Philperiodicals

The comic depicts an interaction between a young girl and the owner of a corner shop (sari-sari store). The young girl, angry at her superior, who has pranked her earlier with a type of firework called a “lebentador”, plots revenge against him. She buys fireworks from a Chinese vendor, who is portrayed speaking in a stereotypical phonetic accent and warns the girl she must not let the police know he sells fireworks–implying he is running an illegal business. She pranks her superior back, and the comic ends with a greeting for the new year.

Part of 'Pilipinas sa larawan' (Philippines in images), a cartoon depiction of historical events, the illustration depicts different types of ancient weapons used in the Philippines, such as the pana at busog (arrow and bow), sibat (spear), and many types of handheld blades, like the sundang, kris, and kampilan. The caption explains that these weapons, along with various shields, animal hides used as clothes, or small cannons, were discovered by the Spaniards who arrived in Manila, Taytay, and Cainta, and that  were still used by indigenous peoples, like the Moros and “forest people”.The simultaneous use of descriptors “nuong una’ (in ancient times) and ‘taong gubat’ reveals the use of chronological distinctions to imply civilizational differences between peoples existing in the same time period.

The cartoon, which reads top to bottom, left to right, depicts interactions within a Chinese family. The father has bought his children a doll each at the fair, and they are asking their mother to dress the dolls in order to baptize them.

One of the most interesting elements of Graphic was its illustrations. The edition of the 2 July 1936 opened with a comment on China illustrated by J. Z. Santos which warned of the dangers of disunity when faced by an exterior foe. The article also suggested that in those situations the instinct of self-preservation could also unite the people, as it had in two countries (supposedly) humiliated after the World War that managed to recover the respect of the nations “rulers of the world”: fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.Graphic argued that the Chinese were trapped in a debilitating civil war that allowed Japan to dismember China and destroy its sovereignty. The interest in fascism, together with its respect for national sovereignty, suggests that, for Graphic, China could be able to defend her territorial integrity and rights by jolting into a strong national bond, that means, via an effective nationalism. Otherwise, as the image suggested, the giant that China had been in Asian history would fall to Japan and to her own people. In 1937 that nationalism shared by all countries mentioned would lead to World War II, of which the long invasion of Manchuria in 1937 was a warning.

The cover of magazine Semana presents China as a major destination for missionaries. It compares the total population of China with the number of Chinese Catholics. Underneath, there are images of Buddha in varying sizes according to the number (of Buddhists?) in India, Japan, and China. The caption encourages readers to support the missionary task by being the “rearguard with your prayer and alms”.