JOLAS ZUARES: SECRET AGENT -- and POPE-KILLER?!!

Jolas Zuares: Secret Agent first appeared in Kick Fighter Komiks #1 (published by Infinity Publishing Inc.) on February 1993.  The original series lasted up to 1995, written by Galo Ador, Jr. and illustrated throughout its run by various artists such as Mhel R. Almeda, Bong Mercado, Ronald James Amatos, Lando Inolino, Gilbert Monsanto, and Jim Jimenez.

ORIGIN

Jolas Smith Zuares was the half-Filipino son of American businessman John Miller Zuares (it's confusing enough that they have different middle names, but apparently the American side of Jolas' lineage has a Filipino-sounding surname).  After his father was gunned-down by terrorists, young Jolas vows to avenge his murder.

Jolas trains in the martial arts, becoming an expert in various fighting techniques.  He is eventually recruited by his father's friend, the Colonel, to work for the government as a secret agent.

POWERS AND ABILITIES

As a secret agent, Jolas is proficient in the use of various firearms and is an expert sharpshooter.  As a martial artist, he is trained in several forms of unarmed combat, such as Karate, Kung-Fu, and Taekwondo.  He has also mastered a special technique, the Greatest Punch, which allows him to charge-up his fist with superhuman force.  In later stories, he is given the ability to expel "hadoken"-type energy blasts from his hands.

NOTHING IS SACRED

Such is Jolas' dedication to his mission that he will not let anything get in his way, even if it means playing dirty.  He is seen on a number of occasions to bend the rules in order to uphold the law, dispensing his uncompromising (and often lethal) brand of justice.  He is commited to combating corruption wherever it may appear, be it in the halls of the government itself or, in the case below, the Vatican.

WITH ENEMIES LIKE THESE...

Jolas doesn't have that many recurring foes (not many live to fight another day), and what few arch-enemies he did have turned out to be more than they appeared.  In fact, perhaps a more correct term for them would be arch-frenemies.

SHAOLIN NINJA

A mysterious ninja assassin under the employ of corrupt Senator Celada and his criminal front, the Zodiac Corporation.  He turns out to be Jolas' friend Frank, constantly torn between his friendship to the agent and his loyalty to the syndicate.

ROY YURO

The Shaolin Ninja would later be eliminated and replaced by this guy.  In his debut appearance, Roy Yuro was described as "a Filipino-American-Russian martial arts expert with knowledge of mystical old Chinese art of combat at sumailalim sa turo ng pitong ermitanyo ng Asya ("and underwent training by the seven hermits of Asia")."  When the Kick Fighter people decided to make him a Ryu-knockoff, they settled with him being just Chinese instead.

Roy Yuro was an orphan whose father was murdered by policemen, fostering a lifelong hatred for the law.  He was adopted by one Master Tsao, the brother and bitter rival of Jolas' mentor Master Tsang, with whom he fought over a girl.  Tsao trains Roy in the martial arts, teaching him a special technique of projecting fireballs from his hands.

Utilizing his fighting skills as a criminal enforcer and assassin-for-hire, Roy sets out to get revenge on Tsang on behalf of his master.  Upon learning that Tsang had long been dead, he decides to target his student instead.

This feud would go on for several issues, until one night, while Jolas suffered depression over his inability to avenge his father, Yuro broke into his arch-foe's bedroom and offered to bury the hatchet.

Jolas and Yuro make peace and immediately become partners in crimefighting.

Now, here's my problem with this scenario.  Bear in mind that Roy Yuro was not just some guy with a grudge.  He was a ruthless hitman, who has worked with various criminal organizations all over the world, and had a strong vendetta against law-enforcers.  And now, he just walks into his arch-nemesis' room to apologize, and not only does Jolas buy it, but it's also enough for the government to clear him and give him a job?  Really?

Well, I guess Jolas must be big on forgiveness, even if the person in question had been trying to kill him for months.  In fact, he trusts Yuro so much that he's even willing to sleep in the same bed with him.
 

Sleeping with the frenemy

Not to imply that there's anything more than platonic between these two.  Although, Yuro did used to dress like a woman...


Dude looks like a lady.

