Some pretty bad-ass speculative fiction

[blackruzsa]

 Yes, this is another Filipino comics post, but of a different, more refined stature. 

Thanks to Mister Budjette Tan, who posted about this comic on his blog, I got to read a treat of a comic.

Sci-fi speculative fiction about space travel and a tribe called the Badjao, a tribe of sea travelers well known for their affinity with the waters of the Philippines. 

The story I chose to adapt into a comic book was Timothy James Dimacali’s “Skygypsies,” a short story published in Philippine Speculative Fiction III. It is a sci-fi adventure set in the regions of the asteroid belt, wherein the Badjaos have transitioned from seafaring to spacefaring - a fulfillment of their destiny beyond the stars. From the very first time I read the story, I fell in-love with it and the story grew on me. It presents an ocean of potential…and I for one wanted to realize that.

Story by Timothy James Dimacali, art by John Raymond Bumanglag.

SKYGYPSIES

5 pages out of 24. 
















The rest of the story tells about a father and son who are mining platinum and find something amazing, something they hide from 'The Outsiders'.

I'm not sure if I'm reading it right, but I think it's a metaphor for the value kept by tribes who hide the smallest, most important things they have from foreigners or outsiders who attempt to take everything away.

Forgive me for putting on my anti-Imperialism, anti-Western colonialism hat, but I think it's a pretty good message. So much taken away from a people, and all they can do is keep what little matters away from those who attempt to take them. Maybe beliefs, maybe people, maybe life...

Eh, I shouldn't be getting so philosophical this late in the evening. Hope you enjoy the read. It's linked up there, the full version. 

Comments

[minervasolo.livejournal.com]

I like the anti-colonialism hat. Much prefer it to those old stovepipes we all used to wear 'round here...

I really like the look of this, and i'm going to check the rest out. Good, solid sci fi is always a draw for me, and I like the implicit message.

[calvision]

It's worth noting the current state of the Badjao today, when reading this. Originally they were nomadic seafarers, but recent destiny has forced them into land. Colonialism and commercialism forced them to take permanent residences (so please the government), but to this day there's a significant number in their settlement that live in extreme poverty. (I can't claim to be the authority on all the details, but this is as I far as I learned while was there). I can understand your hat.

This comic looks really interesting! I definitely need to check it out. I like the exploration of the transition from seafaring to spacefaring. The art's nothing to scoff at, either.

[blackruzsa]

Yes, yes.
I feel incredibly sad when I see a lot of traveling tribespeople dressed in old clothes and covered in dirt, bringing their things around in a sack.

[meatwhichdreams]

Very well put.

....

Dang, I can't really think of anything that would add to your comment. XD

[junipepper]

Mars: Last bastion of the Labor Unions...

[jarodrussell]

Where's Tyler Vernon with his SAPL when you really need it?

[blackruzsa]

This is me not getting pop culture references.
*shamed*

[jarodrussell]

Don't be, it's a very obscure one: Troy Rising. This comic's novel approach to asteroid mining reminded me that series' method.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Hmm - interesting. I like the idea of a certain group's genetic adaptations for one thing making them ideal for another - and the 'fishermen in SPAAAAAACE' vibe makes for an interesting look.

[blackruzsa]

Tribal, mostly naked fishermen in space.
I like how contrasting the ideas are.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Definitely - the contrast of loincloth-wearing fisherfolk on a little boat out in the asteroid belt wielding advanced technology is most striking. I'm not sure I'm wild about the 'this revolutionary discovery must belong to OUR people and ours alone' ending, but I suppose it's a natural attitude for a people who've been so screwed over by outsiders to have.

[divi_d]

Yeah, the attitude comes off as bizarre to me, too, but I also have to admit it makes sense when thought about.

If I had to hazard a guess, I'd wager it has to do with coming from a privileged society where that sort of possessiveness and distrust of other cultures would be considered a form of bigotry, so that one has to think to realize that for a less privileged society, it's just being cautious (at least, up to a point).

[psychopathicus_rex]

Well, CAUTIOUS, yes, but I would think a better way of putting it would be something like 'we must not let outsiders know of this thing until we've ascertained whether or not it can be used as a bargaining chip to better the lives of our people.' (Only, y'know, less words.) The implication seems instead to be that they don't intend to reveal it to outsiders at all, which to me crosses the line from cautiousness into unconscionable selfishness - a rock that produced air could be a revolutionary discovery that would better the lot of mankind in general, especially in a society that's already developed a means of space travel.

[blackruzsa]

On their level of thinking, it's kind of like "the outsiders have ruined our land and its life before so we shouldn't give them this".

You know how tribal people were very one with nature then, until they were taken into a colony? By which point nature began to deteriorate (in the Philippines, since Colonial times, 92% of the land's forests have been decimated).

In their minds, giving this to the outsiders would either end up in destroying it or letting them have more leverage against the tribe. They need something to keep from being controlled.

[psychopathicus_rex]

Well, yes, I can understand why they'd do it, but I can't agree with the doing of it, in this case. Keeping bits of extra profit or handy new tricks they'd invented secret, that would be one thing, but this is bigger than that. Think of what humanity as a whole could do with an oxygen-producing rock! It could be the key to exploring the cosmos, or help out in medical procedures, or be the basis for some new form of clean, oxygen-based energy. I can understand why they'd want to USE this new discovery for the betterment of their people, but surely they could use it as leverage - 'in exchange for the rights to this rock, we demand this sector of space to be ours and only ours', that sort of thing. Saying 'we won't show it to outsiders at all' is just incredibly short-sighted, in my opinion - not only will this be to the detriment of the human race as a whole, of which they are a part of, but inevitably SOMEONE'S going to figure out what they've discovered, and then where will they be?
I can't help but be reminded of the 'we could give them the cure for cancer, but they'd just turn it into a weapon' bit from Hudlin's 'Black Panther' run. To my mind, this is the same basic sort of thing - it's not QUITE as short-sighted, since this is from a tribal perspective as opposed to that of an advanced nation, but really, I find it difficult to believe that a tribal people who mine asteroids from space-boats in the future would not have advanced their way of thinking past 'we must protect our tribe, all others are outsiders' JUST a little.

[blackruzsa]

It's only fair, really, after all they've experienced. It's no longer just being cautious; it's acting on past experiences. They were really screwed over by outsiders.

[tropicsbear]

I hope I see this for sale at Komikon! *A*

[blackruzsa]

WHEN IS KOMIKONNNNN????

[tropicsbear]

April 9 or 10 afaik. You going?

[blackruzsa]

Can't. We're leaving for a trip.
I'm gonna try getting a friend to represent me :)