NETFLIX to adapt TRESE into anime series

You know that feeling when you’ve won a pitch and after all the screaming and jumping and high-fiving and fistbumping you go back to your desk and you realize the amount of work that needs to be done? That’s how the past 48 hours have felt like. And on top of all of that, things have been more busy than usual at the office. (Makes me wonder if Santa’s elves are this busy as we come closer to the holiday season.)

So, Netflix finally officially announced that we’re creating the TRESE animated series. http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/hobbiesandactivities/674002/netflix-just-announced-it-will-produce-an-anime-version-of-filipino-graphic-novel-trese/story/

Yes, I’ve known about this bit of news for some time but could not say a word about it. (I did leave some clues via emojis in some of my posts in the past.) We are extremely excited to have Jay Oliva as our director and executive producer. He directed the DC animated movies Justice League Dark, Batman: Bad Blood, The Dark Knight Returns and the list goes on https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0646515/. He was also a storyboard artist on Man of Steel, Wonder Woman, and Thor: Ragnarok. We can’t wait to see how he’ll bring Trese to life. Of course, all of this is happening thanks to our producers Tanya Yuson and Shanty Harmayn of BASE Entertainment. 

And thanks to the Netflix announcement, we also reached and surpassed our Indiegogo goal! Thanks to the news sites and our friends who posted about the Netflix/Trese announcement and then gave the link to our Indiegogo campaign. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/trese-comics-1-global-edition/x/19244495#/

Of course, while of this was happening, me, Kajo, Tanya and Shanty were in three different countries and we couldn’t really do a lot of the screaming and jumping and high-fiving and fistbumping. And now we sit back down and look at the work that’s in front of us. 

Before we dive into all this work, I just want to say a quick thank you to EVERYONE … to EVERY! SINGLE! ONE! OF! YOU!... who posted about it, shared TRESE art / their book collection / TRESE memes, sent their congratulation, sent their speculations, sent their disbelief and asked me if it was “fake news” – because at first glance it does feel like the sort of news you’d see on an regular basis. But yes, the seemingly impossible was made possible by Tanya and Shanty. 

And just to give you another quick update, Kajo is still working on the new/updated pages of the TRESE GLOBAL EDITION, but we’re already planning on our next steps for Book 7. Somehow, by some miracle or magic spell, Kajo will be able to work on both books at the same time. 

Meanwhile, you can all go back to the bar at The Diabolical. Have a few drinks while waiting. Tell Hank I sent you.

Where can I order / buy TRESE comics?

If you're based in the Philippines, you can now order these TRESE titles from Visprint's Shopee site.

If you're based abroad, you can order directly from our publisher at: bit.ly/visprintbooks

Who is the White Lady of Balete Drive?

 (Variant Cover from our TRESE Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign.
Learn more about it at: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/trese-comics-1-global-edition/x/19244495 )

It seems like every generation (and some cultures) have their version of the Lady in White – that ghostly figure that haunts certain crossroads (as well as your usual haunted house).

In Manila, one of the most popular urban legends is the White Lady of Balete Drive. Balete trees line either sides of this long road. According to folklore, these trees attract elementals and spirits. 

The story of the White Lady of Balete Drive has many variations, depending on who’s telling it. Since the 1950s, people have talked about a lady in white that would be seen hitchhiking on that road. If a driver does stop and let her in, she would direct them to a particular house and would vanish soon after arriving . Somehow, the driver later discovers that the lady did live in that house but supposedly died many years ago. 

In other stories, the driver would not stop for the lady in white, but when he glances at his rear view mirror, he’ll suddenly the see the pale passenger in his backseat. This would supposedly cause the driver to panic and get into an accident. 

Another story I read mentioned that the White Lady is supposed a diwata, an fairy-creature that dwells in balete trees, and is the protector of that land. 

And the other stranger that usual origin story I heard was that the White Lady was a C.I.A. experiment designed to distract the public from more important political things that was happening in the country at that time. (Although, now that I think about it, it might be more interesting to think about the possibility that the C.I.A. developed a way to use ghosts as spies in other countries.) 

Growing up with all these different stories about the White Lady of Balete Drive made me want to write my “secret origin” of this infamous phantom lady, which is what made me write this TRESE story. 

A trivia about the title of this story is that “13thStreet” actually does not intersect with Balete Drive. Although it’s in the same neighborhood, Balete Drive intersects with streets 3rdthrough 11thand 13thStreet is found on a parallel street. I just though the title would not have been so cool if the crime happened on the corner of “11thStreet”. 

There is another supernatural story connected to 13thStreet – supposed if you walk down that street during the day, you won’t be able to find House #13, but if you go there at 3am, you’ll be surprised to find the 13thHouse on a lot which wasn’t there in the morning. 

There have also been stories about mailmen and delivery men who had the misfortune to bring a package to that house. The owner of the house would supposedly invite them in and by some weird coincidence, the food being served on the table would be their favorite dish. If they took one bite of food, they would somehow be compelled to never leave the house. And when people tried to look for missing delivery men, their log book would say that they went to the 13thHouse on 13thStreet, which, of course, would not exist if anyone tried to visit that place. 

These are the stories that helped inspire the writing and creation of this particular TRESE occult case. What’s your unforgettable White Lady or haunted house story?

(The artwork above is the Variant Cover from our TRESE Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign. Learn more about it at: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/trese-comics-1-global-edition/x/19244495 )