Congratulations to Woodrose alumna, Katrina Olan (Class of 2013), for winning big in the Philippine International Comics Festival (PICOF). Her graphic novel, TABLAY, made it to this year’s Official Selection!
In one of her interviews, Katrina described TABLAY as “a Filipino sci-fi novel that brings together the edge of future fiction and the mysticism of Philippine mythology…It’s a story that revolves around the war between the Philippine Mech Force and the hostile beast machines called aswangs. For over a hundred years, the Mech Force has been defending the walls of New Intramuros, and one of the final measures against the enemy was called Operation Tablay, an all-out bombing mission. Sadly, it failed. Many years later, my main character, Anya Valerio, a Filipina mech pilot, discovers a dark secret about the aswangs. Now, she and her partner—the reserved but brilliant engineer Chino Jose—has to stop the fight before the consequences become irreversible. It may be fiction, but it contains a lot of social commentary about technology, ethics, and historical revisionism.”
The Philippine International Comics Festival (PICOF) aims to create an international awareness for Filipino comics and graphic novels, and grow the readership by publishing world-class creators. It’s the only comics festival in the world where Finalists receive a pro-creator publishing contract, and go through a Creator’s Lab.
Some book reviews posted on the National Book Development Board:
“A noteworthy piece of literature that delivers heart-pounding and visually stimulating action scenes, heartfelt character dialogue, and thought-provoking themes…” – The Bosun
“It’s a gripping, thought-provoking adventure that is both amazing and heartfelt. The real magic of Tablay is its ability to replenish our diminishing faculty to wonder.” – The Time for Assassins Literary Guild