Zombie komiks in a cacique democracy: Patay kung patay’s undead revolution

Utilizing the lens of Philippine historical conditions, the series Patay Kung Patay (Dead Means Dead, 2015-present) imagines zombies as revolutionary actors who confront the nation’s legacy of colonialism and rise up against the brutalities of cacique democracy. But Patay’s portrait of social upheaval is fractured by contradictions. Consciousness is often understood to be foundational to revolution. What does the series imply, then, when it imagines agents of radical social transformation as unconscious beings that lack free will? The series also largely addresses urban-dwelling, college-educated Filipinos with discretionary income. As such, Patay arguably commodifies the plight of the rural working class, turning a tale of socioeconomic revolution into the stuff of fantastical entertainment.