From Marco Dimaano's
Message Board:
http://pub35.ezboard.com/fangelacefrm4.showMessage?topicID=17.topic
Love, drama, comedy,
friendship, pop culture references and barefooted angels. This one has it all.
Arnold Arre is the mushiest
man I know.
He's an incurable romantic,
a hopeful (as opposed to hopeless) dreamer, a master storyteller in the medium
of pen and ink. These are the things you will find out (if you haven't already
gotten the hint) when you get a hold of his latest opus, After Eden.
For the knowledge of those
unfamiliar with the book's origins, After Eden wasn't recently done (no, not
even Arnold is THAT good- to conjure up a 254-page monster like this soon after
doing two award-winning novel-size comics). It actually started at least four
or five years ago, back in the olden days when he still ran with the Alamat
crew. The book was a renegade comic; unsolicited and unexpected by the
powers-be of the Group- it was Arnold's through and through, much like
Mythology Class was. In many ways it was also quite controversial within the
group, since it stabs quite bitingly at the lifestyle of the fanboy and the
barkada.
But we're getting ahead of
ourselves. Anyway, AE was put on hold for a long time and Arnold got into other
things. It was only recently that the book was picked up by Adarna Publications
as part of their Anino line of graphic novels. Arnold finally had a chance to
finish his work, and better yet, to see it realized in the best way possible.
The result: A 254-page
graphic novel. Glossy colored covers. Three lovely color pinups. And more pages
full of lovely, expressive and entertaining black and white panels than you
could think possible in a single local comic book.
Just seeing this book and
scanning through the consistent, clean artwork and seeing the intricate, snappy
dialogue is worth the price of admission.
After Eden is the story of
a man and a woman; Jon is a handsome, wealthy comic/hobby store owner who's
yearning for something that will change his humdrum routine of fantasy gaming,
comic book conventions and make-believe worlds. Celine is a creative director
in an advertising agency (they make commercials for things like toothpaste)
who's beautiful, intelligent and on the verge of a burnout in her structured,
exhaustive lifestyle.
When these two former
childhood friends chance upon each other after a disastrous comic book
convention, their reunion starts a series of events that will alter the
direction of their lives. Unfortunately, the love that seems to spring forth
perpetually from the two is not appreciated by all. In particular, Jon's friend
Greg and Celine's friend Lea resent the way they are replaced and seemingly
sent to the back burner by the blossoming romance... and they're prepared to do
whatever it takes to get things back to the way they were. Can a seemingly
perfect love affair survive a concerted attack? Can Adam and Eve find happiness
outside Eden? Get a copy of After Eden and find out...
After Eden is mainly a relationship
drama; there are three sets of main couples; The main lovers Jon and Celine,
the 'baddies', Greg and Lea, and the "innocents" Mike and Cathy.
Seeing their various personalities and how they relate and interact with each
other; the complexities and mechanics of friendship... and how selfishness can
break it down... is compelling stuff. It's amazing how Arnold found the words
and emotions to breathe life into each character, and they soon come to life
from mere caricatures or archetypes to people you probably know or know about.
Despite these heavy themes,
AE is liberally laced with humor, and with it tons of pop-culture references to
stuff in Arnold's generation; Star Wars, Dungeons and Dragons, Alien,
videogaming, anime... it's great that Arnold does not lose his humor when he
writes drama.
Another facet of AE is some
adult content; there are several scenes of somewhat risque material; no nudity,
but definitely not kiddie stuff. It's all mature and handled quite well within
the context of the story.
Overall, the pacing and
plotting of After Eden, coupled with the wonderful and simply gorgeous artwork
and panels (a huge improvement over Mythology Class, IMO), the snappy dialogue
and the pop references make AE an enthralling, entertaining and wonderful read.
Any flaws or gripes? Well,
probably just that as a matter of course, After Eden takes a bloody jab at
fanboys/fangirls and singles. Plus it seems to make the unattached people of
the world quite wretched... or maybe that's just because the love story is just
so wonderful.
After Eden almost made me
want to give up my bachelor, gamer lifestyle and get hitched.
Almost. Hahaha. That's
something, believe me.
Darn, this book is
incredible. A work of art and a graphic novel in the full sense of the word. No
Filipino comic book reader or anyone who loves a good story should be without
this one. Get it NOW.