Pugad Baboy
Encyclopedia
Pugad Baboy is a comic strip
created by Filipino
cartoonist
Apolonio "Pol" Medina, Jr.
The strip is about a Manila
community
of mostly obese
people - "fat as pigs", so to speak (baboy is Tagalog
for pig).
It started appearing in the Philippine Daily Inquirer
on May 18, 1988. It currently appears exclusively in the Inquirer line of newspapers (Broadsheet Inquirer and its free concise sister tabloid called Inquirer Libre and tabloids Bandera and Tumbok.) Its popularity has spawned numerous compilations, a live-action television series, and merchandise such as T-shirt
s and figurine
s.
The strip does not only showcase domestic life; occasionally, it features adventure, drama, and pure spoof sequences. More often, the strip mirrors the general sentiment of the Filipino people on relevant topics such as corruption
in the government as well as Filipino pop culture. In this respect, the strip has been likened to Garry Trudeau
's Doonesbury
. Sometimes, political satire
is woven into some ordinary strips and adventure stories.
Medina conceived the strip while working under contract in Iraq in 1986. In 1988, he peddled his strips to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. His strip, named after a friend's piggery in Bulacan
, was accepted on the spot.
Medina originally spelled "Pugad Baboy" with a hyphen in the strip itself, though not in the title.
For many years, the newspaper strip was exclusively a black and white daily. A full-color Sunday strip
in the same paper debuted on October 3, 2004. The full-colored strips ended their run sometime in 2009. Before the tabloid Inquirer Libre debuted, the strip appeared exclusively in the Inquirer broadsheet.
In a strip published in September 2006, Medina commented on online life substituting for physical contact. He mentioned Wikipedia
as one of the alternatives to library visits, the other being Google
.
and Tagalog
pulgas for "flea") is the Sungcals' anthropomorphic family dog. Notable for his human characteristics such as speech, optional bipedalism, use of clothing and general behavior, he is called ang asong hindi (the dog who isn't) in material outside the strip proper because of his human characteristics. He acts as an extra member of the Sungcals and is his master Dagul's drinking buddy. However, he still behaves like a typical dog when he chooses to, though usually when he takes a bite out of people or leaks on them, most often Dagul.
Polgas was initially a normal dog which walked on all fours, albeit one who wore shirts and undershirts like Dagul. Medina eventually gave him the ability to talk, followed by other human characteristics like a more human-like physique. Originally, Brosia, a former ventriloquist
, supplied Polgas's voice, but Medina was so dissatisfied with the idea that he abandoned it completely. Medina later explained in a 1995 spin-off graphic novel entitled Pirata
that Polgas developed human characteristics due to his master's exotic version of bibingka (rice cake) and exposure to radiation
emitted by television set
s. Apparently, the combination had a teratogenic effect on him, somewhat similar to the mutation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
.
Medina eventually developed the character into a "man (dog) of action", humorously saving the human characters from danger during story arcs, and later a full-fledged action hero involved with more serious activities. Polgas became a deep penetration agent
of a fictional military division called the Organized Canine Bureau (OCB). This organization spoofs the TV series Wiseguy
, which features a fictional branch of the FBI called the Organized Crime Bureau, responsible for the protagonist Vinnie Terranova's activities.
Medina's OCB was originally formed to combat the pilfering of stray dogs being sold in Metro Manila
for their meat. Wisedog's second mission took place in Baguio City
, where the selling and eating of dog meat is an illegal industry. (See The Baguio Connection
). Polgas's original call sign
in the OCB was Wisedog (a homage
to Wiseguy
). Later, he changed his call sign to Dobermaxx after he and some other residents of Pugad Baboy were accidentally sent to and returned from the year 2078
. Subsequently, he is sometimes referred to as "Agent Delta" or simply "Delta".
As an agent, Polgas was issued with a prototype garapata (tick) gun, which shoots droplets of tick sweat that causes itching that lasts for six months. Later, he was issued a tiny surveillance robot flea named "Gary" and ballistic arnis
sticks. After his first mission, he was issued a customized Porsche 959
, the Thunderdog. As a result from his adventure in 2078, he acquired a technologically advanced garapata gun. Later he also acquired the Thunderpuppy, a Harley Davidson V-Rod motorcycle.
As Wisedog/Dobermaxx, Polgas has fought many foes over the years, ranging from the mundane (drug pushers) to the fantastic (a lord of supernatural creatures). His most prominent foe is Atong Damuho (Renate Domingo), erstwhile drug pusher, dognapper, illegal logger and most recently, magic mushroom courier.
He appears in many other guises such as Dr. Sigmund Floyd (a spoof of Sigmund Freud
), Pol Torero (World Wrestling Entertainment
or WWE's The Undertaker), Amorsolo (a non-existent Ninja Turtle
), Aquapol (Aquaman
), Growlsbuster (spoofing The Ghostbusters
), Darth Paul (spoofing Darth Maul
), Polverine (a spoof of Wolverine
, an X-Men
character) and many others.
The character is also the mascot
of Medina's companies, the now-defunct Pugad Baboy Inc., and Pol Medina Jr. Novelties.
as an oral Tagalog
command during martial ceremonies when the drawing of weapons is called for, as in the drawing of officers' swords. It roughly means "draw simultaneously". This may be in homage to Tomas' military background.
Other minor characters in the strips serve as antagonists to the residents. See: Villains of Pugad Baboy
On the other hand, the Pugad Baboy gang are often aided by friends and acquaintances they meet during these escapades. See each article of the story arcs for info on these allies.
Prominent personalities, both local and foreign, have also made cameo appearance
s in Pugad Baboy. Among them are Presidents Ramos, Estrada
, and Arroyo
, martial artist
Ernesto Presas
, politicians Robert Jaworski
, Rene Saguisag
and Richard Gordon
, singer Freddie Aguilar
, comedian Leo Martinez, boxer Manny Pacquiao
, the late Pope John Paul II
, Mel Gibson
, and Michael Jackson
.
Medina drew many of the above minor characters for the covers of some compilations, but these did not appear in the selected strips. Some of these appeared either earlier in the comic strip's run (such as Father Marty) while others were just mere extras (such as the Los Kosas Muntinlupas, Igno's former fellow inmates in Bilibid Prison). Many of these were only given official names in "character guide" supplements in compilations (such as the inmates and the school principal, mostly hitherto unnamed). These names are then carried over to future strips.
words are prevalent in the strip (like -ise words) and Medina uses these kinds of words in his own write-ups.
, Bab nevertheless seems to be only in his twenties or thirties, which would be impossible in real time. In the early-1990s story arc Ang Hiwaga ng Dueñas (published in Pugad Baboy 4) the faith healer
Mang Danilo, an old acquaintance, mentions that Bab was teenaged at the time of Woodstock
(Bab immediately covers the faith healer's mouth as the word "Woodstock" is mentioned). A series of strips published in Pugad Baboy X (1998) implies that Bab is at least over 28 years old. In the same compilation, Tita Cel mentions that Jolen is 27 years younger than Bab and since the stock age of the Pugad Baboy children is 8-9, Bab is possibly 35-36.
s is the depiction (or at least the description) of Arabs having very foul body odor
. Examples of this running gag are Kules' Saudi friend, which the former calls Lancaster (because the friend smells like the langka or jack fruit), and the stinky concentrated chemical agent PSSI (pawis ng singit ng sundalong Iraqi or Iraqi soldier's jock sweat) mentioned in the story arc The Baguio Connection. This running gag is likely based on the author's personal experience. It is also reasonable, considering that the desert atmosphere in most Arab countries prevents their people from taking daily baths.
