6p
Darna by Nestor P. Redondo - Singles (35,000)
6p Kulafu by Francisco
Reyes
- Singles
(35,000)
6p Lapu-lapu
by Francisco V. Coching - Singles (35,000)
6p El Vibora by
Federico C. Javinal
- Singles
(35,000)
Souvenir Sheets of One (10,000)
22p Darna by Mars Ravelo
Layout Artists:
Alfonso V. Divina, Victorino Z. Serevo
Design Coordinator: Ramon Orlina
Designs: Stamp
Illustrations from the book "A History of the Komiks of the
Philippines and Other Countries" provided by Abe Ocampo.
Souvenir Sheet design from Mars Ravelo's Darna furnished by Mosanto
of Yonzon's Mango Comics.
First Day Covers: Manila
National Stamp Collecting Month - Featuring Comic Illustrators
Darna, by Nestor Redondo and Mars Ravelo.
Nestor Redondo was exposed to
komiks before he could read and write. His father used to bring him
imported comics. What fascinated him were Tarzan, Buck Rogers,
Superman, Flash Gordon, The Lone Ranger and Captain America. He took
up Architecture at the Mapua Institute of Technology, and at the
same time illustrating komiks stories for the Bulaklak Publications.
Soon, he was neck deep in the komiks craft. He illustrated a serial,
Palos, penned by his brother Virgilio, who is himself an
illustrator. Palos was successful and ran for 14 years. Then
followed other stories by Virgilio, among them Diwani and Gagamba.
Also did the artwork for most of Pablo Gomez's opuses; Gflda,
Bangkusay and Dayukdok Redondo's popularity really skyrocketed when
he was commissioned by the Ace Publications to illustrate Mars
Ravelo's blockbuster series Darna. In 1972, he established contact
with American comic book and magazine publishers. That started his
international exposure. Initially, he illustrated several episodes
of Burrough's Tarzan. Later, he took over the artwork for The Swamp
Thing, a very popular series in the United States. He ran an art
studio in his Valenzuela, Bulacan home, and accepted commissions
from U.S. publishing firms. He participated in art exhibits here and
in the U.S., and lectured abroad on komiks illustration. In 1979, he
was bestowed the prestigious 'Inkpot Award' by the San Diego
(California) Comics Convention. Previous to this, he was the
recipient of the Valenzuela (Bulacan) Kalikasan Award for his
outstanding contributions to the advancement of arts and culture as
a comic’s illustrator.
Kulafu, by
Francisco Reyes. Francisco
Reyes is recognized as the King of the Philippine-jungle lord school
of komiks-strip writing. He created Kulafu, which was a success in
the Liwayway Magazine during the 1930s. Reyes studied art in 1927 at
the UP School of Fine Arts. Upon graduation in 1932, he joined the
Liwayway Publications. He teamed up on Kulafu with Pedrito Reyes.
Kulafu was the first colored adventure strip in Philippine
komiks-magazine history. Kulafu's creator owes a lot to Edgar Rice
Burroughs, who created Tarzan. Tarzan lived as a savage of noble
English lineage in Victorian Africa; Kulafu's domain was a little
kingdom somewhere in the southern Philippines during the pre-Spanish
era. Reared by the great apes like Tarzan, Kulafu roamed the jungles
coming out alive from one perilous adventure after another. Reyes
worked on Kulafu solo in 1936 when Pedrito Reyes decided to tackle
another job. In 1941, he stopped doing Kulafu altogether. Later, he
created other strips that also clicked: Talahib (1946), Kilabot
(1947), Buhawi (1947) and Mahiwagang Sinulid (1949). He also
illustrated Joe Safari (1947), Dagog (1967), Sphinx (1969) and
Ogganda (1964), all of which were written by Clodualdo del Mundo.
Lapu-lapu, by
Francisco V. Coching. Coching
was born on January 29, 1919. He left school at an early age to work
for the magazine Liwayway, where his father was a novelist. He
apprenticed with Tony Velasquez. In 1934, he created Bing Bigotilyo,
and the year after, Marabini. After the war, he created Bulalakaw
However, it was Hagibis, his next work, that won him fame. Hagibis,
which was inspired by Kulafu of Francisco Reyes and Tarzan of Edgar
Rice Burroughs, ran for 15 years in Liwayway and was followed by
sequels: Anak ni Hagibis and Si Gat Sibasib. Coching's creations
were sought out by producers who made movies out of them. All but
three of his dozens of komiks novels were made into movies. Coching
both wrote and illustrated his stories. His works had strong
narrative flow, brimming with drama, and punctuated by actions and
surprise. His illustrative style belonged to the romantic tradition
of komiks illustration, which he dominated from 1934 until 1973, the
year he retired.
El Vibora, by
Federico C. Javinal.
The first time Federico Javinal
applied for work as an illustrator, his work was rejected by Tony
Velasquez, then editor of Ace Publications. He then gave his style
more polish and went to Bulaklak komiks, where he was accepted in
1955. In 1956, his long- time idol- Francisco Coching - asked him to
be his assistant for the artwork of his stories for various komiks
and magazines. Javinal was Coching's artistic partner from then on.
Their collaboration ended after 17 years, with the latter's
retirement. Together, they came out with Salabusab, Pedro Penduko,
El Vibora and Dimasalang, among others. Later, he illustrated Amado
Yasanas novels in Liwayway magazine. Among them were Anak ng Tulisan,
Tom Cat, Kamaong Asero, Antigo and Kahadang Bato. He later
transferred to the Graphic Arts Service, Inc., where he illustrated
Alakdang Bato, a novel which was later made into a movie. Tony
Velasquez, who turned him away at the start of his career, finally
got him to illustrate his Mga kwento ni Kenkoy