Trese 1 - Muder on Balette Drive

Fillipino comic collaborators Budjette Tan (writer) and Kajo Baldisimo (artist) are the creators behind long standing horror and crime series Trese first published in 2005 and soon to become a Netflix anime series. Alexandra Trese the lead character is a detective in Metro Manila brought in to solve crimes of a supernatural kind in a city where theft, organised crime and kidnapping rings are led by answangs, kapres and engkangtos – the story fuses old world superstition and myth with the dark side of modern Manila.

This work features in Mangasia: Wonderlands of Asian Comics, a Barbican International Enterprises exhibition, curated by Paul Gravett. Mangasia presents a vivid journey through the art of Comics and visual storytelling across Asia. From its historical roots to the most recent digital innovations, the exhibition looks to popular Japanese ‘Manga’ and beyond, highlighting key creators, characters and publications.