Tag Archives: paolo chikiamco

Exclusive Preview: “Syncopation” by Aime Marisa and Bonnibel Rambatan from DELAY: A Comics Anthology

Looming milestones, and missed connections. Resisting mainstream expectations, and doing life at your own pace. What does DELAY mean to you? 

Writers and illustrators from all around Southeast Asia take on this theme in an anthology, DELAY: A Comics Anthology. It’s curated by guest editors Charis Loke and Paolo Chikiamco, telling stories close to their hearts while exploring the potential of the comics medium to depict the passage of time.

Charis Loke has been found drawing book covers, fantasy maps, board games, street protests, in the jungle, on a boat, and by a glacier. As an editor and curator, she’s worked with close to a hundred Southeast Asian comic creators and artists, including co-editing Sound: A Comics Anthology, published by Difference Engine. She’s illustrated for Netflix, Orbit, Macmillan, Subterranean Press, and Mekong Review, among others, and has an MA in Visual Sociology with an interest in mapping as arts research.

Paolo Chikiamco, from the Philippines, is a lawyer and writer of prose, comics, and interactive fiction. His prose has been published in anthologies such as The Sea is Ours and The Best of Philippine Speculative Fiction, and his interactive wrestling novel Slammed! was released by Choice of Games. As an editor, he put together Alternative Alamat, an anthology of stories that reimagine Philippine myth and folklore. As a comics writer, he has collaborated with some of the country’s most talented artists.

Creative Teams

• A Day in the Life by Cesar Miguel Escaño (PH) & Ferdee Bambico (PH)
• Ad Astra by Nicolette “Wanlingnic” Lee (SG)
• Astray by Farid Nad (MY)
• DELAYED by Peter Lin (SG) & Angela Wu (SG)
• Fish Curry Tastes Better the Next Day by Paati/பாட்டி Philosophy (SG)
• Limerence Station by Eliot Lime (SG)
• Ma, Pa, Delayed Ako by Hansel Dimapilis (PH)
• Syncopation by Aime Marisa (MY) & Bonnibel Rambatan (ID)
• The Adventures of Sunday Domingo feat. Yaya Precy by Julius Villanueva (PH)
• The Other World by Cathlyn Vania (ID)
• Time For That Later by Wayne Rée (SG), Nadia Daeng (SG), & Abigail Goh Tian-I (MY)

DELAY: A Comics Anthology is out April 2026 from Difference Engine. You can pre-order it now on Bookshop, Amazon, from Difference Engine, or your local comic shop or bookstore.

We have an exclusive preview of “Syncopation” by Aime Marisa and Bonnibel Rambatan from the comics anthology.

DELAY: A Comics Anthology

Muros Within Magical Walls – The Case of the Cemetery Girl is a detective story with a magical spin

An intrepid detective tracks a girl lost amidst Manila’s many temptations. Can he crack the case and find the girl before the city erupts into violence?

Story: Paolo Chikiamco
Art: Borg Sinaban

Get your copy now! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

Bookshop
Amazon
Kindle


Tuttle Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
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Review: Mythspace Volume 1

MYTHSPACE VOLUME 1

What I loved about the Predator series is how they played with the mysteries of Egypt. As we find out through the movies and comics is that the Predators have come to Earth throughout the centuries. One of those periods of time being Ancient Egypt. We find out in the Aliens Vs Predator, they are responsible for the pyramids being built.

The creators played with the fact that theorists have always wondered how such huge structures were so well constructed. One of those theories being aliens. The movie showed how the Predators were treated like gods. In the first volume of Mythspace, we dive into a world where the line between God and alien becomes paper-thin.

In “ Lift Off”, we meet Ambrosio, a young man being raised by his grandmother in the Philippines, whom he calls affectionately, “Lola”. As she spins tales of aliens, to entertain her “apo” (grandchild), as he would soon grow up to be a rebellious child, often making his Lola ashamed. Time passes and so does his Lola, as Ambrosio, now a teenager, must learn to live without her. Before he can find any solace he gets caught in the crossfire between a Kapres, and a Mananggal, a monster from Philippine folklore, where he would hit his head. When he succumbs, he finds himself on a spacecraft, headed to meet a royal, and at that moment, he realizes all those stories his grandmother told him, were all true. We are taken to Tereses Mor, where he and the horse creature are being offered as gifts to a monarch and also where he finds out that all these creatures he was thought to be monsters, were actually aliens like his Lola said but they are called different things in this outer space kingdom. Of course, Ambrosio would not take this sitting down and would soon find out the Kapre he met in the woods was trying to protect him from the space bounty hunters would take him instead. As he would find out his name, Jrakan FEL45038, who had protected the Philippines for 50 years and witnessed Ambrosio’s parents get abducted. Eventually, Jrakan and Ambrosio hatch a plan to escape this tyrant’s court t, taking one of the bounty hunters who was betrayed by her partner and the other ”offering” who came with him. As Ambrosio decides to go find his parents, he and the crew set off to find them once and for all. In the story, “Black Mark”, we meet Koi, a pilot who loses her family and whose death wish become too much to bear until she awakens an ancient evil. In “Devourers Of Light,” we dive into a world where the different aliens belong to warring clans, where a manipulated conflict allows the current ruler to grab more power. In “Uncommon Ground”, a search for a rare artifact leads one Kapre down a deadly road. In “Human”, we meet two star-crossed lovers who have been abducted by aliens to work mines, only becomes more complicated by hope. In “ Unfurling Of Wings”, a Mananggal and her friends capture a rare artifact, one that almost gets them killed.

