Komik Rebyu: Sixty Six (Russell Molina & Ian Sta. Maria)

In a nutshell: Sixty-six is an action-packed graphic novel about Celestino Cabal, a 66-year old loving husband and father who one day discovers that he has super-strength, bullet-resistant skin (taking the expression "makunat na ang balat" to a whole new level), and basically the ability to singlehandedly fight crime. In two words: Wrinkly Superman. 

The makers of the book, both aesthetically and linguistically, have more than successfully made Sixty Six feel like a movie you can tangibly carry. Most importantly, it genuinely caught the essence of the Filipino culture in its art, dialogues, and plot itself. It's a perfect mix of action, drama, humor, and pure, unadulterated awesomeness.

Anyway my point is: do yourself a favor and JUST READ THIS ALREADY.

Recommend this to: EVERYONE. Seriously, this is not a drill. Go save some money, buy the book, thank me later. 

However... *light spoilers ahead* readers on the lookout for satisfying endings and perfectly-tied plots, do NOT torture yourself with this. This first installment left nothing but so much questions that you'd wish Russell Molina would just whisper to you what would happen in the next book. 

I dare you to finish Sixty Six without having any similar reactions.

The only thing I can really complain about the book is that it felt too short. But then again, most incredible pieces of literature are.

Now to the fun part.

I'm nowhere near a comics expert nor a seasoned art critic, but let me just say that the artist, Ian Sta. Maria, did an amazing job with the illustrations and layout. I found myself in awe even more when I knew that this was a first both for Russell (with writing for comics) and Ian (with illustrating for this type of genre), probably because every aspect has worked so well together.

Every character was lovable, especially the protagonist. Aside from the fact that he looks like my tatay (one of the many reasons why I'm so carried away with the book), perhaps it was because there's not a single flaw on his personality (yet) and you get this certain satisfaction from seeing the underdog kick some ass. Sometimes literally.

There's also Tino's wife, Aura, who I daresay to be the major trigger of the "feels" in the book. And there's Donat, who might probably be the boldest barangay tanod ever. It was also amazing how with simple letters alone, the authors have managed to make the readers feel attached to Ella, Tino's daughter, even though she was barely shown in the book.

Overall: 5 out of 5 pancit noodles.

Lit Rebyu: Something to Crow About (Alejandro Roces)

Plot: The adventures and misadventures of brothers Kiko, a scalawag cocking aficionado, and Andres, a well-read reluctant cocking aficionado. Something to Crow About is an accurate caricature of the Filipino culture--all from the "exclusively Noypi" traits to our dismaying vices. 

In a nutshell: 11 short stories that revolve on, you guessed it, cocks. And I say the word "short" rather aggravatingly because the book certainly felt TOO short (it's that interesting). You'd find yourself grinning at incidents you know you should be sad about, which just amplifies the subtle humor the author rewards his readers willing to loosen up.

Recommend this to: Fans of depressing humor. It takes a huge amount of talent to make readers laugh at themselves, and the author did just that. The book is a perfect mix of comedy, Philippine history (told through cocking, of course), and immersive narration enough for readers to feel the floating dust of the barrio and hear the ruckus on the cockpits. Seriously, despite the city noise when I was reading this, it still managed to bring me back to my hometown.

However... Admittedly, the stories get tougher as the book progresses. The protagonist, being a well-read scholar, utilizes his literary prowess in a lot of the punchlines (meaning, readers unfamiliar with classic literature would probably  be left in the dark a lot of times). Aside from that, there are also a lot of punctuation errors, though you could easily overlook those when you're enjoying the story too much.

actual footage of a grammar nazi reading the book

One noticeable thing also is that some stories felt like essays, instead of an actual short story. Those were a mix of a gazillion of factoids AND comedy, which I didn't mind personally. But still, a heads up: not all of the short "stories" are stories per se.

Now to the fun part.

True to its title, this book IS indeed worth crowing about. A lot of the characters are neither good nor bad, and you find yourself inevitably charmed by each and every one of them. Yes, even Pitoy (the unfortunate victim of Andres' banana heist) was really cute and memorable. And this is probably because everything felt real. The incidents and narration are so personal and intimately recounted that everything seems as if they're told by your cousin from the province or perhaps from your favorite uncle.

One other "quirk" with the author's Filipino-flavored narration is that a LOT of Tagalog expressions are translated literally. And what I mean by this is, there were parts where "I'm strong with her" is said, which would make no sense at all if you were unfamiliar with the expression "malakas ako sa kanya."

This just amplified the comedic tone of the narration, probably because you keep imagining that the characters are all just really, severely conyo.

Outbursts such as "You ha!" ("Ikaw ha!"), "Che yourself!" ("Che ka rin!"), and, my personal favorite, "Gad dehmet!" all left me grinning like an idiot.

my gosh, indeed.

Overall: A solid 4.5 out of 5 bananas.