The entire first issue can be read
here as
a downloadable PDF, or
here as
a downloadable set of images. The official website is
here, for updates and sample pages from the other issues.
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budjette! mr baldisimo!
i finished reading the first two issues of TRESE last night and i just wanted to say that you and mr baldisimo are on to something great, here. it seems you've stumbled upon a storytelling formula that works. your artistic and narrative decisions mesh well. there are no unnecessary panels or balloons, every scene and exchange of dialogue is working to move the story forward, all side-tracks are meant to be there, sometimes leading to predictability (such as the fight scene with the pier-area aswang enclave whathaveyou, and alex trese's way-too-ellis-y motivation to beat the guys up), but such are the nuances and affectations of the genre, and despite their predictability, they still work and seem not-too-used when read in TRESE. somehow, you make it all seem newish. maybe because you put in newish stuff with the older, more predictable stuff, like with alex trese submerging the poked eyeball in a cup of water to glean clues, that was really nice. or the whole premise of a teen rebel tikbalang getting his kicks out of outrunning drag racers, that had one of those "of course" moments. it actually had me thinking "of course, it had to be that way, that actually makes sense!", and was snickering at the possibilities of what maliksi might have done to his trophy girlfriends while snug in his stable (or wherever), being the randy colt that he seemed to be.
both of you make the pinoy underground supernatural angle work, too. it's reverent enough that it's still true to the usual "they're-creatures-of-magic-we-must-honour-them-so's-they-don't-harm-us" perception we have of such beings, and still irreverent enough for their actions and attitudes to be relevant for the whole storyline. you portray them as both malicious and benevolent (like the tikbalang patriarch), and at the same time parasitic and corrupt (the pier-area aswang enclave), and both work issue-wise, and both work upon building an underworld with its own social class and moralities and sense of justice. both potrayals equalize and complement one another, and makes for a more detailed setting for TRESE to work in.
another two things in TRESE that complement one another: the unpretentious writing, thankfully free of gaiman-ings or bendis-isms or morrison-ings, and the templeton-smith-y/ashley-wood-y art that actually looks better in black-&-white than in coloured (as in FELL or SAM & TWITCH).
the stories, though, they seem to need a few more pages than 20, as the endings seem a bit rushed. the setup is great, like how the first five to ten minutes of an XFILES episode used to feel like (especially in seasons 1 through 4) and how LOST feels like to me. the elaboration, the thickening of the plot, it always works, with great great modernisings of supernatural laws (like the nuno in the manhole) and details thrown in that are both interesting and relevant (like the alliterating names of the air-sprites). but the resolution always seems rushed, especially in RULES OF THE RACE, where it seemed like you felt like you were running out of space so you just had to end it then and there, with the dialogue, when it could've been more interesting if you'd shown us what happened with the same economy and grace of RULES' first five pages. virgilio almario calls that sort of thing a "manananggal", as the top part leaves the bottom just standing there, having none of the fun that the top is having. but it's all small stuff, and stuff that can be easily addressed and rectified. in fanboy speak, this probably means "add more pages, dammit!".
and i still don't know where you're going with this story, in the long run, but it better be somewhere. it seems to be leading us somewhere (a power-struggle within the underworld royal families? the underworld planning on overtaking and lording over the natural world? a long-forgotten first evil stirring and brooding, making the underworld topsy-turvy with tension?), but it's just the first two issues so it's still okay, but again, it better be leading us somewhere, as it's way way better if these things have a point to make, have a definite story to tell. what started as a riff on warren ellis now actually has the potential to be more than just that, and that's no mean feat. nice job!
with TRESE, you've actually given us a comic book that works (i keep saying that, 'cause it's true, it really does work) and addresses every single thing that a proper comic book should address, the way only a comic book could address: engaging story and art, portable format, and cheap cheap cheap in the wallet. i remember eMailing you rants about the future of pinoy comic books, of what i thought it ought to be like, where to take it, not knowing that you and mr baldisimo already seem to have a clear idea of where exactly the future lies, and how to take us to it (or it to us), and it jives jives jives with mine, so hallelujah, here's a nice quote to end the eMail:
"despite TRESE's reliance on filipino supernatural tradition, it is actually an artifact from the future of pinoy comic books, where high art high-falootin' is a dinosaur and pinoy pulp popstravaganza is a little grey man with three testicles and six ovaries!"and another one:
"if only i could marry this comic book, i would, if it meant that there'd be more of these cutesy little black-&-white things running around the countryside, that'd be great. but i think having sex with TRESE would only glue its pages together, and that'd make it unreadable and degrade its value in the marketplace, so i guess that means i'll have to resort to just passing on the good word to people and hoping that they do buy and read this comic book, and hopefully, like me, they be inspired enough to make their own cutesy little black-&-white thing, and make people read that, too."i say the words as if my opinions matter in the bigger scheme of things, but what the hell, i'm a fan, and so i suppose yes, i do matter.
now, if only mr alanguilan would squirt out a new CREST HUT...
