Pirata (Filipino, Spanish and Portuguese for "pirate") is a full-color graphic novel written and illustrated by Filipino cartoonist Pol Medina, Jr. and first published in 1995 by Pugad Baboy, Inc. The characters and storyline of Pirata are derived from Medina's comic strip Pugad Baboy, which is published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer and is compiled annually in book form. Unlike the book compilations of comic strips that had appeared beforehand in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Pirata contains original, never-before published material. Medina began working on the graphic novel in February 1994, announcing its creation in PB5, the fifth Pugad Baboy compilation, as the first of a series of comics called "The Adventures of Polgas - Ang Asong Hindi" (The Dog Who Isn't) with the supposed publishing date of May 1994. However, it took slightly over a year to complete it, instead of the two months estimated. Priced a moderate Php 85.00 in 1995 (about US$ 3.27 in 1995), it is 42 pages of Pugad Baboy adventure centered on Polgas' acquaintance and friendship with a Muslim pirate named Khalid. Pirata has a more serious atmosphere compared to Medina's previous work, both in terms of theme and materials used—all pages of the first edition were printed on glossy paper, a practice not very common for comics printed in the Philippines at that time. It has been reprinted since. In the tenth Pugad Baboy compilation, Pugad Baboy X, Medina admitted that during the time he was making Pirata, he was dealing with a lot of personal issues. Pirata'''s serious tone, he related, was a reflection of his angst due to these crises. Synopsis Khalid, a repentant pirate, is rescued by the Pugad Baboy residents after he is nearly killed by his erstwhile brothers-in-arms in the Red Marlin Group under the command of Luna, who are under the impression that he is responsible to the death of their leader Hamid Mustafa. Polgas saves his life several times as a Red Marlin hit squad attempts to finish the job. As rogue elements of the Navy and the Red Marlin finally catch up with Khalid and take him, Doc Sebo, Tomas and Dagul captive, Polgas dons his Dobermaxx persona and rescues the group which had been taken on board a ship in North Harbor. Khalid in turn saves Dobermaxx's life as Luna was about to shoot him from behind. It is soon revealed that Luna himself