From the mind of Wincy Aquino Ong comes an original comic book that truly walks its own path: Butiking Pasay: Rooftop Boogie will be available at the upcoming Philippine International Comic Book Festival (PICOF) 2025 on July 5-6, 2025 at the Megatrade Hall in SM Megamall Building B.
One of the products of Komiket and PICOF’s Creator’s Lab Batch 5, Butiking Pasay is written, illustrated, lettered, colored, and designed by Ong – a love letter to his many loves: 1980’s Manila, Brutalist architecture, rock music, horror, and many more.
“[Butiking Pasay is] Definitely not your typical superhero comic,” Ong says. “It’s a strange beast—equal parts PETA stage play, acrobatics show, body horror, and healing fiction. Threaded through all that is a nod to Nick Joaquin’s noir-style reportage. So think of it as a graphic novel with theater bones and tabloid blood. A real pancit canton of a book—messy, hot, but it all makes sense to the Filipino eyeball.”
What makes Butiking Pasay refreshing is that it departs from the tried and true Filipino komiks tropes: the use of traditional monsters of folklore and local gods and goddesses. It pokes at things closer to the history of Pinoys in this age: something strange for the youth brought up by Slenderman, something nostalgic for the older generations brought up on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Magandang Gabi, Bayan Halloween Special.
Butiking Pasay: A Strange Beast of a Comic
Visually, Butiking Pasay stands out in the local komiks scene.
“Let’s face it—Pinoy komiks is packed with gorgeous Jim Lee– and manga-inspired work. I knew I had to find my own weird little niche. So I leaned into something rougher, more expressionistic—what some might call ‘ugly-beautiful.’ Think Æon Flux, The Maxx, Beavis & Butthead. And yes—expect a lot of Brutalist architecture. I’m a street photographer too, and I’m obsessed with Pinoy Brutalism.”
The July launch at PICOF is just the beginning. Butiking Pasay: Rooftop Boogie is the opening chapter of a 200-plus-page graphic novel slated for release in 2026, diving deeper into the character’s origins and lore.
The Gecko Man Cometh
Ong’s experiences, along with a strong attachment to the vibe of the 80’s and 90’s, resulted in a character that’s one-part urban legend, one-part gecko, and all strange—a figure who slinks through the post-disco ruins of Pasay’s Locsin-era architecture.
“In essence, he’s an urban legend in ’80s Manila, a gecko-man in a Metro Aide uniform,” Ong explains. “His weapon of choice? A backscratcher with a mind of its own. Picture The Addams Family’s Thing fused to a broomstick.”
His power set strays far from the Marvel Comics playbook. Beyond the expected wall-crawling and prehensile tail, Butiking Pasay secretes “mood-shift mucus”—projectiles that can induce sleep, panic attacks, or even head-splitting orgasms.
“Kulangot Bombs, as the in-universe tabloids like to call them,” Ong laughs.“My elevator pitch to Komiket was simple enough—Lino Brocka’s Ninja Turtles,” he adds.
What to expect at PICOF 2025
But there’s more to the launch than just the comic. Festival-goers can catch a motion comic short screening on Saturday, July 5 at 2PM, collect limited-edition postcards featuring art by Ian Sta. Maria, Ardie Aquino, and Brian Balondo, and even bid at a prototype action figure auction—with pre-orders open at the booth.
Follow the creator at his official Instagram page.
Butiking Pasay: Rooftop Boogie Prologue
To celebrate the launch of the comic, here’s the 6-page Prologue chapter:
JD Pablo Editor-in-Chief
JD Pablo is the current Editor-in-Chief of twenty8two. Enjoys video games, pizza, banana bread, and tea. Takes coffee black.
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