Budjette Tan supposedly grew up in a haunted house and was told to sleep early because there were aswang monsters outside their bedroom window. Who would’ve known that these stories would later influence and inspire him to write the comic book Trese, co-created with artist Kajo Baldisimo.
Their comic book is a three-time winner of Best Graphic Literature of the Year in the Philippine National Book Awards. (2009, 2011, 2012)
Trese is now published and distributed globally by Ablaze and is available in English, French, Italian, German, and Portugeuse.
In 2021, Netflix launched the anime adaptation of Trese and was in their Top 10 shows for a month.
Budjette was a co-editor for Alamat Comics, The Lost Journal of Alejandro Pardo: Creatures and Beasts of Philippine Folklore and SOUND: A Comic Book Anthology (co-edited with Charis Locke, published by Difference Engine).
He now works in Denmark as one of the creative leads in the LEGO Agency. He lives there with his wife and son, far away from any aswang – or so they think!
(By the way, his name is pronounced “budget” but please don’t ask him any questions about finance.)
