Trouble in The Office

After so much dilly-dallying, I finally picked up my own copy of Story Philippines. The cover for 2007 Issue No. 1 was surprisingly minimalist, focusing only on the titles and a fiery tone-on-tone pattern in the background. Its predecessors were usually artsy and frame-worthy, but were beyond my understanding of what those kinds of art had to do with the literature.

(However, the marketer in me objects SP1's simplicity, as it may be too blah for the target audience to draw them in.)

Like I mentioned to sky, I am not a fan of SP's art direction and size. Both elements are too busy and wieldy that the mammoth coffeetable magazine takes so much effort to read. So, no, bigger is not always better. Maybe they should rethink title and change to Design Philippines?

(I seriously recommend that the publishers do an FGD and find out if the format is working for or against them. Might actually save them money.)

That aside, as a fan of sky's "(The) Chain Letter Siege" for the longest time, I was happy to see it finally in print. I remember the first time reading it in draft form and being blown away by the ubercool tone and detail. Its breath was unmistakably Pinoy with its references to pop and religious culture, and because of its honesty, it didn't come off as trying too hard. This story makes the magazine worth every buck.

On the other stories that I had patience in reading, the bizaare and provocative "Woman 19" reminded me much of my trip to Krabi where there were lots of women bathing topless on the beach. Unlike the lead character in Aguinaldo's story, I didn't stare long enough to count nipples (which brings me to why should I even do such a thing? there are other things to count...) I found "Dreaming Valhalla" too heavy as an opening story, as it burdened the reader with too much information that fettered the plot. "Japanese Green Tea" with its brevity can be classified as flash fiction, but maybe I wasn't paying attention that I don't remember what it's about. I have yet to read "Troll's Doll" because the linear doodles were too distracting.

(Why should I have "patience in reading" the stories? Just to clarify, it's not the stories that are giving me a headache; it's the graphic art that's all over the place. There I go again.)

But yeah, go get yourself a copy. I can assure of at least one good story going for you.

*Image from sky.