Pugad Baboy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pugad Baboy (literally, "Swine's Nest") is a comic strip created by Filipino cartoonist Apolonio "Pol" Medina Jr. It started appearing as a black-and-white daily strip in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on May 18, 1988, and as a full-color Sunday strip in the same paper in October 3, 2004. It currently appears exclusively in the Inquirer and its free concise associate broadsheet called Inquirer Libre.
The strip tells about life in a community in Manila where most of its residents are obese, or "fat as pigs," so to speak (baboy is Tagalog for pig).
The strip does not limit itself to showcasing domestic life; occasionally, it features adventure stories. A typical story arc would have the characters visiting places around the Philippines, like Baguio and Palawan. After a few hi-jinks, the real action would begin. They would run into a problem, and the rest of the arc would show them taking on the said problem. For example, during a visit to Lubang Island, they are taken prisoner by a tribe of cannibals.
More often, the strip mirrors the general sentiment of the Filipino people on relevant topics such as corruption in the government as well as Filipino pop culture. Sometimes, political satire is even woven into some ordinary strips and adventure stories.
Most of the characters in this strip are based on Medina himself as well as people around him. While he makes fun of fat people, he does so in a good-spirited way.
The name of the strip itself is a play on Pugad Lawin (nest of hawks), the locality where the cry to revolt which sparked the Philippine Revolution took place, according to some historians.
Its popularity has spawned numerous compilations as well as merchandise, such as T-shirts and figurines.
Contents |
[edit] Characters
[edit] Polgas
The (arguably) central character of this comic strip is a dog named Polgas (derived from pulgas or flea). His father was a "Philippine rice hound" (a dog that's fit to eat [with rice]; literally, a mongrel) and his mother was a Golden Retriever. He is called ang asong hindi (the dog who isn't) because he obtained many human qualities, especially human speech, after consuming his master's exotic version of bibingka (rice cake) and exposure to radiation emitted by television sets. Apparently, this had a teratogenic effect on him. He still acts like a dog, however, when he chooses to.
[edit] Wisedog/Dobermaxx
After acquiring more human skills, he was hired as a deep penetration agent of a fictional military division called the Organized Canine Bureau (OCB). This organization could be a spoof of Omni Consumer Products (OCP), the fictional corporation responsible for the creation of RoboCop. It may be noted that the cartoonist further pays homage to RoboCop in his rendition of Polgas' great-grandson's (Dobermaxx's) powersuit. OCB was originally formed to combat the pilfering of stray dogs which were sold for their meat. The city of Baguio, where the selling and eating of dog meat is an illegal industry, was the site of Wisedog's first full-fledged mission.
Polgas's original call sign in the OCB was Wisedog (an homage to the title character of the TV show Wiseguy). He was issued with a prototype garapata (flea) gun, which shot droplets of flea sweat that caused itching for six months. Later, he was issued with ballistic arnis sticks and Gary, a tiny surveillance robot flea. After his second mission, he was issued a customized Porsche 959, the Thunderdog.
Later, he changed his call sign to Dobermaxx after he and some other residents of Pugad Baboy were accidentally sent to and returned from the year 2078. During this adventure, he got a technologically advanced garapata gun from his grandson, also called Dobermaxx.
As Wisedog/Dobermaxx, Polgas has fought many foes over the years, ranging from the mundane (drug pushers) to the fantastic (a lord of supernatural creatures). His most prominent foe is Atong Damuho (Renate Domingo), erstwhile drug pusher, dognapper, illegal logger and lately, magic mushroom courier. His great-grandson, Anton Damien, would plague the future Dobermaxx.
[edit] Other aliases
He appears in many other guises such as Dr. Sigmund Floyd (a spoof of Sigmund Freud), Pol Torero (World Wrestling Entertainment or WWE's The Undertaker), Amorsolo (a non-existent Ninja Turtle), Aquapol (Aquaman), Growlsbuster (spoofing The Ghostbusters), Darth Paul (spoofing Darth Maul), Polverine (a spoof of Wolverine, an X-men character) and many others. See: List of Polgas's other guises
[edit] Polgas at home
As plain Polgas, he acts as an extra member of his master's family the Sungcals and his master Dagul's drinking buddy. In fact, Medina usually voices out through this character.
