comics | The Adobo Chronicles

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Many Filipinos are not happy about the controversial Mar Roxas campaign comic book. Mar Roxas is not happy with the illustrator of the comic book.

Airing his thoughts on his controversial creation, Pinoy artist Karl Comendador said he was merely doing his job when he illustrated the much-criticized Mar Roxas promotional comics.

On his Facebook page, Comendador said he had been doing illustrations of political figures way back and this one was no different. He also revealed he was in fact supporting the candidacy of Roxas’ rival, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

“Marami po akong naidrowing na komiks pampulitika noon at ngayon. Trabaho lang po, sana’y inyong maunawaan. Maraming salamat po. DUTERTE PO ANG PRESIDENTE KO!” he wrote. (I have drawn many political comics in the past and up to now. It’s just work, I hope you understand. Thank you. Duterte is my president!)

Upon learning that the illustrator will be voting for Duterte, the Roxas campaign instructed its staff to cut Comendador’s professional fee in half.

Vatican City, Italy (The Adobo Chronicles) – The Vatican has sent a stern reprimand to the Communication Foundation for Asia (CFA) for spreading false information that Pope Francis is merely a comic book superhero.

Based in Manila, CFA is a not-for-profit foundation whose mission is to harness the power of communication in order to promote Christian values and empower people in need towards social transformation.

In preparation for the Philippine visit in January by Pope Francis, the foundation has published a new comic book depicting the leader of the Catholic church as a fictitious character in the likes of Superman, Batman and Spiderman. The comic book’s title is “A Pope Named Francis.”

In its letter, The Vatican said that “Pope Francis is a real person, not a comic book superhero. While he seems too good to be true because of his down-to-earth policies and actions, the Pope is real. Let us not mislead our children – and adults – to believe otherwise.”

In view of the scolding, the foundation is now considering several alternatives on what to do with the millions of copies of the new comic book. One of the options being mulled is to burn the copies in a huge bonfire to be held at Rizal Park (Luneta) in Manila on the eve of Pope Francis’ arrival in the Philippines.

To cover the cost of producing the comic books, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is designating this Sunday’s collections to reimburse the foundation. CBCP appealed to the Filipinos to drop real money — not play money — in the collection basket.