The Merchant of Oltrarno | Mysterious Wine

02.14.2019 – Fairytales do tell wonderful stories without the need to use what most people are familiar with namely comic book style layouts. It’s rare nowadays that attract a lot of people to this concept because more have gravitated to the idea as a current trend. Most would be turned off to this old-style concept reading words while the illustration is just the other side of the page. Recent graphic novels that have found success in their first stories find the challenge to find the same organic narrative in their works that it takes years even decades to find the same groove. They say ‘you can’t rush art’ is truly an understatement and it still holds true to most talented creators out there. But for first-time authors it is a challenge to present them with new material for people to ‘get the hook’ and find inspiration, not in the usual graphic novel format is something more than just taking it to the next level. It’s about telling their own stories the way they envisioned their work for the very first time. With Jay Ignacio’s latest book “The Merchant of Oltrarno” his very first work that he authored wasn’t that kind of grand announcement to the local comic book community. However, it was the power of ‘word of mouth’ and social media that had everyone found the curiosity of this book. For those who haven’t heard of Jay Ignacio, there’s an air of mystery for this gentleman with the passion for artistry in the Philippine scene. If you heard the name that sound familiar he’s been an artist in a different type of medium namely in the music scene.