Pilipino FUNNY Komiks fans rejoice! Local studio releases Combatron animated shorts

For those who grew up in the early 90s, joy came in the form of reading the about orphaned boy Empoy and his thrilling adventures as the super cyborg Combatron within the pages of the legendary Pilipino FUNNY Komiks.

For those too young to remember, Pilipino FUNNY Komiks was a classic Filipino komik (comic book) for kids featuring fully-colored comic book characters and serialized stories. It was published by Islas Filipinas Publishing Co. Inc. with the maiden issue appearing on June 26, 1978. Readership was not limited to kids alone, but also to adult consumers who enjoyed the komik's entertaining contents.

The original comic strip of Combatron was created by Berlin Manalaysay and ran from 1992 to Dec. 15, 1997. It was arguably the most popular comic strip that Pilipino FUNNY Komiks had back then, frequently appearing as the cover art for most of the comic book’s best-selling issues.

A generation of kids and young adults would storm the local komiks stand just to be the first to read the latest on Combatron. With trusty robot dog Dobbernaut, Empoy/Combatron and his allies battled evil cyborg aliens powered by advanced cybernetic armors — from the Space Warriors to enemy-turned-ally Death Metal and the badass cyborg boss himself, Mega Death.

Combatron on the cover of Pilipino FUNNY Komiks.

And now, more than 28 years after he first premiered on the pages of Pilipino FUNNY Komiks, Combatron is back once more, colored and fully animated.

Local animation studio WhiteFang Animations has brought Combatron to life with a series of animated shorts, complete with dialogues, sounds and special effects. If you remember how cool he was executing the finishing-move Super Galactic Phoenix back then, you’d be amazed on how it’s done in the anime — fully digital, colorful and action-packed.

Leo Ruin made the storyboard for the short film, Pocholo Gonzales served as the voice for Combatron, while Jordences Villasan dubbed Abodawn/Dobbernaut.

Now with three episodes, the story is a tad different from the comics. It follows Combatron and his efforts to thwart an alien invasion lead by Abodawn. The third installment even teased the arrival of Mega Death himself! How cool is that?

Missing the nostalgic vibe of Combatron? Watch all three episodes of Combatron for free on the WhiteFang Animations YouTube channel.