Other such gags include the monotonous diet of chicken in Saudi Arabia (also likely based on personal experience), Paltik's blatant aversion to the "coming of age
" ritual of circumcision, and Polgas and Dagul de-appetizing Debbie on the breakfast table.
, though he avoids breaking the fourth wall
by not referring to himself as the strip's creator.
There is no standard as how long a story arc may last, since it can run from several weeks to a few months. The story arc is only titled when it is included in a compilation.
This list below contains named story arcs that last at least 15 strips long and which compilation each appears.
Not included in the list above is Planet of the Dogs, Medina's homage/parody to Planet of the Apes
. This story arc (which appeared in Disi-Sais!) is relatively short at only 9 strips long. Since that arc, it took Medina three years before he came up with Benigno Ramos: Bounty Hunter, and then another three with Bodyguard.
by Frank Aldana, a student of De La Salle University
. This compilation became so popular that Medina himself made more. Typically, a new compilation is released near the start of each year. Including Aldana's compilation, there are currently 23 Pugad Baboy compilation books:
Medina also made other Pugad Baboy original works:
The popularity of Pugad Baboy also spawned some merchandise such as DogStyle Apparel and Polgas P-gurines (a set of figurines depicting Polgas and some Polgas characters). They are currently distributed by Medina's company, Pol Medina Jr. Novelties.
On September 25, 1993, Pugad Baboy was made into a live-action TV show called Rated PB (Pang-Bayan) - Pugad Baboy Sa TV. Directed by Leo Martinez, the show featured Edgar Mortiz
(Bab), Giselle Sanchez (Brosia) and Rudy Meyer (Mang Dagul) among the cast. Though the show was live-action, the opening logo featured limited animation. Some of the episodes were based upon earlier plots in the strip, while others followed a skit show format. It was aired on GMA 7
and lasted only two seasons, 15 episodes in all.
In the ninth book, Medina states that he dreams of making a Pugad Baboy cartoon
.
Besides Pugad Baboy books proper, Medina has also published compilations of his editorial cartoon
s for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, called the Ink and Politics series. The cartoons sometimes feature Pugad Baboy characters. Polgas always appears on covers of these books. Three books have been published as the newspaper stopped hiring him as substitute political cartoonist in around 2006.
Medina includes photos and caricatures of himself in some of the strip's compilations.
Some Pugad Baboy characters can be seen on the ads of Dencio's
, a notable restaurant chain in the Philippines.
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
created by Filipino
Filipino people
The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines ....
cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
Apolonio "Pol" Medina, Jr.
Pol Medina, Jr.
Apolonio "Pol" Medina, Jr. is a Filipino cartoonist best known for creating Pugad Baboy, a black-and-white comic strip first published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer on May 18, 1988.-Biography:...
The strip is about a Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
of mostly obese
Obesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
people - "fat as pigs", so to speak (baboy is Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
for pig).
It started appearing in the Philippine Daily Inquirer
Philippine Daily Inquirer
The Philippine Daily Inquirer, popularly known as the Inquirer, is the most widely read broadsheet newspaper in the Philippines, with a daily circulation of 260,000 copies. It is one of the Philippines' newspapers of record...
on May 18, 1988. It currently appears exclusively in the Inquirer line of newspapers (Broadsheet Inquirer and its free concise sister tabloid called Inquirer Libre and tabloids Bandera and Tumbok.) Its popularity has spawned numerous compilations, a live-action television series, and merchandise such as T-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
s and figurine
Figurine
A figurine is a statuette that represents a human, deity or animal. Figurines may be realistic or iconic, depending on the skill and intention of the creator. The earliest were made of stone or clay...
s.
The strip does not only showcase domestic life; occasionally, it features adventure, drama, and pure spoof sequences. More often, the strip mirrors the general sentiment of the Filipino people on relevant topics such as corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
in the government as well as Filipino pop culture. In this respect, the strip has been likened to Garry Trudeau
Garry Trudeau
Garretson Beekman "Garry" Trudeau is an American cartoonist, best known for the Doonesbury comic strip.-Background and education:...
's Doonesbury
Doonesbury
Doonesbury is a comic strip by American cartoonist Garry Trudeau, that chronicles the adventures and lives of an array of characters of various ages, professions, and backgrounds, from the President of the United States to the title character, Michael Doonesbury, who has progressed from a college...
. Sometimes, political satire
Political satire
Political satire is a significant part of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics; it has also been used with subversive intent where political speech and dissent are forbidden by a regime, as a method of advancing political arguments where such arguments are expressly...
is woven into some ordinary strips and adventure stories.
History
Bulacan
Bulacan , officially called the Province of Bulacan or simply Bulacan Province, is a first class province of the Republic of the Philippines located in the Central Luzon Region in the island of Luzon, north of Manila , and part of the Metro...
, was accepted on the spot.
Medina originally spelled "Pugad Baboy" with a hyphen in the strip itself, though not in the title.
For many years, the newspaper strip was exclusively a black and white daily. A full-color Sunday strip
Sunday strip
A Sunday strip is a newspaper comic strip format, where comic strips are printed in the Sunday newspaper, usually in a special section called the Sunday comics, and virtually always in color. Some readers called these sections the Sunday funnies...
in the same paper debuted on October 3, 2004. The full-colored strips ended their run sometime in 2009. Before the tabloid Inquirer Libre debuted, the strip appeared exclusively in the Inquirer broadsheet.
In a strip published in September 2006, Medina commented on online life substituting for physical contact. He mentioned Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
as one of the alternatives to library visits, the other being Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
.
The Sungcals
The Sungcal family reflects aspects of traditional and stereotypical families, with a housewife and an overseas contract worker as members, with a domestic helper to supplement. "Sungkal" is a Tagalog word for the term "digging a hole with a (pig's) snout".- Dagul (Adagulfo Sungcal Jr.), often referred to with the title Mang (Mister) - i.e. Mang Dagul - The patriarch of the family. He works as a chefChefA chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
in a five-star hotel where he specializes in unorthodox dishes. He is often shown at home, usually voicing out on the state of affairs in the Philippines. He is also highly xenophobic. Over the years, he studies different martial arts like karateKarateis a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...
, arnisArnisArnis may refer to:*A Filipino martial art, see Eskrima**a modern version of the traditional martial art, see Modern Arnis*Arnis, Germany, a small town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany...
and aikidoAikidois a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as "the Way of unifying life energy" or as "the Way of harmonious spirit." Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to...
(like Medina), and he also dabbles in tennis and golf. He calls his wife "Honeycured." "Dagul" is Filipino slang for someone or something big.
- Debbie (Debra Anne Sungcal) - The matriarch of the family, a loving traditional housewife and mother. Her recurring traits include a love for bargain shopping, indecision regarding actual purchases (sometimes on purpose), and complaining about decisions she lets Dagul make (much to Dagul's annoyance and regret). Also, she extremely dislikes any honest opinion Dagul gives her about her figure and/or clothes she wears or tries on - to the point of throwing him out of the house, despite her demanding honest opinions in the first place. She is also the constant victim of disgusting table conversations between her husband and Polgas. She calls her husband "Sweet Ham."
- Kules (Hercules Sungcal) - The eldest son, a building engineer in Saudi ArabiaSaudi ArabiaThe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
. When not working, he reads letters from pen pals, goes on blind dates (usually with funny consequences), hangs out with his friend 'Adre (short for compadre; see below), or thinks about the events back in the Philippines. Much like Kules, Medina was formerly a contract worker in Saudi Arabia. The origin of his name is often mistaken to be that of the legendary Greek hero of the same nameHerculesHercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...
, when in fact, he is named after the Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft.