[edit] The Sungcals
The Sungcal family reflects a typical Filipino family. "sungkal" is a Tagalog word for the term "digging a hole with a (pig's) snout"
- Dagul, also known as Mang Dagul (Adagulfo Sungcal Jr.) - The patriarch of the Sungcal family. He works as a chef in a five-star hotel where he specializes in unorthodox dishes. But most of the time, while he is at home, he usually voices out on the state of affairs in the Philippines. His current hobby happens to be aikido, a sport Medina himself takes up. He calls his wife "Honeycured." "Dagul" is a Filipino slang for someone or something big.
- Debbie (Debra Anne Sungcal) - The matriarch of the family. While being the loving traditional wife and mother, she likes shopping for bargains, but never makes up her mind in decision making (much to Dagul's regret). She calls her husband "Sweet Ham."
- Kules (Hercules Sungcal) - The eldest son who works as a building engineer in Saudi Arabia. When not working, he reads letters from penpals, goes on blind dates, hangs out with his friend 'Adre (short for compadre; see below), or thinks about the events back in the Philippines.
- Tiny (Cristina Sungcal) - The daughter of the family. Her name is not only an obvious misnomer, but also a testament to her vanity as well as her denial when it comes to her size. She asserts herself as sexy and insists that her waistline is 28 inches, although in one strip, it is stated that she had a waistline of 28 inches when she was 10 years old. But she does commit herself to diets that often end in failure. Furthermore, her cooking leaves much to be desired by her family, and has the dubious reputation of being inedible. Oftentimes, she concocts dishes containing ingredients that belong in other parts of the house (other than kitchen); for example, soap.
- Utoy (Adagulfo Sungcal III) - The youngest son. While he inherited his father's intelligence, he manages to have time to do things other children like him to, like playing the saxophone and playing games, even known to use a "very" versatile Swiss Army Knife. Medina initially depicted him as a clueless infant, but he later aged him to about eight years old probably to give a child's insight on current events (eight is also the age of most of the child characters in this strip).
- Brosia (Ambrosia Tangara) - The family's housemaid from Gingoog, Sorsogon and one of Pugad Baboy's few thin residents. She is brainless, as characterized by her senseless remarks and her mesmerization by reading materials written in English (though this was revealed because she couldn't afford to advance her studies). (Tanga is Tagalog for "dumb".) But what she lacks in intelligence she makes up in doing pranks and jokes on the community's various residents. Her most frequent victim is Dagul, whose semi-baldness becomes the butt of her jokes, much to his chagrin. She is 'Adre's younger sister (see below about 'Adre).
[edit] The Sabaybunots
The Sabaybunots reflect a very violent but tolerably quiet household. In Tagalog, sabay-bunot means "drawing (guns) simultaneously". Sabay, Bunot! is also used by the Philippine military as an oral command during martial ceremonies when the drawing of weapons is called for, as in the drawing of officers' swords. This may again be in homage to Tomas' military background.
- Tomas, also known as Sarge (Sgt. Tomas Sabaybunot) - Representing the Philippine's military branch, he is a master sergeant of the Philippine Air Force. While said to be fearless and often trigger-happy, his "chauvinist pig" lifestyle is ironically neutralized by his dominant wife. He is often reduced to doing inane chores, and any attempt to complain about said chores results in physical battery by his wife. His name could be a pun on toma, Filipino slang for alcoholic drinks; Tomas does like to drink a lot, as does his cousin Igno.
- Barbie (Barbara Q. Sabaybunot) - Tomas's wife. She frequently orders Tomas around, probably due to his chauvinism, his womanizing, and her extremely feministic views. This difference of opinion often turns into a physical altercation, such as Barbie giving a tiptoeing husband her trademarked uppercut whenever he arrives home in the wee hours of the morning drunk and/or smeared with the scent of women's perfume. Her name is a pun on barbecue. In Pugad Baboy 18, her name was rendered "Barbara-Queen" (after a local barbecue franchise called B. B. Queen).
