Line #25 ComicStrip/PugadBaboy


1	[[quoteright:334:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/PB1_877.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:334:How it all started.]]
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4	OnceUponATime in TheEighties, a [[UsefulNotes/{{Philippines}} Filipino]] architect named Apolonio "Pol" Medina Jr. came home from the Middle East and made a comic strip, inspired partly by a friend who bought a pig farm and partly by other things from his life and work. ''Pugad Baboy'' (Filipino for "pig-nest") is a [[NewspaperComics newspaper comic]] about the [[SliceOfLife daily life]] and adventures of a community of fat people in a Manila suburb.
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6	''Pugad Baboy'' debuted in the ''Philippine Daily Inquirer'' on May 18, 1988, as one of the young paper's first comic strips. From 2004 to 2009, it also had full-color Sunday strips. After 25 years, [[ExecutiveMeddling controversy forced Medina to leave]] on June 6, 2013. On June 17, it [[http://www.rappler.com/pugad-baboy resumed]] as a {{webcomic}} for the Philippine news website Rappler. Due to the web-friendly format, it was now oriented [[{{Yonkoma}} vertically]] instead of horizontally, and for a time had alternate choose-your-own punchlines. It concluded on March 1, 2018 and returned to its previous newspaper format via the Inquirer's longtime rival, the ''Philippine Star'', on March 5 2018. After one year, the comic is no longer in Star since March 9, 2019. Medina still attends local comic conventions and his [[https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheOfficialPB/ Facebook page]] and [[https://mobile.twitter.com/kartunero?s=09 Twitter account]] remain active where fans can order his books from him. He still draws the comic which he posted on [[https://www.facebook.com/polmedinajr his personal Facebook account]].
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8	It has produced merchandise, book compilations, original graphic novels, and a short-lived [[LiveActionAdaptation live-action TV comedy series]] in the 1990s.
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10	While the main characters are the [[NuclearFamily Sungcal family]] and their [[FunnyAnimal talking dog]] Polgas, it also features strips tackling Philippine society, culture, and politics. The wide scope of its humor has caused it to be compared to ''ComicStrip/{{Doonesbury}}''.
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12	----
13	!!''Pugad Baboy'' has examples of the following tropes:
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15	* AfraidOfNeedles: Tomas. In one strip, he actually pulls a gun in front of a doctor when he takes out a syringe.
16	* ArtEvolution: The early strips resemble little of what they are today in terms of character design. Not only are the eyes bigger, they are also more rounded. The reissued first book displays this by having the front cover be a remake of the [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pb1_old_big.jpg original, now back cover.]]
17	* AuthorAvatar: Medina says that he identifies himself with Dagul (for his serious side), Utoy (for his child-like behavior) and Polgas (for his adventurous side).
18	** After his departure from newspapers and switch to an online format, he now often draws himself interacting with the characters.
19	* AuthorFilibuster: Most of the characters' discussions regarding current events are Medina's social commentary. Most of them are quite sarcastic.
20	* BerserkButton: ''Never bring up the subject of baldness around Dagul.'' ServileSnarker Brosia delights in pushing this for all it's worth.
21	* BewareTheNiceOnes: Barbie. She's generally nice to most of the community members-- but if you're Tomas and you've just come home at 4 in the morning, drunk and stinking of woman's perfume, then you better run.
22	* BigEater: Implied and talked about more often than shown on panel. The men are fond of social drinking too, beer etc. but Tomas and Igno tend to play TheAlcoholic roles the lost. Some on-panel examples of the former include:
23	** Bab and Tiny order snacks at the movie theater, with Tiny ordering two of several different items. Then she asks Bab what he wants.
24	** Eat-all-you-can restaurants are at their mercy with the managers panicking and screaming mayday at even just their approach. Though justified in one story arc where they went to a country resort and they were especially hungry and exhausted from just hiking to get there for much of the day, but then they demolished the entire buffet.
25	** Parodying an old Pizza Hut TV ad, the kids see Tiny in one with a full spread of various pizzas on the table. They happily rush in, but the pizza is all gone by the next panel and Tiny chides them for being slowpokes.
26	* BigFun: Downplayed since ''everyone'' who's a main recurring character tends to be fat, chubby and big-bellied, including Polgas the dog, but in general they're an easygoing bunch who happily get along with each other.
