Filipino Heroes League Review

Komik name: The Filipino Heroes League, Book 1: Stick and Stones
Author: Paolo Fabregas
ISBN: 971-0545-04-3
Format: Paperback, 135 pages
Price: P180, Free to borrow if you're a friend
Bought from: Fully Booked
Back-of-the-book-synopsis:
Undermanned and under-funded, the Filipino Heroes League does what it can to fight against injustice.
It's tough being a superhero but its even tougher being a third-world superhero.

Review:

I've ruminated not too long ago about the difficulty of writing superheroes in a Filipino setting because of the real problems they would have to face. Writer-Artist Paolo Fabregas finds a really plausible solution to the problem, that's both sensible and completely entertaining.

-Gerry Alanguilan 

That it. That's my review. In the words of the author of Elmer.
Hmm...I feel like I cheated you.
Very well.

What I love about this book is how Mr. Fabregas mixed the real world issues of our country and the superhero genre. Corruption, brain drain, etc., all tackled in the story while still being entertaining to read and not all too preachy. For example, the comic book started with a Filipino news caster proudly reporting about how a certain Filipino superhero called "Bomb Boy" became the sidekick of "The Great American" and helped him capture terrorists while our local superheroes lament at the lack of mention of their good deeds. Doesn't that sound familiar? So Filipino. It is the story of our country; disguised as a superhero comic book.

Unlike many superhero comics, FHL's story is plot-driven. It means that the characters are not the focus but pawns in a big battle on a chess board that you're overseeing. The downside of this is if it isn't handled carefully, you'll end up with two-dimensional main characters because you'll need to flesh out the events rather than the development of the characters. Sadly, FHL suffers from this.

Let's talk about the powers of the main characters for a second. It's a bit generic. There's super speed, invisibility, telepathy, slick(???), technology manipulation(but it needs to be a trash first), and flash bomb(???). They seem completely not that powerful and non-lethal. But what's awesome about it is they make up for it with their resourcefulness. I think that's very Filipino.

Other nit-picky thingos:

• The overall plot is a bit predictable at first but maybe that's a problem with me. It's very fun though.
• The pacing is okay. 
• The art is great and the action scenes are clear enough to follow. Which is good for a superhero comic book.
• The dialogues are good. It elicited laughs at places where I know I should laugh. 
• The placing of the speech balloons though is not great. There are times where it's a bit hard to follow
• The paneling needs work because it's not smooth reading for me.

Overall, I enjoyed reading it. This is a thoroughly Filipino comic book and a must have for a Filipino comic book collector. BUY IT!

P.S. I tried not discussing what happens inside because I want you to buy it and discover the story yourself.