Marjelyn Alvarez

I am interested in learning more about the Philippine folktales and I wanted to write stories based on them to share them with others. There are many Filipino folktales that may have been forgotten, but with this, I would like to remind people of these folktales again and have new people know about them. The book is based on a Filipino folktale called Nuno sa Punso or Dwarf on the Mound. The folktale is about an old dwarf who lives on a mound in the forest, and they are known to be very territorial. Whoever destroys their home or disrespects their house would be cursed. The cursed would experience unnatural symptoms, such as swollen parts of their body or peeing black liquid. Along with that, that person would start to go insane the longer they have the curse. This book is done digitally, and the art style for this book is rough and dark to depict a sinister theme. 

My influences for this book were Kenny Leoncito and Jap Mikel. They are both Filipino artists who illustrate folktales that are related to Philippine history. I wanted to create a story based on a Philippine folktale to learn more about these interesting creatures and the beliefs of my people. Not only that, but I also wanted to share this story for the people that do not know about these folktales. I’d like to introduce people to new creatures and monsters as there are more creatures and stories that can be told, rather than just reading stories of Bigfoot or zombies.