Mars Ravelo's Lastikman

Story and script: Gerry Alanguilan
Art: Arnold Arre
Colors: Edgar Tadeo
Publisher: Mango Comics

Synopsis:
Based on Mars Ravelo's first volume of "Lastik Man" released in 1965, Lastikman is an alien from another planet who crashed on Earth. However, he lost all his memories. He was taken in by Don Rufo and his two children namely Toto and Vinya. Later on, Lastik Man decides to use his powers for good and fight crimes. As the species from Lastikman's planet arrive to take over the world, Lastikman regains his memories and along with the townspeople and Atomika, a fellow alien like him, they must work hand-in-hand to overcome this threat.


Just got a copy of this at PICCA Fest and I'd say, it's a good one-shot komiks. When I saw Gerry Alanguilan's (famed Filipino comic book artist and writer) surname on the cover I thought that this is a must-read. And I was right. It won't disappoint you.
What more can you expect from Gerry Alanguilan? Lastikman has a good story and script that would make you ask for more. And no, it's not a cliche. The usage of the language Taglish (Tagalog-English) didn't go off with the story and setting, unlike other komiks, stories, and movies that are ruined by the misuse of Taglish. The use of Taglish here was actually well-suited to the story's modern-day setting, and in fact, it added up good humor and wits.
The art is very nice and it doesn't look very western. Arnold Arre (famed for his work, "The Mythology Class") did a great job with the drawings, and I really like how well he played with the characters' facial expressions. Edgar Tadeo's (famed Filipino colorist and inker who worked for Marvel Comics and DC comics) coloring worked really well with Arre's drawing style, and it gave the comic book that superhero comic book feel.
(The art actually looked very Filipino to me, with a bit of western influence.)

Overall, it's a very good comic and it's very Filipino. It doesn't look like a rip-off comic, storywise and artwise.
I hope that this will serve as an inspiration to young Filipinos out there who dream to become komikeros or komikeras someday. An inspiration that will show us that Filipinos are talented and are capable of creating good stories and artworks, and not rip-off or "adapt" other published works.
Let's not waste such good works and continue to support the local komiks and art industry. :D


Individual ratings
Art: 10/10 || Story: 10/10