Komikero Comics Journal

WASTED FINAL EDITION
A Review by Ruel S. De Vera
Sunday Inquirer Magazine, April 27, 2003

By Gerry Alanguilan
Alamat/Komikero/Pulp

One of Philippine comicdom's true treasures has finally returned. This affordable new edition collects the eight issues of Alanguilan's seminal series of mini-comics, first available in 1994. Almost a decade hence, Alanguilan's cathartic epic of heartbreak, with its grim humor, hot-button issues and starkly compelling black-and-white art, vibrates with an irresistible, violent truth despite the years since its first release. The reason for the "mature readers" tag isn't just the 15 or so fatalities-it's the dark heart of the series itself, one that we just might recognize in ourselves. And that is bloody genius in itself. "Wasted: Final Edition" lets us go home, thankfully alive but changed forever.