Ape is Enough

An obvious Tarzan copy, but it’s also more than that. It also incorporates elements from the Hulk. Hogarth is a hybrid of a human and an ape. He was born human, but when he gets angry or upset, he turns into a savage ape. Just don’t ask how he managed to get the DNA of both species.

And his name Hogarth is obviously a callback to one of the most popular Tarzan comic strip artists, Burne Hogarth.

Warriors Three

Shogun Qualikomiks, much like every other comic book in the Philippines back in their heyday, was an anthology containing mostly Japanese martial arts action stories.

Japanese Bat (by Hal Santiago) and Judoka Warriors (by Vicatan) were two separate features that I decided to team-up for this cover. Japanese Bat was just basically Batman in Japan, and Judoka Warriors was about two secret agents, a Japanese and a Filipino, who join forces to track down stolen Imperial treasures that were smuggled into the Philippines.

Son of the Serpent

Zuma, despite being a villain, is one of the most iconic characters in Philippine comics. Created by Jim Fernandez, he first appeared in the novel Aztec, illustrated by Elmer Esquivias. He then appeared in numerous other novels/series, most notable among them was Anak ni Zuma (Spawn of Zuma), which may be one of the longest-running serials in Philippine comics history. He even starred in two movies, plus his own title in the 1990's, flip-flopping from villain to hero and vice versa. Recently, Jim Fernandez announced on facebook that he and longtime collaborator Hal Santiago are working on a new Zuma comic.

Captain Barbell Reborn

Captain Barbell is one of the most popular superheroes in the Philippines, created by Mars Ravelo in 1963. He is mostly compared with Superman, but has more in common with Captain Marvel (of the Shazam variety). Even his name is a play on Captain Marvel's (Barbell rhymes with Marvel). He has gone through numerous costume changes, of which the last two (including the one above) were designed by myself.