The Black Bestiary
A Phantasmagoria of Monsters and Myths from the Philippines
Published on 24. June 2025
Book
Hardback
128 pages
978-0-8048-5860-1 (ISBN)
Description
How to train a Filipino dragon and other real-life adventures of three modern monster hunters!
Since The Lost Journal of Alejandro Pardo was published, other creature hunters have come out of the woodwork to share their spine-tingling accounts of more discoveries. True? Exaggerated? Out-and-out lies? Read on and decide for yourself!
The Black Bestiary adds to the list of powerful and fearsome supernatural creatures we met in The Lost Journal of Alejandro Pardo. Three modern creature hunters-RJ, Gus and Stanislav, who draw their inspiration from Pardo's work-relate their own chilling encounters with the sinister monsters that live among us.
In this book, you'll come face-to-face with:
The Bungisngis: You've heard of the Cyclops; this is a Cyclops on steroids!
The Tahamaling: Never hunt in the forest without permission from these maidens...
The Tiktik: Part avian, part human, part something else. These terrifying creatures feed on the unborn.
And many more creatures of horrifying aspect and predilection!
You'll also discover excerpts from the journal of a certain Mr. Kolya, a contemporary of Pardo's, who always tells it like it was. Though these new sightings are all recent, the weapons used against them rely on tried-and-true magic-because forearmed, as well as forewarned, is always best!
The Black Bestiary is a lively romp through the world of the imagination, as well as a great way to learn more about Asian folklore, magic and myth.
Since The Lost Journal of Alejandro Pardo was published, other creature hunters have come out of the woodwork to share their spine-tingling accounts of more discoveries. True? Exaggerated? Out-and-out lies? Read on and decide for yourself!
The Black Bestiary adds to the list of powerful and fearsome supernatural creatures we met in The Lost Journal of Alejandro Pardo. Three modern creature hunters-RJ, Gus and Stanislav, who draw their inspiration from Pardo's work-relate their own chilling encounters with the sinister monsters that live among us.
In this book, you'll come face-to-face with:
The Bungisngis: You've heard of the Cyclops; this is a Cyclops on steroids!
The Tahamaling: Never hunt in the forest without permission from these maidens...
The Tiktik: Part avian, part human, part something else. These terrifying creatures feed on the unborn.
And many more creatures of horrifying aspect and predilection!
You'll also discover excerpts from the journal of a certain Mr. Kolya, a contemporary of Pardo's, who always tells it like it was. Though these new sightings are all recent, the weapons used against them rely on tried-and-true magic-because forearmed, as well as forewarned, is always best!
The Black Bestiary is a lively romp through the world of the imagination, as well as a great way to learn more about Asian folklore, magic and myth.
Reviews / Votes
"The advantage to this is that you didn't need to read the first book at all to appreciate The Black Bestiary. The second book effectively stands alone, thanks to Hontiveros' shift in focus to what he calls 'Pardo's Scooby gang'--the motley associates who accompany the gentleman adventurer in his 19th-century monster hunting." -Esquire. "... even more fascinating creatures, even more absolutely stunning illustrations. Absolutely obsessed...These are such fun reads...I highly recommend picking them up if you'd like to learn more about Filipino mythology." - Deanna Duxbury, #BookTok Influencer @deannajduxburywrites, reviews The Lost Journal of Alejandro Pardo and The Black BestiaryMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Boston
United States
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Paper over boards
Illustrations
full-color throughout
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 184 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
649 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8048-5860-1 (9780804858601)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Previous edition
Budjette Tan | David Hontiveros
The Black Bestiary
A Phantasmagoria of Monsters and Myths from the Philippines
Book
11/2022
Tuttle Publishing
€16.50
Shipment within 10-20 days
Persons
Budjette Tan is co-founder and editor-in-chief of Alamat Comics in the Philippines. However, he is best known for writing the urban fantasy comics series Trese, co-created with artist Kajo Baldisimo. It received the Philippine National Book Award for Best Graphic Novel in 2009, 2011, and 2012, and has since been adapted into an animated series by Netflix. He is also the co-creator of the award-winning Mikey Recio and the Secret of the Demon Dungeon.
David Hontiveroswas a 1997 National Book Award finalist in the best comic book category for Dhampyr and a 2002 Palanca Award winner for his short story "Kaming Mag Seroks." In addition to being a founding member of Alamat Comics, he is the author of Craving, Parman, and Takod, and the Seroks science fiction collections. His ongoing comic book series "Bathala: Apokalypis" is available digitally.
Illustrators:
Kajo Baldisimo is a television storyboarder whose heart is in comic books. With Budjette Tan, he is co-creator of the urban fantasy Trese series, which won the Philippine National Book Award for Best Graphic Novel and has been adapted for television as an animated series by Netflix.
Bow Guerrero is co-creator (with Budjette Tan) of the award-winning Mikey Recio and the Secret of the Demon Dungeon. He is an aficionado of visual history from old forts, churches, historic landmarks, and museums.
Mervin Malonzo is the author and illustrator of the comic Tabi Po, which received a Philippine National Book Award in 2014 and was adapted to a TV mini-series in 2017. He has collaborated with a variety of authors to produce books about Philippine mythology like The Lost Journal of Alejandro Pardo, After Lambana, and Alternative Alamat. In his free time, he works on developing an animated series and film based on a comic called Ella Arcangel and operates the indie publishing house Haliya.
David Hontiveroswas a 1997 National Book Award finalist in the best comic book category for Dhampyr and a 2002 Palanca Award winner for his short story "Kaming Mag Seroks." In addition to being a founding member of Alamat Comics, he is the author of Craving, Parman, and Takod, and the Seroks science fiction collections. His ongoing comic book series "Bathala: Apokalypis" is available digitally.
Illustrators:
Kajo Baldisimo is a television storyboarder whose heart is in comic books. With Budjette Tan, he is co-creator of the urban fantasy Trese series, which won the Philippine National Book Award for Best Graphic Novel and has been adapted for television as an animated series by Netflix.
Bow Guerrero is co-creator (with Budjette Tan) of the award-winning Mikey Recio and the Secret of the Demon Dungeon. He is an aficionado of visual history from old forts, churches, historic landmarks, and museums.
Mervin Malonzo is the author and illustrator of the comic Tabi Po, which received a Philippine National Book Award in 2014 and was adapted to a TV mini-series in 2017. He has collaborated with a variety of authors to produce books about Philippine mythology like The Lost Journal of Alejandro Pardo, After Lambana, and Alternative Alamat. In his free time, he works on developing an animated series and film based on a comic called Ella Arcangel and operates the indie publishing house Haliya.