Posted in: Comics, Preview | Tagged: "manix" abrera, 12, 14, ablaze, graphic novel, philippines

"Manix" Abrera's Graphic Novels "12" and "14" Coming from ABLAZE

Published Tue, 08 Mar 2022 19:02:11 -0600

ABLAZE will be publishing two graphic novels by award-winning Filipino creator Manuel Luis "Manix" Abrera, starting with the release of his acclaimed book, "12" on June 28^th. Then his 2^nd wordless comic anthology of supernatural stories, "14", which won the Philippines National Book Award on September 27^th. These graphic novels push the boundaries of wordless comics with stories told in illustration-only panels.

"Manix" Abrera's Graphic Novels "12" and "14" Coming from ABLAZE — "12" by "Manix" Abrera, cover art courtesy of ABLAZE Publishing

"12" by Manix Abrera • MSRP: $14.99 • 152 pg full-color TP • Release Date: June 28th

Twelve remarkable stories, weird and surreal, thought-provoking yet funny, sometimes disturbing, others terrifying, but nonetheless always enchanting. Twelve genuinely touching stories, all drawn in Manix's engaging style, devoid of words but communicating loudly.

Each story with its own charm and intriguing twists – a young man spends his entire

life searching for answers but shock awaits when he ﬁnally gets that eureka moment; someone ﬁnds love that unexpectedly ﬁnds somebody else; two men argue over who goes ﬁrst on an escalator; a mother and daughter ﬁght over a cockroach; a drunk man urinates on a tree and gets a big surprise – making you wonder how these mundane plots can turn out bizarrely, prompting you to reﬂect and crave for more! What is the meaning of life? Is ﬁnding happiness worth it when you lose what really matters the most? Would you even know what matters the most? Embrace pain and sorrow. Hope for love and will for hope.

Manix Abrera's 12 breaks all language barriers, cutting straight to your soul touching your heart in ways you cannot imagine.

"14" by Manix Abrera • MSRP: $16.99 • 200-pg full-color TP • Release Date: September 27th

14 tells the story of a human who mysteriously discovers a 13^th floor on his building and finds himself in the middle of a storytelling session among different mythological creatures of Philippine folklore. Together with a partying crowd of supernatural beings, he listens to stories narrated by creatures such as the Manananggal, Diwata, Tikbalang, Kapre, Tiyanak, and even by a White Lady and a Doppelganger. With each creature taking the stage, describing wild stories spurred by their unique, terrifying traits and abilities, 14 is a grand narrative of weird yet wonderful tales, humorous albeit dark and spooky, surreal but unarguably true to the emotions of the heart. Stories like finding love then losing it, searching for happiness, getting lost, staying trapped, wanting to belong, dying to be born again – may all sound too human, but are also being experienced by these mythological creatures.

About Manuel Luis "Manix" Abrera

Manuel Luis "Manix" Abrera (b. 1982) graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from the University of the Philippines Diliman. He is a freelance cartoonist and is the creator of Kikomachine Komix, his long-running daily strip in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. He also contributes a weekly webcomic, News Hardcore!, for GMA News Online. To date, he has produced 16 volumes of Kikomachine Komix and News Hardcore compilation volume 1. He also released two wordless graphic novels entitled "12" and "14". He is a three-time National Book Awardee for his works, "14" (2015), "News Hardcore: Hukbong Sandatahan ng Kahaggardan" (2016) and "Kikomachine Komix Volume 14: Alaala ng Kinabukasan" (2019).

You can follow "Manix" Abrera on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manix_abrera/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/manix_abrera

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