re a spunky mambabarang warding off wicked entities in your barangay. Next thing you know, you’re a fierce and fabulous superhero who laughs in danger’s face.
Our inner children, who’d probably spend all day in their favorite fictional heroes’ shoes if they could, will always be seen and heard as long as komiks are around. Here’s how these six titles get that point across with engaging portrayals of Filipino culture and history:
Champion of the Rose
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An adventure of epic proportions awaits you in Champion of the Rose, a queer, high-fantasy graphic novel by Cat Aquino and Dominique Duran.
Glory is everything in the Empire of Sagrada, a nation that Princess Rosa longs to change for the better. Her father, however, has much bolder and bloodier plans—namely, a grand tournament that’ll determine the empire’s next ruler. Desperate to win and protect her throne at all costs, Rosa seeks help from trans swordsman Rey, who wants nothing more than to reunite with his partner Teo in the colony of Himala.
Nothing will prepare you for what lies ahead in this action-packed fight for freedom, which you’re bound to finish with a newfound appreciation for Filipino history, literature, and evolving conversations on social justice.
Volume one of Champion of the Rose is available for purchase worldwide. Visit Cat’s website for more details.
Trese
Everyone and their mothers got hooked on this cutting-edge animated show on Netflix in 2021. It’s high time we also show some love to the komiks that started it all.
Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo’s Trese has all the makings of a gutsy, spine-chilling page-turner you can’t put down. This series of supernatural thrillers garnered remarkable recognition worldwide for its vivid storytelling, purposeful odes to Filipino folklore, and fearlessness in holding a mirror up to the country’s longstanding fight against corruption.
Each installment follows titular protagonist Alexandra Trese in her high-stakes quests to combat injustice and restore order across a dystopian Philippines.
Ella Arcangel
When vicious demons plague your neighborhood, you can count on this young sorceress to save the day. Ella Arcangel started as a horror-fantasy comic book series that Julius Villanueva shared with the world in 2017. This year, the critically acclaimed tale is getting its big break with an animated film by Melvin Malonzo under GMA Pictures.
Ella is no ordinary sorceress. She roams the streets of a poverty-stricken Manila with rebellion in her system, hell-bent on protecting her barangay from invasive monsters. Wielding extraordinary magic, she vows to follow in her grandmother’s footsteps and uphold her wickedly cool legacy.
Before Ella Arcangel: Awit ng Pangil at Kuko hits theaters, you can also learn more about her journey in Malonzo’s 19-minute short, Oyayi sa Dilim.
Maharlika
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Avid science fiction fans are in for a treat with Rexy Dorado and John Ray’s Maharlika. This three-volume series welcomes you into a futuristic Philippines where the powerful figures that inspire and uplift us can drag us down just as easily.
Over a century after winning the revolution against Spain, childhood friends Mal and Yari bear the brunt of strange occurrences surrounding a mercenary operation in their area. Together, they uncover deep-seated grievances and large-scale conflict with a scientist, a dog and its doppelganger, a mysterious briefcase, and many other unlikely friends they make along the way.
Hey, This Guy’s in Love With You!
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Missing your high school days like crazy? This swoon-worthy web comic has you covered. Komiks don’t always lean towards heavy drama and out-of-this-world action. They can capture our hearts with youthful innocence, too, and pajamakidzzz’s Hey, This Guy’s in Love With You! makes that point clear as day.
Our resident yearners, Ivan and Adrian, are academic rivals to many. But even their ridiculous banter can’t hold a candle to the feelings they’ve harbored for one another, which deepen throughout each chapter.
This adorable boys’ love (BL) story rose to prominence on TikTok for its bite-sized scenarios that filled us with kilig. After garnering millions of views across social media, it expanded into a full-fledged comic on Tapas and Webtoon, gaining thousands of new reads every day.
Badingger-Z and the Accla Assassin
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Not all heroes wear just capes. This one rocks rainbows and sparkles, too!
If you grew up idolizing dynamic divas like Darna and Zsazsa Zaturnnah, then Badingger-Z is right up your alley. From the mind of award-winning writer and director Real Florido, this unapologetic comic honors LGBTQIA+ storytellers and the hardships they’ve conquered throughout history.
Ading leads this story with pride as he fends off bullies and braves his the taxing demands of military school. A magical essence in his mother’s forbidden woods transforms him into our unstoppable super-slayer, who must now save his fellow queer townsfolk before they disappear.
ALSO READ: This Challenge Is Encouraging Everyone to Read Filipino Books This Buwan ng Wika
Who are your all-time favorite Filipino authors and illustrators? Show them some love in the comments below!
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