A fan of a rising artist called on comic book enthusiasts to support the Filipino artist’s first project in the comic book industry.
One Reddit user posted on June 28 a photo of the graphic novel “Maktan 1521,” written and illustrated by a budding artist named Tepai Pascual.
“Maktan 1521 – What began as her UP Fine Arts thesis about the battle of Lapu-Lapu versus Magellan became a full-color graphic novel written and illustrated by Tepai Pascual,” the user said.
The post had since earned more than 800 upvotes on the forum.
Based on the book’s official Facebook page, the graphic novel is a romanticized version of the historic battle of Mactan between the Spaniards and the Filipino natives in 1521.
In its latest post, the “indie version” is currently available on Shopee.
“Ito po ay black and white chapters 1 to 5 ng Maktan 1521. Sa mga may colored version, wag kayong magalala, hindi ito bago. Mas kumpleto po ang libro niyo,” read the description.
“Ito po ay ginawa bago po mapublish ang Maktan ng Visprint. Pero kung kayo po ay masugid na kolektor, go for gold na kayo! May isang chapter po ito na hindi po lumabas sa ashcans at sa Visprint version,” it added.
The first book of the comic series was first released way back in August 2013, according to Pascual’s personal blog.
Some Reddit users expressed their interest in purchasing this comic series online.
“Bought this in a comic con a few years ago. It’s a heavily stylized version of Lapu-Lapu/Magellan’s story but overall, it’s a very entertaining read especially if you’re into Filipino history. Very much worth the price,” one user said.
“Bought this years ago and it’s a good short story. I read it too fast lol,” another user wrote.
Previously, fans of comic book artist Edgar Calabia Samar also rallied to have an anime adaptation of “Janus Silang.”
“Di ako nakakapagbukas ng Twitter kaya di ko nakikita ang tweets, pero maraming salamat sa mga nagtu-tweet at nag-aabang sa Janus Silang!” Samar said back then.
This renewed support for local artists came after the success of Netflix’s “Trese,” an occult anime that was adapted from the award-winning local graphic novels of the same title.
“Trese” created by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo was released in 2005.
