Komiks Review: Gutom

Gutom (Hunger) by Norby Ela in a nutshell is a thought provoking tale of survival and moving on. While it is similar in vein with his story for the Philippine 24-hour comics challenge entitled 'Weather weather lang', (which was highly praised by Gerry Alanguilan) Gutom still manages to stand on its own.

The indie is nicely printed with the black cover already setting the mood for the story. Inside, the art might not be stellar but the human connection built up from the plot is the thing that shines in this particular tale. Everyone has experienced some sort of tragedy in a lifetime and Norby Ela captures that moment into paper and manages to evoke feelings of empathy and pity through the characters. The title itself 'Gutom' might mislead some readers, though it will only take one reading to fully appreciate what the author conveys about remembering,coping and ultimately moving on in life after a tragedy.Overall, a great read. This is actually 1 of my three favorite reads from the indies I got from Komikstrip 2011 (the other 2 would be a secret until I subject them to reviews).

Autobiographical stories are fast becoming Norby Ela's forte. And autobiographical indies do not come a-dime-a-dozen these days. So here's hoping we see more of this not only from Norby but from other creators as well.