Overall, an excellent graphic novel, which takes centuries-old myths and makes them anew for young readers. The story by Paolo Chikiamco is exciting and diverse. The art by the creative team is gorgeous. Altogether, an excellent book that shows off the talents of some amazing creators that aren’t in the spotlight.

Story: Paolo Chikiamco
Art: Koi Carreon, Paul Quiroga, Jules Gregorio , Mico Dimagiba, Cristina Rose Chua,
and Borg Sinaban
Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy

Preview: A Sparrow’s Roar OGN SC

A Sparrow’s Roar OGN SC

Publisher: BOOM! Box, an imprint of BOOM! Studios
Writer: C.R. Chua and Paolo Chikiamco
Artist: C.R. Chua
Cover Artist: C.R. Chua
Price: $14.99

Per of Esterpike is a standard knight-in-training; brave, hardworking, noble. Oh, and her sister Elena is the nation’s most beloved hero. No pressure.

Then Per is the only living witness to Elena’s death at the hands of a barbarian horde set on wiping Esterpike off the map, and someone has to carry word to the rest of Unity. This is a job for a hero; a job for Elena. But Per is all they have. 

Together with Elena’s second-in-command Amelia, Per must impersonate her sister and travel to Unity’s capital to rally the people against the oncoming horde. But as Per moves forward on her quest, she comes upon a conspiracy that could undermine everything Per, and Elena, has ever fought for. 

Join newcomers C.R. Chua (Adventure Time Comics) and Paolo Chikiamco on Per’s grand adventure all about strength, swords, and sisterhood.

A Sparrow's Roar OGN SC

A Young Hero’s Secret Past Revealed in New Look at A Sparrow’s Roar

BOOM! Studios has revealed a brand new look at A Sparrow’s Roar, the original graphic novel from cartoonist C.R. Chua and co-writer Paolo Chikiamco about a young knight who must assume the identity of her sister in order to save her kingdom, in comic shops on October 16, 2019 and in book stores on October 22.

Per and her older sister Elena are both knights in the land of Esterpike. But while Per is a mere knight-in-training, Elena is a war hero and the revered commander of the most famous soldiers in all the land, the legendary Lions of Esterpike. When disaster strikes, Per must do the unthinkable and pretend to be her sister in order to travel to the capital and rally the troops against an enemy that only she knows about. It’ll take all her strength, cunning, and a bit of help from her sister’s second-in-command, Amelia, to pull it off, but with the fate of the people in her hands, Per has no choice but to step into Elena’s boots in order to save the kingdom.

A Sparrow's Roar

Your First Look at A Sparrow’s Roar, an Original Graphic Novel from BOOM! Box

BOOM! Studios has released a first look at A Sparrow’s Roar, a brand new original graphic novel from cartoonist C.R. Chua and co-writer Paolo Chikiamco about a young knight who must assume the identity of her sister in order to save her kingdom, in stores October 16, 2019.

Per and her older sister Elena are both knights in the land of Esterpike. But while Per is a mere knight-in-training, Elena is a war hero and the revered commander of the most famous soldiers in all the land, the legendary Lions of Esterpike. When disaster strikes, Per must do the unthinkable and pretend to be her sister in order to travel to the capital and rally the troops against an incoming invasion that only she knows about. It’ll take all her strength, cunning, and a bit of help from her sister’s second-in-command, Amelia, to pull it off but with the fate of the people in her hands, Per has no choice but to step into Elena’s boots in order to save the kingdom.

A Sparrow's Roar

Swords & Sisterhood Save the Day in A Sparrow’s Roar Original Graphic Novel!

BOOM! Studios has announced A Sparrow’s Roar, a brand new original graphic novel from cartoonist C.R. Chua and co-writer Paolo Chikiamco about a young knight who must assume the identity of her sister in order to save her kingdom, which will debut in stores October 2019.

Elena of Esterpike is the revered commander of the most famed warriors in all the land— the legendary Lions of Esterpike. But when disaster strikes, it is her sister Per, a mere knight-in-training, who must gather allies in the face of an enemy even the Lions could not defeat. Together with the help of Elena’s second-in-command Amelia, Per takes on the role of her perfect older sister as she travels to the capital city to rally the troops and convince the generals of their neighboring city-states to provide aid against the oncoming horde. But she’ll have to stay on her toes as the poisonous intrigue of the court tears away at her secret identity and makes it that much harder to build the forces necessary to fend off the coming invasion.

A Sparrow's Roar