- Tiny (Cristina Sungcal) - The teenage daughter. Her name is not only an obvious misnomer, but also a testament to her vanity and denial regarding her size. She asserts herself as sexy and repeatedly insists that her waistline is 28 inches (the last time this was true was when she was 9 or 10 years old). She does commit herself to dietDietingDieting is the practice of eating food in a regulated fashion to achieve or maintain a controlled weight. In most cases dieting is used in combination with physical exercise to lose weight in those who are overweight or obese. Some athletes, however, follow a diet to gain weight...
s that often end in failure. Her cooking leaves much to be desired by her family, and is sometimes inedible (in one strip she naively uses papayaPapayaThe papaya , papaw, or pawpaw is the fruit of the plant Carica papaya, the sole species in the genus Carica of the plant family Caricaceae...
soap in place of papaya fruit). She studies in the University of Santo TomasUniversity of Santo TomasThe Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines , is a private Roman Catholic university run by the Order of Preachers in Manila. Founded on April 28, 1611 by archbishop of Manila Miguel de Benavides, it has the oldest extant university charter in the...
, where Medina graduated in 1983 with a degree in architectureArchitectureArchitecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
. There, she takes up mass communicationMass communicationMass communication is the term used to describe the academic study of the various means by which individuals and entities relay information through mass media to large segments of the population at the same time...
, a course the university does not actually offer. She is currently being courted by Brando, whose name is always mistaken by Bab and Dagul, and Tiny correcting them all the time.
- Utoy (Adagulfo Sungcal III) - The youngest son. Intelligent and musically talented (playing the saxophone), he behaves much like other children his age. Medina initially depicted him as a clueless infantInfantA newborn or baby is the very young offspring of a human or other mammal. A newborn is an infant who is within hours, days, or up to a few weeks from birth. In medical contexts, newborn or neonate refers to an infant in the first 28 days after birth...
, but he later aged him to about eight years old probably to give a child's insight on current events (eight is also the age of most of the child characters in this strip). Despite his youth, he claims Jolen as his girlfriend. In a "Boy ScoutBaboy ScoutsBaboy Scouts is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 25 strips long...
" story arc, Medina gives him an absurdly versatile Swiss Army KnifeSwiss Army knifeThe Swiss Army knife is a brand of pocket knife or multi-tool manufactured by Victorinox AG and Wenger SA. The term "Swiss Army knife" was coined by US soldiers after World War II due to the difficulty they had in pronouncing the German name....
(apart from the usual tools, his knife comes equipped with such things as a refrigerator, a NintendoNintendois a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
video game console complete with television, and an all-terrain vehicle).
- Brosia (Ambrosia Tangara) - The family's housemaid from Gingoog City, and one of Pugad Baboy's few thin residents. She is brainless, as characterized by her nonsensical remarks and her mesmerization by reading materials in English. Medina eventually elaborated on this trait and said she couldn't afford to advance her studies. She does possess excellent math skills regarding financial issues such as bank accounts, deposits, salary computations, currencies, etc. As said by Dagul in Pugad Baboy 17, "'Pag sa pera nga pala 'di ka tanga no?" ("So, you're not dumb when it comes to money, huh?") She makes up for her general lack of intelligence (or formal schooling) with witty jokes, insults and pranks on the community's various residents. Her most frequent victim is Dagul, whose semi-baldnessBaldnessBaldness implies partial or complete lack of hair and can be understood as part of the wider topic of "hair thinning". The degree and pattern of baldness can vary greatly, but its most common cause is male and female pattern baldness, also known as androgenic alopecia, alopecia androgenetica or...
becomes the butt of her jokes, much to his chagrin. She is 'Adre's younger sister (see below). Her surname is a play on tanga ("stupid").
Polgas
Polgas (derived from the SpanishSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
and Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
pulgas for "flea") is the Sungcals' anthropomorphic family dog. Notable for his human characteristics such as speech, optional bipedalism, use of clothing and general behavior, he is called ang asong hindi (the dog who isn't) in material outside the strip proper because of his human characteristics. He acts as an extra member of the Sungcals and is his master Dagul's drinking buddy. However, he still behaves like a typical dog when he chooses to, though usually when he takes a bite out of people or leaks on them, most often Dagul.
Polgas was initially a normal dog which walked on all fours, albeit one who wore shirts and undershirts like Dagul. Medina eventually gave him the ability to talk, followed by other human characteristics like a more human-like physique. Originally, Brosia, a former ventriloquist
Ventriloquism
Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is an act of stagecraft in which a person manipulates his or her voice so that it appears that the voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered "dummy"...
, supplied Polgas's voice, but Medina was so dissatisfied with the idea that he abandoned it completely. Medina later explained in a 1995 spin-off graphic novel entitled Pirata
Pirata (Pugad Baboy graphic novel)
Pirata is a full-color graphic novel written and illustrated by Filipino cartoonist Pol Medina, Jr. and first published in 1995 by Pugad Baboy, Inc...
that Polgas developed human characteristics due to his master's exotic version of bibingka (rice cake) and exposure to radiation
Radiation
In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
emitted by television set
Television set
A television set is a device that combines a tuner, display, and speakers for the purpose of viewing television. Television sets became a popular consumer product after the Second World War, using vacuum tubes and cathode ray tube displays...
s. Apparently, the combination had a teratogenic effect on him, somewhat similar to the mutation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...
.
Medina eventually developed the character into a "man (dog) of action", humorously saving the human characters from danger during story arcs, and later a full-fledged action hero involved with more serious activities. Polgas became a deep penetration agent
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
of a fictional military division called the Organized Canine Bureau (OCB). This organization spoofs the TV series Wiseguy
Wiseguy
Wiseguy is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 16, 1987 to December 8, 1990 for a total of four seasons. Starring Ken Wahl, the series was produced by Stephen J...
, which features a fictional branch of the FBI called the Organized Crime Bureau, responsible for the protagonist Vinnie Terranova's activities.
Medina's OCB was originally formed to combat the pilfering of stray dogs being sold in Metro Manila
Metro Manila
Metropolitan Manila , the National Capital Region , or simply Metro Manila, is the metropolitan region encompassing the City of Manila and its surrounding areas in the Philippines...
for their meat. Wisedog's second mission took place in Baguio City
Baguio City
The City of Baguio is a highly urbanized city in northern Luzon in the Philippines. Baguio City was established by Americans in 1900 at the site of an Ibaloi village known as Kafagway...
, where the selling and eating of dog meat is an illegal industry. (See The Baguio Connection
The Baguio Connection
The Baguio Connection is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 51 strips long...
). Polgas's original call sign
Call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...
in the OCB was Wisedog (a homage
Homage
Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
to Wiseguy
Wiseguy
Wiseguy is an American crime drama series that aired on CBS from September 16, 1987 to December 8, 1990 for a total of four seasons. Starring Ken Wahl, the series was produced by Stephen J...
). Later, he changed his call sign to Dobermaxx after he and some other residents of Pugad Baboy were accidentally sent to and returned from the year 2078
2078 (Pugad Baboy story arc)
2078 is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina, Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 45 strips long...
. Subsequently, he is sometimes referred to as "Agent Delta" or simply "Delta".
As an agent, Polgas was issued with a prototype garapata (tick) gun, which shoots droplets of tick sweat that causes itching that lasts for six months. Later, he was issued a tiny surveillance robot flea named "Gary" and ballistic arnis
Arnis
Arnis may refer to:*A Filipino martial art, see Eskrima**a modern version of the traditional martial art, see Modern Arnis*Arnis, Germany, a small town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany...
sticks. After his first mission, he was issued a customized Porsche 959
Porsche 959
The Porsche 959 is a sports car manufactured by Porsche from 1986 to 1989, first as a Group B rally car and later as a legal production car designed to satisfy FIA homologation regulations requiring that a minimum number of 200 street legal units be built....
