Who is Mars Ravelo?

  Everytime we hear the name, Mars Ravelo, most of us would immediately think of Darna or Captain Barbell, right? But aside from seeing him as the man behind these popular komiks characters, do you have a basic knowledge of his background? Hmmm… I’m guessing you don’t.. hehehe! Well then, I’m here to help. You think it’s hard to introduce a legend? Think again ‘coz I’m going wiki mode here… wahaha! So, here goes…

Mars Ravelo was born on October 9,1916 when the Philippines was still American Territory. Mars went through a life of hardship and dropped out of high school, vowing to be number one in whatever he did. Mars started out as a cartoonist, then as a writer, and later on as editor -in- chief for two major publications houses and even for several film companies. Ravelo was the highest paid comic writer during his time. He later established his own company, RAR, to give him more elbow room with more obras. Mars Ravelo used to say that he wanted to impart ” the highest form of values to the lowest tier of our society with the lowest form of literature”.

His contributions to the Filipino art world are quite remarkable. Some of his achievements are the classic fantasy of Darna the super heroine, Dyesebel the love-lorn mermaid, and Kaptain Barbel the super hero. Furthermore, he also created another classic drama about a young orphaned girl named Roberta. The movie was a huge success that made Sampaguita Pictures one of the biggest film outfitz in the 50’s. Vilma Santos starred in “Trudis Liit” and became an instant hit. Not to mention the unforgettable award-winning movie adaptation of Alicia Vergel’s Basahang Ginto. An additional feather to his hat is the controversial film about a homosexual in Lea productions, Tubog sa Ginto, another comic’s adaptation. And who can forget the love story of Maruja which was also immortalized on silver screen several times. Not only Mars Ravelo made us cry and played our imagination through his fantasy creations, but he also tickled our funny bones with Facifica Falayfay, and the lovable duo of Jack & Jill. His creations are his legacy to the world.

read full article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_Ravelo

Well… now you know… hehehe!

Heed The Call Of Heroes - BAYAN KNIGHTS

Who we are… Filipino artists, writers, and comic book fans united by a childhood dream to see our heroes come to life and save the day.

Bayan Knights #1
Sacred Mountain Publications has gathered in this issue more than a dozen upbeat and talented creators along with their independent studios in one gigantic effort to encourage friendly cooperation and make it possible for these artists to turn their imaginations into reality.
Featuring the story and art of Gilbert Monsanto as well as the creations of more than a dozen independent local comic book artists, the issue is slated for release on the 22^nd of November during Komikon 2008. We will have an initial print run of 2,000 copies to be distributed through branches of Comic Quest, Comic Odyssey, Druid’s Keep and all branches of National Bookstore nationwide.

Our Video Check this out

Become Our Hero
Donate P200 to help our publication and in return we will give you a free copy of Bayan Knights #1. We will also acknowledge your generous contribution in a grand Thank You page to be included in our first issue.
Finally, your name will also be added to the “Wall of Heroes” which will appear on our blog
See below for details on how to send us your contributions

How to order
Bayan Knights #1 will retail for P60 an issue.
Pre-order more than 10 issues and we’ll give you a 10% discount.
Pre-order more than 20 issues and we’ll give you a 20% discount.
Deposit your contributions through any BPI branch to Sacred Mountain Publications, Account # 4033-04277-4.
Kindly write your name on the deposit slip and fax a copy to 655-6780. You may also scan or take a clear photo of the deposit slip and email the image file with your contact details to smp_letters@yahoo.com.
We also accept payments through Paypal. Kindly enter smp_letters@yahoo.com as the payee account.
We would be happy to answer questions sent to that email address as well

Komiks according to Wiki

Comics in the Philippines (Filipino: Komiks) is the general term used for comics created or produced in the Philippines. Partially inspired by American mainstream comic strips and comic books during the early 20th century, particularly after World War II, the medium became widespread and popular throughout the country, though its popularity has subsided somewhat with the advent of other mass-media forms such as telenovelas.The word komiks is simply the English word “comics”, adapted to fit the orthography of native Filipino languages such as Tagalog.
HISTORY
While the first indigenous cartoons may be traced to José Rizal’s fable “The Monkey and the Tortoise”, the origins of the mainstream komiks industry would not arise until after the Spanish-American War. In the 1920s, Liwayway magazine began running comic strips under the direction of Romualdo Ramos and Tony Velasquez such as the still-running Mga Kabalbalan ni Kenkoy (The Misadventures of Kenkoy). Originally inspired by American comic strips and comic books left behind by American GIs , the medium steadily diverged, and by the 1950s, drew more inspiration from other forms of Filipino literature such as komedya, as well as Philippine mythology. Many komiks were evidently inspired by specific American comics, such as Kulafu and Og (Tarzan), Darna (Wonder Woman, but Wonder Woman was created after Darna was), and D. I. Trece (Dick Tracy). The predominance of superheroes has continued into the modern day. However, other characters such as Dyesebel draw more from traditional folklore.
At one point, between 33 to 40 percent of Filipinos read komiks, but this number has since dwindled somewhat due to competition from other media forms. More recently, comic artists have begun producing what is often called “Pinoy Manga”, inspired largely by Japanese anime and manga which have been widely available in the Philippines since the 1970s.
Some Filipino komik artists have gone on to work in the American comic industry, including Alfredo Alcala, Mar Amongo, Alex Niño, and Nestor Redondo.