Rodski Patotski: Ang Dalagang Baby

by Gerry Alanguilan, Arnold Arre (Illustrator)

Rodski Patotski, Ang Dalagang Baby, written by Gerry Alanguilan and illustrated by Arnold Arre, is a fun Pinoy Komiks tribute that blends adventure, fantasy, sci-fi and family drama rolled into one. Rodski, a born genius, grows up to be the most intelligent girl in the whole country, but her heart and mind remains that of a 5 year old.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels

100 pages, Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

GERRY ALANGUILAN is a licensed architect and is a member of the San Pablo Chapter of the United Architects of the Philippines. He is also a board member of the Philippine International Cartoons, Comics, and Animation (PICCA), as well as member of the Asia-Pacific Animation and Cartoon Association. He gave up a career in architecture and started working as a professional comic book creator in 1992, beginning with “Dracula's Wives” and “Props” for Mass Media Publishing. Ever since then, Gerry has consistently freelanced for various companies in the Philippines and abroad, even publishing his own comics from his own Komikero Publishing.

(Taken here.)

Reviews

[Jedi JC Daquis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to constantly remind myself that Rosdki Patotski Ang Dalagang Baby is created by Gerry Alanguilan and Arnold Arre. Alanguilan and Arre. Alanguilan and Arre.

The problem with Rodski Patotski is that Rodski is portrayed to be way too intelligent that everybody around her looks dumb and one-dimensional - her parents, the villagers, Dindo and the Philippine Army. Even Rodski's pure English dialogues feel pretentious and shallow. Moreover, you don't give the subtitle "Ang Dalagang Baby" then sprinkle the content with Rodski doing sexually suggestive poses. That doesn't feel right.

The graphic novel touches on so many genres but never really went deep with one. Worse, the ones which are brought in the story are mostly genre cliches! It begins with a supernatural foreboding. The middle part is a disjointed mess of family drama, political drama (god I hate this China vs. RP thing), sci-fi and romance. In the finale, after Rodski becomes Lara Croft our story ends, of course, with a happily ever after. Anong nangyari kay Sir Gerry A? He is the man I looked up to and respected after reading his Elmer, Wasted, Bold Stars and Sim. Anong nangyari kay Sir A na nagbigay buhay muli sa El Indio ni National Artist Francisco V. Coching?

Although the colors and details are to be commended, Arre's drawing on facial expresions is reduced to frown, fear and angriness. His previous works, though in black and white, teem with emotions! Nasaan na yun? We are dying to get reprints from AA's graphic novels, but what we get is this.

Rodski Patotski Ang Dalagang Baby sure has an entertainment factor embedded in its pages, but coming from respected authors, this is a big letdown. Change and having fun is perfectly fine, but at least make it the right kind of change and fun.

[K.D. Absolutely · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tama ang kaibigan kong si Tricia na maganda ang komiks na ito.

Di ako expert sa pagbabasa ng komiks. Siguro, kasi ngayon, dahil bihira lang akong magbasa ng ganito. Di rin ako sumubok gumuhit kaya basa lang ako ng basa at di ko na iniintindi kung maganda yong pagkaka-drowing. Pero nagsimula akong magbasa ng komiks na inaarkila sa kapitbahay namin sa probinsya noong nasa elementary ako kaya siguro kahit paano, may nabuo na akong panlasa pagdating sa komiks.

At itong Rodski Patotski: Ang Dalagang Baby ay sakto sa panlasa ko kung aliw (entertainment) ang paguusapan. Sa pagbuklat pa lang ng libro, makinis, makulay, makintab ang mga pahina. Nakatutuwa ang mga hitsura ng mga tauhan lalo na ang baby na si Rodski tapos naging delicious noong naging teenager na. Basta. Ito yong local na komiks na parang mahahaling imported Marvel comics. Ewan ko, yong kinalolokohan nilang Trese series? Ang dilim. Tapos black and white. Tapos yong bidang babae, napapanot na. Again, di nga ako expert sa pagbabasa na komiks kasi di naman ako nag-attempt mag-drowing pero di ko gets kung bakit maganda yon.

