Combatron: Full Circle

 Sometimes when you are writing and you leave something that makes the reader wonder about a possible future you never really thought that it would actually become true.

Case in point: I contributed some comic art pages and an article from my college friend's indie comic last 2009. I wanted to write something to make the reader be nostalgic about the "good ol' days" of komiks. And what better subject to talk about than Funny Komiks' Combatron?

For those who don't know about Comabatron, he is the "killer app" of Islas Filipinas Publishing Co.'s Pilipino  Funny Komiks. The character that kids want to buy to their folks the komiks. Combatron was created by Berlin Manalaysay for a period spanning almost 6 years ( 1992-1997 ). Although Combatron is a rip-off of Capcom's Megaman, he is in a league of his own, fighting planet-sized god-like robots, Space Warriors, Transforming robots and, being a kid's book, enemies of the environment.

I loved the character. I remember my mother going to the wet market to buy some fresh meat and veggies and the latest issue of Funny Komiks. She would get it out of the plastic and it is usually rolled up in a torn newspaper. I would read the whole komiks and be greatly inspired by the dynamic art and storyline of Combatron.

Combatron has a very huge following, as can be seen in some artwork that I "picked" up from social network for artists deviantart.com:

Heck, I even made some artwork myself:

There's even a dedicated blog showing scans of almost all of the Combatron issues called PROJECT COMBATRON.

Here is the link HERE:

Now, going back to my rather ominious article from my friend's indie comic. I made a "last-words-of-a-sort" to my article. Here is what I wrote:

"Last I heard from a blog entry a few years ago, Berlin Manalaysay is working at a company as a graphic artist. He expressed interest in reviving the character or making a new character w/ the same characteristics as Combatron....Who knows, Combatron might make a comeback. Someday...."

And that someday has an indefinite date. Thanks to Facebook sharing, I was able to heard news that Berlin Manalaysay will be making a "definite" ending to his revered character. While Funny Komiks made an ending to the series, it was made by another artist and did not live up to the expectations of fans. As of now I still haven't seen what that particular ending looked like.

But nonetheless I am really stoked to see and read this Combatron ending... after 16 years.

exclusive preview of the "ending comics

Read the full story HERE.

Here are some choice bits from the interview from the website to get you stoked:

What was the inspiration behind doing the ending?

BM: Four answers for that question: (1.) Closure (2.) I want to know the real ending! (3.) I owe it to my readers and to myself and (4.) When you leave something behind. It has to have an ending.

We’re curious why so long to do THE ending? 

BM: I fell in love with Advertising! Seeing my commercials on tv! I get a kick out of it! But i always knew i’ll go back to finish it myself. The time is right. The story is right. My hand is itching to draw. My brain cant stop thinking about it. And Yes the Friends that keep asking… Like you. It’s loud banging noise you just can’t ignore.

What should we fanboys expect from this Combatron ending?

BM: All the pages will look like a poster. Less small frames. Uber details. Photoshopped coloring. Hope you guys like it. I wont stop till i like it. The story… It has to be a story i love. A story that ends it. And hopefully… worth the wait for more than 10 years.

Even if the ending would be sub-par to our expectations, I'm just happy that the creator went full-circle. 

- "the king"