summer komikon 2013 reads: "ang sumpa" 1-2

i'm very impressed with andoyman's development as an artist and storyteller, from his journeymanish debut work, "foodcourt," to the charming "palimos ng kulangot" (writtten by ronibats), to the considerably more sophisticated series he is currently collaborating with SuperGi on, "ang sumpa."

the protagonist, arman darte, has senators and the president of the philippines for childhood buddies, yet is "merely" an NBI investigator, so you know he's a man of honor. issues 1 and 2 establish a central mystery: the president of the philippines is found dead under strange circumstances. a birthday party held by senator edgardo hernandez introduces the rest of the barkada and the president's ostensibly loving wife (presumably the suspects), and gives darte the opportunity to show off his powers of deduction and observation.

andoyman's visual storytelling is deft, confident, and well-
paced. i love his semi-realistic manga-style character designs, which suit the story perfectly, and especially love his characters' expressive faces --not an easy thing to pull off when working with realistic designs.

my only worry with this book is the slow-burn plot development, because at the book's current pace and level of character development, it will take years and years to flesh out the story in full. still, i definitely look forward to reading the next issue.