Fil-Am releases new coming-of-age graphic novel set in pre-colonial PH

Filipino American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter Lauren Lola. CONTRIBUTED

SAN FRANCISCO — Filipino American scribe Lauren Lola has released her debut graphic novel “Dasig.”

The tome is about Dasig, a young warrior-in-training struggling to focus on her pursuits. The Datu or chief prompts Dasig to contemplate her reasons for wanting to become a warrior.

As she seeks an answer, danger approaches when invaders from an unknown land appear. As her Datu gets ready for battle, Dasig wonders if her focus is where it should be so she’ll be able to fight off the pending threat.

“I was originally summoned to write the graphic novel by Kristian Kabuay,” says Lola. Kabuay is an author and expert in ancient Filipino writing scripts and batok (hand-tapped) tattooing.

“He wanted to do a story set in pre-colonial Philippines. While he wrote out a treatment for me as a guide, I took it from there and developed a story around it. Influences for the writing for it include “Star Wars” and “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” It took me about eight months to write it.

“It’s a universal coming-of-age story with parallels to today’s issues and aspirations. This historical fiction draws from actual events in Philippine history and cultural practices.”

Cover of graphic novel Dasig, written by Filipino American Lauren Lola and with illustrations by Ponsi Alfonso. CONTRIBUTED

Illustrations are by Ponsi Alfonso, using a minimalist black and white color palette with red accents and a look inspired from the works of Frank Miller (“300 and Sin City”) and Mike Mignola (“Hellboy”).

Lola is a novelist, playwright and screenwriter. She has also written and consulted on some of the comic books of Kid Heroes Productions’ “Lumpia” series.

Her writing has been featured on Mixed Asian Media (formerly known as Hapa Mag), The Nerds of Color, PBS and other outlets and publications.

Lola’s plays have been produced both virtually and on stage. She penned the short films “Disarm,” “Breath of Writing” and “Interview with an Aswang,” which she also co-directed and produced.

New Art

She’s written the novels “An Absolute Mind” and “A Moment’s Worth,” which is celebrating its 10^th anniversary.

In the novel, a UCLA freshman gets to know her celebrity roommate, a man unintentionally takes the San Francisco BART to a variety of locations beyond its final stop, a fatherless girl believes in the stars and a young woman carries the burden of being human.

To commemorate the book’s milestone, she is releasing it in print for the first time with a new cover design illustrated by Tian Wang. “I felt it was worth it to give the book a proper glow-up. I found Tian Wang’s illustrations to be quite beautiful and the perfect vibe for the overall novel.”

Lola says the decision to come out with a print edition of the book was partly borne out of many requests she’s fielded. “It was a hurdle I constantly ran into when “A Moment’s Worth” initially came out. People kept asking if it was available in print, only to be met with disappointment when I told them that it wasn’t.

“At the time, I didn’t think it would be that big of an issue. In time, I realized just how many people still prefer reading from a physical book. Not to mention the fact that not everyone has access to a device that can act as an e-reader. To expand accessibility was also key to finally making this happen, especially in time for the tenth anniversary.”

Walter Ang is the author of Barangay to Broadway: Filipino American Theater. Available at Amazon, Bookshop and other online booksellers.