Ang librong ito ay nilikha upang isalaysay ang mga kuwentong itinago sa dilim at upang marinig ang mga tinig na pinatahimik ng dahas. Mula sa masa, tungo sa masa.
A timely take on the war on drugs campaign that has killed thousands of Filipinos. This book serves as an eye-opening experience which manifests the anger and hatred towards the current government, and to the injustices made in Philippine history.
Liryo talks about the war on drugs and its victims. It features a married couple as main characters whose story is similar to many Filipinos. They came from the province, dreamed, and with the hopes of finding better opportunities and having a better life, went to the city only to end up in the same, or even worse situation. It shows the humanity of the victims of the war on drugs. That they are not just numbers but real humans. It humanizes them. And shows the reality we now have to face. An important read.
Such a short yet poignant graphic novel, an experience that thousands of victims from the 🇵🇭’s war on drugs. It was eerie to to see the police brutality when it’s rampant right now. Hope more Filipinos get to read this.
maikli lang pero maganda. umaapaw ang lungkot sa bawat pahinang tapat na nilalarawan ang araw-araw na pagsusumikap ng mga nasa kalingkingan ng lipunan. tungkol sa nakaraan at patuloy na "anti-drug war".
Maikli lang, pero napapakita kung pano naapektuhan ang karaniwang Pilipino sa giyerang ito. Pumunta sa lungsod para makahanap ng magandang kinabukasan dahil sa hirap ng buhay sa kanayunan. Pero imbis na ginawa ang natagpuan ay naipit pa sa isang giyera na hindi pabor sa mga karaniwang mamamayan. Nakakalungkot, dahil alam kong marami pang ibang Celso at Marcy ang nakakaranas at makakaranas ng ganito kung magpapatuloy pa. :(
true to its promise of being a one-shot, this is something that can be read in one sitting, but believe me when i say na gugustuhin mong bagalan ang pagbabasa mo para mas madama mo ang bawat pahina.
form-wise, despite being drawn in black and white, grabe yung attention to detail at damang-dama mo yung kinalalagyan nila (both physically and mentally) dahil sa textures and subtleties that have to do with graffitis, facial expressions, pananamit nila, etc. i don’t think there was a single page na hindi ko nadama yung bigat ng binabasa ko despite it being “colourless,” kung baga. what a feast to the eyes.
content-wise, do i even have to say it? grabe. this obviously attributes to the du30 administration’s war on drugs despite his name not being explicitly mentioned in any conversation present (may isang pahina lang na nakalagay yung du30 sa isang design). share ko lang, there was a semester where my partner & i analyzed ma’rosa using marxist criminology, and reading this reminded me of that. napakahalagang alalahanin na when we talk about crime, we must also speak of the circumstances that bring it about; in this case, we are shown the main characters’ background. marami pang ibang pwede at dapat i-unpack, obviously, such as the police force *also* committing a crime by unjustly killing to reach their quota, the justice system not doing anything for the poor & marginalized, etc. pero, syempre, aabutin na ako ng siyam-siyam kung iisa-isahin ko pa silang lahat.
my first 5/5 read of the year! this one’s reflective, dark, and will surely aid in refreshing the present generation’s memory whilst giving the future generation a starting point for discourse re: the war on drugs.
i’ll surely recommend this to all the readers i know.
"Hunyo 30, 2016 Sumiklab ang giyera sa droga. Pero walang dinalang ginhawa. Walang natamasang biyaya. Walang napuksa, kundi buhay ng mga maralita. Silang mga biktima ng walang-saysay na giyera."
Sa loob ng 60 na pahina, ipinakita ng librong ito ang madilim na kwento tungkol sa mga biktima ng walang saysay na giyera noong 2016. Marahas, masakit at nakakagalit.
By Magtira Paolo Published in 2018 by Anino Comics, an imprint of Adarna House A 64 page, black & white, Filipino language, one-shot (to the heart, ang sakit neto) komiks
Liryo is a straightforward, hard, painful look at the injustices suffered by the poor from the Duterte government’s Tokhang program and the seemingly endless war on drugs. Walang paligoy-ligoy; this is a simple telling of an extra-judicial killing.
Right from the opening, the tension and sadness in this book is palpable, and even if you try to pace your reading or linger on the artwork a bit more, you’re just prolonging the dread because you already know where the story is spiraling to. And no, there would be no catharsis at the end; there is only the anguished cry of our lead character Marcy drowned amidst the slums of Manila. All of this is told with the confident pencils of Magtira Paolo who was able to draw out complex emotions from his characters, and skillfully render the grimy, dark areas of Manila in the detailed backgrounds; an impressive feat in this already impressive-looking book.
Liryo in Tagalog language comes from the Spanish lirio, which is the literal translation of the lily or iris flower. A quick Google search reveals that the lily commonly symbolize purity and fertility, a fitting description for our characters Marcy and Celso, who really just dreamt of a better life in the city but ended up in a worse situation. Another curious (and perhaps less known) meaning of lirio in Tagalog is a game involving kicking (but I never heard the word used in this context though). Considering how the story ended and felt like a kick in the gut, perhaps the title is more fitting than I previously thought.
Liryo is currently on sale at the Adarna house online shop here:
It feels unfair to consider this a read considering how short it is.
Ito ang katotohanan sa Pilipinas. Ang mga nasa kataas-taasang posisyon na dapat napaparusahan ang mga nakakatakas. Ang mga taong nalulong sa droga dulot ng kinagisnan ang nanagot sa giyerang ito, buhay ng mga taong tikom ang bibig at walang kapangyarihan. Para saan? Para sa wala. Ang kailangan ng mga mamamayan ay trabaho na bubuhay sa kanila. Kailangan nila ang tulong ng gobyerno, hindi nila kailangang mapatay ng gobyerno.
Five years into Duterte’s reign of terror and stories like this are still just as devastating as when they first started making headlines. By now, we pretty much already know how it will end (spoiler alert: cold-blooded murder) but we still hope for a better, more just, and more humane outcome. At the end of the day, the war on drugs is a war on the poor and ACAB.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Ilang beses akong nahinto para pagmasdan yung line work ni Paolo. Gusto kong sabihing ang ganda ng depiction niya ng maralitang lungsod, dahil kuhang-kuha ang bawat linya ng kalawang sa mga yerong ginagawang pader, bawat alikabok sa sulok ng mga dikit-dikit na bahay. Pero wala namang maganda sa kahirapan, at pati ang katotohanang ito ay dinala rin sa kwento nina Celso at Marcy – mula sa basakan ng kanayunan patungo sa mapanghing eskinita ng kalunsuran.
Salamat, Paolo, sa paglalarawan ng mga kwentong gusto na lang nating kalimutan.
As much I understand the frustration of this book, this does bring nothing to the table. It has also become pretty predictable once we've explored the protagonists' backstories. I would have enjoyed it if this were made as a short film, to be honest, as I think it was a perfect medium to share.
This was a quick read. It was an emotionally-charged short story, and I kind of knew where it was headed, but I still recommend this. Definitely don't read it before you start your shift at work! I wanted to just lay down and recover after reading this, but work is more importanter.