27	* BottomlessMagazines: Averted. There are jokes about how the [[DirtyCommunists NPA rebels]] seem perpetually low on ammo, which also extend to how the military is also strapped for working hardware.
28	* BreakingTheFourthWall: Polgas sometimes talks to the reader regarding the events in the story or whatever commentaries that he's discussing. Some characters even join in as well.
29	* CampGay: Pao. [[spoiler: This is a plot point in the ''Hiwaga ng Dueñas'' StoryArc, where he was captured by a cult searching for pregnant women to be sacrificed, and they thought Pao was pregnant because of his big belly]].
30	* CarnivoreConfusion: An unusual case. Apart from Polgas, most dogs bark and behave like "normal" dogs and are treated as such—to the point where humans still ''eat'' them in the ''Pugad Baboy'' universe. (For context: Stray or street dogs in the Philippines are occasionally killed, cooked and eaten, often as accompaniment to beer-drinking sessions, despite this being illegal since the 1990s.)
31	* CerebusRollercoaster: Originally and primarily a comedy strip with a focus on SliceOfLife adventures, over the years it has often delved into story arcs of varying seriousness, tackling issues like drug abuse, organized crime and government corruption. Some stories are also {{Fantasy}} and ScienceFiction-oriented.
32	* ChildProdigy: Utoy, Dagul's youngest son.
33	* ChinaTakesOverTheWorld: discussed in certain strips. One has Tomas' claiming that with their population, China can conquer the world. Unfortunately for him, Mao hears this, clearly pissed.
34	** Another strip from the ''2078'' storyline has Chinese-Filipino businessmen take over the Philippines, make Chinese the official language, and in a role reversal, authentic Filipino cuisine now exists in where was Manila's Chinatown today.
35	* ChinesePeople: Mauricio "Mao" Tang, a Chinese store-owner. He dislikes it when people fail to pay him credit, and is never above using kung-fu and a sword to force them to pay.
36	* ComicBookTime: The kids are still eight or nine years old and haven't even aged or graduated from elementary. And yet, they still play video games, watch cartoons or read books that are popular as time passes. There's also Senator Cabalfin who is still a senator regardless of administration and senate line-up.
37	* ComicalTranslation: Used sometimes from English to Filipino, Filipino to English, or Filipino to other Philippine languages. For instance:
38	** Senator Cabalfin makes a speech with a lackey translating everything he says, sentence by sentence. "In union there is strength" = "Sa sibuyas (''onion'') may lakas".
39	** In a PoliceBrutality joke about local cops' warning shots being the same as opening fire, the cop blasting away yells "Manigas ka!" which a footnote translates as "Freeze!" But the literal translation is "Stiffen up" e.g. like a corpse, so basically "Drop dead".
40	* CordonBleughChef: Dagul sometimes gets a little too inventive in the kitchen. He once suggested an ampalaya (bitter gourd) pizza in lieu of popcorn to accompany a movie session at home.
41	* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: Done by Tomas and Polgas to a man who wanted to buy marijuana-spiked purple yam (ube) jam in ''The Baguio Connection''. After the poor sod was forced to watch hours of ''The 700 Club'' and dramas from ''That's Entertainment'' (an afternoon teen variety show in Philippine television in the late 80s to the 90s), the man became a stool pigeon and told them the location of the marijuana operation.
42	* DarkerAndEdgier: The first and to date only original graphic novel spin-off, titled ''Pirata'' (Pirate), due to Creator Breakdown at the time of composition. The Pugad Baboy residents aid a smuggler on the run from his own group and rogue elements of the Philippine Navy. Polgas is revealed to have a DarkAndTroubledPast as a stray puppy.
43	** CerebusRetcon: Polgas was designed with an earring in imitation of Dagul. The graphic novel reveals it belonged to his mother and fell off when they were separated.
44	* ADogNamedDog: The ''Apo Hikers'' arc has a bobcat named Bobcat. Also a TalkingAnimal like Polgas.
45	* DirtyCommunists: Noli averts this, though he's technically an NPA guerilla. That said, some of his comrades in the mountains still try to act the part.
46	* DisproportionateRetribution: Depending on the scenario, it's either played with or averted for laughs.
