Komikon Komiks Reviews!

Yay! Komikon came and went...without me. I told myself I'd go to the Komikon for once in my young life but circumstances decided otherwise. Good thing I got guys on the inside who graciously provided me copies of comics I should check out! I've been wondering why there aren't that many reviews for Pinoy indie comics...how would people notice if nobody's talking about them? So I decided to do reviews of the comics I got from last weekend's Komikon!

First up is Bayan Knights: Gilas Indie Xclusive. When a book opens up with a warning that I should first read an altogether different issue before I even start reading it, should I be worried? In this case, as a newbie to all things Bayan Knights, I'll just keep reading and hope for the best.

Good thing it's a straightforward issue, focusing on a group of heroes called Gilas, and their descent to hell for some exciting reason. I don't know what that reason is, but at the very least the book takes the time to show us the characters and their quirks.We know that Gwapoman is a leader who's having a hard time getting people to listen to him, and that Talim likes to slice people's throats up, and that most of the team just doesn't get along with each other. If the book was introducing these characters to us, they're doing it right. The art in this book is a bit too busy for my taste, though, and more often than not I had to concentrate to know what's going on. I do love the cover, however. The creative use of negative space is sure to grab people's attention.

My friends lent me copies of the last few issues of Bayan Knights to get me up to speed, but I don't think others may have that luxury. I guess this book is dedicated to hardcore Bayan Knights fans, and if they're getting something wonderful from it, more power to them.

Last we have Budjette Tan's Trese: A Private Collection, a one-shot that delves into the murder of a manananggal and Alexandra Trese's quest to find the killer before the news breaks out and sparks a supernatural gang war!

Again, I'm a newbie coming into this book, but Budjette sets this issue up as very newbie friendly, which I like. All you really need to know is that Alexandra Trese's got her fingers in the pulse of the mythological world, and she knows her way around with a kris. After that, you're free to enjoy a nice and easy detective story that opens up more of the Trese world for you to digest and consume. It's got a nuno sa punso manhole, for goodness sakes! You can't make that kind of stuff up on the fly!

The art here was done by Kajo Baldisimo, and it's very dynamic and expressive. It makes for a book that's fun to read.

This issue made me want to pick up the early Trese issues when payday rolls around. I'm glad my friend got me this one!

And that's it for my reviews of some of Komikon's indie exclusives. So what indie komiks did you pick up at Komikon? Did you enjoy it? Leave me a note below and let's talk about it! Later I'll be posting my more lengthier review of a graphic novel that was launched at Komikon. Thanks for reading!