Moymoy Lulumboy fans, rejoice! You can now look forward to an exciting live-action rendition of the beloved boy-aswang, hero of the popular series of books.
Last Friday, 1 December 2017, Moymoy became an official Kapamilya member through the ABS-CBN Universe. A memorandum of agreement was signed between a panel of ABS-CBN executives and the creator-publisher of the adventure novels.
ABS-CBN has a franchise development arm tasked to acquire properties to be developed as possible shows to be produced and aired on the channel. As an entry to ABS-CBN’s franchised properties, Moymoy books can now be developed into either a TV series, movies, soundtrack, digital pieces, merchandise, or attraction in its experience stores.
In the contract signing, the network was represented by Cory Vidanes, chief operating officer for broadcast; Cat Lopez-Uy, head of finance for the dynamic Access Group, which is in charge of the corporation’s latest popular products Mahiwagang Black Box and ABS-CBN Mobile; and Nandy Villar, head of Integrated Marketing (IM) at ABS-CBN Corporation.
Lampara Books, the book imprint under which the series of books is published, was represented by the creator of the popular character, Segundo D. Matias, Jr., who is also the founder and president of Lampara Publishing House, Inc. (LPHI).
Moymoy Lulumboy is an ongoing series of novels whose first book, Moymoy Lulumboy: Ang Batang Aswang, was published in 2014. Launched during the 35th Manila International Book Fair, the event coincided with the visit to the Philippines of notable English author of comic books and graphic novels, Neil Gaiman, who is familiar with Filipino folklore and promptly asked for a copy of the book, a request that was promptly heeded by an air-mail delivery of a copy of the book.
The book was eventually cited as one of the top ten books of 2014 by the Philippine Daily Inquirer in a review under its Arts and Books section. It was reviewed, among others, “a solid effort at further modernizing our own myths.”
As of this writing, the series has released three other installments: Moymoy Lulumboy: Ang Nawawalang Birtud, Moymoy Lulumboy: Ang Paghahanap kay Inay, and Moymoy Lulumboy: Mga Dulot ng Digmaan. More books are either already in the pipeline or planning stage.
All the books were illustrated by award-winning artist-painter and children’s book illustrator Jomike Tejido.
All four books have been certified best-sellers.
The character Moymoy is introduced as an infant left by a tibaro under the care of a human.
The novels follow his journeys back to his real world, the enchanted kingdom of Gabun, composed of magical creatures. His adventures evolve as he embarks to discovers his true identiy and of the world where he truly belongs.
Moymoy is considered the Philippines’ answer to British author J.K. Rowling’s wizard, Harry Potter, in addition to being also the Percy Jackson (the title character and narrator of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians series) of the Philippines.
The author, Segundo D. Matias, Jr., is an award-winning children’s book author, having won prizes from the Palanca and the PBBY-Salanga Prize. Aside from the Moymoy series, he has also written a series of children’s books about modern Philippine legends, vice, and mothers. He has written scripts for television as well as film. He is a member of the Writers’ Studio, a group of film and television writers, and is also the president and founder of LPHI’s sister publications, Precious Pages Corporation, Life is Beautiful Creatives, and Red Line Media among others.
He took up courses in Malikhaing Pagsulat sa Filipino from the Kolehiyo ng Arte at Literatura of the University of the Philippines-Diliman, and is currently writing his thesis for his MA, a book in narrative form and geared for young adult readers, tentatively titled Mga Batang Pusit, about HIV-positive children.
Lampara Books 