47	* DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale: Barbie, being an extreme example of StrawFeminist, always gets away with punishing Tomas for his womanizing ways.
48	* DrivesLikeCrazy: Many of the male drivers, though resident mechanic Joboy is the worst offender.
49	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Polgas couldn't talk in the earliest strips. When he first talked, it was a big deal, with the Sungcals freaking out.
50	* ElaborateUndergroundBase: Polgas has one beneath the Sungcal residence, accessible via a well elevator. One sign that everyone knows Polgas' double life as a government super agent.
51	* EveryoneOwnsAMac: Many characters were depicted using Macs. It may had to do with Medina in RealLife using a Mac as a personal computer.
52	* {{Expy}}: Noli's hairstyle and Permastubble are shout-outs to {{Franchise/Rambo}}.
53	* FaceFault: Every characters' [[LamePunReaction reaction]] when someone, mainly Dagul and Polgas, makes a {{pun}}.
54	* FatComicRelief: Well, pretty much ''[[PlanetOfHats every]]'' major character is fat for endearing purposes (particularly in a Third World/Philippine context where some degree of fatness is seen as akin to prosperity vs. poverty, thus this means they're mostly relatively comfortably middle-class) but from time to time there are still standard "fat jokes", especially early on, like:
55	** A pedicab driver begging Bab and Tiny in full kow-tow mode not to ride in his (pedal-powered) vehicle.
56	** Foreign books and international news reports mentioning the Pugad Baboy community itself, like the residents being barred from climbing the Leaning Tower of Pisa, or likening an earthquake to the impact of their annual marathon race.
57	** The men all having the same idea to go as a sumo wrestler for a costume party (because it was the cheapest option).
58	* {{Fartillery}}:
59	** Many strips portray this, but Kules the engineer was the most memorable.
60	---> '''Kules' Arab boss:''' "I own ten oil refineries."\
61	'''Kules:''' "Well, I have only ''one'' oil refinery."\
62	'''Kules' Arab boss:''' "What does it produce? Benzene?"\
63	''-Kules farts, causing the Arab boss' cigarette to explode-''\
64	'''Kules:''' "No. Methane."
65	** Another story involves Igno and Bab using a bacon-covered balloon filled with farts, to be used on Senator Cabalfin's guard dog as part of their plan to watch his maid take a bath. It works... though the dog isn't the only one knocked out.
66	* GatlingGood: Tomas wields one against bank robbers in the ''James Bab'' arc. The bank robbers survive the carnage, but only after Tomas destroys the wall surrounding the robbers.
67	* GratuitousEnglish: Shows up in both straight English and "Taglish" forms. Justified in that English is also the other national language of the Philippines.
68	* HairTodayGoneTomorrow: In flashbacks, Dagul is shown to have had much fuller hair, though even then it was already receding.
69	* HalfDressedCartoonAnimal: Polgas.
70	* HypocriticalHumor: A staple.
71	* JapanTakesOverTheWorld: In ''2078'', according to Chewbaboy, a tour-guide from the future an a clear Expy of [[Franchise/StarWars Chewbacca]], Japan bought most of American real estate and turned it to a gigantic golf course, and people from Arab Gulf countries, now bereft with oil, are now working as contract workers in Japan.
72	* KarmicDeath: It's suggested that [[spoiler:Cassius "G.I." Jones, villain of a StoryArc set in Subic Bay, was killed by the vengeful families of the women he and his henchmen lured into prostitution. Although the local news says that his body was never found, Polgas (in his "Bark Justice" alter ego) created the story to cover up the suggested murder.]]
73	* LiveActionAdaptation: On 1993, Pugad Baboy was made into a live-action TV show called Rated PB (Pang-Bayan) – Pugad Baboy Sa TV. 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 [[ShortRunners lasted only two seasons, 15 episodes in all]].
74	* LethalChef: Tiny. She once used papaya soap on a papaya-based soup when the dish called for the real deal.
75	* MilitaryBrat: Besides Paltik, [[spoiler:Cris Caldera from the ''Bodyguard'' story arc. His father, a well-regarded general, was kept in a bedridden, comatose state, so that Cris can enjoy the perks of being an "anak ng Diyos" ("son of God", a Filipino slang term for children of generals who turn out to be spoiled brats) by leeching off his father's income.]]
