Found this graphic novel while looking for books for the South East Asian Reading Challenge and since I haven’t read a graphic novel for the SEA Reading challenge before, I figured this would be fun.

Martial Law Babies follows a group of friends who were born during the Marcos regime. There were quite a few of them, but I’ll be brutally honest and say that I only remembered three of them: Allan, his best friend Rebecca, his crush Marissa, and their friend Carol. There were a few more but for some reason, they didn’t make much of an impression. Martial Law Babies follows the friends as they grow up, starting when Rebecca is about to leavethe Philippines for America, prompting Allan and Rebecca to reminisce about the past. The constant is that Allan had one interaction with Marissa on the Uncle Bobby Show when they were kids and fell in love with her. Now, she’s very popular and doesn’t remember their one interaction.

The kids may have been born during the Marcos era and that shapes their growing up and their experiences. None of them ever espouse any political views about it either way (except for the fact that they’re unhappy that their favourite show was taken off the air), but it was fascinating to see how something like that could impact their entire lives.

The most memorable character, for me, is actually Carol. My first impression of her wasn’t very good, as she came across like a spoilt brat, but as the years go by, it’s clear that she’s pretty awkward and really wants to belong. She made some bad choices, but it’s heartwarming to see that there were still people there for her.

I’ve gotta admit, the drawing style wasn’t really what I was used too. I read a lot more manga and this feels quite rough in comparison. But once I got used to the style, I found that I really enjoyed the story.

There’s quite a bit of Tagalog in the story, but you can still get the main gist without knowing it. It’ll definitely help if you did (I got help with a few pages because I really wanted to find out what they said), but it’s possible to muddle through with just the English – one of the great things about the graphic novel medium.

Overall, if you’re a fan of graphic novels and want to try something new, I think this would be a great choice. Alternatively, if you’re looking for something by a South East Asian author and you’re a bit intimidated by the novels, this is something to consider too.