MANILA, JANUARY 30, 2013 – BHM Publishing, in cooperation with 2 P’s in a Pod, has held a book launch for "Anak Bathala’s Kalem", the first of a five-book graphic novel series that celebrates rich Filipino cultural heritage by weaving together rich elements of Philippine mythology, culture, beliefs, folklore and values. The first book tells the story of God-spawned Kalem, as he goes on an epic adventure to fulfill his destiny in a world filled with "digmaan" ("war"), famine and fear. The other books in the series are "Yamal", "Arau", "Yesha" and "Anak Bathala", each telling the story of characters who best represent intrinsic Filipino traits.
The creators of Anak Bathala came to meet and greet comic book lovers eager to welcome another Filipino original. Three friends from Oriental Mindoro make up the brains behind Anak Bathala: US-based Baybayin-expert Norman de los Santos; Bernard Morillo, known as "BHM"; and Edsel Africa.
De los Santos worked closely with illustrators Orel Lana and Kevin Makasiar in visualizing the story, as Africa and Morillo weaved words. "Kalem" is Africa’s second published work. Beyond comics, de los Santos is an art and computer enthusiast, while Morillo has a number of companies under his belt.
The launch at Fully Booked-Bonifacio Global City highlighted the most colorful aspects of Filipino culture with activities such as Alibata Henna Tattoo and a performance by folk music group Kontemporaryong Gamelan Pilipino (Kontra-Gapi) from the University of the Philippines.
