Alapaap: A Collection of Boys Love One-Shot Komiks

by Tsambolero (Editor), Yan Castelo, Nicholas Selwin Jalea

What do you see when you look at the sky?

Is it a futtering bird?
Maybe a giant heart bursting with love?
Or do you see the boy that you fancy?

Whatever it is you see in the Rorschach of clouds, the sky is a dream onto which you project what your heart truly desires.

Alapaap (n. a layer of clouds found high up in the sky) is a collection of Eleven one-shot boys' love stories that will surely make you feel as if you are floating through the skies.

Genres: Boys Love, Romance, Graphic Novels Comics

270 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2024

About the author

Raphael Unta also known as Tsambolero is the creator of Ang Jowa Kong Crosswise

Reviews

[Earnest · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice collection of one shots about queer male romance. Varied in artstyle and themes; it includes stories of trans rep, growing up, meet cutes, both new and old love

My favorites were Himbing and My Best Friend, 10 years ago. Two of the most angsty ones. Something about Filipino romance and the anguish of love just hits right

[Alexx (obscure.pages) · Rating 4 out of 5]

OKAY I LOVE THIS 😭

I knew I was going to read a Filipino BL comic anthology, but I wasn't prepared for the significance and the impact I would discover in these pages.

The stories are simple enough yes. But I think they hold so much weight and meaning, especially if you are Filipino and queer/trans. Reading this feels like nostalgia and melancholy and hope all in one. Because on one hand you get stories that are cute and hopeful, and on the other you also get a glimpse of the struggles of being Filipino and queer, the lived experiences of the creators and others.

I also appreciate the fact that there are various queer rep in here! Like we also have transmasc/nonbinary MCs, gay and trans men. That is so precious to me 🥹

Anyway here are some mini reviews I wrote down as I read every story!

Perfect Boy by Yan Castelo - Transmasc/nonbinary rep? You never get to see this kind of rep in PH media 🥹 3.5 stars

Z by Nicholas Selwyn Jalea - This one is so many things for me. It's wholesome and hopeful and yet still a bit unrealistic in some scenes 🥹 Wholesome bc Gen Z is definitely more accepting and informed when it comes to gender identity and sexuality. A hit unrealistic bc despite that, our society largely remains hateful and ignorant 🥲 But yes, overall this is still hopeful. Some panels are also harder to read/follow? 3 stars

Himbing by Redd Victor Banogon and Ice Carreon - well this was certainly interesting. But it was also confusing? 😅 I think the concept of it was good, but the execution (both writing style and art) lacked a bit. 3 stars (or 2.75??)

Chasing Dreams and Catastrophes by Jerome Michael Lazaro - This was so cute 😭 It felt a little too fast, but that's understandable when reading anthologies. And hey, I loved the theme/message tbh. That maybe there's no reason for queer people to feel like we have to rush everything and prove everything. We can be fine as we are right now. 4 stars

Ang Klasmeyt Kong Crosswise by Arrel Untalan - This was cute but also now I want more of the world-building? 🤣 I think the creator inserted the supernatural elements so smoothly and built two strong characters that will stay with you. 4 stars

Ray & Lee by Nicko Tumamak - This feels hopeful, nostalgic, sad, and beautiful all at the same time 😭 The idea of falling in love with your friend is nothing new, but with a queer lens, it's a whole new different dimension at times. 4 stars

Off The Cloud by Gabriel Justin Cruz - This was so cute! and tbh, very on brand for this anthology 😆 Maybe I just wanted to see more of the characters and how they developed their feelings? But it was still nice nonetheless. 4 stars

My Best Friend, 10 Years Ago by Guss Chua - Well this was sad and angsty, but also still wholesome. Losing contact with your best friends is an experience shared by many I think. But I loved how the author was able to put more into the story. Chinese-Filipino families, chasing your dreams and feeling like failing, the almost/something more kind of relationship—these made the story even more angsty I think 😆 4 stars

Letters to Koji by Henrick Dulin - THIS IS SO CUTE. And also so relatable, I wouldn't know how to talk to new people too 😅 I do wish this was a a longer story though. 4 stars

Songbirds in Blue by Arthur Riel Cabezas - PERFECT NO NOTES. Trans men who are trying to find themselves back as kids, finding a friend like you, and the nostalgia of coming home? I love this so much 😭 5 stars

Melting by Richard Mercado - Short and sweet just like ice candy 🥹 Young love? First kiss? This was so good, and such a sweet ending to the anthology. 4 stars

[Mark Fermill · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s so worth the price! The art styles are distinct yet cohesive, making the anthology feel unified despite the variety. It’s addicting to go through one story after another. You get excited to discover not just the next plot, but the next visual style too. Story-wise, some were simple, others a bit confusing, but a few really resonated with me, like I was one of the characters myself. Some of my favorites are ray & lee, Off The Cloud, and My Best Friend, 10 Years Ago.