, the Thunderdog. As a result from his adventure in 2078, he acquired a technologically advanced garapata gun. Later he also acquired the Thunderpuppy, a Harley Davidson V-Rod motorcycle.
As Wisedog/Dobermaxx, Polgas has fought many foes over the years, ranging from the mundane (drug pushers) to the fantastic (a lord of supernatural creatures). His most prominent foe is Atong Damuho (Renate Domingo), erstwhile drug pusher, dognapper, illegal logger and most recently, magic mushroom courier.
He appears in many other guises such as Dr. Sigmund Floyd (a spoof of Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud , born Sigismund Schlomo Freud , was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis...
), Pol Torero (World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
or WWE's The Undertaker), Amorsolo (a non-existent Ninja Turtle
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...
), Aquapol (Aquaman
Aquaman
Aquaman is a fictional superhero who appears in comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 . Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo title...
), Growlsbuster (spoofing The Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters
Ghostbusters is a 1984 American science fiction comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis, and Rick Moranis and follows three eccentric parapsychologists in New York City, who start a...
), Darth Paul (spoofing Darth Maul
Darth Maul
Darth Maul is a fictional character in the science fiction saga Star Wars. He is one of the main antagonists of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, portrayed by martial artist Ray Park and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz....
), Polverine (a spoof of Wolverine
Wolverine (comics)
Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Born as James Howlett and commonly known as Logan, Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced physical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing...
, an X-Men
X-Men
The X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
character) and many others.
The character is also the mascot
Mascot
The term mascot – defined as a term for any person, animal, or object thought to bring luck – colloquially includes anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name...
of Medina's companies, the now-defunct Pugad Baboy Inc., and Pol Medina Jr. Novelties.
The Sabaybunots
The Sabaybunots reflect a very violent but tolerably quiet household. "Sabay, bunot!" is used by the Philippine militaryArmed Forces of the Philippines
The Armed Forces of the Philippines is composed of the Philippine Army, Philippine Navy and Philippine Air Force...
as an oral Tagalog
Tagalog language
Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila...
command during martial ceremonies when the drawing of weapons is called for, as in the drawing of officers' swords. It roughly means "draw simultaneously". This may be in homage to Tomas' military background.
- Tomas, also known as Sarge (M/Sgt. Tomas Sabaybunot) - Representing the Philippine's military branch, he is a master sergeantMaster SergeantA master sergeant is the military rank for a senior non-commissioned officer in some armed forces.-Israel Defense Forces:Rav samal rishoninsignia IDF...
of the Philippine Air ForcePhilippine Air ForceThe Philippine Air Force is the air force of the Republic of the Philippines, and one of the three main services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Its official name in Filipino is Hukbong Himpapawid ng Pilipinas....
. While said to be fearless and often trigger-happy, his "chauvinist pig" lifestyle is ironically neutralized by his dominant wife. He is often reduced to doing inane chores, and any attempt to complain about said chores results in physical battery by his wife, hilariously, to the point of that he considers wartime more peaceful than his domestic life. His name could be a pun on toma, Filipino slang for alcoholic drinks; Tomas does like to drink a lot, as does his cousin Igno. Tomas also likes to spend his "extra time" at disco bars, though this occasionally leads him to having goutGoutGout is a medical condition usually characterized by recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis—a red, tender, hot, swollen joint. The metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe is the most commonly affected . However, it may also present as tophi, kidney stones, or urate...
. And though he has a large collection of guns, he suffers from severe trypanophobiaTrypanophobiaTrypanophobia is the extreme fear of medical procedures involving injections or hypodermic needles. It is occasionally referred to as aichmophobia, belonephobia,...
.
- Barbie (Barbara Q. Sabaybunot) - Tomas's wife. She frequently orders Tomas around, probably due to his chauvinism, his womanizing, and her extremely feministicFeminismFeminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
views. This difference of opinion often turns into a physical altercation, such as Barbie giving a tiptoeing husband her trademarked uppercut whenever he arrives home in the wee hours of the morning drunk and/or smeared with the scent of women's perfume. Her maiden name (Barbie Q.) is a pun on barbecueBarbecueBarbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
. In Pugad Baboy 18, her first name was rendered "Barbara-Queen" (possibly after a local barbecue franchise called Grill Queen). She often spends her free time doing physical workouts (lifting weights, etc.). She is also hinted as a born-again Christian, as she holds or attends prayer meetings, and describes Tomas as "born-against," because of his sinful ways. Even in the realm of weapons, Barbie outguns her husband. Tomas is usually portrayed with his service pistol while Barbie often has an UziUzi submachine gunThe Uzi is a family of Israeli open bolt, blowback-operated submachine guns. Smaller variants are considered to be machine pistols. The Uzi was one of the first weapons to use a telescoping bolt design which allows for the magazine to be housed in the pistol grip for a shorter weapon.The first Uzi...
.
- Paltik (Paul Thomas Sabaybunot), the couple's only son. While his friend Utoy can be described as the "brains", he can be described as the "jester". Quite mischievous in many ways, he often sleeps in class and is clearly much more interested in other areas, such as teasing his buck-toothed teacher, Miss Nobatos, typically comparing her face to that of a horse. He is also fond of bribing and blackmailing his own father, usually in exchange for some pocket money or other favors. His nickname is a Filipino term that means "homemade gun." The Philippine military also uses the term paltik to specifically refer to a handgunHandgunA handgun is a firearm designed to be held and operated by one hand. This characteristic differentiates handguns as a general class of firearms from long guns such as rifles and shotguns ....
. The appellation is probably utilized by the cartoonist in reference to Paltik being a smaller version of his father, Tomas, who always likes to carry big guns.
The Lamouns
Lamon is a Tagalog verb meaning "to eat [food] in great quantities", or more loosely, "pig out", and is commonly used as a label pertaining to one's gluttony. The surname was spelled "Lamon" at first.- Bab (Roberto Lamoun) - the resident true-blue hippieHippieThe hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
who is lazy and unemployedUnemploymentUnemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
, although he sometimes moonlights as a folk singerFolk SingerFolk Singer is a 1964 album by Muddy Waters. Waters plays acoustic guitar, backed by Willie Dixon on string bass, Clifton James on drums, and Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar...
and part-time PEPhysical educationPhysical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
teacher at Utoy, Paltik, and Joma's school. He is also unlucky in love, especially with Tiny, who was once his girlfriend for all of two seconds. He has applied for and held many jobs over the years, but these never get off the ground. His job undertakings are described as "first-day, last-day" as he is often fired on his first day at work. Bab is usually referred by the rest of the community as a bad example and an occasional drug addict. When a story focuses on his addiction, he is said to be "using" marijuana (though one never actually sees him "using" the drug) and is sometimes seen with several marijuana leaves in his possession. Bab has also gotten himself infected with gonorrheaGonorrheaGonorrhea is a common sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The usual symptoms in men are burning with urination and penile discharge. Women, on the other hand, are asymptomatic half the time or have vaginal discharge and pelvic pain...
(shown in a minor arc in Pugad Baboy 19) and other sexually transmitted diseaseSexually transmitted diseaseSexually transmitted disease , also known as a sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans by means of human sexual behavior, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...
s on occasion.
