When Dragons Become Pets

JP de la Rama
Jun 23
3 min read

The Influence of Reimagining Myth in the Modern Age

Pinoy horror stories should be in children's books!

"Sometimes, all it takes is a shift in perspective to turn ancient fears into powerful allies. When we reimagine dragons not as monsters, but as companions—we reclaim the narrative."

Setting the Stage

It was supposed to be just another family outing.

We were still on vacation this week when my daughter begged me to take her to see How to Train Your Dragon — the live-action version.

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While waiting in the theater lobby, I teased her with the trailer of 28 Years Later, a zombie flick I was excited about.

She took one look, turned around, and said, "Too scary!"

Ironically, this same little girl plays zombie-themed games like they’re ice cream parlors.

It made me laugh — and then it made me think.

Reframing Fear Through Art

These days, monsters aren’t what they used to be.

Dragons used to be monstrous, fire-breathing nightmares. Today, they’re pets with names and personalities. Horror icons are being reinterpreted for younger audiences, and it's working.

There’s a creative magic in that shift — when artists, writers, and filmmakers choose to reshape fear into familiarity, and darkness into something a little more approachable.

That takes vision, storytelling skills, and most of all, empathy.

But here’s the catch: in our part of the world, especially here in the Philippines, we’re sitting on a treasure trove of mythical creatures — and we’re barely touching it.

Where are the stories of the Manananggal, Tikbalang, and Tiyanak?

Sure, we’ve had Trese.

But beyond that, our modern media still leans heavily on Western and Japanese myths — vampires, werewolves, yokai, and kaiju.

Our own monsters? They’re fading into the background.

We’ve got the folklore. We’ve got the cultural depth.

But we’re missing the consistent storytelling that could bring these icons into today’s world — in a way that’s imaginative, exciting, and accessible for a new generation.

Artists Must Reimagine What’s Been Forgotten

This is why I started Zamora — a comic that fuses the horrifying with the familiar, where Philippine monsters meet demonic, Lovecraftian entities in a war between the sacred and the profane.

The goal isn’t just to entertain — it’s to preserve, reimagine, and share.

To take the same spirit that turned dragons into pets, and do the same for our own mythology — not by softening them, but by making them relevant.

If you’re a fellow artist, illustrator, or storyteller: this is your call to dig into your roots.

We don’t need to mimic.

We need to reimagine.

And sometimes, that starts with just asking: What if the next horror icon came from our backyard instead of Hollywood?