Comic Review: The Mythology Class

The Mythology Class is a graphic novel written and illustrated by Filipino comic creator Arnold Arre. This was originally published by the author in four issues in 1999, and was collected into a special edition by Adarna House in September 2005. The latest edition is a special collected edition published in November last year by Nautilus Comics.

It is the first comic book to win a Manila Critics Circle National Book Award on its Comic Books category and lands at number 5 on the Spot.Ph Top 10 New PinoyKomiks Characters.

The Mythology Class indeed is a modern classic. It made its mark in history because it was a pioneer in tackling Filipino myth and folklore and presenting them in a modern-day setting. This is the book that started using the myths and legends of the Philippines such as tikbalangs, kapres, engkanto and also historical and mythological Filipino heroes like Sulayman and Lam-ang way before comic books such as Skyworld and Mythspace did it.

Spot.Ph got it right when they described the book as the Philippine version of Archie comics and Scooby-Doo-gang combined. Other than those cartoons, the comic also reminds me of The Ghostbusters.

The art is remarkable, the story is funny and more importantly it reminds us of how Filipinos value friendship and Pinoy barkada. Its other strength lies on the fact that because of its numerous characters, Filipino readers can easily establish a connection with the comic.

So if you want to support PinoyKomiks and asking yourself where you should start then The Mythology Class should be the first one on your list. You won’t be disappointed.

About the author: N.M. CABANGBANG or “BANGBANG” has been writing about events, art and culture for MetroCebuNews since June 2014. He is a graduate of Bachelor of Fine Arts Major in Painting at the University of the Philippines Cebu and was the chairperson for two major student organizations, namely Fine Arts Student Organization (1997-1998) and NagkahiusangKusugsaEstudyante political party (1998-1999).

Since 2010, he has been an ART teacher at B.R.I.G.H.T. Academy and is also the football coach for the school’s women’s team.

He is also the singer/songwriter of the rock & roll band PALTIK which has released their self-produced album, “Here Come the Guns of the South”.

He is happily married to his beautiful and talented wife, Rizza Del Castillo –Cabangbang and lives with their three beloved dogs: Choknut, Cream-O and Moby.