Tabi po: Book 1

Warning: Mature content.

A haunting look into Filipino history and culture, inscrutable yet intriguing characters, and lots of monsters eating-things action!
Finally, translated into English! What better way to introduce the world to Filipino Mythology than this elegantly (and most of the time brutally) illustrated horror comic.”

- DJ Legaspi, co-editor, The QBCCC

A young man wakes inside a hollow of a tree in the middle of a forest with no memory of who he is or where he’s from or even how to speak. The only things he knows for sure are the image of a young woman he sees every time he closes his eyes, and the maddeningly painful hunger that grows inside his navel-less belly … a hunger for flesh … and blood …

Make way for a new chapter in modern Asian horror: Mervin Malonzo’s TABI PO chronicles the continuing biography of Elias and his odious odyssey to discover his origin, destiny, and true horrible nature, in this gothic komix deconstruction and rebuilding of the Philippine “aswang” mythology.

“Yes. Yes. You’ve seen one vampire, you’ve seen them all. But make no mistake, the “aswang” of Philippine myth is no mere copy of the western bloodsucker.
Mervin Malonzo introduces us to an “aswang” named Elias, presents us Elias’ mysterious birth, and his gradual discovery of his nature and purpose.
The artwork of TABI PO is lovely and haunting. You’d imagine this kind art style used to paint idyllic country scenery, except, these scenes depict a lot of blood and gore.
Elias narrates his lifestory in the most poetic fashion, even though he’s talking about his insatiable hunger for blood and flesh.”

- Budjette Tan, Trese

“There are very few people who can do justice to the idea of myth, especially in this age of introspection when the idea of things larger than yourself become nothing more than notions held in the space of the folds of your brain. Preconceptions of what an “aswang” is are abound and all of them are in this book. What Mervin Malonzo has managed to do is circumvent cliche, and protocol into something original and meaningful. He’s managed to condense myth into something more manageable, and personal. Basically, he took something old, tired, and refuses to die and gave it a reason to search for a new purpose, walking the streets in all its punk swagger. TABI PO asks that you step aside and look on in horror and delight at what it’s going to do to your idea of monsters. Here is his atheist’s gospel”

- Josel Nicolas, Windmills