Mars Ravelo and Nestor Redondo: The Tandem of Komiks Legends

 

MARS RAVELO AND NESTOR REDONDO:
The Tandem of Komiks Legends

        Among the writer-artist tandems in Philippine Komiks History, one if not the most popular and successful, is that of Mars Ravelo (1916-1988) and Nestor Redondo (1928-1995). Best known for the very successful and iconic embodiment of the Philippines’ best loved superhero – Darna.

        Darna was put into a pedestal in the Filipino people’s minds with Ravelo’s imaginative storyline and Redondo’s magnificent illustration in the pages of Pilipino Komiks #77 (May 13, 1950), running 28 episodes up to #104 (May 26, 1951), and the silver screen portrayal of Manila’s “Golden Age” movie queen, Rosa del Rosario (1917-2006), under the direction of Fernando Poe Sr (1916-1951).

The first episode of “Darna” in Pilipino Komiks #77 (May 13, 1950).

The last episode of “Darna” in Pilipino Komiks #104 (May 26, 1951).

        Soon after the Ravelo-Redondo tandem became the byword in the komiks community and stories one after another were printed on the pages of different komiks and magazines. Darna continued her many adventures given life by the scripts of Ravelo and the brush of Redondo.

        On their own, Ravelo and Redondo also reaped the impact of Darna’s success as each of them became the favorite and most sought after writer and illustrator of komiks publishers.

The first episode of “Roberta” in Tagalog Klasiks #28 (July 29, 1950).

        The Tagalog Klasiks #28 (July 29, 1950) began another Ravelo hit in “Roberta.” It was, however,  initially drawn by Redondo but was later on continued by another legend in komiks illustration, Elpidio Torres.

The first episode of “Raul Roldan” in Hiwaga Komiks #22 (August 1, 1951).

        Then there was “Raul Roldan,” another interesting story that the legendary tandem started in Hiwaga Komiks #22 (August 1, 1951). And the list continues for an entire decade or so.

The first episode of “Handsome” in Hiwaga Komiks #200 (May 28, 1958).

The first episode of “Devlin: Swahbuckler of the Seas” in Redondo Komix #1 (May 7, 1963).

        For their combine achievements as writer and artist, in 1985, then First Lady Imelda Marcos, one of the founding patrons of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), recommended Ravelo and Redondo for the National Artist Award in the category of Literature and Visual Arts, respectively. In 1986, however, the list that included the tandem was submitted to the office of the then de facto president Cory Aquino, which rejected all the nominees. Hence, no National Artist Award was given for that year. For the succeeding years, sad to say, Ravelo and Redondo were never again nominated for the prestigious award.