Ang Astiging Boy Ipis # 1

Just finished reading ANG ASTIGING BOY IPIS #1. Isa lang masasabi ko - ASTIG! Released through Bayan Knights publisher Sacred Mountain, the issue is beautifully drawn by Sarge himself, Mr. Gilbert Monsanto. And he ain't kidding when he said that he enjoyed working on this book. It shows in the panels, the facial exressions and the attention to detail. It was also nice to see him draw Boy Ipis out of costume and deal with the other side of super-heroing.

But the real gem of the issue is the story brought to us by Boy Ipis creator Paul Michael Ignacio which has a great balance of both plot and character development. Not only does this episode give us Boy Ipis's first(?) solo adventure, it also as previously mentioned, gives us a glimpse of his life and struggles out of costume. Although I was a bit surprised with most of the characters delivering their lines in heavy tag-lish, I was quite impressed -- specially when the female lead self-refenced it in one of her thought balloons. I also liked the fact that Mike made it a point to give nods to the other superheroes in the BK universe such as Kalayaan and Unstoppable. It gives the shared universe more credibility.

Let me see, I may be forgetting something. Oh, there are a lot of jokes -- funny, silly and some naughty -- splattered across the 32 page story. There's also a sort of back-up feature/epilogue featuring Amy Vidal's Phantom Cat illustrated by Redg Vicente. The book promises to integrate her into the main storyline in issue 2 (can't wait!) and teases an appearance of a familiar silhouette. What else? Ah. I forgot to mention the villains in the story whose names I find really amusing. They are introduced and dispatched a bit quickly for my taste but I hope that this is not the last time we get to see them -- especially Android the Giant. That guy is just too cute and creepy at the same time.

A really great read. Thinking about the wait for the next installment is just too painful. Make this a monthly book already! And with sponsors biting that Boy Ipis powered advert at the back, it could happen.