- Jolen (Joanne Elena Lamoun) - Bab's much younger sister. She is more intelligent than Bab (or at least more diligent), and is often reminded by their mother never to follow in her brother's footsteps, despite the many realities her brother himself imparts to her. She is also Utoy's girlfriendGirlfriendGirlfriend is a term that can refer to either a female partner in a non-marital romantic relationship or a female non-romantic friend that is closer than other friends....
and often goes out with him, though they are both only eight to nine years old, as already mentioned. She has a speech impediment as she pronounces her k's and s's as t's. However, this only manifests itself while she is singing. Jolen or holen is a Filipino term for marblesMarblesA marble is a small spherical toy usually made from glass, clay, steel, or agate. These balls vary in size. Most commonly, they are about ½ inch in diameter, but they may range from less than ¼ inch to over 3 inches , while some art glass marbles fordisplay purposes are over 12 inches ...
.
- Tita Cel (Cecilia Lamoun) - Bab and Jolen's mother. She disapproves of her son and dotes on her daughter. She despises Bab's smoking vice, as this led to the death of her husband (Rodrigo Lamoun, as mentioned in Pugad Baboy XI) She has no qualms in hiding her disappointment of her near-useless son and states it outright, as seen in Pugad Baboy X.
- Daddy (Rodrigo Lamoun) - Bab and Jolen's late father, Tita Cel's husband. In one strip, it is mentioned that he died of lung cancer while working as a rabbit farmer in Tagaytay. Hence how he is used as a scare tactic by Tita Cel whenever she catches her son smoking, to no avail. It is also mentioned in one arc by Polgas (posing as Dr. Sigmund Floyd)that Bab's only fear is his father.
The Tangeres
- Ka Noli (Nolasco M. Tangere) - the resident communistCommunismCommunism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
who is a proud member of the New People's ArmyNew People's ArmyThe New People's Army is the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines. It was formed on March 29, 1969. The Maoist NPA conducts its armed guerrilla struggle based on the strategical line of 'protracted people's war'.The NPA exacts so called "revolutionary taxes" from business owners...
. While he believes in the merits of communism and calls most of the other residents as capitalistCapitalismCapitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
s, not only does he manage to have drinking sessions with them, but he is also very good friends with them. Tomas, a natural enemy, is his best friend. Ironically, Medina says he and his son enjoy playing MonopolyMonopoly (game)Marvin Gardens, the leading yellow property on the board shown, is actually a misspelling of the original location name, Marven Gardens. The misspelling was said to be introduced by Charles Todd and passed on when his home-made Monopoly board was copied by Charles Darrow and thence to Parker...
. As time went on, his espousing of his beliefs occurred less and less frequently to the point of readers being reminded that he is of the NPA only in the most subtle of situations. As such, jokes about his Ilocano heritage are often cracked at his expense instead. Because of him, Tomas is able to find allies in the NPA whenever the need arises, such as in Retraining, though not always. His name is derived from the title of Noli Me TangereNoli Me Tangere (novel)Noli Me Tangere is a novel by Filipino polymath José Rizal and first published in 1887 in Berlin, Germany. Early English translations used titles like An Eagle Flight and The Social Cancer, but more recent translations have been published using the original Latin title.Though originally written in...
, the first novel of the Philippine national hero, Jose RizalJosé RizalJosé Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda , was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by...
.
- Joma (Jose Maria Tangere) - Ka Noli's son. While he is aware of his father's beliefs, he hangs out with Utoy and Paltik often and attends the same school they do. He is named after Jose Maria "Joma" SisonJosé María SisonJose Maria Sison is a writer and activist who reorganized the Communist Party of the Philippines and added elements of Maoism to its philosophy....
, founder of the Communist Party of the PhilippinesCommunist Party of the PhilippinesThe Communist Party of the Philippines is a leading communist party in the Philippines. It remains an underground political organization since its founding on December 26, 1968 and has been operating in clandestine manner since its founding...
.
The Tangs
- Mao (Mauricio Tang) - the resident Chinese-Filipino who hails from Fujian Province and owns a sari-sari storeSari-sari storeA sari-sari store is a convenience store found in the Philippines. The word sari-sari is Tagalog meaning "variety". Such stores form an important economic and social location in a Filipino community. It is present in almost all neighborhoods, sometimes even in every street. Most sari-sari stores...
(a small retail store) in Pugad Baboy. He often believes in business sense and earning money and he sometimes brandishes a swordDao (sword)Daois a category of single-edge Chinese swords primarily used for slashing and chopping , often called a broadsword in English translation because some varieties have wide blades. In China, the dao is known as one of the four major weapons, along with the gun , qiang , and the jian , and referred...
on whoever earns his ire, especially those who do not pay their dues. His name is play on ma-utang, which in Tagalog, translates roughly to "one who likes to borrow money."
- Pao (Paulino Tang) - the resident homosexual and Mao's son. A friend of Tiny, his tastes and attitude are typically gay. This even caused him trouble once when he was mistaken for a pregnant woman by a horde of monsters and he did not want to admit his real gender. His father once expressed disappointment over him as he remarked that Pao has a resemblance to basketball player "Gelli CodiñelaJerry CodiñeraJerry Codiñera is a retired professional basketball player of the Philippine Basketball Association. He is nicknamed the "Defense Minister" for his prowess at the defensive end. He is also a member of the 25 Best Players of all Time of PBA and Philippine men's national basketball team of the 1994...
." He also owns a beauty parlor and works his way through college at the same time. His name is a play on pa-utang, which, in Tagalog, translates roughly to "Can I borrow some money?". It is mentioned in one arc that he has a brother named "Jong" (Ji Ong) who works in Taiwan.
Other characters
- Igno (Benigno Ramos) - Introduced to the series in 1998 as a bodyguard for Mao's son (Jong), Igno is Tomas' cousin and an ex-convict from the actual National Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa. He claims he was incarcerated because of a Breach of ContractBreach of contractBreach of contract is a legal cause of action in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party's performance....
with his former boss, who employed him as a bodyguard. Possibly due to his being an ex-convict, he is actually more competent in survival skills than his cousin. He specializes in "improvised weapons employment", and even took a part-time job as a bounty hunterBounty hunterA bounty hunter captures fugitives for a monetary reward . Other names, mainly used in the United States, include bail enforcement agent and fugitive recovery agent.-Laws in the U.S.:...
at one time in order to earn some cash. He drinks very often, but is afraid of ghosts and the supernatural. In fact, his frequent drinking caused his breath, blood and urineUrineUrine is a typically sterile liquid by-product of the body that is secreted by the kidneys through a process called urination and excreted through the urethra. Cellular metabolism generates numerous by-products, many rich in nitrogen, that require elimination from the bloodstream...
to become highly flammable, especially while drunk. His name is a play on ignoramus.
- Joboy (Joey Boy Llabe) - the resident mechanicMechanicA mechanic is a craftsman or technician who uses tools to build or repair machinery.Many mechanics are specialized in a particular field such as auto mechanics, bicycle mechanics, motorcycle mechanics, boiler mechanics, general mechanics, industrial maintenance mechanics , air conditioning and...
who has a knack for cars and often likes to drive fast (in fact, he is a speed maniac). His last name is the Filipino word for wrenchWrenchA wrench or spanner is a tool used to provide grip and mechanical advantage in applying torque to turn objects—usually rotary fasteners, such as nuts and bolts—or keep them from turning....
, from the Spanish llave.
- Tata Mads (Amado Pascala) - the resident musicianMusicianA musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
who once taught Tiny voice lessons and sometimes comes to Dagul to comment on his awful singing. His name is a play on tamad ("lazy") due to the seemingly easy-going lifestyle of musicians and other people in the field of creative arts; though his appearances in the strip have decreased over the years, he does not appear to be truly lazy.
