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Filipino komiks From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Trese (Tagalog: [ˈtrɛsɛ]) is a Filipino komik series written by Budjette Tan and illustrated by Kajo Baldisimo. It tells the story of Alexandra Trese, a detective who deals with crimes of supernatural origin.[1] Its first issue was published on October 22, 2005, starting off as a niche work which grew in popularity as readers were intrigued first by the first two volumes' focus on Manila's urban legends, and then by the later volumes' development of Alexandra Trese as a character.[2][3] The series went on to win several accolades.
Trese | |
---|---|
![]() Original cover image of the first issue of Trese | |
Publication information | |
Publisher | Alamat Comics Visprint (formerly Visual Print Enterprises) Avenida Books Ablaze Publishing |
Format | Ongoing series |
Genre | Dark fantasy Crime Horror |
Publication date | December 2005 – present |
No. of issues | Main Cases:
13 |
Creative team | |
Created by | Budjette Tan
Kajo Baldisimo |
Written by | Budjette Tan, J.B. Tapia, David Hontiveros |
Artist(s) | Kajo Baldisimo, Ian Sta Maria, Mark Torres, J.B. Tapia and Brian Balondo |
An animated adaptation for Netflix premiered on June 11, 2021, and has both Tan and Baldisimo as its showrunners and Jay Oliva as executive director.[4][5]
Trese was first published independently by Alamat Comics in ashcan and online format. The komik series is currently available in a collected, graphic novel form, published by Visprint, Inc (formerly Visual Print Enterprises). The retail company, National Book Store, re-released Trese: Last Seen After Midnight and Trese: Midnight Tribunal with dust jackets while FILBAR'S re-released the first three books with dust jackets.[6]
A hardcover compilation titled Trese: Book of Murders has also been published and contains the first three graphic novels. These compilations include journal entries from the protagonist's grandfather, Alexander Trese, which serve as additional commentary, providing more history and lore for each case. Trese: Stories from the Diabolical Volume 1 were tales originally published online as early as 2005[7] and compiled in 2008 in a blog[8] before it collated and published as a book in 2013. Cases #1, #2, and #4 were re-published by Visprint with updated, colored art by Kajo Baldisimo and translated into Filipino by Bob Ong. They also contained the translated journal entries from Trese: Book of Murders.
Trese and the Kambal have also appeared in other publications such as Skyworld and Agents of Ambush.
With the goal of reaching a larger audience, the creators set up an Indiegogo campaign for the production of an international 32-page edition of Case 1: At the Intersection of Balete and 13th Street that would contain updated text and art with bonus pages and would also include the same journal entries from Book of Murders. Aside from a variant cover exclusive, supporters could also avail the Indiegogo sketch variant with uniquely drawn covers.[9] The campaign was endorsed by Neil Gaiman.[10] Supporters from the Philippines were given freebies, 2 of the 16 designs sketches that were drawn in 13 ways, and a reprint of the original Trese #1 ashcan.[11]
At the release of Trese 7: Shadow Witness, Visprint Inc. sold more than 300 copies during the 40th Manila International Book Fair.[12] For the 14th anniversary of Trese, a reprint of Trese #1 Global Edition: At the Intersection of Balete and 13th Street was released exclusively by Comic Odyssey and FILBAR'S and called the "Anniversary Edition" .[13] It differed from the Global Edition in price and size, and included a "self-cover" where the paper used for its pages was also used for the cover page.[14] In the same year, Trese Deviations: Iunctura was released in ashchan format.[15] After the closing of Visprint Inc., Avenida Books published Trese Lite Postcard Book Vol. 1.[16] Another company, Ablaze Publishing, released the U.S. edition of Trese: Murder on Balete Drive, which used the Trese #1 Global Edition comic, along with an exclusive variant cover for Comic Odyssey and Sanctum Sanctorum Comics.