- Paltik (Paul Thomas Sabaybunot), the couple's only son. While his friend Utoy can be described as the brains, he can be described as the jester. Quite mischievous in many ways, he often sleeps in class and is clearly much more interested in other areas, such as teasing his buck-toothed teacher, Miss Nobatos, typically comparing her mug to that of a horse. One very good instance of his prankster attitude is when he was awaken by Miss Nobatos and immediately asked him on what the Burning Bush told Moses (Exodus 20), he replied, "No mercy for Saddam," thinking that the Burning Bush was the elder George Bush. His nickname is a Filipino term that means "homemade gun." The Philippine military also uses the term paltik to specifically refer to a handgun. The appellation is probably utilized by the cartoonist in reference to Paltik being a smaller version of his father, Tomas, who always likes to carry big guns.
[edit] The Lamouns
Lamon is a Tagalog verb meaning "to eat [food] in great quantities", or more loosely, "pig out", and is commonly used as a label pertaining to one's gluttony. The surname was spelled "Lamon" at first.
- Bab (Roberto Lamoun) - the resident true-blue hippie who is lazy and unemployed. He is also unlucky in love, especially with Tiny, who was once his girlfriend for all of two seconds. He has applied for and held many jobs over the years, but these never get off the ground.
- Jolen (Joanne Elena Lamoun) - Bab's much younger sister. She is more intelligent than Bab (or at least more diligent), and is often reminded by their mother never to follow in her brother's footsteps, despite the many realities her brother himself imparts to her. She is also Utoy's girlfriend and often goes out with him. It should be noted, however, that they are both only eight years old, as already mentioned. She has a speech impediment as she pronounces her k's and s's as t's. However, this only manifests itself while she is singing. Jolen or holen is a Filipino term for marbles.
- Tita Cel (Cecilia Lamoun) - Bab and Jolen's mother. She disapproves of her son and dotes on her daughter. She despises Bab's smoking vice, as this led to the death of her husband (Rodrigo Lamoun, as mentioned in Pugad Baboy XI).
[edit] The Tangeres
- Ka Noli (Nolasco M. Tangere) - the resident communist who is a proud member of the New People's Army. While he believes in the merits of communism and calls most of the other residents as capitalists, he manages to have drinking sessions with them. Tomas, a natural enemy, is his best friend. Ironically, he and his son enjoy playing Monopoly. His name is derived from the title of Noli Me Tangere, the first novel of the Philippine national hero, Jose Rizal.
- Joma (Jose Maria Tangere) - Ka Noli's son. While he is aware of his father's beliefs, he hangs out with Utoy and Paltik often. He is named after Jose Maria "Joma" Sison, the founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines, now living in exile in the Netherlands.
[edit] The Tangs
- Mao (Mauricio Tang) - the resident Chinese-Filipino who hails from Fujian Province and owns a sari-sari store (a small retail store) in Pugad Baboy. He often believes in business sense and earning money and he sometimes brandishes a sword on whoever earns his ire, especially those who don't pay their dues. His name is play on ma-utang, which in Tagalog, translates roughly to "one who likes to borrow money."
- Pao (Paulino Tang) - the resident homosexual and Mao's son. A friend of Tiny, his tastes and attitude are typically gay. This even caused him trouble once when he was mistaken for a pregnant woman by a horde of monsters and he did not want to admit his real gender. His father once expressed disappointment over him as he remarked that Pao has a resemblance to basketball player "Gelli Codiñela." He also owns a beauty parlor and works his way through college at the same time. His name is a play on pa-utang, which, in Tagalog, translates roughly to "Can I borrow some money?"