[Oliver · Rating 3 out of 5]

The whole anthology may be mid for me in general, but I have no regrets with my purchase, and honestly, the book opened my eyes to a lot of new LGBTQ experiences.

I'll give some short thoughts on each, here is Part 1:

1. Perfect Boy by @/terahsvent - an interesting trans mlm story. This was really new for me and I'happy that I am able to read stories about LGBTQ experiences that is unfamiliar. I love the art style. The writing for me can still be sharpened

2. Z by @/kulasjalea - The story was kind of reminiscent of Game Boys. It touched on a lot of pretty important topics like gender expression, drag, gender identity, coming out. I just feel like it tried to squeeze in a lot of things for such a short medium so some dialogue felt like reading an article.

3. Himbing by @/reddsiram & @/icecarrionx - visually, one of my favorites. The plot was very interesting but I found the execution a little confusing

4. Chasing Dreams & Cat-tasrophes by @/jeromedraws_ - cute story, the last part was the best part for me. The writing of the first half felt a lot more telling than showing

5. Ang Klasmeyt Kong Crosswise by @/tsambolero - a cute glimpse into the college life of our beloved couple Tomas and Leo.

6. Ray & Lee by @/nekokonut22 - This is one of my favorites in this anthology. A cute slice of life of 2 boys, brewing with tension and worries of the future (very relatable) with a story that is subtle, not overplayed, but very emotionally impactful. Clean and very effective story telling visually. I wanna read more!

7. Off The Cloud by @/masigabo - Another fave for me. Relatable (coz UP and Baguio) the plot has that K-drama flare to it, the art style really has that cute boy-next-door feels that you'll have a crush on the characters :3

8. My Best Friend 10 Years Ago by @/gusstelier - I must confess the art style does not resonate w/ me. But that may just be a me- problem. The story had a pretty compelling thesis and I would have loved to have it fleshed out more because it felt crammed in the end. I just felt it took a lot of time meandering on the first part.

9. Letters to Koji by @/henchmandraws - I'm a sucker for big boys being shy and sensitive. It's just the cutest. This was kilig. Some parts of the writing, though, felt more telling than showing but it had a really nice core romance

10. Songbirds in Blue by @/tidalbronze - this had a compelling trans story and it's told in a very poetic way too that also touches on environmentalism (i think)

11. Melting by @/richardmercz - the art style may not be for my taste but the story is excellent, short, sweet, nostalgic, brimming with the innocence of youth. I wanna read more!

[Nathan Bartos · Rating 3 out of 5]

The average of my ratings for all 11 stories is exactly three stars, and I think that's what this book as a whole, for the most part, deserves as a collection. I appreciated the diverse range of art styles and the range of plots we got for these Filipino BL stories. However, the major difficulty is that most of the writing felt extremely stunted. Apart from that, I think, though I knew this a bit going into it, I'm not someone who can fully enjoy a graphic short. Graphics already have so little space to tell the story, and confining that even more makes it extremely difficult to tell a fulfilling story. It was rare any of these stories felt complete or fulfilling, and so I think in the future I'll just stay away from graphic anthologies.

[Jom · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Queer anthologies are tricky. Seems like most published stories we have always focus on coming of age or coming out. The stories are so mixed. Some felt like it wanted to be a manual, a guide to the public how to treat the community. There are some though that really quite got there.

Himbing felt like a multi-layered story that borrows from kwentong bayan in emotionally narrating the character conflict.

Ray/Lee, My Best Friend 10 Years Ago and Songbirds in Blue felt like cozy slice of life.

I hope I stumble upon an anthology that’s not for a baseline audience. Reading the authors notes, it felt like some of them wanted a more nuanced storylines but they adjusted it to fit intended audience. I daresay it’s time. I hope. They find the opportunity to publish those stories.

[Aian · Rating 5 out of 5]

i'm so glad a collection like this exists and highlights BL stories from lgbtq & gay writers/artists in the Philippines. it was cool to read the bios & learn that this was the first submission for a number of folks

there were stories that i really really enjoyed and some that didn't hit for me. i also appreciated that this BL collection including stories from trans folks too

my favs: Perfect Boy, Songbirds in Blue, Ang Klasmeyt Kong Crosswise, Ray & Lee, Off the Cloud, and My Best Friend 10 Years Ago

[max · Rating 5 out of 5]

this anthology is a gift <3

[m · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love this anthology-- my favorite was nekokonut's one shot, his art style and story gave it so much charm.