Trese: Book of Murders

Trese: Book of Murders
Written by	Budjette Tan
Art by	Kajo Baldisimo
Next	Trese: Book of Midnight
Collected Books	Trese: Murder On Balete Drive Trese: Unreported Murders Trese: Mass Murders

"When the sun sets in the city of Manila, don't you dare make a wrong turn and end up in that dimly-lit side of the metro, where aswang run the most-wanted kidnapping rings, where kapre are the kingpins of crime, and engkantos slip through the cracks and steal your most precious possessions.

When crime takes up a turn for the weird, the police call Alexandra Trese."

Trese: Book of Murders is a hardbound compilation of updated editions of Trese: Murder On Balete Drive, Trese: Unreported Murders, and Trese: Mass Murders.

It features Kajo Baldisimo's digitally updated art for the first 13 cases. Budjette Tan also added additional content in the form of "journal entries" told from the perspective of Professor Alexander Trese detailing supernatural creatures and artifacts.

Publication history

The book was released in October 26, 2013 during Kajo's The Night Gallery exhibit at The Crucible Gallery. Avenida Books planned to reissue the book after all the main series' volumes have been reissued as well.

It was eventually reissued by Avenida on March 25, 2022 through its Shopee page and official website. This version collects the updated editions previously released by the publishing company as well as the updated Alexander Trese journal entries present in the Ablaze editions.

Background

In 2006, Kajo gifted Budjette a hardbound copy of the first six Trese ashcans, saying that he wanted their comics to be published this way should they ever get the chance. The following year, Visprint Inc. picked the series up for their publication line up. The two pitched the compilation to the publisher, production for a hardcover book was too expensive to be feasible for them then.

In 2013, Budjette and Kajo decided to focus on special Trese related projects, deeming it the Year of Trese. Because of the success of the series up to that point, they felt confident to finally pitch a special hardbound edition of Trese to their publisher, who ultimately agreed.

In updating the artwork, Kajo used the redrawn version used in the ebook releases of the cases from the first two books as a basis. In addition to updating the third books drawings to match the others, he added a layer of greytones and greywash that Budjette said to have added "a certain grit and grim to the world of Trese."

In 2022, new Trese publisher Avenida released an updated edition of Book of Murders, featuring all the updated changes to the comic and the journal entries published in the newer Ablaze editions. From October 13 to 31, Filbar's released an exclusive wraparound dustcover for the edition. The dustcover featured new art from Baldisimo depicting various scenes from the first thirteen issues.

Cases

• Case 1: At the Intersection of Balete and 13th Street
• Case 2: Rules of the Race
• Case 3: The Tragic Case of Dr. Burgos
• Case 4: Our Secret Constellation

• Case 5: A Little Known Murder in Studio 4
• Case 6: The Outpost on Kalayaan Street
• Case 7: Embrace of the Unwanted
• Case 8: The Association Dues of Livewell Village

• Case 9: A Private Retaliation
• Case 10: Patient 414 in Mandaluyong
• Case 11: The Fort Bonifacio Massacre
• Case 12: The Baptism of Alexandra Trese
• Case 13: An Act of War

Trivia

• The front cover is derived from The Night Gallery's Alexandra Trese and Kambal overlain on top of each other.
• The back cover of the book featured the combined art of Filbar's exclusive dust jackets for the first three books.
• Its suggested retail price was ₱950.
• Only 2000 copies of the book were printed, making it the one of the most prized books in the series.
• The back cover indicated that it was a "special collector's edition".
• A poll for a reprint was posted but did not continue because the target number of respondents were not reached.

Gallery

Poster for the book launch of "Trese: Book of Murders" during The Night Gallery exhibit.