What
a "Trip"
by
Ruel S. De vera
(January
14, 2001 - Sunday Inquirer Magazine)
A talented comic book
creator goes back to the future with this charming history lesson.
After winning the National
Book Award for the deliciously ground-breaking comic book series "The
Mythology Class," Arnold Arre decided on a totally different direction for
his next project. Thre result is the refreshing "Trip to Tagaytay,"
(Tala Studios and Quest ventures), what amounts to a self-contained short story
set in the 21st century. Seen through the eyes of the hip teeneage narrator, it
is a patently bizarre, futuristic time -- and utterly Filipino. Aga Muhlach
(yes, that Aga) is President of the Philippines. Some 870 million Filipinos
have joined the other countries in colonizing the stars. Yet, as we follow
"Trip's" young protagonist in his seemingly ordinary walk about
Manila, we discover that the crazy-quilt city, for all its technology and
terrors, has survived with the spirit of its storied past intact.
Despite its comic book
form, "Trip to Tagaytay" is told completely in narration instead of
word balloons, allowing Arre to condense the complex new history he has
invented with a mind-boggling array of visuals. In fact, it is the thoroughly
fleshed-out setting of "Trip" that galvanizes this reading
experience. All 44 glossy, black-and-white pages are crammed with eye candy.
Every detail is taken care of -- the Jollibee ads, the fares, the basketball
scores from an IBA game, even the last existing jeepney, on display at the
National Museum.
Yet in the
end, "Trip to Tagaytay" proves to be a charming ode to the simple
things that transcend time -- friendship, love, patriotism, the power of dreams
-- all told through Arre's distinctive winning style. "Trip to
Tagaytay" is availalbe from all Comic Quest branches.