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togidemi's review
3.0
man i feel like such a traitor to the komik community with this rating HDJSJHDK TRUST ME I WANTED SO MUCH TO LIKE IT MORE THAN I DID
First, what I liked: the concept is super fucking cool. PH mythology but sci-fi? YES PLEASE. The worldbuilding is clever and creative; the reinterpretations of folklore creatures to make them more alien and sci-fi were so smart. Just... really, really solid ideas. Also, all the artists are top-notch. (A bunch of pages in "Dark Mark", though, seem to have been printed with the sketch layer still visible.) Wild that my favorite stories, "Lift Off" and "Unfurling of Wings", also had my favorite art and ALSO were drawn by Koi Carreon and Borg Sinaban, both artists I was already familiar with.
But.
The exposition... was not handled well. It would either come in unnatural info dumps or terms and concepts and names being thrown around without pause. I already have passing knowledge of PH engkantos, and I was still super confused throughout the entire volume; I can't imagine how the experience will be for someone who doesn't know engkantos at all. So, if you don't understand the worldbuilding, you won't understand the stories; if you don't understand the story, you'll drop it. That's why it took me almost a whole year to finish it, and really it was just the thought of checking this off on Goodreads that made me do it. And I'm SO disappointed because all six stories are pretty solid and tackle a cool different angle, but YEAH the exposition's THAT confusing it kind of dragged all of them down. (Which made "Devourers of Light" the least compelling story; the others at least had character relationships to latch onto amidst the confusion, while this was almost entirely just COUNCIL and KAPRE PLANET[??] and GENOCIDE because HUH??? WHAT?? WHAT JUST HAPPENED?? WHO??¿) I nearly kicked a wall when I discovered the folklore glossary in the back because IF ONLY all of it was explained better IN-STORY, this would very easily be a 4- or even 5-star volume I'd highly recommend!
First, what I liked: the concept is super fucking cool. PH mythology but sci-fi? YES PLEASE. The worldbuilding is clever and creative; the reinterpretations of folklore creatures to make them more alien and sci-fi were so smart. Just... really, really solid ideas. Also, all the artists are top-notch. (A bunch of pages in "Dark Mark", though, seem to have been printed with the sketch layer still visible.) Wild that my favorite stories, "Lift Off" and "Unfurling of Wings", also had my favorite art and ALSO were drawn by Koi Carreon and Borg Sinaban, both artists I was already familiar with.
But.
The exposition... was not handled well. It would either come in unnatural info dumps or terms and concepts and names being thrown around without pause. I already have passing knowledge of PH engkantos, and I was still super confused throughout the entire volume; I can't imagine how the experience will be for someone who doesn't know engkantos at all. So, if you don't understand the worldbuilding, you won't understand the stories; if you don't understand the story, you'll drop it. That's why it took me almost a whole year to finish it, and really it was just the thought of checking this off on Goodreads that made me do it. And I'm SO disappointed because all six stories are pretty solid and tackle a cool different angle, but YEAH the exposition's THAT confusing it kind of dragged all of them down. (Which made "Devourers of Light" the least compelling story; the others at least had character relationships to latch onto amidst the confusion, while this was almost entirely just COUNCIL and KAPRE PLANET[??] and GENOCIDE because HUH??? WHAT?? WHAT JUST HAPPENED?? WHO??¿) I nearly kicked a wall when I discovered the folklore glossary in the back because IF ONLY all of it was explained better IN-STORY, this would very easily be a 4- or even 5-star volume I'd highly recommend!
scythefranz's review
3.0
Actual rating: 3.5
I thought this was a collection of a single story but it wasn't. It's a collection of different stories in the same universe.
Individually, each story is great, interesting. But as a whole, I'm still disappointed since I expect more, I expect a single story. My bad.
I thought this was a collection of a single story but it wasn't. It's a collection of different stories in the same universe.
Individually, each story is great, interesting. But as a whole, I'm still disappointed since I expect more, I expect a single story. My bad.
thequeenreads's review
3.0
As a fan of sci fi graphic novels, I was a little disappointed by this one. The stories had great plots but the executions were quite poor. The illustrations were a bit confusing with regards to the dialogues. I am saddened that I didn't like this more.
aidrielle's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
i liked some of the stories and i had no idea what was happening in the other ones. sci-fi really isn't for me :( i'm just glad i finally read this as it's been sitting on my bookshelf since 2015 D:
mousegoddess's review
3.0
So I randomly grabbed this thinking it was a graphic novel. Nope. I was left a little confused and frustrated because I think I was dropped into the middle of an existing series (which was my own fault). It was SUPER intriguing tho.
dee2799d's review
5.0
Apparently this is a collection of short stories that have been published individually and sold in summer Komikon. I have no idea if I actually made it to summer Komikon, because I sure as hell would have remembered Mythspace if I've seen it then.
Anyway, the blurb at the back says, 'Space Opera. Pinoy Style.' And that's exactly what it is. And then some.
I'm not really sure how I feel about space operas. All my sci-fi reads usually has to do with virtual realities and disenfranchised people with tattoos and facial piercings (not really, but you get the idea). But of course when you look at space opera movies (Star Wars, and even Guardians of the Galaxy) you see that they ARE about disenfranchised people as well. But probably with less tattoos and facial piercings. And more outer space shenanigans.
I picked this up during winter (naks, as if) Komikon because the cover art attracted me. It looked fun. The colours especially looked fun. Then I read the back and it promised me Filipino lower mythological creatures in outer space and I NEEDED TO HAVE IT. Forget the fact that I've never voluntarily read anything related to space operas in my life. This is something I can get behind.
And it delivers. You get that somewhat cheesy heroics (which everyone loves, come on) during life or death moments. You get kids trying to survive. You get wars between different races. And sometimes wars between people from the same race. You also get kapres, tikbalangs, manananggals, segbens, and the like. And characters you actually give a fuck about. This is probably my most favourite graphic novel purchase this year and I hope there's gonna be more.
Anyway, the blurb at the back says, 'Space Opera. Pinoy Style.' And that's exactly what it is. And then some.
I'm not really sure how I feel about space operas. All my sci-fi reads usually has to do with virtual realities and disenfranchised people with tattoos and facial piercings (not really, but you get the idea). But of course when you look at space opera movies (Star Wars, and even Guardians of the Galaxy) you see that they ARE about disenfranchised people as well. But probably with less tattoos and facial piercings. And more outer space shenanigans.
I picked this up during winter (naks, as if) Komikon because the cover art attracted me. It looked fun. The colours especially looked fun. Then I read the back and it promised me Filipino lower mythological creatures in outer space and I NEEDED TO HAVE IT. Forget the fact that I've never voluntarily read anything related to space operas in my life. This is something I can get behind.
And it delivers. You get that somewhat cheesy heroics (which everyone loves, come on) during life or death moments. You get kids trying to survive. You get wars between different races. And sometimes wars between people from the same race. You also get kapres, tikbalangs, manananggals, segbens, and the like. And characters you actually give a fuck about. This is probably my most favourite graphic novel purchase this year and I hope there's gonna be more.
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