There is a strange kind of charm to Medina�s work. He has the rare ability to both annoy and charm the reader in spite of himself, and the addictive humor keeps the pages turning. He tells his stories with a satiric wit that cuts through to the heart of matters, making the staid seem ridiculous and the ridiculous seem commonplace. And yet�and yet, there is an infectious, childlike delight in himself that makes the reader smile, and it ensures that Pugad Baboy leaves an impression not soon forgotten.

     Pol Medina succeeds where so many others have failed. He has carved out a niche for himself in the almost nonexistent Filipino comics market. Everyone, from the nearly illiterate kanto boy smoking in the streets to the high-powered executive in his 27th floor office has heard of Pugad Baboy, and at least half of them, I'd say, have read it. That�s no mean feat in our dirt-poor country, where food and bills must come before books.

     But then again, Medina�s books aren�t your run-of-the-mill books. Sure, they�re comic books, but who has heard of Culture Crash, or Myth, outside of comics fan circles? Even the fans dedicate themselves to Japanese or Western comics, burying themselves in an ecstasy of anime and X-Men and what have you. Filipino comic book illustrators/authors have made the mistake of attempting to compete with said comics on their turf, churning out imitations of Sailor Moon and Peter Parker (I saw one which attempted to be funny��Peter Porker�, starring �Spiderpig�. No one bought it.) With the end result of what?

     Predictably, of course, comic collectors, faced with a choice between the genuine article and the imitation, have always gone for the real McCoy. Who wouldn�t?

     Pol Medina, though, has gone a different route. His cartoons are neither pseudo-Japanese nor are they Americanized. Instead, they have a style totally their own. Rounded, pen-and-ink characters live and breathe in a world more colorful than some of their foreign counterparts�to us, at least�because it�s all real to us. The issues Medina deals with are corrupt traffic aides, OCWs, terrorists, Chinese businessmen, and other such everyday things. What to us is a headache and a pain in the you-know-where is, to him, an opportunity to look at things in a new light, and make them funny. And in the process, he makes us smile as well.

     Take, for instance, his wicked humor in showing the businesslike Chinese, who is always ready to make money. A Chinese guy gives his friend a car sticker for Christmas. The friend says, �Wala akong kotse eh.� Our hero says, �No ploblem! I sell you one.� (He�s Chinese, so you gotta excuse his grammar.) He whips out a catalogue and, thrusting it into the hapless friend�s face, shows him the two-door, four-door, hatchback, etc. The exasperated friend says, �Jong, kahit bumili ako sa �yo ng kotse, wala akong mapaparadahan. Ginawang orchidarium ni Mommy yung garahe namin.� Jong lights up and says, �AHA! You need new house!� He whips out another catalogue and goes into another sales monologue: �Melon ako single detached, duplex, condo�� The friend mutters to himself, �Mahal naman ng sticker na �to.� Even though I'm Chinese myself and I think our mien for business is highly overrated, I couldn�t help but laugh in delight. I think I�ll always remember that little Chinese guy every time I attempt to sell something now (in marketing projects).

     Medina has no qualms about taking the oft-held stereotypes and much-discussed issues and exaggerating them to the point of silliness. Also, he unabashedly flaunts his Pinoy-ness�his characters speak, not in pure Filipino or English, but in that odd mixture of both that has come to be our true national language (at least in the NCR). There is no standing upon dignity, or pompous talk of culture and pride and whatnot. Pugad Baboy has captured the earthy essence of the Pinoy�sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, always, vibrantly, truly alive!�creating a world every true Filipino can identify with. And there, I think, lies the heart of his success.

     More power to Pugad Baboy, that strange, heady mixture of pen and ink and laughter�may its creator continue to tickle our gizzards for many years yet!