An Italian edition adapted after the U.S. edition was released beginning September 2021 by publisher Star Comics.[17] The first two volumes of Trese were translated into French in March 2022,[18] adapted after the U.S. edition, and released in one volume by publisher Les Éditions Delcourt.[19] A German edition of the first volume was also released in May 2024 by publisher Dantes Verlag.[20]
"When the sun sets in the city of Manila, don’t you dare make a wrong turn and end up in that dimly-lit side of the metro, where aswang run the most-wanted kidnapping rings, where kapre are the kingpins of crime, and engkantos slip through the cracks and steal your most precious possessions. When crime takes a turn for the weird, the police call Alexandra Trese."[21]
The story of Trese fuses Philippine horror mythology with dark, graphic storytelling and follows Alexandra Trese, a mysterious detective who deals with crimes of supernatural origin mainly occurring in the capital region of the Philippines.[1]
Because of her specialization in the supernatural, Alexandra is often called when the police cannot handle paranormal crimes, by Captain Guerrero, a man who prefers to lean on her knowledge and specialized skills. Alexandra is supported by two mysterious and magical creatures with uncertain powers known as the Kambal and together, they protect the streets of Manila from various creatures of Filipino folklore.[22]
Volume 3 explores Trese's past, when, at 15-years old, she joins her father Anton on her first case. The origins of the Kambal are also revealed in later issues.
Trese was originally planned for 13 chapters or cases. Volumes 1 and 2 comprise self-contained chapters (Cases #1 - #8) and introduce the paranormal world of Manila. Most cases are standalone, with the exception of the third issue, Mass Murders, where Cases #9 - #13 are related and use different cues from previous books. Beginning with Volume 5, the komik series takes on a more serialized progression while continuing to incorporate aspects of episodic storytelling in each issue.
Trese's plot, world-building, and characters have garnered comparisons with American comics such as Hellblazer and Planetary, while writer Budjette Tan cited the former, as well as Batman, X-Files, CSI and Constantine as some of the main inspirations going into the creation of Trese.[23][24] Tan also named the anime film Ghost in the Shell as a major source of inspiration for Trese.[25]
Trese: Mass Murders won the National Book Award Best Graphic Literature 2010.[31] Trese: Last Seen After Midnight, was nominated for the Filipino Readers' Choice Award for Comics/Graphic Novels 2012,[32] and Trese: Midnight Tribunal won the Filipino Readers' Choice Award for Comics/Graphic Novels 2013.[33] Trese: Stories from the Diabolical was nominated for the Filipino Readers' Choice Award for Fictional Anthology 2014,[34] and the anthology book Manila Noir, which contained Trese: Thirteen Stations, won the National Book Award for Best Anthology in English 2014.[35] Trese: High Tide at Midnight was nominated for the National Book Award for Graphic Literature in English 2015.[36]
Each issue of Trese is split into chapters known as 'cases', some structured like an actual detective case where Alexandra Trese arrives at a crime scene and gathers clues until the case is solved, while others are written as chapters for the issue's main story arc. Starting with the fourth book, cases are no longer numbered, but are listed in the order they appeared.
Budjette Tan created a blog, titled Stories from the Diabolical to share narratives that he could not put into the comic books. They would often involve "The Diabolical" and sometimes reference the main cases such as "Case 1: At the Intersection of Balete and 13th Street" and "Case 2: The Rules of the Race". Some of the stories in the blog were made in collaboration with other artists such as Mark Torres, who drew for Image Comics, and Elbert Or, creator of Bakemono High. Most of the blog posts were published in the first volume and were all illustrated by Kajo Baldisimo.
Originally published as ashcans, they are currently available in the Trese blog. They were illustrated by artist Atan Talas.
These are re-released issues that have been translated into Filipino by Bob Ong with an updated colored art. They all have bonus material attached at the end.
Numerous standalone comic shorts have been mostly written by Budjette Tan (with two notable exceptions) that are set in the Trese universe. They are usually illustrated by a host of different illustrators including Kajo Baldisimo. The Trese moniker is often placed at the start of the story's title to indicate its setting in the Trese universe. Sometimes, the connection is more subtle, such as when characters from the main Trese series appear in stories such as Songs of the Lewenri or when events from the main books are directly referenced in stories like The Clinic.[39]
Written by Mervin Ignacio, and illustrated by Ian Sta. Maria, Skyworld was set in an alternate universe, where Alexandra Trese and the Kambal act as some of the main characters that aid the main protagonist, Andoy. The single issues 1-3 were released at local conventions. Volumes 1 and 2 serve as compilations of these issues together with issue 4. They were published by National Bookstore Publishing.
Every legend hides a lie. A murdered Skygod re-emerges in modern-day Manila. A Tikbalang prince plots vengeance for the death of his father. And the Queen of the Asuang unleashes the mythical Bakunawa upon the streets of the city. Caught in their age-old struggle is Andoy. a crippled orphan that discovers he is the fulfillment of a prophecy dating back to Lapu-Lapu himself.[48]
Every legend hides a lie. The Queen of the Asuang and her legion have taken over the country. Alexandra Trese leads the resistance alongside Makabo, a Tikbalang warrior, and Kaio, the Duwende trickster. Trapped in their epic battle is Andoy, a teenage boy tasked with uniting an army of Tikbalang, Enkanto, Kapre and Duwende against the Asuang. But before he can lead them, he must first recover a mystical sword that was once part of the fabled Yamashita Treasure.[49]
This will be the last book in the series and is still under development, with the release slated for 2020.
