2018 SUMMER KOMIKON LAUNCH
THE BLACK BESTIARY: An Alejandro Pardo Compendium
Okay, as promised yesterday, here are my responses to the 8 questions posed to me in anticipation of the release of The Black Bestiary: An Alejandro Pardo Compendium this coming Saturday (April 14) at Summer Komikon.
My understanding is, this Q&A will be used in various media announcements from Summit, though it will probably be excerpted.
What follows is the unedited Q&A, which I have permission to post. ('Cause, you know, it's always good to ask for permission first.)
There are actually 9 questions, though one question was directed specifically to Budjette Tan.
Below are the questions either directly addressed to me, or to both me and Budjette.
As Budjette's responses have yet to come in, what appear here are my answers.
1 The Black Bestiary is the second book in the
Alejandro Pardo Chronicles.
Tell us how it's different from The Lost Journal of
Alejandro Pardo. What made you decide on this format?
Even as we were wrapping up LJ (The Lost Journal of Alejandro Pardo),
I already knew that if we were given the opportunity to follow it up with
another book, that it should have some of the best characteristics of a sequel.
It would not necessarily be bigger or flashier or “louder” than the
original, but rather that it would cover new ground, building the world
outwards, showing us something new that we haven’t seen before.
Thus, while we feature another batch of creature entries (as written by
Budjette Tan; for those readers who are
looking for familiar aspects from LJ), we also expand on the “narrative” of
this world with first-person accounts, essays, and new revelations regarding
Pardo and his colleagues.
2 For those who haven't read the first book:
Who is Alejandro Pardo?
And what more does the Black Bestiary reveal about him
and how he sees the world?
Alejandro Pardo is a Filipino gentleman adventurer of the first half of
the 19th century.
He comes from wealth, studied abroad, and has traveled the world
extensively having esoteric, occult adventures.
He’s decided to return to his homeland, where he chronicles the
existences of beasts from Philippine folklore and myth, while the country lies
in the insidious grip of Spanish colonization.
He’s devilishly charming, opinionated, brilliant, arrogant, and pompous.
And, given the time frame--the suffragette movement was still decades away, in
the latter half of the century--like most men of his era, outrageously sexist.
(He’s also a notorious gourmand, often overindulging in food and drink,
and constantly struggling to keep fighting fit as any self-respecting gentleman
adventurer would need to be.)
While our exposure to Pardo in LJ was largely through his annotations to
the creature entries, in the BB (The Black Bestiary: An Alejandro Pardo
Compendium), we’re also afforded a decidedly unflattering glimpse of
the man through the eyes of one of his artist companions, Kolya.
3 David, you introduce us to a new "lost
journal", which occupies a major part of the book.
Tell us about how you
came up with the character of Kolya.
While the LJ was being written, I already knew the composition of
Pardo’s Scooby Gang:
That we would have one artist who would have much rather stayed an
artist and not become some kind of occult adventurer (Kolya);
Another artist who merely used drawing as yet one more way to practice
and refine his manual dexterity so as to improve his skills as an [spoiler! See
BB for details] (Asif);
And the third artist (Marisol), who would be female--to break up the
sausage party--and who would come to develop a link with the tikbalang (which we established came
under Pardo’s “control” in the LJ).
In a lot of ways, Kolya serves as the antidote to Pardo; he’s a much
more agreeable and likeable, and more relatable
character.
It’s always been important to me to have characters have discrete
personalities and backstories, regardless of whether they’re “lead” characters
or “supporting” characters. So it was vital to me to know who these people were
and where they came from, even though we wouldn’t necessarily reveal these
details to the readers until later books.
And, after people have read the BB, it should become apparent that the
overarching intent is to “meet” Pardo’s Scooby Gang gradually, an artist at a
time, and even as we get to know the artist, we also get to know how they saw
Pardo, and by extension, learn more about him as well.
4 Kolya's journal is revealed through an
organic flow of modern-day vignettes: monologues and interviews with a diverse
group of people living under the shadow of the supernatural.
What was the idea
behind the worldwide scope of the modern-day sequences?
While I approached writing my creature entries and Pardo annotations in
the LJ as narrative, I also knew that I wanted any kind of follow-up to contain
actual stories, so I came up with the
idea of having the stories presented as first-person accounts, so we would
“hear” them in each individual’s particular voice.
This was my spin on those ubiquitous “true” horror (or ghost) stories we
hear or read all the time. We’d have our own version of those kinds of tales,
but told in the specific voice of the storyteller, the person who experienced
the supernatural event.
It became readily apparent, when I began to extrapolate what the
possible reaction to the publication of the LJ would be, that those accounts
would come from people all over the world, telling their own stories in
reaction to how the LJ impacted them.
This would also, simultaneously, help build the world outwards,
introducing us to other people (and groups) who’ve had their lives turned
upside-down by supernatural encounters.
5 For both of you: Any new favorite creatures
out of this new bunch?
Well, I’m not sure if this counts, since the new creatures I introduced
were mentioned organically within the “narrative” sections (it seemed more
appropriate to me to approach them in that manner, as opposed to having an
actual creature entry that was removed and separate from the body of the
narrative), but I have to admit that I’m fascinated with the boroka, and of course, the possibilities
of its next appearance…
7 What is your personal view of the supernatural
and aswangs?
I’m honestly not sure I have a firm belief either way, but I do
acknowledge that in all likelihood, there’s a whole lot more going on out there
(and around us) than we humans are aware of, so, anything is possible…
8 Are you both working on any new projects at
the moment?
Well, I’m always working on
the comics, collaborating with some mighty fine artists and trying to get those
out to a wider audience.
We’re gearing up for the 5th year of DAKILA, so hopefully
we’ll have some great new releases this coming November Komikon.
And of course, I’m also working out in my head what the next Pardo title(s)
may look like.
And on that note…
9 What could come
next for Alejandro Pardo?
As I mentioned in an earlier answer, once you’ve read the BB, it should
become clear that we’re meeting Pardo’s crew gradually, so if we do get to
follow up with another book, then we will get to know more about Marisol (and
Padre Rubén!).
We’ll also get to know more about some of the characters we met in the
contemporary timeline, and “hear” some of the stories teased in the BB.
So here’s hoping readers like the BB enough so we get the chance to
revisit Pardo and company soon!
https://www.facebook.com/SummitBooks/videos/10156312724199222/
Check out the Summit article here.
And there you have it.
So The Black Bestiary: An Alejandro Pardo Compendium will contain a new batch of creature entries (written by Budjette Tan),
and a whole lot more narrative stuff, written by yours truly, with illustrations by Kajo Baldisimo, Bow Guerrero, and Mervin
Malonzo.
BB will be available at the Summit booth (which will be located outside the Main Kon area, in the lobby, at L101 on the floor plan). Get your copy early, enter the Main Kon area, and mosey on down to the Alamat table (B36) to have it signed.
You'll be entitled to discounts on most of the 'Verse comics if I sign your copy of BB on Saturday!
(Offer good for the duration of Summer Komikon 2016 on April 14, Saturday, and while supplies last.)
I'll also be at the
Summit booth from 2 to 4 PM, signing alongside other members of the
creative team. (Kajo and Bow have indicated they will be present, though no word from Mervin that I've heard.)
Plus, new 'Verse releases here!
And
there you go.
Set
the date: April 14, this coming Saturday, at the Bayanihan Center on Pioneer.
#komikonph
Hope
to see all you mighty fine folk at Summer Kon!
you
can’t drink just six,
Dave
