Celebrating alongside the 2026 Philippines-Japan Friendship Year, the Philippine International Comics Festival, jointly organized with Komiket, Japan Foundation Manila, and BLushCon, presented SINTA: a manga/comic exhibit of queer stories across Asian nations.
Featuring more than 30 creators, the SINTA exhibit explored various queer stories across nations in comic form, sharing an array of one-shot manga that have diverse storytelling spanning not only queer narratives but also deep and distinct stories.
For example, Love Team by Filipino creator Kal M, under the pen name “Tagasaing,” shared the tale of a manufactured celebrity pairing and how it affects their personal life, hiding who they truly are from the public.
“I want to portray some kind of subversion that’s deeply ingrained in [the Filipino subculture of] love teams,” shared Kal M. “I want them to learn that celebrities are people too and not just products. As much as it’s easy to dehumanize them because they are rich, sometimes the parasocialness of Filipinos, [they have the] tendency to ship real people, write fanfictions, and attack the other person if they don’t go according to our perception of them.”
Meanwhile, Revelations—authored by Gwenevie Bayaua, with the pen name “Dakilang Diwata” and illustrated by Stacey Albis (“Alamangoes”)—tells the story of a lesbian navigating the loss and grief of a loved one.
“Revelations is a comic that talks about the specific experience of this woman who recently lost the love of her life, and how her community buries both that love and her identity as a lesbian,” shared Bayaua, then added how lesbian erasure is a “heartbreaking and agonizing” experience felt around the world.
“It’s a story about unburying of identity and the lived experiences of lesbians,” Gwenevie continued, as she wants the readers to feel empathy for the experiences of lesbians.
MAIN MEDIUM
At the exhibit, manga or comics became the main medium for the art due to its accessibility to both the artist and the viewers.
Event curator Kristine Michelle Santos thinks that “comics and manga [are interesting media, because they are very personal, accessible to local artists…At the same time, with digital platforms, media] and tools, it’s easier for creators to write stories and develop their style.”
Santos shared that manga is a very rich form, as she explained that even one panel can convey a lot of emotions and stories that inspire other forms of media. She added that “it’s a wonderful medium to also capture the stories of these queer characters.”
As such, the curator also shared that the stories featured in the exhibit were chosen due to their diversity of expression, in the manner of “how are they trying to tell their stories, what kind of stories are they showcasing, and what are the boundaries they are pushing in terms of their storytelling.”
REALITY-BOUND
Santos mentioned the featured Japanese creators Masaomi Ito and Ayu Yamane, who told queer stories that are grounded in reality.
She also mentioned that the creators ventured into adding queerness to local epics and fantasies, hoping to “view a world where queerness is accepted and loved.”
The curator believes that the SINTA exhibit was a “resounding success” based on the number of creators who were passionate to share their stories at the event.
“I think we did the best that we could in trying to capture their voices,” Santos said. “[We were] open to the idea of their need to be part of a community that supports and encourages them on their queer narratives in this highly constrictive Southeast Asian space.”
The SINTA exhibit ran from July 3 to 12 at the Ayala Malls The 30th, Ground Floor, Pasig City, with admissions made free to the public.
This article appeared in the July 2026 Special Issue of Philippines Graphic.
Story and photo by Patrick Villanueva
