One of Jump Jet Comics’ founding members, Jeff Velayo, brings you “Maligmon: The Maligmon Battlers.” This comic series is an action-packed fantasy story with a dash of comedic elements that is rated G for the general audience.
If you’re a ‘90s kid, then you might relate to a lot of references that Maligmon has in store for you.
“Maligmon: The Maligno Battlers” revolves around the life of Ruwe de Castro Jr., a student in grade school from barangay Palitaw who unveils the world of Maligmon. Ruwe is on a quest with his Maligmon companion, Sigmon the Sigbin, to fight evil Maligmons and train to become the Maligmon champion.
Maligmon is a comic series that tries to introduce Pinoy mythical creatures. It aims reach the younger generation that has grown distant from their culture due to the saturation of entertainment content brought about by the rapid evolution of technology.
“My goal for Maligmon is to revive our culture,” Jeff said. He believes his passion for our local stories translated through Maligmon can help spark interest in the hearts of young comic readers.
Jeff started to conceptualize Maligmon at the height of the pandemic last 2020. He was watching a Halloween special episode of Noli de Castro’s show (“Magandang Gabi… Bayan”) when he decided to remake the childhood comics he made for fun. He named one of Maligmon’s side characters in honor of Noli as Ruwe de Castro Sr. (the grandfather of Maligmon’s main protagonist, Ruwe de Castro Jr.).
Jeff shared that his characters are named after iconic personalities: Ruwe de Castro’s teacher is named Rocky Ruano (inspired by Roque Ruaño, the architect of the infamous Diplomat hotel), and his principal is Erica Solo (inspired by Jessica Soho, known for her show “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho”). Jeff even named Ruwe’s rival as Kid Caluag (inspired by Ed Caluag, a famous spiritualist online that started from “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho.”).
Aside from character parodies, Jeff also brought nostalgic references to the Maligworld. Some of the outfits worn by the characters are inspired by the 1990s, such as Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” coat. Even the Maligmon battlers’ devices for capturing and storing Maligmons are strange phones called Mokia 3310, a nod to the famous Nokia 3310, which was widely known for its sturdiness.
Jeff recently won the Wakfa (Webkom Alliance Kreators Festival Awards 2022) People’s Choice Award for his comic, “Maligmon: The Maligno Battlers.” This award recognizes exceptional contributions to the Webkom community and website. It is a significant step for Cebuano comic creators to showcase their potential in this industry.
The prologue to Maligmon is free to read online, and the first chapter launch is in February. Spoiler alert: Look out for “Maligmon: The Maligno Battlers Volume 1,” which contains Chapters 1-7, and will be released later this year or in 2024.
“Support Cebuano comic books so our industry flourishes. It encourages comic writers when we know that our people are happy with our material,” he added.