Tapos yong imagination ni Gerry Alnguilan! Paano na nya napagdugtung-dugtong ang plot na sa kaubuhan ay solid naman. Marami ring na-touch na genre at sakto lang. Pati ang RP-China dispute sa Spratley o Kalayaan, pinahagingan. Na-sorpresa ako dahil nagkaroon pa ng kulay-politika o current event ang kuwento. Gustong-gusto ko yong idea na may kapalit ang pagiging henyo ni Rodski at ipinasok pa yong fear na tatay niya na paano na sila mabubuhay kung di na henyo si Rodski? I mean, plausible yong plot, may human touch, may kilig factor (yong feeling ni Rodski kay Dindo) at yong action! Yong finale scene na kailangang ko pang bumalik sa first few pages kung saan ba nabanggit yong hukay sa lupa na yon. I mean, unpredictable yong plot kaya di mo talaga kayang i-hinto yong pagbabasa mo dahil entertaining talaga.

Yon lang. Mabuti pala binili ko ito noong MIBF 2014. Di sya nire-recommend ni Paolo Herras pero nakita ko naka-display sa itaas ng ulo nya tapos naala-ala ko si Tricia na gustong mag-moderate ng komiks para sa PRPB. Sabi ko, hmmm, parang ito yong librong sinasabi ni Tricia. So, bili agad.

[Joanna Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

Rodski is a cute and enthusiastic prodigy that makes this book more colorful (in addition to the high-quality visuals). It's a big, bright, funny comic book that has sci-fi, drama and love story. I might have expected a little bit more but yeah, still an entertaining collaboration.

[Maria Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cutesy patootsie read. Not to compare with Wasted or Bold Stars or Mythology Class.
This book is not created that way.

But the art is still awesome~

[Cecille · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the stress of preparing to moderate a discussion for the book club, I was in the mood for something light. I looked at my haul from last year’s Komiket and saw this. “Rodski Patotski” is a quick but fun read about a girl genius, that manages to comment on responsibility to country, family, and our selves.

[Sheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been seeing this book around but have always thought this was one of those English/Filipino moral lesson type illustrated children's story book. Boy was I wrong. Bought this on a whim because I had to buy a book from an event and didn't have time to browse through the shelves. I saw a fellow friend buying this and was surprised to know this was a graphic novel from Alanguihan (who I admired for "Elmer" and "Wasted") and a recent discovery Arre ("After Eden") so without having any more thoughts, I immediately bought my copy.

The main story plot was unique enough. The graphics as expected is detailed and coloring was on point. However, though I enjoyed and breezed through the pages. I was not as gripped by the progression of the story nor the characters. I guess Rodski was not as relatable as I'd want her to be. I find that she lacked character development. She was just smart, period or frustrated, period or demanding, period. There lacked depth and the characters felt one dimensional.

[Jobert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Isa ako sa mga naunang umorder nito. Excited lang. Syempre ba naman, nagsama ang dalawang paborito kong manunulat at mangguguhit. Naman! At ayan, berigud ang resulta. Yeah, simple lang. Pero nakakatuwa at nakakatawa sya. Isa pa, alam mong may utak yung nagsulat, hindi yung basta makagawa lang. At syempre, gusto ko yung drawing. Wala, ansaya lang. So Boss Gerry at Boss Arnold, yung Darna naman! ^^

[Just Villanueva · Rating 3 out of 5]

FIVE FACTOR REVIEW

1. Premise - 3
Rodski Patotski is about a girl born with abnormally high intelligence, like speaking straight English at only one month old. From here we follow her mature into a "dalagang baby" as she goes on wacky sci-fi adventures with a bit of social commentary, romance, and family drama peppered in. It's not that catchy but the art combined with the fun factor makes this a light and relaxing read; a nice break from all the serious stuff.

2. Plot - 3.5
It's pretty unpredictable. You never know what's gonna happen next since the plot isn't really pushing you anywhere. It felt a bit rushed though.

3. Art - 4
I like the way Rodski is drawn, especially her expressions! Really funny and the colors are very bright, matching the tone. The cover is really catchy too. And Mang Jessie. Ha! I laughed out loud at that scene.

4. Characters - 3.5
The comic is so short it doesn't really give the characters enough room to grow except for Rodski herself. I very much like Rodski's arc though.