Set after the events of Skyworld: Requiem, Andoy, currently called "Maharlika", now rules over a country in rebuild. A free version was released during the Philippine Independence Day 2017.[50] Originally it was titled Martial Law.
Ambush is a continuing strip created by Andrew Villar and published daily in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. The story follows Amber Gonzales, also known as Ambush, who starts her job as an agent at a very young age.[51] A variant cover with Trese paid homage to Uncanny X-Men #173 .
Several crossovers have involved Trese, some of which have been titled Trese: Ambush. A story published for the 2012 Free Comic Book Day Komiks anthology notably had Trese writer Budjette Tan write the script while Andrew Villar illustrated the comic. Other sample crossovers between the two include:
When a big fiery dog razes a village, the bravo company discovers the paranormal is involved. Trese, the Kambal, and a former agent help, but not without a huge sacrifice that would change their lives.[citation needed]
In honor of Batman Day 2016, Kajo and Budjette released online a non-canon story about Trese, Batman, and Wolverine teaming up to fight The Hand and Aswangs.[52] It was left without a conclusion. The last 2 missing pages were published in an ashcan titled, "Mga Drawing Ni Kajo #6" (The Drawings of Kajo). As part of the celebration for BatCon 2019, physical copies for the completed comic with an exclusive cover were released for the first 100 ticket buyers and included as a raffle for attendees.[53][54] On March 24, 2020 (during the COVID-19 pandemic), the complete comic was released in the official Trese blog.[55][56]
Written by David Hontiveros and illustrated by Marvin Del Mundo, the story is a crossover team-up between Fr. Mattias Trese and Dakila. It was a story canon to 'The Verse' universe by David Hontiveros. This was used as a way of featuring his character Dakila and the organization TierCell.[47] This is said to be the first story from the Trese Deviations title.
With the blessing of its creators, Alexandra Trese and the Kambals appeared in Kanto Inc (issue #3) and in a comic strip of Callous.[57] Parody versions also appeared in Beerkada comics.[citation needed]
The creators attempted to make a 10-minute long short film in 2010 but found it costly to produce.[58][59] According to the afterword of Trese 4: Last Seen After Midnight, the script was reused for the story "A Private Collection". There have been talks to adapt the series by Filipino studios and networks. Glaiza de Castro was a fan favorite for the role[60] and even showed interest.[61] A thesis short film was made by students but was only screened privately due to the creators having signed a contract with a potential film producer.[62]
On November 8, 2018, media-services provider Netflix announced at their "See What's Next Asia" event Marina Bay Sands in Singapore that they would air an anime-influenced web television series adaptation of Trese as part of their upcoming 'anime' lineup.[63] The animated series would be produced by BASE Entertainment with Jay Oliva as the executive producer. During the Trese Lite Vol. 1 launch, Budjette said that Filipino voice actors were used for the television series. In October 27, Netflix released the first look for the series, and set its release date for 2021.[4] On March 7, 2021, Netflix announced that Liza Soberano would voice for the Tagalog dub for the main character Alexandra Trese, with Shay Mitchell voice acting for the English dub.[64] The series was released on June 11, 2021.[65]
Due to its popularity, the creators sold limited amounts of shirts while several licensed shirts were produced by Art Initiative, Evil Genius Clothing Co., and Team Manila. Dolls of Trese, Crispin, and Basilio were made by Studio-Kaiba in 2012.[66] During Komikon 2017, The Keybie Cafe sold keychains of the characters[67] while Visprint sold refrigerator magnets.[68] In honor of the 13th anniversary of Trese, Hidden Fortress produced Trese and the Kambal 3.75" tall resin figures limited to 30 sets and was exclusively released for ToyCon PH 2018.[69]
In 2016, Balangay Entertainment announced Trese Case Files: War and Chaos, a cooperative board game for 1–5 players. Players would play as the characters from Trese as they protect Manila from villains from the comic and would need to work together to investigate cases, defeat monsters, gain favors, and thwart the mastermind's diabolical scheme.[70] Development stopped the following year in favor of other projects.
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