Paolo Chikiamco

Philippine mythology is full of images that ignite the imagination: gods of calamity and baldness, of cosmic time and lost things; the many-layered Skyworld, and weapons that fight their own battles; a ship that is pulled to paradise by a chain, and a giant crab that controls the tides... Yet too few of these tales are known and read today. Alternative Alamat gathers stories by contemporary authors of Philippine fantasy, which make innovative use of elements of Philippine mythology. None of these stories are straight re-tellings of the old tales: they build on those stories, or question underlying assumptions; use ancient names as catalysts, or play within the spaces where the myths are silent. What you will find in common in these eleven stories is a love for the myths, epics, and legends which reflect us, contain us, call to us--and it is our hope that, in reading our stories, you may catch a glimpse of, and develop a hunger for, those venerable tales.

Stories Inspired by Philippine Mythology

Alternative Alamat

Mythspace

An intrepid gumshoe tracks a girl lost amidst Manila's many temptations. Can he crack the case in a city about to erupt into violence? Manila--the walled city recently freed from a dictator's iron-fisted rule--is a magical metropolis where monsters flit and feed along neon-lit streets. In this noir-tinged dystopian graphic novel, the capital exists in an alternate reality where myth and fantasy collide. In a city now governed by the mysterious Societies, tensions between the human and nonhuman inhabitants are about to hit a breaking point. When the one-eyed Yomaws are accused of exhuming and consuming human cadavers, Carlos sets out to clear their name, unmask the true culprits and restore the lost the culprits and return the lost daughter to the fold. This graphic thriller features: A newly freed Manila, walled off since World War II, where the Tyranny's regime has fallen and the open city is governed by the mysterious Societies. A one-armed Taga-Sagot--a gatherer of information, an answerer of questions, a fount of knowledge--is charged with finding the missing daughter of a small-town mayor lost amidst the temptations of the open city, now a den of pleasure districts and corruption. The cast of nonhuman and fantasy characters includes one-eyed Yomaws (hybrid human-canines), Asu-Gamis (half Aswang, half Inugami) and slinky Silat immortals.

The Case of the Cemetery Girl - a Graphic Novel by Paolo Chikiamco and Borg Sinaban

Muros: Manila Behind Walls

An intrepid detective tracks a girl lost amidst Manila's many temptations. Can he crack the case and find the girl before the city erupts into violence? Muros is an urban fantasy set in an alternate Manila which has been sealed off from the rest of the world for decades. In this fast-paced graphic novel the walled city of Manila, recently freed from a dictator's iron-fisted rule, is a magical metropolis where monsters flit and feed along neon-lit streets. The city, now governed by mysterious Societies, faces rising tensions between the human and nonhuman inhabitants that are nearing a breaking point. The story's hero, Carlos "Caloy" Loyzaga, a "Taga-Sagot" (literally translated to Person Who Answers), is tasked with finding the runaway daughter of a small town Mayor. Caloy knows that there's more to the story -- but in a world where magic and modernity make for uneasy bedfellows, there are some secrets you simply can't prepare for. Especially secrets that involve a cast of nonhuman characters, such as one-eyed Yomaws (hybrid human-canines), Asu-Gamis (half Aswang, half Inugami) and slinky Silat immortals--the hated weapons of the tyrant God. Readers looking for a different take on magic, or those interested in seeing an alternative history set in the Philippines, will find plenty to sink their teeth into here. Fans of Tan & Baldisimo's Trese or Jim Butcher's Dresden Files will also find a heady mix of the familiar and the strange.

The Case of the Cemetery Girl

Muros: Within Magical Walls

C.R. Chua

Per of Esterpike is a standard knight-in-training; brave, hardworking, noble. Oh, and her sister Elena is the nation’s most beloved hero. No pressure. Then Per is the only living witness to Elena’s death at the hands of a barbarian horde set on wiping Esterpike off the map, and someone has to carry word to the rest of Unity. This is a job for a hero; a job for Elena. But Per is all they have. Together with Elena’s second-in-command Amelia, Per must impersonate her sister and travel to Unity’s capital to rally the people against the oncoming horde. But as Per moves forward on her quest, she comes upon a conspiracy that could undermine everything Per, and Elena, has ever fought for. Join newcomers C.R. Chua (Adventure Time Comics) and Paolo Chikiamco on Per’s grand adventure all about strength, swords, and sisterhood.

Paolo Chikiamco

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