Mervin Malonzo’s ‘Tabi Po’ graphic novel available online again for free
Can’t get enough of the Trese hype and want to read more Filipino komiks and graphic novels with aswangs and the unexplainable? Check out Tabi Po by Mervin Malonzo.
The award-winning horror, gore, and fantasy graphic novel Tabi Po can be accessed once again for free, the artist tweeted last week.
Maraming nagtatanong kung saan mababasa ang Tabi Po. Maaari na uli itong mabasa nang libre sa https://t.co/5y6evmHms4. Enjoy! pic.twitter.com/Xt2cz6dAXT
— Mervin Malonzo (@mervinmalonzo) June 17, 2021
Tabi po started in 2010 as a webcomic that later won the National Book Award for Graphic Literature. The story revolves around a boy named Elias, who one day wakes up inside a tree in the middle of the forest as a newly-born aswang. Elias finds himself having an insatiable hunger for human flesh, luckily, his two new found companions Tasyo and Sabel, who are aswangs as well, guide him as he weaves through his new life as an aswang.
Interested readers and fans can visit the website tabi-po.com to read the first chapter for free.
According to the website, the physical copy of the second and third issue of Tabi Po is currently out of stock while the first issue can be purchased at Malonzo’s official online store.
Furthermore, Malonzo revealed that he has plans to create a collected edition for print. “Balak ko gumawa ng collected edition na sa print. Pahintay lang po at bibigyan ko ng oras,” Malonzo answered a fan on Twitter.
Balak ko gumawa ng collected edition na sa print. Pahintay lang po at bibigyan ko ng oras.
— Mervin Malonzo (@mervinmalonzo) June 17, 2021
Tabi po was also adapted into a live-action 6-episode mini series back in 2017 starring AJ Mulach as Elias with Adrian Alandy and Phoebe Walker as Tasyo and Sabel respectively. The series can be streamed through Cignal Play’s app.
Aside from Tabi Po, Malonzo runs an artist-centric independent publishing house called Haliya Publishing with Princess Malonzo and Aliyah Luna. Interested readers can also check out his other local works on his website. Malonzo also animated Ella Arcangel: Oyayi sa Dilim based on the comic by Julius Villanueva, another supernatural-centered story about Ella Arcangel and her community, where both humans and monsters survive in a small portion of the city.
(Images from Tabi-Po.com)