- Doc Sebo (Miguel Sebo, M. D.) - the resident physicianPhysicianA physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
who specializes in circumcisionCircumcisionMale circumcision is the surgical removal of some or all of the foreskin from the penis. The word "circumcision" comes from Latin and ....
, but is generally shown to be weak and incompetent in anything else in his profession. In early strips, he prescribes only one kind of medicine - aspirin. Sebo is Tagalog for congealed fat or solidified lard.
'Adre (Cesar "Butch" Tangara) - Kules's fellow worker in Saudi Arabia and Brosia's older brother. He shares the same interests and sentiments with Kules, sometimes with photoPhotographA photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
s of their penpals. His relation to Brosia was revealed when he went home to the Philippines for a vacation (Kules was also home at the time).' Adre is short for kumpadre or male best friend.
- Miss Nobatos (Eusebia Nobatos) - Utoy, Paltik, Joma, and Jolen's teacher. She often rages at Paltik for his jokes and actions, particularly when he refers to her as a horseHorseThe horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
, and takes too many doses of aspirinAspirinAspirin , also known as acetylsalicylic acid , is a salicylate drug, often used as an analgesic to relieve minor aches and pains, as an antipyretic to reduce fever, and as an anti-inflammatory medication. It was discovered by Arthur Eichengrun, a chemist with the German company Bayer...
because of him and any other shenanigans her other students cause. Her name is a play on the Spanish term novatos, meaning "new race horse."
- Patrolman Durugas (PFC Romeo Durugas) - a police officerPolice officerA police officer is a warranted employee of a police force...
who often apprehends drivers mostly for no apparent reason and receives bribes from them. Dagul happens to be one those disgruntled motorists. He is created by Medina based on the Filipinos' general view on policemen as corrupt. In Tagalog, mandurugas means "one who cheats".
- Senator Cabalfin (Sen. Usurpo Cabalfin) - the resident member of the Philippine Senate. He is seen more playing children's games and spending people's taxes on his own indulgences rather than doing his job as a legislator. He is created by Medina as a reflection of corrupt government officials. His personal name Usurpo is derived from the word usurp.
Recurring minor characters
There are also recurring characters in the strip, including:- Barbie's mother (unnamed), the stereotypical mother-in-law for Tomas from Parañaque who rues about death and her home city's water problem;
- Dagul's mother (Brenda), an ironically thin yet overly concerned woman;
- Madame Cabalfin (Diana Elizabeth Cabalfin), Senator Cabalfin's equally corrupt wife (based on Imelda Marcos);
- Bong (Enrique Noel Cabalfin), Sen. Cabalfin's son, who is not really part of the inner circle of the other four kids;
- Boy Bura and Boy Tibar(real names never mentioned), bodyguards of the Cabalfin family;
- Attorney Adriano (first name never mentioned), the fiscal;
- Doctor Rosa, a dentist who scares her patient with a dental pliers whenever she gets agitated or teased by the characters;
- "Principal Schwarzenegger" (Arnold Palacio), the ugly school principal who is as exasperated as Miss Nobatos when it comes to seeing Paltik in his office;
- Nadir Hamid Mohammad, Kules's employer and is the subject of many smelly jokes as part of the Filipino stereotypical view that Arabs are foul-smelling;
- Jacques Vousvoulez, Dagul's French employer and the head chef of the hotel where Dagul works. His name is a French stylization of "bubuli", the Filipino word for newt;
- Ka Beza (Bezalie Tangere), Ka Noli's wife, who appears to have an "allergic reaction to soldiers," resulting in Tomas being her target practice whenever she's around;
- Father Marty (Fr. Mario Martinez), Bab's priest-friend who is studying canon law at the Vatican and has apparently moved back to Pugad Baboy as its local priest;
- Rosanna (last name not mentioned), a buxom local mestiza, who as part of a running gag, is a frequent victim of coconutCoconutThe coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
thieves (often Bab, Tomas and Igno) but not before being viewed naked by these thieves through her window; - Frostee (a play on the word prostitute, of which she is), the sexy Japayuki (a female Filipino worker in Japan);
- Mang Igme (full name never mentioned), a fishball vendor who believes that the fishball industry is the solution to the poverty in the Philippines;
- Brando, Tiny's current boyfriend, being a chef from Malate has unfortunately earned him the ire of the very much paranoid Mang Dagul, who feels the former will replace him as the family's chef. However, Dagul seems to have grown comfortable with him as he no longer seems to hold anything against him;
- The Los Kosas Muntinlupas, a trio of fellow ex-inmates and Igno's supposed friends. Wakali who is bald and has a mole on his nose, Lino who is the skinny one, and Don who has a shaved head and has a moustache. Though they have appeared on previous book covers and have a cameo appearance in Benigno Ramos: Bounty HunterBenigno Ramos: Bounty HunterBenigno Ramos: Bounty Hunter is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina, Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer from July to October 2005. In 2006, the story arc was republished in the Pugad Baboy Sunday Comics compilation...
, they are introduced properly in Pugad Baboy XX; and others.
Other minor characters in the strips serve as antagonists to the residents. See: Villains of Pugad Baboy
Villains of Pugad Baboy
Throughout the years, Pugad Baboy creator Pol Medina has created villains and rogues to challenge his main characters, some of which were based on the scourges of the Philippine social and political environment. Sometimes they were the people within the law, like Patrolman Durugas and Senator...
On the other hand, the Pugad Baboy gang are often aided by friends and acquaintances they meet during these escapades. See each article of the story arcs for info on these allies.
Prominent personalities, both local and foreign, have also made cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
s in Pugad Baboy. Among them are Presidents Ramos, Estrada
Joseph Estrada
Joseph "Erap" Ejercito Estrada was the 13th President of the Philippines, serving from 1998 until 2001. Estrada was the first person in the Post-EDSA era to be elected both to the presidency and vice-presidency.Estrada gained popularity as a film actor, playing the lead role in over 100 films in...
, and Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...
, martial artist
Modern Arnis
Modern Arnis is the system of Filipino martial arts founded by the late Remy Presas as a self-defense system. His goal was to create an injury-free training method as well as an effective self-defense system in order to preserve the older Arnis systems...
Ernesto Presas
Ernesto Presas
Ernesto Presas was the founder of Filipino martial arts system Kombatan.Kombatan, which includes training with the stick and with bladed weapons in addition to empty-hand work, was developed from the Modern Arnis system. Ernesto Presas assisted his older brother Remy Presas in developing Modern...
, politicians Robert Jaworski
Robert Jaworski
Robert Salazar Jaworski , also known as Sonny Jaworski, Bobby Jaworski, Robert Jaworski, Sr. or simply Jawo, is a former Philippine senator, basketball coach and Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association and PBA basketball player.Known as The Big J and called The Living Legend...
, Rene Saguisag
Rene Saguisag
Rene A. V. Saguisag is a Filipino lawyer. He served as a Filipino Senator from 1987 until 1992.-Early life:...
and Richard Gordon
Richard Gordon (politician)
Richard "Dick" Juico Gordon is a Filipino politician and broadcaster who currently serves as the chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross....
, singer Freddie Aguilar
Freddie Aguilar
Ferdinand Pascual Aguilar , better known as Freddie Aguilar, is a folk musician from the Philippines. He is best known for his rendition of "Bayan Ko", which became the anthem for the opposition to the Marcos regime during the 1986 People Power Revolution, and for his song "Anak", the best-selling...
, comedian Leo Martinez, boxer Manny Pacquiao
Manny Pacquiao
Emmanuel "Manny" Dapidran Pacquiao, PLH is a Filipino professional boxer and politician. He is the first eight-division world champion; having won six world titles, as well as the first to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes. He was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the...
