Trese 5: Midnight Tribunal

Trese # 5: Midnight Tribunal by Budjette Tan and KaJo Baldisimo
Publisher: Visprint
Number of pages: 90
My copy: signed paperback, bought during Komikon 2012

In a city where the aswang control everything that is illegal
and where ancient gods seek to control everything else,
enforcing the law can be a very difficult task.

When crime takes a turn for the weird, the police normally call Alexandra Trese. Lately, it seems like others have been taking that call.

Trese must confront these supernatural crime-fighters and bring order back to the city, before the underworld attempts to seek balance in its own way.

* * *

So the news of the fifth installment of the graphic novel Trese by Budjette Tan and KaJo Baldisimo totally took me by surprise. I wasn’t supposed to pass by the Komikon on the last weekend of October because I thought I didn’t have anything to go there for. And then I saw the Facebook update from the publisher and that made me adjust my weekend plans, stat.

When weird things happen in the city, the police call Alexandra Trese. However, there seemed to be someone else who’s answering these calls before Trese can get to them. Someone who’s faster, and who’s slowly gaining popularity because of his public antics. Trese gets to the bottom of it quick, and finds that there’s more to the surface with this being who’s doing her job for her.

I’m making the summary vague on purpose because it’s good not to be spoiled with this issue. This is a common storyline, really, where someone else tries to take the job of our hero/heroine and can often do it better than them, which makes our star a less credible hero. But more often than not, this replacement hero/heroine has bad intentions, which our hero/heroine will uncover in the end. Trese #5 followed that pattern and then veered away from it, making it more interesting than it already is.

Midnight Tribunal follows the same format that Mass Murders did, with four interconnected stories instead of independent cases. I loved how old characters showed up again, like the nuno (who is now asking for Kitkat instead of Chocnut) and Maliksi, the young tikbalang bachelor who will definitely play a big part in the later issues. I love, love, love the Kambal, with their funny quips and awesome, awesome lines. They’re definitely funnier now than they were before, but they were also just as kick-ass as their boss.

I loved how there was more development in Trese’s story arc here, and important characters were introduced in this installment that I am definitely looking forward to reading about in the next! This is definitely one of my favorites in the series, and I am one very, very happy fan. :) I cannot wait to know what happens next!

Rating: [rating=4]

Other reviews:
taking a break

Reviews of other Trese Books:

• Trese # 1: Murder on Balete Drive
• Trese # 2: Unreported Murders
• Trese # 3: Mass Murders
• Trese # 4: Last Seen After Midnight