76	* NewAgeRetroHippie: Bab.
77	* NoodleIncident:
78	-->'''Dagul''': Polgas, do you remember when you nearly died after smelling my Indian friend's underarm?
79	* OnlySaneMan: Dagul most of the time, though Debbie serves as this on those occasions Dagul is NotSoAboveItAll.
80	* ThePigPen: Bab. Goes with the territory of being a NewAgeRetroHippie.
81	* ThePrankster: Paltik, Tomas' son.
82	** Polgas is sometimes this-cum-TheGadfly to Mang Dagul, often messing with him when Dagul is being [[StealthPun hounded]] by deadlines.
83	* PunctuatedForEmphasis: Barbie and Joboy sports this line when the former caught wind over some Flip flops and the latter for Bab calling it a ripoff upholster that cause him to shoot at the manhole.
84	* PunnyName[=/=]MeaningfulName: Most of the characters. For a non-regular example, Chewbaboy from the ''2078'' arc is a parody of Chewbacca, with "baboy" (pig) in place of "bacca" i.e. "baka" (cow, from Spanish ''vaca'').
85	* RagsToRiches: An introduction panel in one of the compilations has Pol Medina lampshading how the comic has helped him earn a rather comfortable lifestyle... then poking fun at how his "riches" still look like crap compared to what wealthier Filipinos enjoy.
86	* RidiculousFutureInflation: In the ''2078'' arc, Bab travels to the future, where he sells off his antique, 108-year-old peace medallion for 10 million pesos. Bab is elated at finally becoming a millionaire … until he tries to buy the cheapest pair of shoes there is: a fairly affordable ''8 million''.
87	* RunningGag:
88	** Pol Medina is a tad too fond of joking about Arabs and South Asians being foul-smelling. One strip series involves a chemical agent called PSSI, with the acronym translating in English as "Iraqi soldier's jock sweat", and another strip has resident hippie Bab scare Tiny and Pao away from their shawarma by claiming that it tastes like an Arab's underarm-- which lets him claim the shawarma for himself.
89	** Paltik's circumcision blues.
90	** [[invoked]]Polgas' and Dagul's table conversations turning to {{Squick}}-worthy subjects, occasional ending with Debbie making them leave the table.
91	** Dagul being the ButtMonkey of his maid's jokes about him being bald.
92	** Tomas being pummeled by his wife Barbie when she sees him flirt with other women.
93	* SecretIdentity: Majority of the main cast possess an alternate identity for their action roles. As of the latest story arc, all of them are revealed to serve as Polgas' squad within the Organized Canine Bureau. To wit:
94	** Polgas: Dobermaxx, originally Wisedog
95	** Dagul: Bardagul Kapote, a parody of the HardboiledDetective
96	** Bab: [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Babman]]
97	** Tiny: Obesa Vanidosa
98	** Utoy, Paltik, and Joma: the Walang Payat Gang ("No Thin" Gang)
99	** [[spoiler: Brosia turns out to possess one, more elaborate than the others. She was scouted by Polgas of OCB training, with the intended codemane Amrita (Hindu counterpart of the ''Ambrosia'' from Greek mythology) but she failed all of the training. However, when electrocuted, an alternate consciousness emerges with all the skills intact, but can't be used in her Brosia personality]].
100	** Only Tomas, Noli, Igno, Pao, and Dado do not take alternate identities, with Igno and Dado's Bounty Hunter and werewolf form, respectively, not counting.
101	** PaperThinDisguise: No one is fooled by each other's secret identities in the slightest. Special mention goes to Polgas, where it's all but outright said that everyone knows that Polgas is Wisedog/Dobermaxx, but nevertheless behave as if they're separate identities. Even when Polgas changes clothes in full line of sight, the cast reacts as if identity suddenly vanishes and the other appeared out of nowhere.
102	* SeriesFauxnale: The final two Rappler strips have Polgas jumping into a ''Film/DoctorStrange2016'' portal to parts unknown...no, actually just the Philippine Star.
103	* ServileSnarker: Brosia. She makes up for her general lack of intelligence (or formal schooling) with witty jokes and pranks at the other characters' expense, particularly Dagul.