, the late Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
, Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
, and Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
.
Medina drew many of the above minor characters for the covers of some compilations, but these did not appear in the selected strips. Some of these appeared either earlier in the comic strip's run (such as Father Marty) while others were just mere extras (such as the Los Kosas Muntinlupas, Igno's former fellow inmates in Bilibid Prison). Many of these were only given official names in "character guide" supplements in compilations (such as the inmates and the school principal, mostly hitherto unnamed). These names are then carried over to future strips.
Stylistic elements
British EnglishBritish English
British English, or English , is the broad term used to distinguish the forms of the English language used in the United Kingdom from forms used elsewhere...
words are prevalent in the strip (like -ise words) and Medina uses these kinds of words in his own write-ups.
Age
The characters are typically ageless, and their actual ages are usually vague. The few characters whose present ages are stated are Dagul (48), and the kids (8 or 9). Utoy and 'Adre are the only characters to have visibly aged in the strip through the years, barring flashbacks (Utoy first appeared as a baby; 'Adre has lately lost some of his hair). A "holdover hippie" from the Sixties1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...
, Bab nevertheless seems to be only in his twenties or thirties, which would be impossible in real time. In the early-1990s story arc Ang Hiwaga ng Dueñas (published in Pugad Baboy 4) the faith healer
Faith healing
Faith healing is healing through spiritual means. The healing of a person is brought about by religious faith through prayer and/or rituals that, according to adherents, stimulate a divine presence and power toward correcting disease and disability. Belief in divine intervention in illness or...
Mang Danilo, an old acquaintance, mentions that Bab was teenaged at the time of Woodstock
Woodstock Festival
Woodstock Music & Art Fair was a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition: 3 Days of Peace & Music". It was held at Max Yasgur's 600-acre dairy farm in the Catskills near the hamlet of White Lake in the town of Bethel, New York, from August 15 to August 18, 1969...
(Bab immediately covers the faith healer's mouth as the word "Woodstock" is mentioned). A series of strips published in Pugad Baboy X (1998) implies that Bab is at least over 28 years old. In the same compilation, Tita Cel mentions that Jolen is 27 years younger than Bab and since the stock age of the Pugad Baboy children is 8-9, Bab is possibly 35-36.
Recurring jokes
One of the strip's running gagRunning gag
A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling....
s is the depiction (or at least the description) of Arabs having very foul body odor
Body odor
Body odor or body odour, sometimes colloquially abbreviated as B.O., is the smell of bacteria growing on the body. The bacteria multiply rapidly in the presence of sweat, but sweat itself is almost completely odorless to humans....
. Examples of this running gag are Kules' Saudi friend, which the former calls Lancaster (because the friend smells like the langka or jack fruit), and the stinky concentrated chemical agent PSSI (pawis ng singit ng sundalong Iraqi or Iraqi soldier's jock sweat) mentioned in the story arc The Baguio Connection. This running gag is likely based on the author's personal experience. It is also reasonable, considering that the desert atmosphere in most Arab countries prevents their people from taking daily baths.
Other such gags include the monotonous diet of chicken in Saudi Arabia (also likely based on personal experience), Paltik's blatant aversion to the "coming of age
Coming of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood. The age at which this transition takes place varies in society, as does the nature of the transition. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual, as practiced by many societies...
" ritual of circumcision, and Polgas and Dagul de-appetizing Debbie on the breakfast table.
Authorial presence
Medina usually voices out his takes on events, people and the like through Polgas and Mang Dagul. (Polgas is also recurringly shown as a comic strip artist, like his creator.) According to Medina, the characters he most identifies with are Polgas, Mang Dagul, and Utoy; like him, they wear earrings on their left ears. Medina himself has even appeared once in the strip proper, holding a cartooning workshop in PalawanPalawan
Palawan is an island province of the Philippines located in the MIMAROPA region or Region 4. Its capital is Puerto Princesa City, and it is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of jurisdiction. The islands of Palawan stretch from Mindoro in the northeast to Borneo in the...
, though he avoids breaking the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
by not referring to himself as the strip's creator.
Major story arcs
As mentioned earlier in this article, the strip does not showcase domestic life alone as Medina has created story arcs which involve the various characters in adventure, dramatic or other plotted situations.There is no standard as how long a story arc may last, since it can run from several weeks to a few months. The story arc is only titled when it is included in a compilation.
This list below contains named story arcs that last at least 15 strips long and which compilation each appears.
- BakasyonBakasyonBakasyon is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 15 strips long, the shortest among the major story arcs...
(15 strips, The Best of Pugad Baboy) - Baboy ScoutsBaboy ScoutsBaboy Scouts is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 25 strips long...
(24 strips, Pugad Baboy 3) - WisedogWisedogWisedog is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 17 strips long...
(17 strips, Pugad Baboy 3) - The Baguio ConnectionThe Baguio ConnectionThe Baguio Connection is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 51 strips long...
(51 strips, Pugad Baboy 3) - RetrainingRetraining (Pugad Baboy story arc)Retraining is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 45 strips long. In 1993, the story arc was reprinted in Pugad Baboy 4, the fourth book...
(45 strips, Pugad Baboy 4) - The Malunggay ConflictThe Malunggay ConflictThe Malunggay Conflict is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 30 strips long...
(30 strips, Pugad Baboy 4) - Ang Hiwaga ng DueñasAng Hiwaga ng DueñasAng Hiwaga ng Dueñas is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 52 strips long and ran during the first quarter of 1992...
(52 strips, Pugad Baboy 4) - FeministFeminist (Pugad Baboy story arc)Feminist is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 34 strips long...
(34 strips, PB5) - Olympig GamesOlympig GamesOlympig Games , is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 19 strips long...
(19 strips, PB5) - 20782078 (Pugad Baboy story arc)2078 is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina, Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 45 strips long...
(45 strips, PB5) - MaidnappersMaidnappersMaidnappers is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 88 strips. It is one of the two longest Pugad Baboy story arcs, the other being Aso...
(88 strips, PB5) - The Olongapo CaperThe Olongapo CaperThe Olongapo Caper is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 49 strips long...
(49 strips, Pugad Baboy 6) - Oplan PaglalanseOplan PaglalanseOplan Paglalanse is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 23 strips long and ran in during the month of January 1994. In 1996, the story arc was...
(23 strips, Pugad Baboy 7) - Alamang BoyAlamang BoyAlamang Boy is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 26 strips long...
(26 strips, Pugad Baboy 7) - Col. ManyakisCol. ManyakisCol. Manyakis is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina, Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 35 strips long. In 1997, the story arc was reprinted in Pugad Baboy Eight, the eighth book...
(35 strips, pugad baboy 8) - Father MartyFather MartyFather Marty is a story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 21 strips long...
(21 strips, Pugad Baboy 9) - KultoKultoKulto is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. This particular story arc lasts 41 strips long and was published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer from November 1995 to January 1996...
(41 strips, Pugad Baboy 9) - James BabJames BabJames Bab is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. This particular story arc lasts 38 strips long and was published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer from June to July 1997. In 1998, the story arc was reprinted in the tenth compilation of...
(38 strips, Pugad Baboy X) - MatronaMatrona (Pugad Baboy)Matrona is a story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 23 strips long...
(23 strips, Pugad Baboy X) - Apo HikersApo HikersApo Hikers is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 62 strips long...
(62 strips, Pugad Baboy XI) - ParaisoParaiso (Pugad Baboy story arc)Paraiso is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 54 strips long...