[edit] Other characters
- Igno (Benigno Ramos) - Tomas's cousin who is an ex-convict from the actual National Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa. He drinks very often, but is afraid of ghosts. In fact, his frequent drinking caused his breath and urine to become highly flammable, especially while drunk. His name is a play on ignoramus.
- Joboy (Joey Boy Llabe) - the resident mechanic who has a knack for cars and often likes to drive fast (in fact, he is a speed maniac). His last name is the Filipino word for wrench.
- Tata Mads (Amado Pascala) - the resident musician who once taught Tiny voice lessons and sometimes comes to Dagul to comment on his awful singing. Tamad is Tagalog for lazy (Tata Mads does not appear to be lazy, though his appearances in the recent strips seem to have decreased).
- Doc Sebo (Dr. Miguel Sebo, M. D.) - the resident physician who specializes in circumcision, but is weak in anything else in his profession. Sebo is Tagalog for "congealed fat", or solidified lard.
- 'Adre (Cesar "Butch" Tangara) - Kules's fellow worker in Saudi Arabia and Brosia's older brother. He shares the same interests and sentiments with Kules, sometimes with photos of their penpals. His relation to Brosia was revealed when he went home to the Philippines for a vacation (Kules was also home at the time). 'Adre is short for kumpadre or male best friend.
- Miss Nobatos (Eusebia Nobatos) - Utoy, Paltik, Joma, and Jolen's teacher. She often rages at Paltik for his jokes and actions and takes too many doses of aspirin because of him and any other shenanigans her other students cause. Her name is a play on the Tagalog phrase/expression "Ano ba ito?!" (What [the heck] is this?!)
- Patrolman Durugas (PFC Romeo Durugas) - a police officer who often apprehends drivers mostly for no apparent reason and receives bribes from them. Dagul happens to be one those disgruntled motorists. He is created by Medina based on the Filipinos' general view on policemen as corrupt. In Tagalog, mandurugas means "one who cheats".
- Senator Cabalfin (Sen. Usurpo Cabalfin) - the resident member of the Philippine Senate. He is seen more playing children's games and spending people's taxes on his own indulgences rather than doing his job as a legislator. He is created by Medina as a reflection of corrupt government officials.
[edit] Recurring minor characters
There are also recurring characters in the strip, including: Barbie's mother (unnnamed), who rues about death; Dagul's mother (also unnamed), an ironically thin yet concerned woman; Madame Cabalfin (Diana Elizabeth Cabalfin), Senator Cabalfin's equally corrupt wife, together with their son Bong (Enrique Noel Cabalfin) and the senator's personnel; Attorney Adriano (first name never mentioned), the fiscal; "Principal Schwarzenegger" (Arnold Palacio), the ugly school principal; Nadir Hamid Mohammad, Kules's employer; Ka Beza (Bezalie Tangere), Ka Noli's wife; Father Marty (Fr. Mario Martinez), Bab's priest-friend who is studying canon law at the Vatican, Rosanna (last name not mentioned), a well-endowed local mestiza; and others.
Other minor characters in the strips serve as antagonists to the residents. See: Villains of Pugad Baboy
Prominent personalities have also made cameo appearances in Pugad Baboy. Among them are Presidents Ramos, Estrada, and Arroyo, Modern Arnis Grandmaster Ernesto Presas, politicians Robert Jaworski, Rene Saguisag and Richard Gordon, singer Freddie Aguilar, comedian Leo Martinez, the late Pope John Paul II, and even Michael Jackson.
Medina himself has even appeared in the strip proper, holding a cartooning workshop in Palawan. He also includes photos and caricatures of himself in some of his compilations.
[edit] Major adventure story arcs
As mentioned earlier in this article, the strip does not showcase domestic life alone as Medina has created story arcs which involve the various characters in adventure or plot-like situations.
There is no standard as how long a story arcs lasts, but it can run from several weeks to a few months. Furthermore, the story arc only gets its title while it is being included in a compilation.
This list below contains named story arcs that last at least 15 strips long and which compilation each appears.