5. Worldbuilding - 2
It's soft sci-fi. The short length also doesn't help. A sinkhole there, some warships along the WPS.
But this factor is very subjective; some readers don't like exploring the lore, but I just really want to get immersed in the world I'm reading, and this world did not do that for me. I guess it was meant to be a sweet and short distraction rather than a long, immersive read.

Total = 16 points (1 star per 5 points)
Rating = 3.5 stars

[elsewhere · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Rodski Patotski: Ang Dalagang Baby" by Gerry Alanguilan and Arnold Arre was okay - just okay. To begin, the title was catchy and was the kind of book title that one would remember. As for the content, the illustrations and its colors were perfect for the light and fun vibe of the book. I especially liked how the illustrations were colorful and vibrant.

I liked the beginning of the book: what happened the day Rodski was born. But other than that first part, I found the succeeding parts to be draggy. The "grown-up" version of Rodski bothered me - the way that she was drawn: her clothes and her body which seemed to be inappropriate for her supposed age. The concept of the book was interesting, but I was disappointed by its entirety, including how it progressed and how it ended.

My actual rating was 2.5/5 stars.

[Jireh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had impressed on that thing with IQ-EQ levels. But then again, di ba nga iba-iba ng type of intelligence. Angas lang na oo nga, kasing critical rin ng heavy analytical skills ang creative skills! Plus how nice would it be if Pinas really invests on science na pang human development
hindi warfare palagi sana ano?

Rodski seems to be a symbol for the young ones who are so capable of so much more, but then agains bureaucracy and wisdom of the old won't level things with them kaya napapatagal ang mga problema.

Science-fiction x Women empowerment x family values x pursuing goodness pa rin. What an amazing Alanguilan-Arre collab!

[Tays · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay for starters, this book was created by two of the most brilliant comic book writers Philippines could offer. Alanguilan and Arre. And frankly, they did not disappoint me with it.

As someone here suggested, this book may be brilliant in it's own way and all that - but I still have a minor problem with it. First off, Rodski Patotski tells a story about a girl who's a bit too intelligent and smart and is a grown up lady who acts like a child. That's all well and good but the thing is, drawing her in sexually suggestive poses along with the same title makes it a little less supportive to that particular title. Never the less though, I like how it started out as a tribute to Alanguilan's wife. In a way it added more heart to the story. The fact that it tried to poke fun on all the the other tropes Filipinos are so fond of makes it more comical, which I think is what it aimed to do. Now for the storyline, like I said earlier, it tells us the story of Rodski. She's this grown up lady who seems to take her time to actually grow up. It's a cute tale if you ask me and somehow Alanguilan managed to be imaginative in telling it. Along with the elements of basic Filipino tropes, he put up together a quite interesting story. It's quite the book. It's quite the children's book. I say it could be a great story to tell your kid when they want one before they go to sleep. Nothing complex. Nothing intricate. Just the old fashion comic book plot that kids would love to hear about.

For the artwork, what do you expect me to tell you? Arnold Arre is the artist of this book. His art style never failed to amaze me. For this particular book though, Arre tried to ward away from where Alaguilan was mostly known of - Wasted. From that book we get to see a dark gritty black and white graphic novel and with Rodski here - we see a bright, colorful, shiny and pistachio ice cream loving characters. In a way, I think Arre wanted to show us readers that Alaguilan was more than what he's known of. And I think Arre here pulled it off. Apart from the sexually suggestive poses, I think the art style was none the less brilliant. It was the right amount of color and jolly be good illustrations for a very fun storyline Rodski provided me.

I say you pick it up and keep it on your shelf. ;)

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so cute! I love how the book was written, combining themes of Filipino slice of life, sci-fi, current events, and romance! Although the story line goes cliché, I couldn't stop flipping pages!

I love Rodski's character! How she turned down that suitor because of Candy Crush (lol) and her love for pistachio ice cream! And also her brilliant mind (since birth)!

How I wish it could be a Filipino movie! I'm sure it would be very appealing to all.

Also, the art is topnotch, scenes and characters depicted the story very well!

Looking forward to more collaborations between sir Gerry and sir Arnold!

I'm so lucky to have bought this book at 2016 Komiket! My copy's even signed by sir Gerry :D

[Owly Reading]

Haha! Pinoy comics for the win!