Trese Vol 1: Murder on Balete Drive

by Budjette Tan, Kajo Baldisimo (Artist)

Overview

Award-winning Filipino comic book and soon to be Netflix anime series!

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 blood-sucking aswang run the most-wanted kidnapping rings, where gigantic kapre are the kingpins of crime, and magical engkantos slip through the cracks and steal your most precious possessions. When crime takes a turn for the weird, the police call Alexandra Trese.

Trese Vol 1 "Murder on Balete Drive" features all new, redrawn artwork throughout, and includes a substantial bonus section with behind-the-scenes sketches, info and details on the making of the book and further insight into the world of Trese, as told by its creators Budjette Tan and KaJo Baldisimo!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781950912193
Publisher:	Ablaze
Publication date:	12/08/2020
Pages:	136
Sales rank:	33,679
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	13 - 16 Years

Editorial Reviews

09/14/2020

Tan and Baldisimo’s series of supernatural noir explores a sinister underworld in the Philippines, now published for the first time in the U.S. Alexandra Trese pursues a criminal gang of aswang—monsters who can take human form. A trail of gruesome deaths in Manila (a woman burned alive in an unscorched room, a man drained of life in a nightclub bathroom)lead the Manila police to realize otherworldly forces are at play, and they call in Alexandra. Her grandfather befriended aswang and her father hunted them, and the unflappable Alexandra navigates arcane alliances and rivalries along with her complicated heritage. With the aid of a menagerie of Filipino folklore creatures and her two masked enforcers, Alexandra finds and eliminates the creatures. The haunting, fine-lined black-and-white art evokes the style of Filipino artists like Nestor Redondo and Alex Niño. Real-world political parallels could be read between the blurred lines of Alexandra’s world and the current wave of government-sanctioned extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. Whether that’s intentional, there’s complexity layered in: the “bad guys” may be monsters, but their killing at the hands of a vigilante and her deadly enforcers plumbs troubled waters. The unconventional monster art and moody, action-packed narratives make this horror-crime series a must-follow for any aficionado of the macabre. (Oct.)Correction: An earlier version of this reviews misspelled Alex Niño's last name.

Publishers Weekly

"Trese continues to impress and surprise." - GERRY ALANGUILAN, CREATOR OF THE AWARD-WINNING GRAPHIC NOVEL ELMER





“Budjette and Kajo's Trese is a gem. It excites the little child in me which used to believe in the wonders of Filipino folklore, and my adult self who enjoys intelligently written and drawn tales.” - LEINIL YU





“supernatural elements lend the story a strong horror vibe, which is accentuated by the grisly, black-and-white art.” - The Verge




“It is the book I would love to write myself... they capture the true atmosphere of the Manila I know and love” - WHILCE PORTACIO





Tan and Baldisimo's series of supernatural noir explores a sinister underworld in the Philippines, now published for the first time in the U.S. Alexandra Trese pursues a criminal gang of aswang-monsters who can take human form. A trail of gruesome deaths in Manila (a woman burned alive in an unscorched room, a man drained of life in a nightclub bathroom)lead the Manila police to realize otherworldly forces are at play, and they call in Alexandra. Her grandfather befriended aswang and her father hunted them, and the unflappable Alexandra navigates arcane alliances and rivalries along with her complicated heritage. With the aid of a menagerie of Filipino folklore creatures and her two masked enforcers, Alexandra finds and eliminates the creatures. The haunting, fine-lined black-and-white art evokes the style of Filipino artists like Nestor Redondo and Alex Nuño. Real-world political parallels could be read between the blurred lines of Alexandra's world and the current wave of government-sanctioned extrajudicial killings in the Philippines. Whether that's intentional, there's complexity layered in: the "bad guys" may be monsters, but their killing at the hands of a vigilante and her deadly enforcers plumbs troubled waters. The unconventional monster art and moody, action-packed narratives make this horror-crime series a must-follow for any aficionado of the macabre. (Oct.)—Publishers Weekly



"The story structure is perfect, mixing in occasional whimsy and the hint of previous adventures that may or may not be told. Baldisimo's black and white art has the creepiness of a Warren magazine story (by Alfredo Alcala or Nestor Redondo, of course). Yet it also blends in a manga influence. It's no wonder that Netflix has picked this book up for their anime programming — it's already cinematic and Trese is a terrific character." —fanboyplanet.com

From the Publisher