- Bakasyon (15 strips, The Best of Pugad Baboy)
- Baboy Scouts (24 strips, Pugad Baboy 3)
- Wisedog (17 strips, Pugad Baboy 3)
- The Baguio Connection (51 strips, Pugad Baboy 3)
- Retraining (45 strips, Pugad Baboy 4)
- The Malunggay Conflict (30 strips, Pugad Baboy 4)
- Ang Hiwaga ng Dueñas (52 strips, Pugad Baboy 4)
- Feminist (34 strips, PB5)
- Olympig Games (19 strips, PB5)
- 2078 (45 strips, PB5)
- Maidnappers (88 strips, PB5)
- The Olongapo Caper (49 strips, Pugad Baboy 6)
- Oplan Paglalanse (23 strips, Pugad Baboy 7)
- Alamang Boy (26 strips, Pugad Baboy 7)
- Col. Manyakis (35 strips, pugad baboy 8)
- Father Marty (21 strips, Pugad Baboy 9)
- Kulto (41 strips, Pugad Baboy 9)
- James Bab (38 strips, Pugad Baboy X)
- Matrona (23 strips, Pugad Baboy X)
- Apo Hikers (62 strips, Pugad Baboy XI)
- Paraiso (54 strips, Pugad Baboy XII)
- Private Investigator! (77 strips, PB the 13th)
- Babman (37 strips, Katorse)
- Aso (88 strips, Kinse!)
Not included in the list above is Planet of the Dogs, Medina's homage/parody to Planet of the Apes. This story arc, which appeared in Disi-Sais! is relatively short at only 9 strips long. Since that arc, it took Medina three years before he recently came up with the latest story about involving Igno and the Polisher (another one of Polgas's identities). The said story arc will be published in an upcoming 19th compilation.
[edit] Books and Merchandise
The first compilation of Pugad Baboy comic strips was originally part of a thesis by Frank Aldana, a student of De La Salle University. This compilation became so popular that Medina himself made more. Including Aldana's compilation, there are currently 18 Pugad Baboy books:
- Pugad Baboy One (originally, The Very Best of Pugad Baboy)
- The Best of Pugad Baboy (officially, this is the second compilation)
- Pugad Baboy 3
- Pugad Baboy 4
- PB5 (Pugad Baboy 5)
- Pugad Baboy 6
- Pugad Baboy 7
- pugad baboy eight
- Pugad Baboy 9
- Pugad Baboy X (commemorating the tenth anniversary of the comic strip)
- Pugad Baboy XI
- Pugad Baboy XII
- PB the 13th (Pugad Baboy 13)
- Katorse (Pugad Baboy 14)
- Kinse! (Pugad Baboy 15)
- Disi-Sais! (Pugad Baboy 16)
- 17 (Pugad Baboy 17)
- 18 eighteen (Pugad Baboy 18)
Medina also made other Pugad Baboy original works:
- Ink and Politics series (a compilation of editiorial cartoons by Medina on the Philippine Daily Inquirer)
- Pirata - an original graphic novel about Polgas befriending a reformed Muslim pirate named Khalid and their quest for the pirate group to surrender. It was intended to be the first of a graphic novel series called Polgas - Ang Asong Hindi, but was made a stand-alone graphic novel because of the time and effort given to its creation, as well as the seriousness of its story compared to the hilarity of Pugad Baboy itself.
- Two Polgas - Ang Asong Hindi books actually appeared, but they were more like comic books than graphic novels. They were produced as a joint effort between Medina and the Alamat Comics Group, an independent comics company. These books were Baboyani (a portmanteau of baboy and bayani, Filipino for "hero") an alternate universe adventure which recasts the characters as rebels in the Philippine Revolution; and Conspigracy, a story that takes place during the residents' excursion in Laguna. Medina actually only contributed the art for the covers and title pages; the rest of the art was done by other artists.
- Polgas comics - a "magazine" of original strips by Medina and other artists which also contained a spoof "horoscope" and some exotic recipes.