(54 strips, Pugad Baboy XII) - Private Investigator!Private Investigator!Private Investigator! is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 77 strips long and ran July to October, 2000, in the light of the then-recent...
(77 strips, PB the 13th) - BabmanBabmanBabman is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 37 strips long...
(37 strips, Katorse) - AsoAso (Pugad Baboy story arc)Aso is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. This particular story arc lasts 88 strips long. In 2003, the story arc was reprinted in Kinse!, the fifteenth book compilation of the...
(88 strips, Kinse!) - Benigno Ramos: Bounty HunterBenigno Ramos: Bounty HunterBenigno Ramos: Bounty Hunter is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina, Jr. and originally published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer from July to October 2005. In 2006, the story arc was republished in the Pugad Baboy Sunday Comics compilation...
(71 strips, Pugad Baboy Sunday Comics) - BodyguardBodyguard (Pugad Baboy)Bodyguard is an adventure story arc of the Philippine comic strip series Pugad Baboy, created by Pol Medina Jr. This particular story arc lasts 53 strips long and was published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer from July 2008 to September 2008. In 2009, the story arc was reprinted in the 21st...
(53 strips, Pugad Baboy 21)
Not included in the list above is Planet of the Dogs, Medina's homage/parody to Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes (1968 film)
Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle. The film stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly and Linda Harrison...
. This story arc (which appeared in Disi-Sais!) is relatively short at only 9 strips long. Since that arc, it took Medina three years before he came up with Benigno Ramos: Bounty Hunter, and then another three with Bodyguard.
Books and merchandise
The first compilation of Pugad Baboy comic strips was originally part of a thesisThesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
by Frank Aldana, a student of De La Salle University
De La Salle University-Manila
De La Salle University is a private Lasallian university in Malate, Manila, Philippines. It was founded in 1911 by De La Salle Brothers as the De La Salle College in Paco, Manila with Blimond Pierre serving as its first director...
. This compilation became so popular that Medina himself made more. Typically, a new compilation is released near the start of each year. Including Aldana's compilation, there are currently 23 Pugad Baboy compilation books:
- Pugad Baboy One (originally, The Very Best of Pugad Baboy)
- The Best of Pugad Baboy (officially, this is the second compilation)
- Pugad Baboy 3
- Pugad Baboy 4
- PB5 (Pugad Baboy 5)
- Pugad Baboy 6
- Pugad Baboy 7
- pugad baboy eight
- Pugad baboy 9
- Pugad Baboy X (commemorating the tenth anniversary of the comic strip)
- Pugad Baboy XI
- Pugad Baboy XII
- PB the 13th (Pugad Baboy 13)
- Katorse (Pugad Baboy 14)
- Kinse! (Pugad Baboy 15)
- Disi-Sais! (Pugad Baboy 16)
- 17 (Pugad Baboy 17)
- 18 eighteen (Pugad Baboy 18)
- Pugad Baboy Sunday Comics (first one in full color)
- Pugad Baboy nineteen
- Pugad Baboy XX (commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the comic strip)
- Pugad Baboy 21
- Pugad Baboy 22
- Pugad Baboy Sunday Comics 2 (second one in full color)
- Pugad Baboy 23
Medina also made other Pugad Baboy original works:
- PirataPirata (Pugad Baboy graphic novel)Pirata is a full-color graphic novel written and illustrated by Filipino cartoonist Pol Medina, Jr. and first published in 1995 by Pugad Baboy, Inc...
- an original graphic novelGraphic novelA graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
about Polgas befriending a reformed MuslimMuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
piratePiracyPiracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
named Khalid and their quest for the pirate group to surrender. It was intended to be the first of a graphic novel series called Polgas - Ang Asong Hindi, but was made a stand-alone graphic novel because of the time and effort given to its creation, as well as the seriousness and darkness of its story compared to the hilarity of Pugad Baboy itself. - Two Polgas - Ang Asong Hindi books actually appeared, sporting a smaller, regular-sized format than Pirata. Printed in black and white, unlike Pirata, they were produced as a joint effort between Medina and the Alamat Comics Group, an independent comics company. These books were Baboyani (a portmanteau of baboy and bayani, Filipino for "hero") an alternate universeParallel universe (fiction)A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
adventure which recasts the characters as rebels in the late-nineteenth century Philippine RevolutionPhilippine RevolutionThe Philippine Revolution , called the "Tagalog War" by the Spanish, was an armed military conflict between the people of the Philippines and the Spanish colonial authorities which resulted in the secession of the Philippine Islands from the Spanish Empire.The Philippine Revolution began in August...
against SpanishSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
rule; and Conspigracy, a story that takes place during an excursion in LagunaLaguna provinceLaguna is a province of the Philippines found in the CALABARZON region in Luzon. Its capital is Santa Cruz and the province is located southeast of Metro Manila, south of the province of Rizal, west of Quezon, north of Batangas and east of Cavite. Laguna almost completely surrounds Laguna de Bay,...
. Actually, Medina only contributed the art for the covers and title pages; the rest of the art was done by other artists.
- Polgas comics - a "magazine" of original strips by Medina and other artists which also contained a spoof "horoscopeHoroscopeIn astrology, a horoscope is a chart or diagram representing the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, the astrological aspects, and sensitive angles at the time of an event, such as the moment of a person's birth. The word horoscope is derived from Greek words meaning "a look at the hours" In...
" and some exotic recipes, saw at least two issues.
The popularity of Pugad Baboy also spawned some merchandise such as DogStyle Apparel and Polgas P-gurines (a set of figurines depicting Polgas and some Polgas characters). They are currently distributed by Medina's company, Pol Medina Jr. Novelties.
On September 25, 1993, Pugad Baboy was made into a live-action TV show called Rated PB (Pang-Bayan) - Pugad Baboy Sa TV. Directed by Leo Martinez, the show featured Edgar Mortiz
Edgar Mortiz
Edgar "Bobot" Mortiz is a Filipino movie/TV actor and director.-Early life:Born Edgardo Mortiz on August 30, 1954. He was the champion for 13 weeks on the network’s talent search, “Tawag ng Tanghalan,” hosted by Pugo and Patsy . He was the Original and unbeatable partner of Vilma Santos. He...
(Bab), Giselle Sanchez (Brosia) and Rudy Meyer (Mang Dagul) among the cast. Though the show was live-action, the opening logo featured limited animation. Some of the episodes were based upon earlier plots in the strip, while others followed a skit show format. It was aired on GMA 7
GMA Network
GMA Network is a major commercial television & radio network in the Philippines. GMA Network is owned by GMA Network, Inc. a publicly listed company...
and lasted only two seasons, 15 episodes in all.
In the ninth book, Medina states that he dreams of making a Pugad Baboy cartoon
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
.
Besides Pugad Baboy books proper, Medina has also published compilations of his editorial cartoon
Editorial cartoon
An editorial cartoon, also known as a political cartoon, is an illustration containing a commentary that usually relates to current events or personalities....
s for the Philippine Daily Inquirer, called the Ink and Politics series. The cartoons sometimes feature Pugad Baboy characters. Polgas always appears on covers of these books. Three books have been published as the newspaper stopped hiring him as substitute political cartoonist in around 2006.
Medina includes photos and caricatures of himself in some of the strip's compilations.
Some Pugad Baboy characters can be seen on the ads of Dencio's
Dencio's
Dencio's Bar and Grill, simply referred to as Dencio's, is a group of restaurants based in the Philippines.-History:Dennis Nakpil and Dennis Mariano Jr. thought of creating a restaurant that emphasizes certain Philippine traditions. Their principle was "bringing the BARRIO into the metropolis."...
, a notable restaurant chain in the Philippines.