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.

 

 

 

VALENTINA: The Most Well-known Supervillainess in Philippine Komiks

Valentina on the cover of

Pilipino Komiks #81 (July 8, 1951)

illustrated by Nestor Redondo

          In the history of Philippine komiks, among the aficionados, who would not know Valentina? She is the supervillainess that Darna fought in her first adventure. Based on the komiks novel written by Mars Ravelo and illustrated by Nestor Redondo for Pilipino Komiks, Valentina is the daughter of Miguel and Doray. Ravelo is a big fan of mythology, and he conceptualized a being with hairs of venomous snakes similar to the mythological gorgon Medusa but with a Filipino touch. She is mortal, born in a rural scene, and does not have the power to turn people into stones by the mere looking at her eyes like the character in Greek mythology.

          In the original story, she was influenced by an evil creature named Kobra, one with a head of an old hag and a body of huge python. Valentine can command all snakes to do his biddings, for which Kobra called her the “goddess of snakes.”

Two episodes of “Darna” in Pilipino Komiks #78 and #92 showcasing

the birth of Valentina (Episode 2, May 20, 1950), and

Valentina’s revelation to Edwardo of her plans of turning the world into a realm of snakes

(Episode 16, August 26, 1950)

The third of the three-issue

Mars Ravelo’s Darna (cover

illustrated by Gilbert Monsanto)

published by Mango Comics.

 

          Valentina was feared and hated by the town folks and by the only man she ever loved, Edwardo. These drove her to become evil. She murdered her parents, and wanted to kill all the people, and transform the world into a haven of reptiles, much like the days of the dinosaurs. Darna, battled her and her minions. In the end, an earthquake killed Valentina’s army of snakes. Valentina, on the other hand, disheartened and nowhere to go, committed suicide by jumping into a cliff where she threw the corpses of her parents.

          In the first film, which starred Rosa del Rosario as Darna in 1951, it was Cristina Aragon who portrayed the snake-haired villainess. The other actresses who portrayed Valentina in the big screen were Celia Rodriguez (Lipad, Darna, Lipad! 1973), Pilar Pilapil (Darna, 1991) and Pilita Corales (Darna: Ang Pagbabalik, 1994). For the television series produced by GMA-7, Alessandra de Rossi (2005) and Iwa Moto (2009-2010) played the role.

Alessandra de Rossi featured on the

cover of MOD July 8, 2005 issue:

“It pays to be TV’s glammest uber-villain.”

          In the GMA-7 television series Darna, which was based on the three-issue Mars Ravelo’s Darna published by Mango Comics in 2003, the role of Valentina was tailored made for the 5’-7” actress Alessandra de Rossi. But De Rossi almost didn’t accept the role of the snake-haired villainess when it was offered to her. She has ophidiophobia, the fear of snakes. She was, nevertheless, convinced by the production team after they explained to her the importance of her role. It is, in fact, the most sought after kontrabida (villain) role. She fought off her fear and was able to portray the role quite well. For her portrayal she was even called by journalists as the “Modern Valentina.” It was very noticeable (and quite laughable), however, that in many scenes black eels were used instead of snakes.