The popularity of Pugad Baboy also spawned some merchandise such as DogStyle Apparel and Polgas P-gurines (a set of figurines depicting Polgas and some Polgas characters). They are currently distributed by Medina's company, Pol Medina Jr. Novelties.
On September 25, 1993, Pugad Baboy was even made into a live-action TV show called Rated PB (Pang-Bayan) - Pugad Baboy Sa TV. Directed by Leo Martinez, the show featured Edgar Mortiz, Giselle Sanchez and Rudy Meyer among the cast. Though the show was live-action, the opening logo featured limited animation. Some of the episodes were based upon earlier plots in the strip, while others followed a skit show format. It was aired on GMA 7 and lasted only two seasons, 15 episodes in all.
In book 9, Medina states that he dreams of making a Pugad Baboy cartoon.
[edit] Trivia
- Medina originally spelled "Pugad Baboy" with a hyphen in the strip itself, though not in the title.
- Originally in 1988, Medina revealed that Polgas's voice came from Brosia, who was once a ventriloquist. But Medina admitted that the idea was so bad that he not only failed to support it in succeeding strips but also dropped it completely. It was in 1995 while he was making the graphic novel Pirata that he came up with the "teratogenic" explanation above.
- One of the strips characters, Tiny, is studying in University of Santo Tomas, where Medina graduated in 1983 with a degree in architecture. There, she takes up mass communication, a course the university doesn't actually offer.
- One of the author's running gags was Paltik's blatant aversion to the "coming of age" ritual of circumcision, which may either reflect Medina's displeasure to the Filipino rite or another excuse to poke fun at one of the Philippine's most overrated traditions.
- Another one of Medina's running gags is the depiction (or at least the description) of Arabs having very foul body odor. Examples of this running gag is Kules' Saudi friend, which the former calls Lancaster (because the friend smells like the langka or jack fruit), and the stinky concentrated PSSI (pawis ng singit ng sundalong Iraqi or Iraqi soldier's armpit sweat) mentioned in story arc The Baguio Connection. This running gag is reasonable considering that the desert atmosphere in most Arab countries prevented their people to take daily baths. Sadly, this running gag has not yet been proven otherwise.
- British English words are prevalent in the strip (like -ise words) and Medina uses these kinds of words in his own write-ups.
- Not all the minor characters who appeared both in the covers of Disi-Sais and 18 actually appeared in the strips featured in the two books. Some of the appeared either earlier in the comic series (such as Father Marty, who appeared in the strips in Pugad Baboy 9) while others were just mere extras (such as the Los Kosas Muntinlupas, Igno's former fellow inmates in the Bilibid Prisons).
- According to Medina, the characters he most identifies with are Polgas, Mang Dagul, and Utoy; like him, they wear earrings on their left ears.
- The characters are typically ageless, and their actual ages are usually vague. The few characters whose present ages are stated are Dagul (48), and the kids (8 or 9). Utoy and 'Adre are the only characters to have visibly aged in the strip through the years (Utoy first appeared as a baby; 'Adre has lately lost some of his hair). A "holdover hippie" from the Sixties, Bab nevertheless seems to be only in his twenties or thirties, which would be impossible in real time. Mang Danilo (in the story arc Ang Hiwaga ng Dueñas) mentions that Bab consulted the faith healer during his teenage years at the time of Woodstock (Bab immediately covers the faith healer's mouth as the word "Woodstock" is mentioned).
- As stated above, the name "Pugad Baboy" can be seen as a play on the historical site, Pugad Lawin; Medina also says that he took the name from a piggery that a friend owned.
- "Pugad Baboy... ...is a real village in Bulacan province, north of Manila. It is notorious for its foul-smelling piggeries."[1]
- According to Renato Constantino's history book, The Philippines: A Past Revisited (first published 1975), there was also a real Pugad-Baboy in Caloocan at the time of the Philippine Revolution.
- In one recent strip where Dagul discussed the substitution of the online life for physical contact, he cited Wikipedia as one of the alternatives to physical library visits, the other being Google.
