Last Saturday's 6th annual KOMIKON saw the debut of Omi Remalante Jr.'s TALIM - a knife wielding vigilante haunted by the memories of a dead girl that ironically he can't remember. Written by fan favorite RH Quilantang, the issue gives us a glimpse into the mind of a brutal and probably unstable vigilante and his one man campaign for answers and vengeance. The issue shows us there are no shades of gray. There is only black and white. But where does our hero stand?
I like the pacing of this book. How we get to first see Talim as a normal person watching TV before we dive into the the actual action. I like how the flashback and narration during the action was handled. It didn't feel forced. In fact, it just cements the idea that this guy is really out of his mind. Omi Remalante handles the art chores for his creation. His cool use of shadows make the action a little more gritty. His style is the perfect fit for this dark tale.
Finally, Paul Michael Ignacio releases the second issue of everyone's favorite pest-err-superhero... ANG ASTIGING BOY IPIS! Mike gives his best as Boy Ipis finds himself fighting a new batch of goons dispatched by evil mastermind Master Q. Fortunately, he gets a little help from guest-stars and fellow Bayan Knights: Phantom Cat and Gwapoman.
But this wouldn't be a Mike Ignacio story without some out-of-costume action, would it? Here we get a little more hint about Mike's past love which I'm betting will play some part in the next issue. We also learn more about how Boy Ipis' powers work courtesy of Professor Chits... and it isn't as Spider-Many as you may think.
Gilbert Monsanto pencils the issue. However, I'm a wee bit disappointed with the inking. It was a group effort by the Bayan Knights and it shows. The inconsistency was noticeable throughout the issue and quite frankly, it took me out of the story. I'm hoping that there would be a regular inker for issue three. Or that the inking style changes would be minimal and less noticeable. All in all, a good second outing. Mike, promise you won't make us wait another year for the third installment.
Everyone’s in it now. The issue is narrated by Sarhento Sagrado via a personal log entry about the recent events in the Bayan Knights’ universe. Two things happen in this issue: first, the encounter with the BANGIS team is resolved. Second and more importantly, the final chess pieces are gathered.
The main story also reads like a sort of encyclopedia -- reintroducing us to characters and giving hints about the new ones, reminding us that this is a very RICH universe and full of potential. Most noticeable about the latest release is the art which was digitally painted by Gilbert Monsanto. Though I find some of the roughs a little bit “rough,” GM still managed to wow me with a lot of wonderful pin-up styled shots and paneling. And can you believe how awesome that Harvey Tolibao (Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic) cover is?