Anyway, after Roy eventually leaves him for a stripper (I'm not kidding), Jolas would start teaming-up with masked cyborg vigilante Biotrog; a more lasting partnership that would develop through the course of two series: Blades and Bullets and Omni Powers.  But that's a story for another time.

COVERS

P.I. JOEY

P.I. Joey first appeared in Children's Stories (published by Atlas Publishing Co., Inc.) in 1989.  Created by writer Georgina de Guzman and artist Angelo Ty Dazo, P.I. Joey was a living statue carved from gold and brought to life apparently by God Himself to protect the Philippines from the forces of evil.

ZUMA Goes Green

In celebration of Earth Hour, Zuma does his own unique part in protecting the environment in Modernisasyon ("Modernization") from Zuma Komiks #115 (January 19, 1996).

Snake Month Extra: SUPERKAT vs Super-sized Snake!

From Pilipino Funny Komiks #223 (September 24, 1982).

KAMANDAG: Blood is Thicker than Venom

Art by Gilbert Monsanto

Most people know Kamandag ("Venom") from the 2007-08 GMA television series, but the character actually began life as a 1980's People's Journal comic strip by writer Carlo J. Caparas and artist Karl Comendador.  In fact, this incarnation was quite different from the TV hero that most are familiar with.  In the original strip, he was pretty much a villain; a hideous scaly-skinnned snake-man and a sex maniac.  His greatest weakness: herpes.  I'm not kidding.

HERPES??!!!  AAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!

When the GMA Network adapted Kamandag into a TV series, the character was completely reinvented from amoral anti-hero to full-fledeged superhero.  In the show, he was the half-human son of Saban (Gardo Versoza), the snake-king of Ambograw, an underground civilization of animal people known as the Ambog.  After falling in love with a human female, Alicia (Eula Valdez), Saban moves to abolish the kingdom's practice of human slavery, a decision opposed by most of the Ambog tribes.  When Saban is assassinated by the wolf-king Gulag (Zoren Legaspi) and the cat-queen Kuran (Francine Prieto), his infant son is sent to the human world, entrusted into the care of a kindly ranch-hand Domeng (Emilio Garcia) and his family.  Named Vergel, the boy eventually discovers that he can transform into a snake-like creature when angered.  On top of his scaly complexion, he also has enhanced strength and agility, and fangs full of deadly venom.

 As a young man (now played by Richard Gutierrez), Vergel learns about his true origins from the bull-king Budol (Johnny Delgado), a loyal friend of his real father.  He is then given a mystical bracelet, which activates a scaly suit of armor that once belonged to his father.  He decides to use his abilities and new-found armor to fight evil and protect the oppressed under the alias Kamandag.

Gotta admit, that's one cool-looking outfit, although the pants are a bit odd.  Anyway, he eventually loses the jeans, trading it in for a long hooded vest, and he acquires a pair of magic daggers as well.  Towards the end of the series, his suit gets upgraded to a more intimidating design.

TALIM

Even though the series turned Kamandag into an outright good guy, it still did present an evil Kamandag of sorts in the form of Talim ("Blade"), played by Mark Anthony Fernandez.  Childhood friend and cousin to Vergel, young Lucero was bitten by the golden snake that served as Vergel's guardian.  Brought to the hospital for treatment, the anti-venom injected into him had a strange reaction to the mystical snake venom, causing him to periodically transform into a snake-like being with an insatiable bloodlust.  Under the manipulations of his corrupt father, Abdon (Ariel Rivera), Lucero grows up to use his mutant abilities as the ruthless hitman Talim.  Loyal friend to Vergel and arch-nemesis to his alter-ego, the two would also find themselves rivals for the affections of token love interest Jenny (Jewel Mische).



DITAS

Played by Ehra Madrigal, Ditas is Domeng's daughter and Vergel's foster sister.  As children, Vergel and Ditas tried to emulate a blood compact while playing, inadvertently passing on the venom in Vergel's blood to Ditas.  Whereas Kamandag is good and Talim is evil, Ditas is somewhere in the middle.  Initially resenting Kamandag for causing her condition, she eventually joins over to his side.

Incidentally, there actually was a female Kamandag in the original comics; his daughter Kamandra, who took over the strip for a time when her dad went MIA.  Died of herpes, the poor girl.

Anyway, in closing, here's a clip of the "Kamandag Family" in action.