Class,
Dismissed!
By Paolo M. Manalo
(February
3, 2000 - www.legmanila.com)
With the last issue of
Arnold Arre's four-part comic book launched last December 1999, The Mythology
Class comes to a close, proving that Arre's publisher, Alamat Comics, can put
out a comic book that has a beginning, middle, and end.
Part of the problem with
Filipino comic books in English is that, like most independent comic books
published in the United States, they suffer from ningas-cogon. Due to one
reason or another (lack of readership, story, or creative team interest), the
comic book gets cancelled without ever reaching a suitable ending. The other
problem these Filipino comic books suffer from is the lack of support from
readers, the kind still given to American mainstream comic books. When asked
about this, some readers point to the lack of substance or the thinness of
material in a comic book, while others nitpick on something as trivial as these
comics being in black-and-white instead of color.
The Mythology Class is
drawn in black-and-white by Arre himself (one of the few comic book artists who
can render clearly distinguishable facial impressions and poses), but
fortunately, substance and material are not lacking. In fact, the story material
might have been too much for four issues to handle -- there aren't enough white
spaces. The impression one gets from the layouts in some pages is clutter,
clutter, clutter. The nitpicky reader can also say that the comic book would
have benefited from a more thorough editing since the dialogue allowed one slip
too many. But enough of the negativity -- The Mythology Class is probably the
most successful Filipino comic book in English.
This pictorial narrative
shows that people like Arnold Arre read (and actually do their homework). To
create a world filled with superheroes, Arre does not make up characters that
resemble American mainstream comic book heroes. Instead, he researches and taps
into the rich world of Philippine folklore, epics, and lower mythology and
draws from them the heroes for an adventure that literally tries to
"reclaim the past." Bantugan, Lam-ang, and Kubin are alive and their
origins have been altered, in one way or another.
The short of it is: a
college class on Filipino mythology turns into a whole field trip into the
realm of the supernatural, where the barkada of heroes, under the guidance of
Professor Engkanta, captures creatures who do not belong in this world and need
to be returned to theirs.
With this premise, the limited
series provides much material (and Arre used a more than generous amount of it)
for an ongoing series, but I guess the whole point was to create a story that
actually ended in 326 pages.
Despite the inconsistency
of the length of the four issues (the shortest is 60 pages, the longest, 92),
one feels the earnestness of Arre's graphic storytelling. Although more action
panel-oriented, The Mythology Class isn't a slugfest battle against the forces
of evil, neither is it about teenage angst with mutant hysteria. What it is
about is the discovery of a dark, strange world (which need not be grim nor
gritty) that could only be Filipino.
Much (superficial) praise
has been received by the series that to mention them here would be redundant
(and insulting). No one has assessed Arre's strongest point in the series: his
vision. To draw from folklore and the epics of the past is no assurance of a
Filipino piece, good or bad. This has been done, and has been done terribly.
The risks lie in Arre's integration of this material with the present
generation. Only a few people can pull this off.
The last time this happened
was in August 1991, when the U.P. Tropa Experimental Theatre Company staged
Auraeus Solito's rock opera Manhid. Drawing from the names of gods and heroes
of the past, new Filipino heroes are born, fighting against a repressive
imperialist state that indirectly turns its people into white, apathetic
citizens. In Arre's world, apathy characterizes the current generation, and
those who aren't are the chosen heroes. So as not to die of boredom or
cynicism, one must have that vision of wonder and openness for the other world,
the forgotten past.
This is how to survive in
Arre's world. This is the vision in The Mythology Class.
The Mythology Class By
Arnold Arre
Four issues (P130 each)
About the Author
Paolo M. Manalo is the editor of the literary section of the Philippines Free
Press. He writes poetry and essays.