Riotbones
Amanda Meadows – editor
Kayla Overbey – production editor
Chuck Harper – production manager
Andrews McMeel
$22.99 / 288 pages

Haunting, dark, and mysterious, Strange Cases is the debut graphic novel by queer Filipino artist, storyteller, and activist known as Riotbones. Drawing on a rich blend of Filipino folklore and cultural roots and Catholicism, Strange Cases is set in an alternate timeline during the 19th century of the Castellano (Spanish) controlled Philippines. Deeply passionate about social justice, Riotbones also looks toward history and its many transgressions. This is hinted at on the book’s dedication page which reads “Para sa desaparesidos” (“For the disappeared”)…people whose lives were considered to be too dangerous by their governments for them to continue living freely or to live at all. Lazaro has its own disappeared. An excerpt from a later portion of the story reads: “In Lazaro, people vanish — ripped from their homes like meat from bone, dragged into the night as if by the jaws of a wolf — leaving behind shoes next to doors, cups still warm on the table, and lovers who no longer sleep.”

Jude Aguilar has returned to his home town of Lazaro, a fictionalized Manila, after studying law abroad for several years but the occasion is a sorrowful one since Aguilar’s mother has died. Senora Magdelene Aguilar’s assistant Isabel believes Jude can help several clients at loose ends now that the law firm’s founder has died. Due to experiences in his past Jude is reluctant to remain for long in Lazaro yet despite his hesitation Jude will find himself caught up in the affairs of the Lazaro locals. As a result Jude soon finds himself encountering the sublime in the form of several supernatural beings who prove that things are not always what they seem to be including his own mother’s past.

Riotbones infuses Jude Aguilar’s character with the compassion of St Jude the patron of hopeless cases, desperate situations, and impossible causes and combines those traits with the virtues of power, strength, keen vision, and freedom befitting the eagle or aguila which has divine associations in Indigenous beliefs. This is a journey of self discovery for Jude who goes from being a circumspect prodigal son to giving counsel both inside and outside the court room. The fact that these locals whom Jude connects with are the aforementioned supernatural beings living clandestine lives among the populace makes Strange Cases a uniquely exciting story.

First steps are good though Riotbones is determined to propel Jude further on this sojourn. With each chapter devoted to a case, for example “Case No. 929 The Phantom Inferno,” Jude is brought closer into the lives of these supernatural beings who yearn to experience the sensual world even at the risk of sorrow and peril to their existence. A chance revelation of a decades old plot to maintain the colonial grip over Lazaro’s downtrodden native citizens further opens Jude’s eyes to the oppression of the Castellanos. There is an interesting exchange in this chapter between Lord Malinao and Jude who is Malinao’s house guest. Malinao muses: “The Castellanos gave us their courts and crests and called it justice. Maybe that’s the most efficient kind of conquest. It shapes your very way of thinking of right and wrong, of fairness, justice, truth. Maybe that’s how an empire lasts forever.” To which Jude replies: “You don’t work with the law; you’re always against it. It’s about finding the cracks, the ways in which it bends, the loopholes…”

Once parents begin to raise families their own interests and lives are pushed into the background. Some events become stories to be told and retold on special occasions while other matters become closely held secrets that the keepers hope will never come to light. Lord Malinao is an interesting character for carrying a burdensome family secret which threatens his freedom while connecting the Malinao and Aguilar families. A decades old letter kept away in Malinao’s treasured library reveals a tender and tragic queer love story that will find Jude risking his very life to protect one of Lazaro’s forgotten people. For those who may be wondering there are two instances in which men seem to have a romantic interest in Jude. The first time occurs early in the story and finds Jude reminiscing with several of his old friends. One male friend is drawn gazing wistfully at Jude while he muses that he didn’t realize he would miss Lazaro. The second time involves Lord Malinao whose help Jude will rely on in a pivotal moment.

The illustration adorning the front cover is striking enough when viewed online. To have a copy in one’s hands as I am fortunate to have reveals how hauntingly beautiful the art is. There again is the portrait of the story’s protagonist Jude Aguilar with its warm colors contrasting a field of purples and black. Thinly outlined in gold, a coiled snake bares its fangs only to recede and reappear while holding the book at slightly different angles. A substantial heft, the book seemed to invite being touched which revealed the elaborately lettered title had in fact been debossed into the cover.

In the world of comics and graphic novels one will find artists whose skills and talent make them more adept at either cover illustration or interior art and others who are equally capable of both. The illustrative qualities displayed in the cover art translate nicely into sequential imagery enhanced with a gestural energy and emotive faces. I especially enjoy when Riotbones breaks the bounds of panel layouts hinted at in this example.

The embellishments mentioned above continue on to the spine with elaborate design work and ornate motifs of cherubs, black birds, and heraldic lions on the back. Tilt the book to discover the “disappearing image” technique used to a subtler effect. The word sublime comes to the forefront of my mind to describe the kaleidoscopic end papers with dead saints and animal skulls. Perhaps the most subtle of all is the book’s sewn binding which ensures not on y that the pages lay flat when the book is opened but the book itself will last for decades. Congratulations to the production people for making these design choices which together elevate this book to objet d’art status. Of course Strange Cases is also available in digital format if you prefer.

Strange Cases rewards the curious minded reader with a tale of compassion, supernatural wonders, and human evils.

Riotbones has worked for Filipino publisher Anino Comics as well as self publishing their own comics. Other work has appeared in magazines, video games, books, and TTRPGs. Visit Riotbones’ site to view their art and to find an extensive list of retailers outside of the United States.

Find Riotbones on Insta,Tumblr, and BlueSky

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