104	* SpeedDating: In one strip, Tiny finally accepts Bab to be his girlfriend, for only two seconds. She even says it is the shortest date ever, worthy of the Guinness World Records.
105	* StorefrontTelevisionDisplay: One old strip has Bab and Tiny going to a store with a TV on display showcasing a movie. Bab remarks that the movie is long but interesting and asks Tiny if he wants to buy some popcorn.
106	* StrawFeminist: Barbie, Tomas' wife.
107	* StrawCharacter:
108	** Senator Cabalfin, who is the embodiment of the Philippine CorruptPolitician. However, on occasion, his portrayal is sympathetic, such as when Tomas, Bab, and Igno plan a [[ThePeepingTom peeping tom]] raid on his compound, intending to peep on Cabalfin's maid in the shower.
109	** Sometimes, caricatures of actual politicians appear, mostly as a TakeThat by the author.
110	* StupidSurrender: In one arc, the armed henchmen of [[spoiler:Atong Damuho in Baguio]] didn't surrender because of the combined military might of the PMA cadets and the NPA rebels. No, it was the appearance of CampGay men from St. Louis University that scared the crap out of them and made them decide to give up. (The henchmen were dressed as Igorot tribesmen and thus wore mostly just loincloths, so they feared getting stripped by the "loincloth collectors".)
111	* SternTeacher: Miss Nobatos is visibly in her 50's or 60's, and often acts as the StraightMan to Paltik's horse jokes (because of her buck teeth).
112	* TheStoner: Bab. Attempts to break his weed habit occasionally come up as a story device. For instance, in one mini-arc, his mother (who disapproves heavily of the habit) confuses his weed stash for oregano, and mixes it into her spaghetti. ''Which she cooked for a prayer meeting.'' Bab is understandably horrified and downs the spaghetti in one gulp—but exposes himself in the process.
113	* SwissArmyWeapon: PlayedForLaughs twice.
114	** Utoy's Swiss Army Knife had a ''Mac PC'', a [[UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem Family Computer]] console, and ''an all-terrain vehicle''. The secret organization called the OCB had a hand in designing the modified Swiss knives.
115	** One comic strip has one of the kids pick up a Swiss Army Knife with parts like curlers and hair irons. Turns out, it's Pao's.
116	* TalkingAnimal: Polgas. Other animals exhibit it, but rarely.
117	* TankGoodness: Tomas is sometimes using a tank as [[MundaneUtility his regular personal vehicle]]. He is almost never seen firing the guns, though.
118	* TakeThat: The comic delivers more than a few jabs towards {{Corrupt Politician}}s, [[DirtyCommunists the NPA]], [[CorruptChurch the Catholic Church]], and the follies of Filipino society in general.
119	* TotemPoleTrench: Utoy, Paltik and Joma attempt this once to see an adult movie. They even use it to scare off a moviegoer who started ''hitting on'' Trenchcoat!Utoy.
120	* TrappedInThePast: Temporally inverted in the ''2078'' arc, where the main cast accidentally ride a train from the then-present of 1992 into 2078, thanks to a wormhole swallowing up the train. The arc has them briefly adjusting to a very dense, overcrowded, and {{CyberPunk}}-ish metropolitan Manila (and lamenting the lack of beer in the 2070s), and has Polgas and his future counterpart Dobermaxx ([[spoiler:his grandson, and the original source of his own codename]]) facing off against future baddies, before riding the next wormhole back into their time. (The arc never explains the fate of the presumed other passengers though.)
121	* VigilanteMan: One StoryArc involves a vigilante group called the ''Walang Payat Gang'' (Literally means No Thin Person Gang), formed by Polgas alongside Utoy, Paltik and Joma, the sons of Dagul, Tomas and Noli. They engaged in non-lethal vigilante operations against {{Dirty Cop}}s, culminating in making the local corrupt chief of police mend his ways.
122	* VitriolicBestBuds: Tomas, the air force sergeant, with his communist rebel buddy Noli.
123	* WeaksauceWeakness: Stink and Polgas do not mix.
124	* {{Zeerust}}: ''2078'', an old arc from the early 1990s involved the cast time traveling a hundred years into the future: one where [[JapanTakesOverTheWorld America is Japan's personal golf course]] and the Philippines itself has thoroughly turned Chinese.

Context ComicStrip / PugadBaboy