Everyone has inner demons. Many people want to escape from said inner demons. Some even people that there is a higher calling for them like in a fantasy book where they have powers. All these are found in the comic “The Mask of Haliya” created by Cecilia Lim with writers Kaitlyn Fajilan and Jenapher Zheng with artists Renoida Renovilla and Charlyn Duy.
Marisol is a troubled Filipina-American who has traveled to Cebu, the Philippines to attend the funeral of her grandmother. There she gets drawn into the world of Philippian legend where she obtains hidden powers and is thrust into a battle between good and evil and herself.
The most interesting aspect of this comic is the use of Philippian myth. It is unheard of that any medium in the West uses Philippian myth. It’s a breath of fresh air to see something other than Chinse, Japanese or Indian myth used in a comic.
The rest of the story so far is OK. This is only an introduction so not much has happened except a backstory to the myth used and character introductions. The plot given by the creators sounds nice but so far the story will have trouble drawing many people into it.
The highlight of the artwork is the character designs. These designs are amazing and show off
the artists’ skills. The colors used, especially in the prologue, bring the panels to life. However,
some of the facial expressions and some of the character movements look wonky and take away
from the overall quality of the art.
The first issue of “The Mask of Haliya” has plenty to love and plenty to not love. The story and Philippian myth and character designs are great but the introduction and other aspects of the art leave something to be desired.
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