Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino

Contrary to a pulp review I saw on Goodreads, I think this book is not pseudo science. This is just a collection of legends or fables---fantastic stories of an evolution of the universe. Legends on how the universe evolve into being. A constant and sometimes convoluting recreation of life as told by the central character named as Qfwfq (the exact pronunciation here varies per reader) where the technique is actually fantastical and humanistic by using the elements of science.

This edition is composed of 12 stories and I'm lucky to dislike only one titled "The Light Years" due to semantics. I just cant simply suspend my belief in thinking that somebody from a distant galaxy speaks the same language as humans and dislike the convoluting idea of messages jumping back-and-forth across galaxies and time. But I like the stories (some are heartbreaking and most are comical) that reflect humanity at best and also at worst. I love the endless games with Pfwfp and the wagers with Dean k(y)K as the universe expands, and I struggled with Qfwfq (an amphibian in the story) who lost his (first?) love Lll to his great uncle N'ba N'ga the fish at a certain evolutionary period.  

Qfwfq as a central character represents a mathematical formula, then a physical matter, a piece of rock, a cell, a fish, an amphibian, a dinosaur, and so on per story. This is perhaps a factor that will make readers like or despise the collection as a whole but I am giving it a substantial rating of 3 stars for the entertaining stories. I think I can now postulate the certain part of a woman that Calvino really loves.

(This is my first read and my first review here in Davao City. I just love the place! Ramon Bautista, you are probably under the sea when you said that there are lots of "Shrimps" here last year 'coz you are so wrong...lol)

Genre: Fantasy, Fable
Rating: 3 Light Years  

Skyworld Vol. 2

In the first day, I look into a story and I declared it good. The next day the story swallowed me whole, and it was better.

The flow of this second volume in connection with the first is mesmerizing as a fresh breathe of summer. Downplaying the shitty poetry here, I never imagined that this current cliche of resurrecting the dead old mythologies will take a new breathe of life in this electronic age of FB and Barack Obama.

The creators worked their part in story and art seamlessly and telling it from the Big Bang to the Big Crunch (with apologies to Dr Stephen Hawking) along with historical figures like Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio is a work just close to perfection. This graphic novel is not for the young readers though, especially when you encounter [SPOILER WARNING] that scene with the Asuang grabbing Rizal's baby boy straight from Josephine Bracken's womb. If you havent read this, better expect "graphic" scenes in this well-paced graphic novel. The artist just simply loves to decapitate both monsters and men here. The only flaw I see is Makabo's declaration of a fleshless and bloodless God only to be contradicted later about the belief that drinking the blood of the same God would give one powers terrible and unimagined.

As Joseph Campbell states in the chapter opener of his book The Power of Myth (The Journey Inward chapter); "One thing that comes out in myths is that at the bottom of the abyss comes the voice of salvation. The black moment is the moment when the real message of transformation is going to come. At the darkest moment comes the light." The Skyworld story is a testament to that old idea. You may see it as a story somewhere from a parallel universe, or an imaginary Philippines but the bottom line here is still that ultimate quest for redemption that everyone is tasked to undergo.

Since the first volume, the Skyworld universe is connected with the world of Alexandra Trese and that's the reason why I highly recommend this for Trese fans out there. But apart from Trese, there are more characters joining the fight here. The story flies between history and the present, and this narrative flow is what I seriously like about it. I'm almost tempted to call this Skyworld story an Asuang Apocalypse given the sci fi elements but I better give it to more informed and mature readers to hand that verdict.

My only duty as a reader is to find out if the story is good or bad (from the original collection of 4 chapters or serialized issues in 2009) and my assessment so far is this---it's better.


Genre: Dark Fantasy, Urban Horror, Philippine Mythology
Rating 4.5 bags of rock salt out of 5

Alternative Alamat

If you love stories about Philippine Mythology this one looks delicious. Published today by Rocket Kapre Books in digital format, this is an anthology of new and old, known and unknown, fiction and non-fiction work of writers, artists, and historians involved in the fascination and study of our country's diverse mythology.

cover art by Mervin Malonzo for Rocket Kapre Books

CONTENTS:

“Ana’s Little Pawnshop on Makiling St.” by Eliza Victoria 

“Harinuo’s Love Song” by Rochita Loenen-Ruiz 

“The Last Full Show” by Budjette Tan 

“The Alipin’s Tale” by Raymond G. Falgui 

“Keeper of My Sky” by Timothy James Dimacali 

“Conquering Makiling” by Mo Francisco 

“The Sorceress Queen” by Raissa Rivera Falgui 

“Beneath The Acacia” by Celestine Trinidad 

“Offerings to Aman Sinaya” by Andrei Tupaz 

“Balat, Buwan, Ngalan” by David Hontiveros 

“A Door Opens: The Beginning of the Fall of the Ispancialo-in-Hinirang” by Dean Alfar 

Appendix A: A Few Notable Philippine Deities 

Appendix B: Interview with Professor Herminia Meñez Coben 

Appendix C: Interview with Professor Fernando N. Zialcita 

Appendix D: On Researching Philippine Mythology 

Cover and interior artwork by Mervin Malonzo

Rare Catch This Year

After reading a revolutionary essay about Society & Science on Adbuster Magazine (the magazine for culture jammers) I've been looking for this book for many years. Now, the long wait is over. Just got a copy this evening @ Powerbooks - Alabang Town Center.

It's not a comic book.
It's a Science Fantasy novel completely different from mainstream Sci Fi. Many consider this as the Book of Fables.